Gaea's Liege MTG Card
1993-08-05 - Number 196
1993-10-04 - Number 197
1993-12-01 - Number 197
1993-12-10 - Number 197
1993-12-10 - Number 197
1994-04-01 - Number 198
1994-04-01 - Number 198
1994-06-21 - Number 198
1995-04-01 - Number 247
1995-04-01 - Number 247
2006-10-06 - Number 78
2022-11-28 - Number 192
2022-11-28 - Number 489
2024-01-01 - Number 5
| Card sets | Released in 14 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Avatar |
| Power | * |
| Toughness | * |
Text of card
When defending, Gaea's Liege has power and toughness equal to the number of forests you have in play; when it's attacking, they are equal to the number of forests opponent has in play. Tap to turn any one land into a forest until Gaea's Liege leaves play. Mark changed lands with counters, removing the counters when Gaea's Liege leaves play.
Cards like Gaea's Liege
Gaea’s Liege is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering, sharing traits with a select group of green cards that manipulate lands. Comparable to the liege is the classic card Verdant Touch, which also has the ability to transform noncreature lands into creatures temporarily. Where Gaea’s Liege stands out is in its ongoing effect, changing lands into creatures as long as it remains on the battlefield, and its ability to replace enemy lands with forests, disrupting their mana base.
Another similar option is Ambush Commander. Like Gaea’s Liege, it animates lands into creatures. However, Ambush Commander does so for all your forests at once, creating an army on the fly, whereas Gaea’s Liege focuses on one land at a time with a more strategic touch. Lastly, we see the resemblance with Living Lands. While Living Lands turns all forests into 1/1 creatures permanently, it’s a global enchantment affecting both players, unlike the control and targeting precision offered by Gaea’s Liege.
Overall, Gaea’s Liege has a unique niche in Magic: The Gathering, combining land animation with tactical land conversion, making it a card with distinct abilities in land-focused decks.
Cards similar to Gaea's Liege by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Gaea’s Liege provides unique utility in manipulating the battlefield. With its ability to potentially turn an opponent’s lands into forests, it can create strategic advantages that interrupt their mana base, while potentially strengthening your own position if you’re running a forest-dependent deck.
Resource Acceleration: The liege shines in decks focused on land-centric strategies, assisting in resource acceleration by transforming your lands into creatures with tap for green mana, potentially boosting the number of mana you have available each turn.
Instant Speed: Although not at instant speed, Gaea’s Liege’s tactical land conversion can be activated during your turn whenever you can pay its cost. This ensures you maintain the element of surprise, adjusting the landscape of the game at crucial moments to benefit your long-term strategy.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Gaea’s Liege offers a unique ability to transform lands, it requires you to sacrifice the forest lands you control to maintain its presence on the battlefield. This can be counterproductive if you’re relying on those lands for mana production.
Specific Mana Cost: Gaea’s Liege demands a significant amount of green mana to cast, with its cost being entirely in green. This specificity can be restrictive and difficult to fulfill in multicolored decks, potentially limiting its inclusion only to mono-green decks or those with heavy green mana bases.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of six, Gaea’s Liege is on the higher end of the mana curve. In many scenarios, by the time you have the mana to play it, opponents may have already established a formidable board presence, or you could have used your mana to cast spells with immediate impact.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Gaea’s Liege has a unique ability to transform lands into Forests, making it a flexible fit for decks that manipulate land types or benefit from having an abundance of a single land type.
Combo Potential: This card’s land conversion ability pairs well with landfall mechanics and Forest synergies, opening opportunities for creative and powerful combinations within green decks or multi-colored builds that leverage the power of nature.
Meta-Relevance: As the MTG landscape continually evolves, Gaea’s Liege can be a strategic inclusion against decks that heavily rely on non-Forest lands, disrupting opponents’ mana bases and tilting the match in your favor.
How to beat
Gaea’s Liege brings a unique aspect to the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering, remarkably transforming lands into Forests. As such, one of the key strategies to overcome this card is disrupting its ability to alter land types. Utilize removal spells that can target either creatures or lands, such as Terminate or Field of Ruin, which can eliminate the Liege or reset the lands to their original state.
Another effective method includes countering the Liege directly with counterspells. When the Liege is on the stack, spells like Negate or Essence Scatter can prevent it from ever affecting the game. Should Gaea’s Liege already be in play, keeping the board presence under control with area-of-effect spells like Wrath of God prevents it from capitalizing on its power to tamper with lands.
Ultimately, the capacity to adapt your strategy against creatures like Gaea’s Liege is crucial. Maintain awareness of the types of removal and counterspells at your disposal, and align them with your playstyle to ensure you have responses ready. With careful planning and a diverse suite of answers, you can ensure the Liege’s impact on the game is minimal.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Gaea's Liege MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Gaea's Liege and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Gaea's Liege Magic the Gathering card was released in 13 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2024-01-01. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1993-08-05 | Limited Edition Alpha | LEA | 196 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 2 | 1993-10-04 | Limited Edition Beta | LEB | 197 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 3 | 1993-12-01 | Unlimited Edition | 2ED | 197 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dameon Willich | |
| 4 | 1993-12-10 | Collectors' Edition | CED | 197 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 5 | 1993-12-10 | Intl. Collectors' Edition | CEI | 197 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 6 | 1994-04-01 | Revised Edition | 3ED | 198 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dameon Willich | |
| 7 | 1994-04-01 | Foreign Black Border | FBB | 198 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 8 | 1994-06-21 | Summer Magic / Edgar | SUM | 198 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dameon Willich | |
| 9 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition | 4ED | 247 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dameon Willich | |
| 10 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border | 4BB | 247 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 11 | 2006-10-06 | Time Spiral Timeshifted | TSB | 78 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 12 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 192 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 13 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 489 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Dameon Willich | |
| 14 | 2024-01-01 | Wizards Play Network 2024 | PW24 | 5 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Jodie Muir |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Gaea's Liege has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Gaea's Liege card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | When being declared as an attacker, use the “not attacking” power and toughness. It only changes after declaration is complete. |
| 2006-09-25 | The activated ability doesn’t affect whether the land is basic or not. It overwrites any other land types. Being a Forest gives the affected land the ability “: Add .” |
| 2006-10-15 | Will not add or remove the supertype snow to or from a land. |