Underrealm Lich MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Zombie Elf Shaman
Power 4
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Gives card selection each turn, significantly improving draw quality in your MTG game.
  2. Restricts deck versatility with specific mana requirements, catering mostly to golgari decks.
  3. Remains relevant in various MTG metagames due to its robust card advantage abilities.

Text of card

If you would draw a card, instead look at the top three cards of your library, then put one into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. Pay 4 life: Underrealm Lich gains indestructible until end of turn. Tap it.

"You've strayed, overworlder."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Empowers you with the power to peek at the top three cards of your library and then put one into your hand each turn, effectively filtering your draws and ensuring you get the spells and lands you need when you need them.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, it synergistically works with graveyard-based strategies, allowing for a rapid fill-up that can be exploited by various graveyard-to-play mechanics or threshold effects, accelerating your access to resources.

Instant Speed: Underrealm Lich doesn’t have instant speed itself, but it significantly boosts your ability to make informed decisions at instant speed by improving the quality of cards in your hand, enabling better reactions to opponents’ moves during their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players often find the discard choice that Underrealm Lich presents after a draw to be a double-edged sword. While selection is a benefit, repeated mandatory discarding can deplete your hand, impacting your long game strategies and leaving you vulnerable to hand disruption tactics.

Specific Mana Cost: Underrealm Lich requires a precise blend of mana to cast: three generic, one black, and one green. This specific requirement binds it to golgari decks or those that can reliably produce both colors, potentially restricting its versatility across a broader range of deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The five-manacost to deploy Underrealm Lich is considerable, and though it comes with an intriguing ability set, its impact on the board needs to be weighed against other options in the mana curve. For some decks, there may be less costly creatures or spells that advance your board state more efficiently without the need for setting up the right colors.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Underrealm Lich provides a powerful option for decks that focus on graveyard strategies or those seeking superior card selection. Its ability to deliver consistent card advantage each turn makes it a formidable choice across various deck types.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with strategies that capitalize on filling the graveyard. Additionally, it can be a key piece in combos, particularly with cards that allow you to pay life instead of drawing, effectively granting you an indestructible library.

Meta-Relevance: As games often pivot around card advantage and quality, Underrealm Lich maintains relevance in numerous metagames. It excels particularly in environments where longer, grindy matches dominate, ensuring you always have access to the best cards of your deck while fueling other graveyard-based tactics.


How to beat

Underrealm Lich presents a unique challenge to players in Magic: The Gathering with its ability to provide significant card advantage and graveyard manipulation. To effectively face this powerful adversary, it’s crucial to anticipate and disrupt its abilities. Cards with exile effects can be an excellent strategy, preventing the Lich from returning to the battlefield through various recursion tactics. Additionally, utilizing instant-speed removal can be key as it allows you to respond to the Lich’s self-replacement effect, keeping your opponent on the defensive and preserving your momentum.

Controlling the pace of the game is also important. Leveraging counterspells before the Lich hits the board can save you from having to deal with its persistent presence. Furthermore, cards that impose hand restrictions or force the opponent to draw can disrupt the Lich’s advantage, as the creature allows selection but not additional draw. Consider this when forming your strategy against a deck that features the Underrealm Lich, and you’ll improve your chances of coming out on top.

Mastering the nuances of these tactics will help players navigate the complexities of defeating the Underrealm Lich, ensuring a robust defense against this formidable component of your opponent’s deck strategy.


BurnMana Recommendations

Deckbuilding with Underrealm Lich in MTG opens doors to innovative graveyard strategies and superior card selection. If you’re drawn to the art of crafting decks that thrive on manipulating your library and graveyard, this card is a must-have. Its unique ability set positions it as a linchpin in many strategies, particularly those in the Golgari vein. For those eyeing to stay ahead of the meta and harness the full potential of every draw, we encourage you to dive deeper into the synergies and deck-building philosophies that the Underrealm Lich epitomizes. Discover more insights and elevate your gameplay with us.


Cards like Underrealm Lich

Underrealm Lich offers a unique twist on card selection and graveyard strategy in Magic: The Gathering. It shares similarities with other creatures like Sylvan Library, which allows players to manipulate their draws. However, Underrealm Lich’s ability to look at three cards and then put one into your hand and the rest into your graveyard every turn paves the way for potent graveyard synergies, not found in the traditional library manipulation of Sylvan Library.

Other creatures like Tasigur, the Golden Fang have slight overlapping functionality. Tasigur can recur specific cards from the graveyard to the hand, but doesn’t provide the consistent deck filtering that Underrealm Lich does. Another card worth noting is The Gitrog Monster. Both have a strong connection to land cards in the graveyard, yet Underrealm Lich does not require sacrificing lands to draw cards. It ensures card quality without compromising land presence on the battlefield.

Comparing these options, Underrealm Lich stands out not only for its deck-filtering prowess but also for its durability, thanks to its indestructible-generating ability that requires no mana investment, only life payment. This unique blend of capabilities makes the Underrealm Lich a distinctive player in MTG’s cadre of powerful graveyard-centric creatures.

Sylvan Library - MTG Card versions
Tasigur, the Golden Fang - MTG Card versions
The Gitrog Monster - MTG Card versions
Sylvan Library - Legends (LEG)
Tasigur, the Golden Fang - Fate Reforged Promos (PFRF)
The Gitrog Monster - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)

Cards similar to Underrealm Lich by color, type and mana cost

Wormwood Treefolk - MTG Card versions
Spiritmonger - MTG Card versions
Deathbloom Ritualist - MTG Card versions
Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper - MTG Card versions
Vulturous Zombie - MTG Card versions
Grave-Shell Scarab - MTG Card versions
Golgari Rotwurm - MTG Card versions
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf - MTG Card versions
Deity of Scars - MTG Card versions
Marrow Chomper - MTG Card versions
Lord of Extinction - MTG Card versions
Golgari Longlegs - MTG Card versions
Kheru Dreadmaw - MTG Card versions
Brood Butcher - MTG Card versions
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest - MTG Card versions
The Gitrog Monster - MTG Card versions
Ishkanah, Grafwidow - MTG Card versions
Pharika's Mender - MTG Card versions
Decimator Beetle - MTG Card versions
Golgari Death Swarm - MTG Card versions
Wormwood Treefolk - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Spiritmonger - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Deathbloom Ritualist - The Brothers' War Promos (PBRO)
Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper - Commander Legends (CMR)
Vulturous Zombie - Commander Anthology Volume II (CM2)
Grave-Shell Scarab - GRN Guild Kit (GK1)
Golgari Rotwurm - Modern Masters 2017 (MM3)
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf - Lorwyn (LRW)
Deity of Scars - Eventide (EVE)
Marrow Chomper - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Lord of Extinction - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Golgari Longlegs - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Kheru Dreadmaw - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)
Brood Butcher - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
The Gitrog Monster - Judge Gift Cards 2021 (PJ21)
Ishkanah, Grafwidow - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
Pharika's Mender - Conspiracy: Take the Crown (CN2)
Decimator Beetle - Amonkhet (AKH)
Golgari Death Swarm - Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 (CMB2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Underrealm Lich MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica and Guilds of Ravnica Promos, 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 Underrealm Lich and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Underrealm Lich Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2018-10-05 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by Anna Steinbauer.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-10-05Guilds of RavnicaGRN 2112015normalblackAnna Steinbauer
22018-10-05Guilds of Ravnica PromosPGRN 211s2015normalblackAnna Steinbauer
32018-10-05Guilds of Ravnica PromosPGRN 211p2015normalblackAnna Steinbauer
42024-02-23Ravnica: Clue EditionCLU 2152015normalblackAnna Steinbauer

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Underrealm Lich has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-10-05 If an effect instructs you to draw multiple cards, each draw is performed—and replaced by Underrealm Lich’s ability—one at a time. This means that if you’re drawing two cards, you’ll look at the top three cards of your library, put one into your hand, put the other two into your graveyard, and then repeat the process with the next three cards in your library.
2018-10-05 Underrealm Lich’s first ability applies even if you have fewer than three cards in your library. If you have no cards in your library, you can’t lose the game for trying to draw a card from an empty library.
2018-10-05 You can activate Underrealm Lich’s last ability even if it’s already tapped. It can’t be tapped again, but it still gains indestructible.

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