Living Airship MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Metathran
Abilities	Flying
Released	2001-06-04
Set symbol
Set name	Apocalypse
Set code	APC
Power	2
Toughness	3
Number	28
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mark Tedin

Key Takeaways

Evasive capabilities make Living Airship a persistent threat by bypassing ground defenses.
Instant speed effects complement its defensive prowess, allowing surprise plays.
The requirement to discard a card can hinder hand advantage, a strategic consideration.

Text of card

Flying o G: Regenerate Living Airship.

The ship has a crew of three: the pilot, the gunner, and the ship itself.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Living Airship, players can capitalize on its evasive capabilities to maintain steady pressure on the opponent while avoiding common ground-based blockers, potentially leading to a sustainable upper hand in card presence on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: By taking advantage of the Airship’s potential synergies with card types like Auras or Equipments that boost its attributes, players can swing the resource exchange in their favor, making the most out of limited assets.

Instant Speed: As a creature that benefits from effects that can be played at instant speed, Living Airship becomes a formidable asset, allowing players to adapt reactively to the evolving state of the game, ensuring that they’re never caught without a response.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of the Living Airship lays in its cost structure which necessitates discarding a card. For players, this can mean an unwanted sacrifice of a potentially crucial piece of their hand, especially detrimental if they are already dealing with a limited number of options.

Specific Mana Cost: With its green and blue mana cost, the Living Airship is a card that requires a dedicated color commitment. This requirement can be constraining, limiting the card’s inclusion to only certain types of decks that can reliably produce both types of mana, potentially sidelining it in a metagame that favors more flexible mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Another consideration is the card’s mana value. In a game where tempo can be everything, the four mana required to play Living Airship may prove inefficient compared to other options. Cards providing similar or greater impact at a lower cost could potentially be a better choice, allowing for a more streamlined and effective deck strategy.

Reasons to Include Living Airship in Your Collection

Versatility: Living Airship offers a dynamic presence in decks that require aerial blockers or evasive creatures. Its evasion ability allows it to glide over ground-based defenses, making it a reliable damage dealer in varied archetypes.

Combo Potential: With the right synergies, this card can be the linchpin in a combo that emphasizes flying creatures or artifacts. Its capacity to avoid sorcery speed removal also pairs well with cards that grant hexproof or shroud, safeguarding key pieces of your strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where flying creatures rule the skies or where artifact interactions are pivotal, Living Airship can sail into the meta with ease. Its adaptability and resilience to certain types of removal can give you an upper hand against common threats.

How to Beat

Living Airship is a unique creature card that can make a noticeable impact on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. Its flying ability lets it soar over ground-based defenses, and the capacity to regenerate means it can be a persistent nuisance. These capabilities, combined with its moderate mana cost, make it an interesting challenge to tackle.

To effectively counter Living Airship, removal spells that don’t deal damage or need to target the creature can be quite effective. Think about utilizing cards that say “destroy target creature” or “exile target creature,” which can handle the regeneration ability of the Airship with ease. Board wipes are another efficient solution since they can clear the Airship along with other threats your opponent controls. Additionally, if you can make the Living Airship unable to block with cards that tap or cause creatures to lose abilities, you can minimize its defensive utility. When strategizing against it, keep these tools in mind and you’ll restrict your opponent’s advantages with their Living Airship.

In summary, overcoming Living Airship demands a thoughtful approach. Utilize direct destruction or exile methods, take advantage of global board clear spells, and deny its ability to block to diminish its influence in the game.

Cards like Living Airship

The Living Airship card floats into the realm of Magic: The Gathering as a unique creature with its abilities rooted in evasion. This card shares a kinship with other creatures that possess the flying ability, a trait allowing them to glide over ground-based defenders unimpeded. Cards like Snapping Drake follow suit, offering the same sky domination without additional effects or evasion mechanics.

Yet, Living Airship stands out with its defensive strength compared to its airborne peers. Aven Fisher, for instance, also flies but lacks the resilience that comes with Living Airship’s regenerate ability, which provides it with longevity in the game. Conversely, although the Spined Thopter offers a cheaper casting cost and the flying feature, its absence of the ability to avoid destruction places Living Airship in a uniquely advantageous position.

Evaluating Living Airship alongside similar cards spotlights a notable balance of offensive and defensive capabilities. It demonstrates a solid presence in MTG matches where evasion and durability of creatures can be key to prevailing over an opponent’s defenses.

Cards similar to Living Airship by color, type and mana cost

Adrix and Nev, Twincasters - MTG Card versions

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Ezuri, Claw of Progress - MTG Card versions

Rashmi, Eternities Crafter - MTG Card versions

Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle - MTG Card versions

Zegana, Utopian Speaker - MTG Card versions

Louvaq, the Aberrant - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Living Airship MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse, 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 Living Airship and other MTG cards: