Sovereign's Bite MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2018-07-13
Set symbol
Set name	Core Set 2019
Set code	M19
Number	120
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Volkan Baǵa

Key Takeaways

Enhances life resource strategies, crucial for aggressive plays and leveraging life-dependent effects earlier.
Instant speed offers strategic flexibility, maximizing turn efficiency and preserving mana for reactive options.
Restrictive mana cost can limit deck versatility and compete with black spells offering more utility.

Text of card

Target player loses 3 life and you gain 3 life.

"You have given all to your kingdom, dear knight. Serenity shall be your prize." —Queen Lian

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sovereign’s Bite is a unique card that serves as life point manipulation, contributing to card advantage by effectively causing a six-point life swing in your favor. This is not card advantage in a literal sense, but strategically, the life point disparity can be as useful as having an extra card.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t provide mana acceleration in the classical sense, the life gain from Sovereign’s Bite can be crucial for strategies that depend on life as a resource. This advantage facilitates aggressive plays and leverages life-dependent spells or abilities sooner than expected.

Instant Speed: The real strength of this card lies in its instant speed, allowing players to keep mana untapped for reactive plays. You can comfortably pass the turn and only cast Sovereign’s Bite if you don’t need to use your mana for a counterspell or removal, thereby maximizing your options and efficiency on both your and your opponent’s turn.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Sovereign’s Bite requires a precise combination of one black mana alongside two generic mana, which can restrict deck-building options and might not seamlessly fit into multicolored decks that are not heavily black.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing three mana might appear moderate, in a fast-paced game, it competes with other impactful black spells at the same mana spot that could offer more versatility or greater long-term advantages.

Discard Requirement: While Sovereign’s Bite itself does not have a discard requirement, it is worth noting that its slot in a deck could be contested by other black cards with potential discard synergy, which might be a better strategic fit depending on your deck’s design.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sovereign’s Bite is a flexible card that can be a useful addition to black decks seeking direct life point impact. Its simple casting cost and immediate effect make it an excellent option for various strategies.

Combo Potential: For decks focusing on life manipulation, Sovereign’s Bite can be a synergistic inclusion. Leveraging both life gain and opponent life loss, it works well with cards that trigger off either condition.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where aggressive strategies and quick life swings are crucial, Sovereign’s Bite can be a game-changer. It bolsters life totals while bringing opponents within reach of a swift defeat.

How to beat

Sovereign’s Bite is a spell card with a distinct ability that allows it to simultaneously deal damage to an opponent while giving you a lifeline in tight matches. It presents a straightforward aggressive strategy, especially for those wielding a black deck in MTG nicknamed after their life-draining mechanics, mono-black aggro or drain-and-gain. Sovereign’s Bite shines by causing a life points swing in your favor.

When facing this card, there are several strategies players can adopt. Consider using lifegain prevention spells or abilities that negate its impact, such as Tocatli Honor Guard or Tibalt, Rakish Instigator. Counterspells are also an effective way to stop Sovereign’s Bite before it does any harm, while proactive lifegain of your own can offset the hit to your health. Additionally, playing cards that provide you with hexproof, like Shalai, Voice of Plenty, ensures that Sovereign’s Bite cannot target you directly, effectively making it a dead card in your opponent’s hand.

Ultimately, countering the life swing induced by Sovereign’s Bite is about outpacing your opponent’s damage output or rendering their spells ineffective against you. By integrating these countermeasures into your game plan, Sovereign’s Bite can be overcome, reducing its potential to tip the scales of the match.

Cards like Sovereign's Bite

Sovereign’s Bite is an interesting spell in MTG, offering both life loss to your opponent and life gain to you, similar to the effect of a Vampiric Touch. What sets Sovereign’s Bite apart is its straight forwardness and the fact it doesn’t require targeting a creature. Cards like Essence Extraction also blend damage and healing, targeting a creature and costing one additional mana but these are at instant speed and deal 3 damage instead.

Another card to compare is Alms of the Vein, which, like Sovereign’s Bite, causes your opponent to lose 3 life and you gain 3 life. However, Alms of the Vein has the added bonus of madness, potentially reducing its casting cost under the right circumstances. Conversely, Exquisite Blood offers a similar life-swapping mechanic but as an enchantment, it provides a recurring benefit throughout the game. It’s a higher investment at five mana, but the pay-off can be continuous, contrasting with Sovereign’s Bite’s one-time effect.

All in all, while several cards offer the dual benefit of draining opponent resources and bolstering your own, Sovereign’s Bite stands out due to its low cost and simplicity, making it a reliable and efficient choice in many MTG strategies.

Cards similar to Sovereign's Bite by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sovereign's Bite MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2019, 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 Sovereign's Bite and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sovereign's Bite 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