Archangel's Light MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	8
Rarity	Mythic
Type	Sorcery
Released	2012-02-03
Set symbol
Set name	Dark Ascension
Set code	DKA
Number	1
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Volkan Baǵa

Key Takeaways

Archangel’s Light offers game-lengthening potential with considerable graveyard shuffling and life gain.
Its demand for eight mana emphasizes later game usage, potentially limiting early to mid-game impact.
A distinct niche in life-gain strategies, this card shines in long games with extensive graveyards.

Text of card

You gain 2 life for each card in your graveyard, then shuffle your graveyard into your library.

"This is the light of Avacyn. Even in her absence she offers us hope." —Radulf, priest of Avacyn

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Archangel’s Light allows you to shuffle all cards from your graveyard into your library, potentially creating significant card advantage, particularly in longer games where your graveyard has been generously stocked.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly impacting mana, returning numerous cards to your library with Archangel’s Light can be indirectly favorable for resource acceleration, as it enhances the likelihood of drawing into more lands and ramp spells through an increased library thickness.

Instant Speed: Despite Archangel’s Light being a sorcery, it offers a considerable restorative effect to your resources, matching the impact of many instant-speed spells. While it must be played on your turn, the vast amount of cards returned to your library sets you up for more robust future turns.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Archangel’s Light demands a precise combination of one white and seven colorless mana, which can be challenging for decks to generate, especially in the early to mid-game when establishing board control is crucial.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of eight mana, this card falls on the higher end of the spectrum, making it potentially unplayable until the later stages of the game. This can be problematic in a fast-paced match where more immediate answers are required.

Discard Requirement: While Archangel’s Light doesn’t require you to discard cards, its effect of shuffling your graveyard into your library only becomes significant if you’ve accumulated a sizeable graveyard, which may not always be the case depending on your deck’s strategy and pacing.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Archangel’s Light offers a unique effect in white by shuffling your graveyard into your library and gaining life for each card shuffled. This can be a valuable ability in decks that want to recycle their resources and maintain a high life total.

Combo Potential: With the right setup, this card can be a game-changer by interacting well with strategies focused on self-milling or life gain. It can serve as a late-game engine in decks that have a high density of cards ending up in the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy on graveyard strategies, Archangel’s Light can be a boon, not only disrupting opponents’ plans by reshuffling valuable graveyard cards but also fortifying your defenses with a substantial life boost.

How to Beat

Archangel’s Light offers a unique lifegain strategy in MTG, featuring a significant shuffle mechanic that can make it seem daunting on paper. With its ability to shuffle all cards from your graveyard into your library and gain 2 life for each card moved this way, it presents a clear challenge to mill and graveyard strategies that seek to diminish your deck or capitalize on discard effects.

To effectively counter Archangel’s Light, deploy exile effects to remove it from the game entirely, avoiding its activation trigger. Cards that specifically hinder life gain, such as Tainted Remedy or Erebos, God of the Dead, also serve as strong counters. Additionally, instant-speed graveyard disruption can prevent the card from achieving its maximum potential by limiting the number of cards available for a player to shuffle back in. Directly addressing the player’s life total with a fast, aggressive strategy may also undermine the longevity that Archangel’s Light aims to provide, turning the tides before the card can become a substantial threat.

Ultimately, applying carefully planned reactions and understanding the strategic timing of when to challenge or ignore Archangel’s Light determines its impact on the game. Prioritizing aggressiveness and employing complementary control elements ensures that the glimmer of Archangel’s Light doesn’t lead to your opponent’s victory.

Cards like Archangel's Light

Archangel’s Light stands out in the Magic: The Gathering card pool due to its unique life-gain twist. It shares similarities with cards like Renewed Faith and Elixir of Immortality. Renewed Faith allows players to gain a modest amount of life immediately or cycle it for a new card, offering flexibility. Elixir of Immortality, on the other hand, shuffles itself along with the graveyard back into the library and offers a small life boost. While both provide incremental life gains, neither compares to the high potential life gain that comes with Archangel’s Light, albeit at a much higher casting cost.

Another close relative is Boon Reflection, a card that doubles life gain. While Boon Reflection is an enchantment that can continually amplify lifegain effects as long as it remains on the battlefield, Archangel’s Light has the one-time potential to provide an enormous surge in life. This is especially true in longer games where graveyards are filled with plenty of cards. Boon Reflection may have a lower casting cost and an ongoing effect, but it is dependent on having other life gain sources, whereas Archangel’s Light is a powerhouse on its own.

Overall, Archangel’s Light has a unique place among life gain strategies in Magic: The Gathering, being a potent one-time effect that could be a game-changer in the right circumstances despite its high mana cost and rarity of application.

Elixir of Immortality - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Archangel's Light by color, type and mana cost

Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Archangel's Light MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension, 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 Archangel's Light and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Archangel's Light has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2011-01-22	Archangel’s Light isn’t put into the graveyard until after its instructions are followed. You won’t gain 2 life for it, and it won’t be shuffled into your library.
2011-01-22	If you have no cards in your graveyard, you won’t gain any life, but you’ll still shuffle your library.