Serra Avatar MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 11 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Avatar
Power *
Toughness *

Key Takeaways

  1. A massive board presence, Serra Avatar’s strength grows with your life, demanding opponents’ immediate attention.
  2. High mana cost and color commitment may limit deck-building options and casting time.
  3. Potential for combo synergies makes it a recurring powerhouse in the right deck setup.

Text of card

Serra Avatar has power and toughness each equal to your life total. When Serra Avatar is put into a graveyard, shuffle Serra Avatar into owner's library.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Serra Avatar’s power and toughness are equal to your life total, ensuring that it becomes a formidable card on the battlefield based on your life gain strategies. This often forces your opponent to deal with it or suffer overwhelming damage, which can lead to a significant shift in board presence in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly affecting mana resources, playing Serra Avatar can represent the culmination of your life gain strategy, effectively utilizing the resources you’ve invested in increasing your life total throughout the game and converting it into a massive creature.

Instant Speed: While Serra Avatar itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its presence in your deck amplifies the threat level of any open mana. Opponents must play cautiously, knowing that any life gain can instantly translate into a much larger Avatar, potentially turning the tides at a moment’s notice.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Serra Avatar demands a strategy built around preserving your life total, which can be detrimental in formats where board wipes or direct player damage are prevalent.

Specific Mana Cost: Costing a hefty quadruple white mana makes it a heavy commitment to a single color, potentially constricting its inclusion to mono-white or two-color decks to reliably cast it on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost at seven, Serra Avatar enters the battlefield late in the game. In quicker formats or against fast-paced decks, this can be a significant drawback, as it may be too late to turn the tide of the game.


Reasons to Include Serra Avatar in Your Collection

Versatility: Serra Avatar is a unique creature card that can adapt to various play styles. Since its power and toughness are equal to your life total, it scales well in life-gain decks, offering an impactful presence on the battlefield no matter the stage of the game.

Combo Potential: This mighty avatar thrives in synergistic setups, pairing wonderfully with cards that double life totals or with effects that exploit high-power creatures. It can turn the tide when combined with cards like Ajani’s Pridemate or Well of Lost Dreams.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta dominated by creature-based tactics, Serra Avatar holds its ground by being a potential game-ender. It dodges common removal spells due to its property of being put back into the library if it would go to the graveyard, making it a recurrent threat that demands an answer.


Understanding Serra Avatar in MTG

Decoding the power of Serra Avatar is essential for every MTG player’s strategy. Nestled within the realm of powerful creatures, Serra Avatar stands tall, its might directly linked to the life total of its controller. This unique characteristic enables it to often tower over opponents with an overwhelming force on the battlefield.

How to beat

The key to overcoming Serra Avatar lies in disrupting its core strength. Adjusting your life total is futile; instead, refocus on removal spells that can bypass its enormous power and toughness. Strategize around cards like Path to Exile or Wrath of God that can unconditionally exile or destroy creatures regardless of size. It’s also effective to utilize effects that force the opponent to sacrifice Serra Avatar, as it sidesteps its life-linked size. Moreover, leveraging cards with toughness-based damage like Toxic Deluge can neutralize the Avatar without regard for your life total. A solid understanding of these strategies is crucial to claim victory over Serra Avatar’s potent presence on the field.

Indeed, as you arm yourself with the right tools and knowledge, even the mightiest entities in MTG can be brought to their knees. And remember, in the ever-shifting tides of gameplay, adaptability and a sharp mind herald your path to triumph.


BurnMana Recommendations

MTG players understand the thrill of summoning an awe-inspiring creature like Serra Avatar into the fray. With its power and toughness mirroring your life total, this card promises to be an imposing force on the battlefield. Whether you are looking to dominate with a life-gain deck or simply desire the formidable presence Serra Avatar offers, it’s a card worthy of any collection. Dive deeper with us into strategies that best harness the power of Serra Avatar, ensuring your deck not only survives but thrives in the diverse MTG landscape. Enhance your gameplay and collection with insights from fellow MTG enthusiasts.


Cards like Serra Avatar

Serra Avatar stands out in the realm of Magic: The Gathering as a life-total-mirroring behemoth. This unique creature’s power and toughness are equal to your life total, which immediately brings to mind comparable mechanics seen in cards like Ajani’s Pridemate or Cradle of Vitality. Both cards flourish alongside life gain strategies but do not offer the immediate board impact that Serra Avatar does.

Another parallel can be drawn with Felidar Sovereign, a creature that also benefits from high life totals by providing an alternate win condition if your life is sufficiently high at the start of your turn. While both cards synergize with life gain, Felidar Sovereign is more of a silent threat compared to the commanding presence of Serra Avatar on the battlefield. Notably, Serra Avatar’s absence of life-link is a differing factor, as it relies solely on board dominance and intimidation rather than directly influencing your life total.

Overall, Serra Avatar can dominate games with its match to your life total, setting it apart as a powerhouse in a deck focused on amplifying life. While other cards may offer incremental growth or alternate paths to victory, the sheer presence of Serra Avatar is unmatched in its potential to turn the tides of a battle.

Ajani's Pridemate - MTG Card versions
Cradle of Vitality - MTG Card versions
Felidar Sovereign - MTG Card versions
Ajani's Pridemate - Magic 2011 (M11)
Cradle of Vitality - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Felidar Sovereign - Resale Promos (PRES)

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Elder Land Wurm - Renaissance (REN)
Seraph - Masters Edition (ME1)
Archangel - Starter 1999 (S99)
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Soul of Eternity - Commander Legends (CMR)
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - Multiverse Legends (MUL)
Resolute Archangel - Magic 2015 Promos (PM15)
Crowd Favorites - Onslaught (ONS)
Kami of the Honored Dead - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Luminous Angel - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Angel of Retribution - Battlebond (BBD)
Ghosts of the Innocent - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Angel of Glory's Rise - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Windbrisk Raptor - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Pale Wayfarer - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Yoked Plowbeast - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Vengeful Archon - Magic 2011 (M11)
Angelic Arbiter - Commander Anthology (CMA)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Serra Avatar MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and Junior Super Series, 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 Serra Avatar and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Serra Avatar Magic the Gathering card was released in 10 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-10-12Urza's SagaUSG 451997normalblackDermot Power
21999-12-01Junior Super SeriesPSUS 21997normalblackDermot Power
32000-08-02World Championship Decks 2000WC00 nl451997normalgoldDermot Power
42002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 269841997normalblackDermot Power
52012-01-01Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 PromosPDP13 22003normalblackIgor Kieryluk
62012-07-13Magic 2013M13 322003normalblackDermot Power
72013-11-01Commander 2013C13 212003normalblackDermot Power
82014-11-07Commander 2014C14 872015normalblackDermot Power
92018-08-09Commander 2018C18 732015normalblackDermot Power
102023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 262015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez
112023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 2721997normalblackVictor Adame Minguez

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Serra Avatar has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2022-12-08 If Serra Avatar is no longer in your graveyard when its triggered ability resolves, you still shuffle your library.
2022-12-08 The ability that defines Serra Avatar’s power and toughness works in all zones, not only the battlefield.

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