Agonizing Syphon MTG Card

Yields a two-for-one advantage by inflicting damage and simultaneously boosting the caster’s life. Aids strategies where life serves as a resource, enhancing your play with additional options. Immediately disrupts opponent’s momentum, imitating the board influence of an instant spell.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Agonizing Syphon deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life.

"Your death will take a mere moment, but it will feel like an eternity." —Vilis, Broker of Blood

Cards like Agonizing Syphon

Agonizing Syphon serves as a noteworthy contender among life manipulation spells in MTG. It draws parallels with cards like Murder, which also effectively removes creatures from the battlefield. Agonizing Syphon however, offers an enticing twist — it not only dispatches a creature but also provides the caster with a 3-point life swing, showcasing its dual utility in both offensive and defensive strategies.

Comparable also is Sorin’s Thirst, a spell that deals with creatures and grants life, yet it restricts its use to smaller creatures with its damage limitation. Agonizing Syphon has no such constraints and can target any creature, irrespective of its power or toughness. Another card worth mentioning is Alms of the Vein, favoring the life aspect by offering a significant six-point life difference but solely under the condition of discarding it for its madness cost. Agonizing Syphon skips this requirement, providing a straightforward, albeit costlier, option.

Evaluating these cards side by side, Agonizing Syphon emerges as a balanced choice within the black mana pool’s arsenal. Its capacity to influence the board and life totals in one fell swoop makes it a valuable card in many MTG decks that thrive on life manipulation tactics.

Murder - MTG Card versions
Sorin's Thirst - MTG Card versions
Alms of the Vein - MTG Card versions
Murder - MTG Card versions
Sorin's Thirst - MTG Card versions
Alms of the Vein - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Agonizing Syphon offers a direct benefit upon casting by not only dealing damage but also giving you life gain, effectively giving you a two-for-one advantage that can pivot the game in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or tokens, the life gained from Agonizing Syphon can be a resource boon. This can indirectly accelerate your game plan in formats where life can be a resource, such as paying life for powerful spells or activating abilities.

Instant Speed: Although Agonizing Syphon is a sorcery, its impact on the board resembles that of an instant. It can disrupt your opponent’s strategy and life total in a single turn, providing you with immediate board presence and potential tempo gain.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not demanding actual discarding, Agonizing Syphon’s strict mana alignment could leave players feeling constrained, similar to the strategic setback of a discard requirement especially when flexibility is paramount in gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: Agonizing Syphon’s demand for one black mana and two generic mana can be restrictive, making it a potentially cumbersome addition for multi-colored or mana-intensive decks that value color fluidity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At three mana for its effect, players may find Agonizing Syphon less appealing when cheaper or more impactful life gain and damage spells are available, potentially relegating this card to a less favored position in deck building.

Reasons to Include Agonizing Syphon in Your Collection

Versatility: Agonizing Syphon serves as a multi-purpose tool, slotting into various black-aligned decks. Its function as both a life-draining spell and life-gain mechanism ensures it can adapt to different game paces, making it a flexible addition to any collection.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with decks that capitalize on life gain or loss triggers. It can activate abilities that require life changes, integrate with sacrifice mechanics, or even amplify the effects of other synergistic spells.

Meta-Relevance: With a consistent presence of aggressive strategies in many metas, Agonizing Syphon can provide crucial swings in life totals. This transition can shift the tide of the game, demonstrating its metagame significance and why it’s a worthy contender for deck inclusion.

How to Beat Agonizing Syphon

Agonizing Syphon serves as a triple-threat spell in Magic: The Gathering, offering damage, life gain, and the ability to target any creature or player. Its power stems not just from its versatility but also from its potential to swing life totals. To strategically counter this card, understanding when to apply disruption is key. Players should consider holding up instant-speed removal or counterspells to prevent this card from resolving.

Consider also the value of life total management. Agonizing Syphon relies on a stable game state to maximize its effect. By maintaining pressure and a lowered life total of your opponent, the three-point life swing becomes less impactful. Prioritize aggressive play, and try to minimize the high-leverage stage where Agonizing Syphon could turn the tides.

Lastly, leveraging spells that grant you hexproof, like Shalai, Voice of Plenty, makes you an illegal target for such direct spells. Including instant-speed healing in your deck can also diffuse the impact of Agonizing Syphon. If Agonizing Syphon finds its way to the stack, being ready with a response can turn the tables, mitigating its impact and keeping you ahead in the match.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Agonizing Syphon MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2020 and Jumpstart, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Agonizing Syphon and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Agonizing Syphon Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-07-12 and 2020-07-17. Illustrated by Seb McKinnon.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-07-12Core Set 2020M20 832015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon
22020-07-17JumpstartJMP 1992015NormalBlackSeb McKinnon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Agonizing Syphon has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Agonizing Syphon card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2019-07-12 If the chosen target becomes an illegal target for Agonizing Syphon, the spell won’t resolve. You won’t gain life.