Noble Purpose MTG Card

Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
1999-10-04 - Number 32

Eighth Edition (8ED)
2003-07-28 - Number 31★

Eighth Edition (8ED)
2003-07-28 - Number 31

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment

Key Takeaways

Noble Purpose provides life gain during combat, effectively using your life total as a strategic resource.
It supports synergies with life-gain triggers, enhancing combo potential and versatility in gameplay.
Despite its mana cost, Noble Purpose’s consistent health boost can be decisive in close matches.

Text of card

Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage, you gain that much life.

Fighting for the right reason is itself a source of strength.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Noble Purpose serves as a consistent source of life gain, potentially providing you with a steady health buffer. This can translate indirectly to card advantage, as it allows you to use your life total as a resource, trading hits while maintaining a comfortable lead.

Resource Acceleration: While Noble Purpose itself doesn’t produce additional mana or tokens, it can be seen as a facilitator for cards that benefit from life gain. This can accelerate your strategic plays, especially in decks that harness life totals for powerful effects or resource generation.

Instant Speed: Although Noble Purpose is an enchantment that you cast at sorcery speed, its effect is constant and operates at instant speed. Any combat on your or your opponent’s turn can result in life gain, making it responsive and flexible within the flow of the game. This essentially allows you to augment your health in real-time, reacting to the board state dynamically.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Noble Purpose doesn’t require a card to be discarded when played, the strategy it encourages can create similar disadvantages. A player may need to discard valuable cards due to hand size limits after accumulating many from lifegain-induced card draw or other effects.

Specific Mana Cost: Noble Purpose has a casting cost that includes white mana. For deck builders, this can restrict the card’s inclusion to decks that run white or have sufficient mana fixing to accommodate off-color spells.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three white mana and one colorless, Noble Purpose is competing with other four-mana spells that may provide more immediate impact on the game. Its comparative high cost requires a strategic build-around to maximize the value it can offer throughout the match.

Reasons to Include Noble Purpose in Your Collection

Versatility: Noble Purpose can be a dynamic addition to a variety of white decks, offering a strong life-gain mechanism that is beneficial in both aggressive and defensive strategies. Its ability to turn combat into a source of life is universally useful.

Combo Potential: With many creatures that have abilities triggering on gaining life, Noble Purpose sets the stage for impactful synergies and combos. This opens up opportunities for you to utilize life as a resource for powerful abilities or alternative win conditions.

Meta-Relevance: In a gamestate where combat is prevalent and damage is traded frequently, Noble Purpose shines by providing persistent life gain. This can make the difference in outlasting opponents by converting damage dealt into a personal advantage, thereby cementing its relevance in current and evolving metas.

How to Beat Noble Purpose

In the realm of enchantments within Magic: The Gathering, Noble Purpose stands out for its ability to turn the tide of battle by providing lifelink to all creatures you control. This trait can certainly bolster your resilience, making your creatures more formidable during combat. To effectively navigate against this card, consider utilizing enchantment removal spells such as Disenchant or Naturalize. These cards offer an inexpensive way to eliminate Noble Purpose from the battlefield, thereby neutralizing its life-gaining advantage.

Another strategy is to bypass combat altogether. Cards that deal direct damage or use “-X/-X” effects can effectively clear the board without triggering Noble Purpose’s lifelink ability. For example, a well-timed Toxic Deluge can sweep the board clean, erasing the lifelink benefit. Similarly, employing control elements like counterspells to prevent Noble Purpose from resolving in the first place can be a wise preemptive approach. Cards like Cancel or Counterspell are pivotal for such tactics, offering a straightforward solution to an opponent’s threats.

Tackling such enchantments requires a blend of foresight and timing. By keeping these considerations in mind, players can undermine the life-gaining benefits of Noble Purpose and maintain the upper hand in the duel.

Cards like Noble Purpose

Noble Purpose stands out in the realm of life gain enchantments within Magic: The Gathering. Like Sanguine Bond, it offers a unique way to capitalize on a fundamental aspect of the game. However, instead of converting life gain into damage like Sanguine Bond, Noble Purpose focuses on converting combat damage dealt by creatures you control into life for you. This direct conversion allows players to enhance their staying power while applying pressure on the battlefield.

Seeking parallels, we examine the card Righteous Cause. It triggers life gain every time a creature attacks, regardless of it deals combat damage or not. This provides more predictable life gain, albeit at a smaller scale per instance when compared with the potentially larger amounts Noble Purpose can yield from high-powered creatures. Alternatively, whipcorerer’s vigil also shares similarities by rewarding you with life but does so through tapping creatures as opposed to dealing damage, offering a different strategic approach.

Assessing these cards side by side, Noble Purpose might appeal to players who desire a more aggressive gameplay, leveraging their creatures’ combat prowess for substantial life gains. This card can increase your resilience as matches progress, establishing it as a credible choice in decks centered around life gain and combat synergy.

Cards similar to Noble Purpose by color, type and mana cost

Commander's Authority - MTG Card versions

Sigil of the Empty Throne - MTG Card versions

Rabble Rousing - Streets of New Capenna Promos (PSNC)

Commander's Authority - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Sigil of the Empty Throne - Commander Masters (CMM)

Knightly Valor - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)

Sphere of Safety - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Noble Purpose MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Eighth Edition, 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 Noble Purpose and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Noble Purpose Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2003-07-28. Illustrated by Kev Walker.

#	Release	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1999-10-04	Mercadian Masques	MMQ	32	1997	normal	black	Kev Walker
2	2003-07-28	Eighth Edition	8ED	31★	2003	normal	black	Kev Walker
3	2003-07-28	Eighth Edition	8ED	31	2003	normal	white	Kev Walker