Loxodon Lifechanter MTG Card


Loxodon Lifechanter - Core Set 2020
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Elephant Cleric
Released2019-07-12
Set symbol
Set nameCore Set 2020
Set codeM20
Power 4
Toughness 6
Number27
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byNicholas Gregory

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances life totals significantly when joining the fray, bolstering defensive and offensive strategies alike.
  2. Encourages early, creature-focused gameplay for a proactive approach to resource acceleration.
  3. Affords strategic depth by influencing timing decisions in spell casting and ability activations.

Text of card

When Loxodon Lifechanter enters the battlefield, you may have your life total become the total toughness of creatures you control. : Loxodon Lifechanter gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is your life total.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Loxodon Lifechanter brings a significant twist to card advantage for MTG players interested in boosting their life totals. Upon entering the battlefield, this hefty elephant can potentially increase your life points based on the total collective power of other creatures you control, turning a defensive position into an opportunity to consolidate your board and apply pressure.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly offering traditional mana acceleration, Loxodon Lifechanter’s skill set encourages a proactive creature-based strategy. By optimizing creature deployment early on, you effectively accelerate your resources—life points—which can be just as crucial as mana in longer, grindier matchups.

Instant Speed: Although Loxodon Lifechanter doesn’t operate at instant speed itself, its ability to alter life totals can affect decisions made at instant speed by both you and your opponent. It shifts the dynamic of when to cast spells or activate abilities, adding a layer of depth to the timing of your plays during each match.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Loxodon Lifechanter requires a dedicated amount of white mana, which can be restrictive for decks that are not mono-white or heavily favor white amongst their color identities.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana value of six, this elephantine creature comes with a substantial investment that might not always align with your game’s pace, potentially leaving you vulnerable to faster strategies.

Discard Requirement: Though not directly needing a discard, the Loxodon Lifechanter’s high mana cost can force players to make difficult decisions about what cards to keep in hand as the game progresses, possibly leading to unfavorable discards to stay on curve.


Reasons to Include Loxodon Lifechanter in Your Collection

Versatility: Loxodon Lifechanter brings not just a significant body to the battlefield but also flexibility in gameplay. It can act as a game-changer in life-gain decks or serve as a substantial blocker when facing aggressive strategies.

Combo Potential: Due to its life total-altering ability, it can synergize well with strategies emphasizing on lifegain triggers, offering potential for explosive turns that can swing the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: Given how creature-based strategies are common, having Loxodon Lifechanter can provide you an edge, especially in matches where gaining a large amount of life can make it difficult for your opponent to close out the game.


How to beat

The Loxodon Lifechanter is a unique creature card that can alter the landscape of a match in Magic: The Gathering. With its capability to increase a player’s life total based on the collective power of creatures they control, this card can potentially swing the game. However, there are strategies to counter this powerful elephant cleric.

Firstly, controlling the board with removal spells to keep opponents’ creature counts low limits the impact of the Loxodon Lifechanter’s ability. Efficient removal options like Doom Blade or Declaration in Stone can keep the creature board manageable. Additionally, countering the Lifechanter itself with spells like Negate prevents it from ever entering the battlefield and altering your opponent’s life total.

Lastly, maintaining pressure and keeping your opponent’s life total within range for a quick knockout is key. Aggressive strategies and direct damage spells like Lightning Bolt or Shock can help bypass the potential life gain from the Loxodon Lifechanter.

It is essential to keep these tactics in mind when facing this MTG card to prevent your opponent from gaining a substantial advantage and ultimately, securing your victory against the Loxodon Lifechanter.


Understanding Loxodon Lifechanter

Loxodon Lifechanter stands out among creatures in Magic: The Gathering for its unique ability set. When looking at similar cards, Trostani’s Judgment can be considered, as it provides lifegain – a characteristic common for white creatures in the Loxodon’s mold. However, Loxodon Lifechanter’s distinct impact comes from both life total manipulation and its significant toughness boost, setting it apart from Trostani’s reserved functionality.

Cards like Loxodon Lifechanter

When exploring cards that resonate with Loxodon Lifechanter’s potential, Ajani’s Pridemate surfaces due to its ability to grow as life is gained, just like the buff Loxodon Lifechanter receives. Ajani’s Pridemate, however, misses the momentous end-game effect that the Lifechanter offers. Moving to another comparison, we have Wall of Reverence, which offers consistent life gain each turn but lacks the Loxodon’s capacity to swell in power or alter one’s life total as dramatically. Rozidine, Grand Warlord possesses the lifelink capability and a similar mana cost but doesn’t impact the board and life totals in the commanding way the Lifechanter does upon entering the battlefield.

Through this lens, Loxodon Lifechanter is a jewel with its dual role as both a lifeline and an imposing presence, making it a strategic pick for decks looking to pivot or fortify in the late game. Its ability to change the course of a match with a single play sets it high on the list of impactful white creature spells.

Trostani's Judgment - MTG Card versions
Ajani's Pridemate - MTG Card versions
Wall of Reverence - MTG Card versions
Trostani's Judgment - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Ajani's Pridemate - Magic 2011 (M11)
Wall of Reverence - Conflux (CON)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Loxodon Lifechanter MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2020, 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 Loxodon Lifechanter and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Loxodon Lifechanter has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Loxodon Lifechanter 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 For your life total to become a certain number, you gain or lose the corresponding amount of life. For example, if your life total is 4 when the ability resolves and your creatures have a total of 6 toughness, the ability will cause you to gain 2 life; alternatively, if your life total is 10 when the ability resolves, it will cause you to lose 4 life if you choose to change your life total. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly.
2019-07-12 If you set your life total to become equal to the toughness of creatures you control, this happens once. If the toughness of your creatures changes later, it won’t affect your life total.
2019-07-12 The value of X is determined only as Loxodon Lifechanter’s last ability begins to resolve. It won’t change later in the turn if your life total changes.
2019-07-12 You can activate Loxodon Lifechanter’s last ability after it has entered the battlefield but before its first ability has resolved.
2019-07-12 You choose whether to change your life total and, if you choose to do so, you set your life total to the appropriate number while Loxodon Lifechanter’s triggered ability is resolving. No player may take any actions between the time you choose to set your life total and the time your life total changes.

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