Lignify MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeTribal Enchantment — Treefolk Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Lignify provides a form of card advantage by addressing multiple threats with a single enchantment.
  2. Slows opponents’ strategies through preemptive creature transformation, with an indirect effect on resource acceleration.
  3. Despite being non-instant, strategic timing of Lignify ensures seamless alignment with broader game plans.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature is a 0/4 Treefolk with no abilities.

Bulgo paused, puzzled. What was that rustling sound, and why did he feel so stiff? And how could his *feet* be so thirsty?


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Lignify is perfect for handling problematic creatures without having to use a traditional removal spell. By turning a creature into a 0/4 Treefolk with no abilities, you efficiently nullify threats and potentially reduce the necessity for further action. This can lead to a form of card advantage where one card, Lignify, takes the place of multiple would-be responses.

Resource Acceleration: While Lignify does not directly contribute to resource acceleration like ramp spells, it allows you to keep pace by effectively removing an opponent’s creature threat. This disruption can slow down your opponent’s game plan, allowing you to make your plays without hindrance, and that can indirectly lead to acceleration in your board state development.

Instant Speed: Although Lignify itself is not an instant, the ability to transform any creature into a harmless non-threat at sorcery speed ensures that you can preemptively address potential issues before they arise on your opponent’s turn. This strategic timing lets you maximize your turns, ensuring that resource usage aligns smoothly with your overall strategy.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Lignify does not have a discard requirement, which is beneficial for maintaining card advantage. However, for players seeking to exploit discard synergies, this would not be the preferred enchantment.

Specific Mana Cost: Lignify’s particular cost demands one green mana, potentially restricting its integration exclusively to green or multi-colored decks that have access to green mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a converted mana cost of two, including one green, Lignify could be seen as pricey for an aura that only neutralizes a single threat without removing it from the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Lignify in Your Collection

Versatility: Lignify is a green enchantment that can neutralize any troublesome creature your opponent controls by turning it into a 0/4 Treefolk with no abilities. This makes it a flexible tool in decks that struggle to remove large or problematic creatures.

Combo Potential: When paired with cards that benefit from enchantments or target creatures, Lignify can serve a dual purpose—both disabling an opponent’s threat and enabling your own synergies or creature destruction strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment teeming with creature-heavy decks or those centered around powerful commanders and creatures with game-altering abilities, Lignify provides a simple and effective answer, ensuring your deck remains competitive.


How to beat Lignify

Lignify is a unique utility card in the realm of Magic: The Gathering that temporarily nullifies a troublesome creature’s abilities by turning it into a Treefolk with no attack or defense capabilities. Ideally, to handle a card like Lignify, you should employ removal spells or abilities that can target your own permanents. Naturalize or similar enchantment destruction spells can be exceptionally effective, as they remove Lignify directly, liberating your creature from its wooden prison.

Bouncing your creature back to your hand with a spell like Unsummon also provides an avenue of escape, undoing the transformation once the creature is recast. Flexibility in dealing with enchantments that detract from your board position is crucial, so including versatile cards in your deck that can target a range of permanents is a wise strategy against Lignify’s constraints. Always keep in mind that timing is key, and being able to respond to the spell before your creature is rooted can save you valuable momentum in your match.

When assessing your strategy, remember that Lignify’s impact is quite specific. It’s paramount to have plans in place for both proactive and reactive responses to ensure that this transformative card doesn’t solidify your opponent’s lead.


BurnMana Recommendations

The strategic use of Lignify can be a turning point in your MTG gameplay, transforming potential defeat into victory. By converting fearsome creatures into harmless treefolk, you gain an upper hand that could shift the tide of any match. It’s vital to stay ahead of the curve in your deck building and gameplay strategy, ensuring that you’re always ready with an answer to your opponent’s threats. We encourage you to further enhance your knowledge and deck with Lignify, harnessing its potential to its fullest. Dive deeper into strategic plays and expand your MTG arsenal with us. Discover more and take your deck to the next level.


Cards like Lignify

Lignify is an intriguing option for players looking to neutralize threatening creatures in Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to other removal spells, Song of the Dryads is another enchantment that turns any permanent into a harmless forest land, completely stripping away its abilities. Though it’s versatile in targeting any permanent, its higher casting cost makes Lignify more efficient in dealing with just creatures.

Turn to Frog is also akin to Lignify in its creature neutralizing effect but it does so by making the creature lose all abilities and become a base 1/1 until end of turn, a short-term solution. In contrast, Lignify’s transformation is permanent, providing a long-lasting answer to problematic creatures. Another similar card, Darksteel Mutation, imposes an indestructible 0/1 insect with no abilities upon the targeted creature, offering both permanence and ensuring the creature can’t be destroyed like Lignify does.

In assessing these alternatives, Lignify’s lasting impact and low mana cost put it in a favorable position for players seeking a cost-effective way to handle dangerous creatures for the duration of the game without destroying them outright, aligning it with the strategic depth of Magic: The Gathering enchantments.

Song of the Dryads - MTG Card versions
Turn to Frog - MTG Card versions
Darksteel Mutation - MTG Card versions
Song of the Dryads - Commander 2014 (C14)
Turn to Frog - Magic 2012 (M12)
Darksteel Mutation - Commander 2013 (C13)

Cards similar to Lignify by color, type and mana cost

Eyes of the Wisent - MTG Card versions
Eyes of the Wisent - Lorwyn (LRW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lignify MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn and Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. Liliana, 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 Lignify and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Lignify Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2007-10-12 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-10-12LorwynLRW 2282003normalblackJesper Ejsing
22014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. LilianaGVL 162015normalblackJesper Ejsing
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 12612003normalblackJesper Ejsing
42020-09-26The ListPLST DDD-162003normalblackJesper Ejsing
52023-06-23Tales of Middle-earth CommanderLTC 2522015normalblackHristo D. Chukov

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lignify has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2007-10-01 If Lignify leaves the battlefield, the creature goes back to being what it was before. Any effects that applied while the Lignify was on the battlefield, such as Giant Growth or Lace with Moonglove, will continue to apply.
2007-10-01 If a previous effect switched the creature's power and toughness, that effect still applies (though it will apply to the creature's new power and toughness).
2007-10-01 If the enchanted creature has a characteristic-defining ability that specifies its color, that ability will still have its effect because it's applied before the creature loses the ability.
2007-10-01 Lignify causes the enchanted creature to lose all abilities it had at the time it became enchanted. Any abilities granted to the creature after Lignify entered the battlefield will work normally.
2007-10-01 Lignify overwrites characteristic-defining abilities that specify the enchanted creature's power or toughness (such as the one Dauntless Dourbark has) or that specify its creature types (such as changeling does).
2007-10-01 Lignify overwrites previous effects that changed the enchanted creature's creature types. Any such effects that apply after Lignify enters the battlefield will work normally.
2007-10-01 Lignify will overwrite static abilities that come from the creature itself (such as the one on Verduran Enchantress) because Lignify causes the creature to lose that ability before it gets a chance to apply.
2009-10-01 Lignify will not overwrite effects such as those from Glorious Anthem, counters, or Giant Growth that change the enchanted creature's power or toughness without setting it to a specific value. Apply such effects after applying Lignify.
2009-10-01 Lignify will overwrite any previous effects that set the enchanted creature's power or toughness (such as Serendib Sorcerer does). Any such effects that apply after Lignify entered the battlefield will work normally.

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