Can Lifelink Save You?
Lifelink, a static ability in Magic: The Gathering, can indeed save you from lethal damage by gaining you a significant amount of life when a creature with lifelink deals damage. The ability causes life gain whenever a source with lifelink deals any damage, not just combat damage, making it a powerful tool in the right situations.
Understanding Lifelink
To grasp the potential of lifelink to save you, it’s essential to understand how it works. Lifelink is a keyword ability that means “if a creature with lifelink deals damage, its controller gains that much life.” This ability can be crucial in turning the tide of a game, especially when combined with other abilities or in specific scenarios.
FAQs About Lifelink
Here are some frequently asked questions about lifelink that provide additional insights:
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Does Lifelink Work When Defending?: Yes, lifelink works regardless of whether the creature is attacking or defending. Any time a creature you control with lifelink deals damage, you gain that much life.
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Can Lifelink Save You from Lethal Damage?: While lifelink can gain you life, it doesn’t prevent lethal damage from being dealt. If the damage dealt to you exceeds your life total, even if lifelink gains you life, you could still lose the game if the total life gain doesn’t offset the damage.
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How Does Lifelink Work with First Strike?: Lifelink and first strike work independently. A creature with first strike deals damage first, and then other creatures deal damage. If a creature with lifelink deals damage, either as a first striker or afterwards, its controller gains life.
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Does Regenerate Stop Lifelink?: No, regenerate does not stop lifelink. If something with lifelink deals damage to something that can regenerate, the controller of the lifelinker gains life regardless of whether the other creature was regenerated.
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Does Shield Counter Prevent Lifelink?: Yes, shield counters prevent damage and thus prevent lifelink from triggering, as lifelink requires damage to be dealt.
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Can You Double Up Lifelink?: No, multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature do not stack. However, if you have multiple sources of lifelink, they can each trigger to gain you life.
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Does Lifelink Work on Planeswalkers?: Yes, lifelink works when dealing damage to planeswalkers. Any damage source with lifelink will cause you to gain life if it deals damage to anything, including planeswalkers.
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Does Deathtouch Stop Indestructible?: No, indestructible creatures ignore deathtouch. They cannot be destroyed by rules, making deathtouch ineffective against them.
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Do Red Spells You Control Have Lifelink?: Certain cards, like Firesong and Sunspeaker, can give red instant and sorcery spells you control lifelink, making them capable of gaining life when dealing damage.
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Does Armadillo Cloak Stack with Lifelink?: Yes, Armadillo Cloak and lifelink can stack in terms of effect. When a creature with lifelink and Armadillo Cloak deals damage, you gain life from both the lifelink ability and the cloak’s triggered ability.
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How Much Life Do I Gain from Lifelink?: You gain an amount of life equal to the damage dealt by the creature with lifelink. This applies to both combat and non-combat damage.
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Does Lifelink Work with Infect?: Yes, infect still triggers lifelink. Creatures with infect deal damage in the form of poison counters, but this is still considered dealing damage for the purposes of lifelink.
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Can You Prevent Damage to Stop Lifelink?: Yes, if damage is prevented (e.g., by shield counters), lifelink does not trigger because no damage was dealt.
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Does Spirit Link Stack with Lifelink?: Yes, Spirit Link can stack with lifelink, providing additional life gain when a creature deals damage.
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Does Lifelink Work on Yourself?: Yes, if you have a creature with lifelink and it deals damage to you (for example, due to an effect like Eidolon of the Great Revel), you will gain life, which can potentially save you from lethal damage.
By understanding these aspects of lifelink, players can better utilize creatures and strategies involving this ability to turn the tide of a game in their favor. Whether it’s through combat damage, non-combat damage, or in combination with other abilities like first strike or deathtouch, lifelink is a powerful tool that can indeed save you in critical moments.