Aspect of Lamprey MTG Card

Forcing opponents to discard upon enchanting boosts card advantage and can tilt resource balance in your favor. Strategic post-combat play dodges instant speed removals, enhancing Aspect of Lamprey’s in-game tactical utility. Necessitating creature sacrifice for attachment, Aspect of Lamprey fits specifically in decks that benefit from such interactions.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2020-01-24
Set symbol
Set name	Theros Beyond Death
Set code	THB
Number	85
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Deruchenko Alexander

Text of card

Enchant creature you control When Aspect of Lamprey enters the battlefield, target opponent discards two cards. Enchanted creature has lifelink.

"Some aspire to be mighty like the lion or the hydra. I am the parasite that feeds on them all."

Cards like Aspect of Lamprey

Aspect of Lamprey, a connection to the darker side of enchantments in MTG, carries its own weight in comparison to similar cards. Similar to cards like Dead Weight and Mire’s Grasp, it attaches to a creature and serves to weaken it. What makes Aspect of Lamprey stand out is the added benefit of forcing an opponent to discard two cards when it enters the battlefield, blending the aura’s debilitating effect with an immediate disruption in your adversary’s hand.

Another enchantment, Kaya’s Ghostform, also provides an interesting impact at a similar low-cost investment but with a different strategy, focusing on protecting your creatures or planeswalkers from death or exile. While it doesn’t reduce the opponent’s resources directly, it ensures that you maintain board presence. In capturing the essence of black mana’s themes of sacrifice and resource manipulation, Aspect of Lamprey excels by offering a two-fold advantage and could certainly be considered an intriguing option for players looking to combine creature control with discard mechanics.

In evaluating the impact and strategies, Aspect of Lamprey merits its place in decks focused on attritional control, offering both creature debilitation and hand disruption, a duality that can shift the momentum in your favor.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When you enchant a creature with Aspect of Lamprey, it forces your opponent to discard two cards, which helps you whittle down their resources while you maintain your hand.

Resource Acceleration: While Aspect of Lamprey doesn’t directly accelerate your mana resources, by depleting your opponent’s hand, you effectively slow them down, giving you a potential speed advantage in the longer term.

Instant Speed: Though Aspect of Lamprey is an aura at enchantment speed, it still offers tactical versatility. You can strategically play it post-combat to avoid preemptive removal spells your opponent could have been holding up at instant speed.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Diving into the depths of Aspect of Lamprey’s functions reveals a significant hurdle; as an enchantment aura, it necessitates the sacrifice of another creature upon attachment. This can strain your tactical reserves, especially if your side of the battlefield is lacking in expendable minions.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Aspect of Lamprey requires a precise concoction of mana—specifically, two black. This stringent requirement may tether it solely to decks swimming in swamps, potentially limiting its versatility across the diverse ocean of Magic.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For four mana, some players might expect a leviathan-sized impact on the game. However, Aspect of Lamprey’s splash, while significant, may not create the tidal wave needed when compared to other cards of similar or lesser mana demands. With its entrance pacing at four mana, two of which must be black, deckbuilders are often left weighing its control benefits against its cumbersome summoning costs.

Reasons to Include Aspect of Lamprey in Your Collection

Versatility: Aspect of Lamprey is a flexible enchantment that suits various black decks focused on control and resource denial. Its ability to attach to any creature turns it into a potential threat or a protective shield for your key creatures, serving a dual purpose in both offensive and defensive strategies.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with sacrifice and discard mechanics, easily fitting into decks that capitalize on your opponent’s disadvantages. When paired with creatures that have beneficial effects upon dying or when consuming an opponent’s hand, Aspect of Lamprey can become part of a powerful combo that disrupts your opponent’s game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are dominant, the lifelink and discard effects of Aspect of Lamprey can give you the upper hand. It forces opponents to make difficult decisions and can swing the momentum of the game in your favor, breathing life into black control decks that thrive on disrupting the rhythm of the match.

How to beat Aspect of Lamprey

Aspect of Lamprey is an aura card in MTG that attaches to a creature and grants it an ability to force an opponent to discard two cards while also bestowing lifelink, a trait that turns damage into a source of healing for the player. This threatening card from the Theros: Beyond Death set can be a real nuisance if it’s not handled effectively within the game.

Overcoming such a card involves smart play and a good understanding of enchantment removal options. One straightforward strategy is to keep instant-speed removal at the ready. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant, which can destroy enchantments or artifacts with a low mana cost, allow players to respond to Aspect of Lamprey before it becomes a problem. Alternatively, sacrificing creatures that are targets of powerful auras before they take effect is a viable tactic. Moreover, having robust hand size management can also buffer against the discarding effect that Aspect of Lamprey enforces.

Tackling Aspect of Lamprey efficiently comes down to pre-planning and maintaining versatility in your deck to counter potentially game-altering enchantments. By prioritizing enchantment management and strategic creature control, you can negate the effects of this pesky aura and keep your hand intact.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Aspect of Lamprey MTG card by a specific set like Theros Beyond Death, 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 Aspect of Lamprey and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Aspect of Lamprey has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-01-24	If the creature Aspect of Lamprey would enchant is an illegal target by the time the Aura spell resolves, the entire spell doesn’t resolve. It won’t enter the battlefield, so its ability won’t trigger.
2020-01-24	Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.