Angel's Feather MTG Card


Gains life with white spells cast, enhancing deck longevity and synergizing with lifegain rewards. Limited to white mana strategies, it can restrict deck diversity and overall utility. Consistent life-gaining ability is valuable, especially against aggressive red deck strategies.
Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact

Text of card

Whenever a player plays a white spell, you may gain 1 life.

If taken, it cuts the hand that clutches it. If given, it heals the hand that holds it.


Cards like Angel's Feather

Angel’s Feather is a unique artifact in Magic: The Gathering that serves a specific function in gaining life. This card shares similarities with other artifacts in the game, such as Dragon’s Claw or Kraken’s Eye, which correspond to different mana colors but offer the same life-gain per spell cast. Angel’s Feather stands out in decks focusing on white spells, providing consistent incremental life gains that can shift the balance in prolonged matches.

Comparatively, we look at Sun Droplet, another card that offers life gain but operates on a different mechanism, restoring life during the upkeep phase based on damage taken in previous turns. While Angel’s Feather focuses on spell casting, Sun Droplet provides more of a safety net for damage control. For those who opt for immediate and guaranteed health recovery regardless of spell colors, Pristine Talisman is also a noteworthy alternative, delivering life with each activation alongside mana acceleration.

Within the spectrum of life-gain artifacts, Angel’s Feather has a reliable niche, especially in mono-white or white-heavy decks. Its ability to potentially trigger multiple times per turn based on spell casting activity makes it a subtle but valuable asset for players aiming to outlast their opponents.

Dragon's Claw - MTG Card versions
Kraken's Eye - MTG Card versions
Sun Droplet - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Dragon's Claw - MTG Card versions
Kraken's Eye - MTG Card versions
Sun Droplet - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Angel's Feather by color, type and mana cost

Chaos Orb - MTG Card versions
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Wurm's Tooth - MTG Card versions
Liquimetal Coating - MTG Card versions
Perilous Myr - MTG Card versions
Chaos Orb - MTG Card versions
Winter Orb - MTG Card versions
Amulet of Kroog - MTG Card versions
Nacre Talisman - MTG Card versions
Howling Mine - MTG Card versions
Essence Bottle - MTG Card versions
Emerald Medallion - MTG Card versions
Scrying Glass - MTG Card versions
Cursed Totem - MTG Card versions
Tsabo's Web - MTG Card versions
Millikin - MTG Card versions
Ark of Blight - MTG Card versions
Surestrike Trident - MTG Card versions
Energy Chamber - MTG Card versions
Water Gun Balloon Game - MTG Card versions
Demon's Horn - MTG Card versions
Steel Overseer - MTG Card versions
Wurm's Tooth - MTG Card versions
Liquimetal Coating - MTG Card versions
Perilous Myr - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Enhances your deck’s longevity and resource access by gaining life whenever a white spell is cast. This synergizes well with cards that reward you for gaining life by drawing cards or creating tokens.

Resource Acceleration: By steadily boosting your life total, Angel’s Feather can effectively increase your resources. This in turn can make strategies focused on life thresholds more consistent, thus allowing you to deploy your big threats or activated abilities ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: While Angel’s Feather itself is not an instant, it reacts to instant speed spells that you or your opponents cast. This means interactions that take place during your opponent’s turn can still benefit you, adding strategic depth and passive value round the clock.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Angel’s Feather requires a focus on white spells within your deck to maximize its potential, which might lead to a less diversified game plan and could necessitate discarding other color cards that don’t align with the strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Angel’s Feather has a colorless mana cost but synergizes mainly with white spells, limiting its effectiveness in multicolored or colorless decks that might not cast enough white spells to benefit from its ability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the initial mana investment to cast Angel’s Feather is low, the need to consistently play white spells to gain life can lead to a high overall mana cost for minimal gain, especially when compared to more direct life gain cards or other utility artifacts.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Angel’s Feather can be a useful addition to any lifegain strategy and sits comfortably in both casual and Commander decks. Its ability to gain life whenever you cast a white spell allows it to blend seamlessly into mono-white or multicolor decks that utilize a splash of white spells.

Combo Potential: This artifact has synergy with cards that thrive on lifegain triggers, enabling various combos and interactions. For example, pairing it with cards like ‘Ajani’s Pridemate’ creates an escalating threat as you acquire more life.

Meta-Relevance: With a format that periodically sees spellslinger or aggressive red decks ascend in popularity, having a consistent life-gaining mechanism helps to counteract these strategies. Angel’s Feather offers that steady source of life, making it a practical choice for sideboards or main decks aiming to outlast their opponents.


How to beat

Angel’s Feather is an artifact known for its life-gaining advantage in Magic: The Gathering, particularly for players casting white spells. This incremental life boost can seem minor at first but potentially game-altering over time. To effectively overcome the endurance this card provides, direct damage spells that can deal with opponents quickly become crucial. Cards like Lightning Bolt allow you to win through damage before the life gain becomes insurmountable.

Moreover, strategies that offer consistent pressure and can push through defensive lines, such as aggressive red or black creature decks, can mitigate the impact of the life gained from Angel’s Feather. Another tactic is to focus on limiting the ability of your opponent to cast spells altogether, using counterspells or discard mechanics, thus nullifying Angel’s Feather’s capability. Always remember that enchantment removal spells like Disenchant or artifact removal like Naturalize also offer straightforward solutions by directly dealing with the artifact itself.

Angel’s Feather requires a proactive approach to prevent advantage accumulation. A blend of decisive strikes and prudent control of the game state ensures that the additional life totals granted by Angel’s Feather do not determine the match’s outcome.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Angel's Feather MTG card by a specific set like Darksteel and Ninth Edition, 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 Angel's Feather and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Angel's Feather Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2004-02-06 and 2014-12-05. Illustrated by Alan Pollack.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12004-02-06DarksteelDST 922003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
22005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 287★2003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
32005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 2872003NormalWhiteAlan Pollack
42007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 3112003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
52009-04-10Duel Decks: Divine vs. DemonicDDC 232003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
62009-07-17Magic 2010M10 2062003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
72010-07-16Magic 2011M11 2012003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
82011-07-15Magic 2012M12 2022003NormalBlackAlan Pollack
92014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. DemonicDVD 232015NormalBlackAlan Pollack

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Angel's Feather has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2009-10-01 If a player casts a white spell, Angel’s Feather’s ability triggers and is put on the stack on top of that spell. Angel’s Feather’s ability will resolve (causing you to gain 1 life) before the spell does.
2009-10-01 The ability triggers whenever any player, not just you, casts a white spell.