Pointed Discussion

This is such a rigged card, when i saw the list of errata i just started laughing because R&D realizes how much of a mistake this card was

So, when I first saw this card, my mind went kaboom. WOMBO COMBO MUCH!?
I mean, this is so fun. Once any combo with this get's going, it's over.

so this works with token creatures as well?

the tokens makes it trigger... but they dont return...

Yes and no. The presence of a token creature is enough to bring back any non-token creature, but a token creature is removed from game as soon as it hits the graveyard (as far as I understand it).

Sac your Blood Pets and Basal Thrulls to play a creature and get them all back.

Hey, did anyone realize that this card can make a simple one-drop Mogg Fanatic a one-turn-killing-machine????????!!!!!!!!!!!

It doesn't say anything about a creature going to the graveyard fro mthe battlefied, so I assume it can go to the graveyard from anywhere.

Spore Frog.

@Disruptor: Mogg Fanatic isn't a 1 turn killing machine with this card. It's more like a 20 turn killing machine. That's because you'll only get sacrificed creatures back once per turn, at the end of turn.

I've got a question about this card: WHEN exactly has the 2nd creature to be on the battlefield? When the 1st one dies or when it is returned from the graveyard? Example: I got 2 creatures. I sacrifice the first, then the second. What happens? Will the first creature come back since at the time it got to the graveyard there was a 2nd creature, or will it not come back because when the triggered effect is about to resolve there is no 2nd creature anymore on the battlefield?

@ERKUSANDOR the card resolves at the end of the turn. So to answer your question NO! If all you have is 2 creatures you can not sacrifice one and then bring it back and then sacrifice the other and also bring that one back because when you sacrificed both of them they both wouldn't return to play until the end of the turn and since you sacrificed both there wouldn't be a creature there to trigger the effect of the card, BUT. . . . if your OPPONENT has a creature out it still applies because the card says "A" creature not specifying one of "YOUR" creatures. I can see how the wording conflicts with it's intended effect. I imagine this card has sparked quite a debate amongst Magic players believe me as a person that plays this card in an Eldrazi deck (I own every Eldrazi). To answer the question about token creatures. . . no they can not be returned to the battlefield since a token creature once removed can not return because technically it never hits the graveyard.

Play this with Leyline of the Void so your opponents don't benefit.

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WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING, WIZARDS?

No seriously, What the boop? This is so dumb it isn't funny.

Sprouting Thrinax and Mitotic Slime are always fun.

@Tufel: A Token does hit the GY, it's just that the next time SBA's happen, it ceases to exist. So you can actually have Token's in any number of zany places, such as your hand. This creates some interesting situations with copies of Simian Spirit Guide. Go ahead and look up when you can activate mana abilities!

This card has always confused me and it still does. It says: Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from play. A creature sounds like any player's creature and A graveyard sounds to me like any player's graveyard. And then is says: return that creature from your graveyard to play. That sounds to me like it only effects creatures in my graveyard and not in my opponent's.
So, do every player's creatures come back from the dead, or just mine?

great for paying devour costs

Evocative art on this card.

I like it.

Thank god for Oracle rewordings. I know that basically all design know-how checked out for Urza's block, but this card is kind of a cake-taker. As worded, its effect makes no sense (Do I return my opponents creature's from my graveyard? Does that change anything?). The exact mechanics of the delayed trigger are totally obscure (does it check for someone holding the Lifeline at end of turn or at death?). All exacerbated by the weird indefinite reference on "a creature" that seems to imply you return the Line-holder from your graveyard to play at end of turn (but only your graveyard). Even its interaction with something as basic as wrath effects is somewhat non-obvious.

Also, part of an awkward vogue for symmetrical effects that really never felt logical. (See also: Thran Weaponry, the only equipment that also arms your opponents.) Why am I saving my opponent's creatures, again? And why does the card, as written, all /them/ to be holding my Lifeline?

All in all, a cluster of terrible decisions. 0/5

SIde Note: Still a fun though hateful option to make EDH prison decks with the Kamigawa Spirit Dragons. The white one is particularly awful.

Aether Flash + Dingus Staff + Lifeline = Creature dies, get's brought back, Aether Flash kills it, player takes damage, next turn that creature comes back, Aether Flash kills it, player takes damage.

Question:
The card clearly states "into graveyard", but the details say "into graveyard from battlefield", yet there is no offical rulings stating that it has to be from the battlefield, so, which is it?

I use em with Chimeras its pretty funny

Combo with Infinite Sundial. At end of turn, first let all your creatures come back, then end the turn.

Were the playtesters on strike when Urza's block was being developed?

"The card clearly states "into graveyard", but the details say "into graveyard from battlefield", yet there is no offical rulings stating that it has to be from the battlefield, so, which is it?"

"The Oracle text under the Details section is official." <--True.

Also, even if it didn't specify "from the battlefield," it would work the same, because it says "creature," not "creature card." A card can only be a "creature" when it is on the battlefield; in any other zone, it's called a "creature card."

@foxinaboxphenna - Gatherer shows the card text as it would appear today in the Details section. At the time it was printed, it was thought that the original text was clear enough - they have since realized it wasn't and with rulings it has been updated to:

Whenever a creature dies, if another creature is on the battlefield, return the first card to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.

The creature has to die, so it has to first be in play. Thankfully, the Gatherer/Oracle rewording has greatly improved the ability to decipher how this card works.

For lots of fun, build a deck around this card using Echo creatures with come into play abilities (Deranged Hermit and Goblin Marshal being my favorites to combo with this) and enjoy. I also run it in a self-destruct Zubera deck running things like Spawning Pit to allow me to trigger the Zubera effects every turn. Getting creative with this card can lead to lots of fun - even if your enemy gets the benefit to.

Goblin Bombardment! :)

I used this card in combination with Mageta the Lion: Pay four, tap, discard two cards, and kill everything other than Mageta. Lifeline brings all your guys back. Your opponent has nothing. Only Indestructible creatures on your opponent's side could foil that combo.

This with Lightning Coils and Helspark Elemental/Spark Elemental ends up in something nice.

Looks like all common sense went out the window during Urza's block. There's loads of ways to abuse this, most involving sacrifice effects and lots of creatures. I played a recent EDH game where one player used Teysa, Orzhov Scion as his commander, sacrificing her and 2 other white creatures every turn to exile something, only to have them return at EOT for more shenanigans.

Trippy.

well well well
dauntless escort

This seems potent with:
KEYWORDS (to abuse): Champion, Evoke, Persist, Undying, (none such creatures are listed below)
1-CMC: Tukatongue Thallid/Doomed Traveler, Norin the Wary who always comes back just in the nick of time;
2-CMC: Wheel of Sun and Moon for one-sidedness, Phantasmal Sphere but it's just sooo bad without Tainted Aether/Grave Pact, Man-Sized Caterpillar to sacrifice in response to Wrath of God and pals, Myr Sire, Brindle Shoat, Reassembling Skeleton, Mogg War Marshal, Dripping-Tongue Zubera and other Zuberas for hilarity;
3-CMC: Haunted Angel insofar as it is possible for a slightly better Phantasmal Sphere (see above) to be good, Wall of Nets sort of, Recurring Nightmare if you have no soul, Wormfang Drake, Jotun Owl Keeper, Tuktuk the Explorer, Roc Egg, Penumbra Bobcat, Sprouting Thrinax, White Faceless Butcher/Conditional Faceless Butcher #1/Conditional Faceless Butcher #2 but try to avoid exiling a hasty critter, Teysa, Orzhov Scion, Pawn of Ulamog, Rotlung Reanimator, Kinsbaile Borderguard and boy won't that get out of hand fast;
4-CMC: Leyline of the Void also for one-sidedness, Endless Whispers mostly to steal all creatures that die on your turn but also for optional Haunted Angel-esque recovery from sweepers on not-your-turn, Giant Caterpillar like the other caterpillar above, Wormfang Crab probably, Liege of the Hollows, Mongrel Pack if you can make sure it only dies in combat, Ghost Council of Orzhova for death-faking shenanigans, Rukh Egg which not only works but lets you choose which creatures (i.e. yours) come back if the board gets wiped, Bant Sojourners, Mausoleum Guard/Elgaud Inquisitor, Symbiotic Elf, Penumbra Spider, regular Faceless Butcher, Gamekeeper, Summoner's Egg;
5-CMC: Predatory Advantage against control maybe, Siege-Gang Commander not just for renewable cannon fodder but also for the cannon itself, Belfry Spirit, Penumbra Kavu, Thragtusk, Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper, Mitotic Slime, Clone Shell;
6-CMC: Requiem Angel maybe, Nacatl War-Pride for the lulz and because at least one of them will probably live to see your end step, Grixis Slavedriver, Maalfeld Twins, Symbiotic Beast, Penumbra Wurm, Goblin Marshal, Wurmcoil Engine;
7-CMC: Grave Betrayal, Protean Hulk but I mean come on;
8-CMC: Symbiotic Wurm;
11-CMC: Worldspine Wurm if just for three 5/5s' worth of board-wipe insurance;
COMBOS: Heartless Summoning/sac-engine+Torpor Orb+Wormfang Manta+backup creature; Realm Razer+sac-engine+backup creature (preferably Lotus Cobra or a win-condition landfaller so that you don't need the next card)+Amulet of Vigor so only you have access to mana; Jokulhaups+Norin the Wary/Transluminant/Endless Whispers/Rukh Egg/Giant Caterpillar/Breeding Pit/instant-speed creature to grant only your creatures a reprieve from death; I'm sure there's a Worldgorger Dragon combo but I don't want to have to find it; etc etc blah blah oh God why won't this guy shut up blah blah...


Anyways, sac-engines tend to work pretty well with Lifeline and many of the cards above. Most amusing might be Goblin Bombardment and the Marshals. Or Zuberas. Zuberas are awesome.

I play this in my deck that's full of creatures with undying and persist.

Why?

Because fuck you that's why.

This was obviously printed with Echo creatures in mind, but this card is seriously broken. Just to name a few options in-block:

- Yavimaya Granger for repeated lands.
- Multani's Acolyte for repeated cards.
- Yavimaya Elder for repeated lands and possibly cards.
- Bone Shredder for repeated Terror.

That does not even begin to scratch the surface, and those are examples just from the block. Note that all of these can also be targeted by Unearth, also from the Urza block. A little playtesting goes a long way...

I remembered this card when I was 14 and was just starting magic. My older brothers friends where d1cks. They said the effect only affected creatures of lifelines controller and my brother uses a speedy elf deck. They could have lost like 10 times if they didn't cheated on the rules.

Wait what...
.5/5 for being in urzas block. Sorry I dont like powercreep.

@wrathofshane .5/5 on your comment for mentioning powercreep. Sorry i don't like whiny little bitches.

So... What happens if, like, March of the Machines is out?
Do your March'd artifacts return since they were creatures at time of death?
Or do they not, since they're artifacts at time of effect resolution?

I love the flavor and art in Urza's block. Everything looks so mysterious and ancient, yet at the same time technologically advanced beyond what we know now.

Leyline of the Void. What symmetry?

Alternatively, make them suffer with Suture Priest and/or Blood Seeker.

@ hokeymon at the time of this cards printing, it was not a global effect. WHY wizards decided to change it beats me. you can tell it was not meant as a global effect with the phrase "Your graveyard" on the card which refers to the owner of said card. if they wanted it to be a global effect back then they would not have added that phrase.

WIZARDS, why don't you get off your collective dumb behinds and change this back to how it is suppose to be? to all those that cant tell what the card is saying with out it printed in dumbed down retardo language.... smack yourself really really hard. I could tell exactly what this card did at the time it was printed... and I was 11!! if you adults now a days (not even born then) cannot tell what it does because its "confusing" then you need to go back to school and learn how to read.

Also, can someone tell me WHY they did change the wording so much that the card is now global? they even added an errata to remove the key single owner phrase from the card! IF you want to remove that phrase... REPRINT THE CARD! do not put some ruling for a card that is tucked away somewhere on the internet where most of us old players don't check... and why you ask don't some of us check?? BECAUSE WE COULD READ! we already knew what the card did.

they ruined this card so much now. it went from a 5/5 to a .01/5. quit making good cards worthless wizards! no one wants to use a card that helps your opponent win, when you have a combo that uses the card perfectly. now your opponent can abuse this card too thanks to your meddling. it would be like saying "Any player may play any planeswalkers' ability that is in play on their turn." thus making jace the mind sculpter extremely worthless to anyone because then the opponent can use his ultimate if u aren't careful... OR they just get him killed off. its the same concept.

I have used this card in so many decks for its 1 sided use so often that I decided to check up on the current rules to see if they decided to neuter the card any, and what do I find? they straight up castrated the thing.

It's easier thinking up cards that this doesn't combo with.

@EldraziJon, you're incorrect, sorry. The accidental use of 'your' in 'your graveyard' was corrected almost immediately by Oracle ruling. It was never intended to be a one-sided interaction.

One of my earliest great rares, and never figured out how to properly abuse it.

4/5 because regardless of the deck you're playing, if your opponent sees it in play, they know what target#1 will be.

Two things prevented this thing from becoming stupid-valuable; 1: mana cost, 2: the fact that the wording was re-envisioned means that you will have to explain it every time it hits the table.

For everybody that says "OMG WHY DID YOU CHANGE WORDING TO BE GLOBAL," I have a hard time believing that it was meant to be anything else. It has two operative words that indicate one or the other: "a" and "your."

If they changed it to "whenever a creature is put into YOUR graveyard," it would have exclusively meant one-sided. If they changed it to "return that creature card from THAT PLAYER's graveyard," it would have meant global. It could be either/or, but the statement as-is makes no sense at all. A clarification was required.

Saga already has many broken cards. All they have to do to keep this card a super combo builder, plus not make it stupid-broken is to make it global.

Besides, why not pair this thing up with slate of ancestry? I mean really, this thing has so many cheap combos that everybody should own 4 just for the "kudos" factor of having found another creative way to make this card do something terrible.