Necropotence Avatar MTG Card

Rarity	Rare
Type	Vanguard
Released	2003-01-01
Set symbol
Set name	Magic Online Avatars
Set code	PMOA
Number	83
Frame	2015
Layout	Vanguard
Border	Black
Illustred by	UDON

Key Takeaways

Necropotence Avatar converts life points to cards, breaking the one-card-per-turn rule for decisive plays.
Its discard requirement and specific mana cost demand careful deck construction and balanced play.
Despite its high mana cost, its strategic depth and meta-relevance make it a collection must-have.

Text of card

Skip your draw step. At the beginning of your end step, if it's not the first turn of the game, put a death counter on Necropotence. You draw X cards and you lose X life, where X is the number of death counters on Necropotence.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Necropotence Avatar’s unique ability to skip your draw step but allow you to pay life to draw cards can create overwhelming card advantage. Crafting your hand each turn keeps you well-equipped to handle any situation, offering a strategic edge in the match.

Resource Acceleration: Necropotence Avatar facilitates a form of resource acceleration by converting life points directly into new cards, effectively bypassing the usual one-card-per-turn limit. This acceleration can be decisive, ensuring you have the right answers or threats at crucial moments.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, the card enables you to spend life to draw cards at the end of your opponent’s turn, mimicking instant speed’s flexibility. This allows for efficient use of mana and maintaining the element of surprise, as you can amass options in your hand swiftly and unexpectedly.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with the Necropotence Avatar means dealing with a discard obligation. This card necessitates sacrificing a portion of your hand, which can be a significant drawback when playing with a depleted array of options. Balancing the benefits against the need to discard can be a strategic challenge.

Specific Mana Cost: The Necropotence Avatar demands a precise combination of mana to summon. Its reliance on specific mana types makes it less versatile, requiring players to tailor their mana resources accordingly. This specificity can complicate deck building and restrict its use to decks that can consistently produce the required mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Summoning the Necropotence Avatar comes at a steeper mana investment than some alternatives. For the resources spent, players might expect a more immediate impact on the game state. In fast-paced games or against resource-efficient opponents, the higher cost to get this avatar into play can be a tactical setback.

Reasons to Include Necropotence Avatar in Your Collection

Versatility: Necropotence Avatar enriches collections with a powerful option for any black-heavy or control deck. Its ability to deliver card advantage can be a game-changer, providing essential resources at crucial moments.

Combo Potential: This card opens up numerous combo possibilities. Whether it’s setting up an immediate win condition or creating a lockout scenario for your opponent, the strategic depth it brings is immense.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state that favors consistency and resilience, Necropotence Avatar holds significance. Its presence on the battlefield can dictate the pace of the game, aligning well with the current demands of competitive play.

How to Beat

Necropotence Avatar is a formidable force in the Magic: The Gathering arena, known for its ability to offer immense card advantage at a significant life cost. When facing this card, it’s crucial to disrupt the balance it creates. One effective strategy is applying pressure through aggressive plays. Since the Necropotence Avatar thrives on the long game, quickly developing your board with creatures can force your opponent to react defensively, curtailing their life-paying tactics.

Another angle of attack involves using spells or abilities that prevent life payment altogether, such as Erebos, God of the Dead, or leveraging discard effects to ensure key combo pieces are out of reach. Cards like Thoughtseize are excellent for preemptive strikes against key components in your opponent’s hand. Lastly, direct life total attacks or using alternative win conditions can be the sharp edge you need. Spells like Felidar Sovereign or Test of Endurance catch opponents off guard and bypass traditional combat scenarios where the Necropotence Avatar might otherwise dominate.

Paying close attention to your own life total while steadily chipping away at your opponent’s resources is also vital. Balancing the right mix of offense, disruption, and alternative win strategies can lead to success against the potent Necropotence Avatar card.

Cards like Necropotence Avatar

Necropotence Avatar presents an intriguing choice for MTG deck builders looking for potent draw engines. This card reminisces the classic Necropotence, a notorious black spell with the ability to reshape the course of the game by offering new cards at the expense of life points. Necropotence Avatar shares this life trade-off, but as a creature, it brings additional board presence.

Another card that resonates with Necropotence Avatar’s concept is Greed. Both allow players to exchange life for card advantage, nurturing an aggressive strategy. Greed offers a more controllable rate of life-to-card exchange, whereas Necropotence Avatar comes with a more substantial initial life cost. Then there’s Erebos, God of the Dead, standing out with its indestructible nature and providing a similar pay-life-for-cards feature while also inhibiting opponents’ life gain.

Ultimately, each of these cards furnishes unique benefits. Still, Necropotence Avatar commands attention within this group, merging creature status and a daring life-for-cards pact that can rapidly escalate a player’s advantage or peril.

Erebos, God of the Dead - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Necropotence Avatar MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Avatars, 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 Necropotence Avatar and other MTG cards: