Living Lore MTG Card
2015-03-27 - Number 61
2015-03-28 - Number 61s
2018-12-07 - Number 62
2021-04-23 - Number 121
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Avatar |
| Power | * |
| Toughness | * |
Text of card
As Living Lore enters the battlefield, exile an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard. Living Lore's power and toughness are each equal to the exiled card's converted mana cost. Whenever Living Lore deals combat damage, you may sacrifice it. If you do, you may cast the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
Cards like Living Lore
Living Lore is an intriguing creature in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering, with a unique twist on spell recast dynamics. When compared to a card like Spelltwine, which also allows you to cast spells from your graveyard, Living Lore adds a more interactive layer by bringing a creature into play. While Spelltwine can pull from any player’s graveyard and doesn’t require a creature on the field, it’s a one-time event.
Examining another comparison, Diluvian Primordial stands out as a multi-target option, permitting the casting of spells from each opponent’s graveyard upon its entry to the battlefield. Unlike Living Lore, which can scale its power and toughness based on the exiled card’s mana value, Diluvian Primordial has fixed stats. On the other hand, Elite Arcanist offers a repeated casting ability for an exiled instant card, yet it lacks the direct power impact and the surprise factor that Living Lore can provide when it hits the battlefield.
Overall, Living Lore’s potential to swing games with its size and the added utility of reusing powerful spells gives it a distinctive position among cards with graveyard interaction abilities. The choice between these alternatives often depends on the strategic direction and synergy of your deck.
Cards similar to Living Lore by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When delving with Living Lore, the potential to convert a high-mana spell from your graveyard into an on-field presence gives you a distinct advantage. This not only recycles valuable spells but also pressures your opponent by introducing a significant threat that must be addressed.
Resource Acceleration: Living Lore can effectively be considered a form of resource acceleration due to the fact that the conversion of a high-cost spell into a creature can lead to using those high-cost spells earlier or more effectively than you would be able to otherwise. This can accelerate your gameplay, offering you a tempo boost against your opponent.
Instant Speed: Although Living Lore itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it interacts favorably with spells in your graveyard that have flashback or similar mechanics. This synergy allows you to potentially make use of instant-speed spells twice – once normally, and again by embodying them with Living Lore for additional impact during key moments in the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Living Lore demands that a player exiles an instant or sorcery card from their graveyard, effectively a discard from a key zone. This can often equate to a loss of resources that may have been otherwise retrievable or usable with other cards, putting the player at a potential disadvantage if their graveyard synergy is disrupted.
Specific Mana Cost: To make the most out of Living Lore, a deck needs to be built around its mana cost and ability, requiring the inclusion of high-cost instant or sorcery cards. This can heavily skew a deck’s composition and possibly make it less adaptable to varying game conditions or opponents’ strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Living Lore’s usefulness is gated behind its four mana cost—a not insignificant amount, particularly given that its power and toughness are tied to the exiled card’s mana value. In cases where the graveyard does not contain high-value spells, Living Lore itself might not present a strong enough presence on the battlefield, especially considering alternative creatures or spells that could be cast for the same cost.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Living Lore has the unique ability to adapt to the spells in your graveyard, making it a flexible addition to control or graveyard-focused strategies. By exiling an instant or sorcery, its power and toughness can reflect the exiled card’s mana value, enabling dynamic play.
Combo Potential: Its ability to cast the exiled card upon dealing combat damage opens up a realm of possibilities, allowing you to craft potent synergies or loop specific spells that can turn the tides of a game.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where large spells and graveyard interaction are common, Living Lore can leverage high-value spells that have already been used, giving it sustained relevance and the ability to alter the board state significantly with each attack.
How to beat
Living Lore is an intriguing and potent creature in Magic: The Gathering, carrying with it an ability that truly encapsulates its name. When playing against Living Lore, the key to overcoming it lies in two strategies: early removal and graveyard management. Preventing this creature from hitting the battlefield is crucial, as it embodies a spell with a mana cost from your graveyard and its power and toughness become equivalent to that spell’s mana value.
Tackling it head-on in combat can be an uphill battle, considering its potential size. Thus, employing instant speed removal allows you to address the threat before it magnifies. Cards such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push can efficiently dispose of Living Lore before it becomes a problem. Another tactic is to disrupt the graveyard—the heart of Living Lore’s mechanic. Graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can effectively neuter the power of Living Lore by ensuring there are no high-value targets for it to embody in the first place.
Mindful anticipation and timely response are your companions in the dance against Living Lore. By managing your resources and keeping your opponent’s graveyard in check, you’ll stand a stronger chance of nullifying this card’s potent effect and maintaining control of the game.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Living Lore MTG card by a specific set like Dragons of Tarkir and Dragons of Tarkir 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 Living Lore 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 Living Lore Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2015-03-27 and 2021-04-23. Illustrated by Jason Felix.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015-03-27 | Dragons of Tarkir | DTK | 61 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jason Felix | |
| 2 | 2015-03-28 | Dragons of Tarkir Promos | PDTK | 61s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jason Felix | |
| 3 | 2018-12-07 | Ultimate Masters | UMA | 62 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jason Felix | |
| 4 | 2021-04-23 | Commander 2021 | C21 | 121 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jason Felix |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Living Lore has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Living Lore card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-12-07 | If Living Lore leaves the battlefield, the ability that defines its power and toughness will lose track of the exiled card. Its power and toughness are 0 in other zones. |
| 2018-12-07 | If a spell has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost. |
| 2018-12-07 | If an instant or sorcery spell puts Living Lore onto the battlefield, that spell is still on the stack while you choose a card to exile. You can’t exile it with Living Lore. |
| 2018-12-07 | If there are no instant or sorcery cards in your graveyard as Living Lore enters the battlefield, it will enter the battlefield as a 0/0 creature and be put into its owner’s graveyard due to having 0 toughness. |
| 2018-12-07 | If you cast a spell “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, such as that of Tormenting Voice, those must be paid to cast the card. |
| 2018-12-07 | Living Lore’s last ability will trigger whenever it deals combat damage, no matter if that damage is dealt to an opponent, an opposing planeswalker, or a creature it’s blocking or being blocked by. You choose whether to sacrifice Living Lore as that ability resolves. If Living Lore has already left the battlefield, perhaps because it was dealt lethal damage at the same time it dealt damage, you can’t sacrifice it. |
| 2018-12-07 | Similarly, if the exiled card somehow leaves exile while Living Lore is on the battlefield, it will become a 0/0 creature. |
| 2018-12-07 | You may cast a sorcery this way even if it’s not your turn. |