Angel of Vitality MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Angel
Abilities Flying
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances life gain, boosting the value of related cards and strategies within the game.
  2. Acts as resource acceleration, supporting high health-dependent spells without extra mana.
  3. Instant-speed interactions increase its utility, providing strategic advantages over opponents.

Text of card

Flying If you would gain life, you gain that much life plus 1 instead. Angel of Vitality gets +2/+2 as long as you have 25 or more life.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Angel of Vitality doesn’t draw cards directly, its ability to amplify life gain can lead to substantial card advantage when paired with effects that trigger on gaining life, ensuring you get more value from your life-gaining cards.

Resource Acceleration: Not only does Angel of Vitality enhance your health total, but bolstering your life points can also be viewed as a form of resource acceleration. It supports strategies that hinge on having a high life total to deploy potent spells like “Resplendent Angel,” which can further your board presence without expending additional mana.

Instant Speed: Even though Angel of Vitality itself is a creature and not an instant, it benefits greatly from instant-speed interaction. Cards that allow you to gain life during an opponent’s turn increase the angel’s utility, giving you a buffer against threats and potentially growing it beyond the reach of common removal spells.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Angel of Vitality doesn’t have a discard requirement per se, but it does require maintaining a higher life total to get the most out of its abilities, which can often result in holding back cards for life gain rather than developing your board or other strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: The Angel of Vitality requires one white mana plus two colorless to cast. While its casting cost is not prohibitive for multicolored decks, the requirement for white mana can restrict it primarily to mono-white or white-centric strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Angel of Vitality’s 2/2 body may be underwhelming without its associated life gain benefits. In environments where aggressive play is common, players might opt for lower-cost creatures that affect the board immediately upon entry.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Angel of Vitality can be a dynamic addition across various White-focused decks—providing an extra layer of life gain and buffing itself beyond the typical 3-mana creature stats as your health total rises.

Combo Potential: This celestial being synergizes seamlessly with cards and mechanics that reward health increases, potentially rendering this card a staple in decks oriented around life gain strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where aggressive strategies can dominate, Angel of Vitality offers a robust defensive option that not only aids in surviving early onslaughts but also turns your health into a resource for further stabilization and control.


How to beat

The Angel of Vitality is a cherished creature in Magic: The Gathering, soaring in decks aimed at lifegain strategies. This flying celestial being not only bolsters your life total but also grows stronger as your health climbs above the starting point. Yet, as with all cards, there are strategies to overcome this winged wonder.

Counterplay involves halting the lifegain synergy or removing the angel before it can become a larger threat. Targeted removal spells like Murder or Doom Blade can dispatch the angel efficiently, while countermagic ensures it never enters the battlefield. Edict effects that force the opponent to sacrifice a creature also sidestep the potential of hexproof or indestructible qualities. Additionally, board wipes clear the air no matter how many winged allies are present.

Having an answer for Angel of Vitality is essential in game formats where lifegain decks are prevalent. While a sturdy defense is its hallmark, this angel is not invulnerable. With the right spells in hand, even the most potent beings of light can be brought back down to earth.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the nuances of MTG strategy and discover how Angel of Vitality can serve as the cornerstone of your lifegain-focused deck. Not only does it offer enhanced resilience against aggressive decks, but it also lays the groundwork for potent combos and a more formidable board state. Whether you’re looking to expand your collection with meta-relevant cards or fine-tune your current deck, Angel of Vitality is a card worth considering. Elevate your understanding and unlock the full potential of this celestial ally as you refine your strategy for the next battle. Ready to advance your play? Explore further with us and ensure your deck shines with celestial strength.


Cards like Angel of Vitality

Angel of Vitality stands out in the pantheon of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering life gain decks. With a close comparison to cards like Ajani’s Pridemate, which gains +1/+1 counters as life is gained, Angel of Vitality offers a static boost to health recovery actions. When your life total is 25 or greater, it doesn’t just grow in power; it also increases the amount of life you gain—an advantage over the Pridemate’s singular growth strategy.

Looking at other similar options such as Healer’s Hawk, this small creature carries lifelink but Angel of Vitality amplifies the effect by enhancing life gain, not just offering it. Then, there’s Resplendent Angel, which benefits from the additional life gained by potentially creating 4/4 Angel tokens. While Resplendent Angel sets a higher bar for life gain to get its bonus, Angel of Vitality makes reaching that easier, thereby synergizing with other life-centric MTG strategies.

To sum up, in decks where nurturing your lifeline is critical, Angel of Vitality not only serves as a guardian but also empowers your entire board state, enriching your strategy with consistent life-enhancing bonuses.

Ajani's Pridemate - MTG Card versions
Healer's Hawk - MTG Card versions
Resplendent Angel - MTG Card versions
Ajani's Pridemate - Magic 2011 (M11)
Healer's Hawk - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Resplendent Angel - Core Set 2019 (M19)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Angel of Vitality MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2020 and Arena Beginner Set, 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 of Vitality and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Angel of Vitality Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2019-07-12 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by Johannes Voss.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-07-12Core Set 2020M20 42015normalblackJohannes Voss
22020-08-13Arena Beginner SetANB 12015normalblackJohannes Voss
32020-09-26The ListPLST M20-42015normalblackJohannes Voss
42024-02-23Ravnica: Clue EditionCLU 532015normalblackJohannes Voss

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Angel of Vitality has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-07-12 Because damage remains marked on a creature until it’s removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to Angel of Vitality may become lethal if your life total drops below 25 during that turn.
2019-07-12 Each creature with lifelink dealing combat damage causes a separate life-gaining event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, Angel of Vitality’s second ability will apply twice. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will apply only once.
2019-07-12 If Angel of Vitality is dealt damage and your life total is increased above 25 before state-based actions are performed (most likely because Angel of Vitality is dealt combat damage at the same time that a creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage), Angel of Vitality’s last ability applies before checking whether it’s destroyed for having lethal damage marked on it.
2019-07-12 If you control two Angels of Vitality and you would gain life, you gain that much life plus 2. A third Angel of Vitality has you gain that much life plus 3, and so on.
2019-07-12 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Angel of Vitality’s last ability applies as long as your team’s life total is 25 or more.
2019-07-12 In a Two-Headed Giant game, life gained by your teammate won’t cause Angel of Vitality’s second ability to apply, even though it will cause your team’s life total to increase.
2019-07-12 In multiplayer formats where your life total doesn’t start at 20, Angel of Vitality’s last ability still applies if your life total is 25 or more.
2019-07-12 The middle ability of Angel of Vitality applies just once to each life-gaining event, whether it’s 1 life from Impassioned Orator or 4 life from Dawning Angel. If you gain an amount of life “for each” of something or “equal to the number” of something, that life is gained as one event and the ability of Angel of Vitality applies only once.

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