Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Warlock
Abilities Deathtouch
Power 2
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Lynde transforms curses into repeatable threats, granting sustained card advantage without depleting your hand.
  2. Her instant speed ability to recur curses provides strategic flexibility and disruption during the opponent’s turn.
  3. Resource acceleration via curses enhances your game position, making Lynde a powerful choice in any deck.

Text of card

Deathtouch Whenever a Curse is put into your graveyard from the battlefield, return it to the battlefield attached to you at the beginning of the next end step. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may attach a Curse attached to you to one of your opponents. If you do, draw two cards.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor enables a unique form of card advantage by turning curses, often seen as one-time use enchantments, into recurring threats. This means with every curse returned to the battlefield, you’re effectively increasing the number of cards working in your favor without expending additional resources from your hand.

Resource Acceleration: While Lynde doesn’t directly create resources, her ability to recur curses can indirectly lead to resource acceleration. For example, curses that make opponents discard or sacrifice permanents can disrupt their mana base or deplete their hand, which effectively accelerates your positional advantage in the game.

Instant Speed: Lynde’s passive ability activates at instant speed, giving you the strategic flexibility to respond to your opponents’ actions. If an opponent targets your curses, you can turn their strategy on its head by having Lynde bring those curses back at the end of their turn, ready to surprise them during your next turn without missing a beat.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To leverage Lynde’s abilities, you often find yourself facing the requirement to discard a card, which presents a critical strategic decision. Especially in a tight game where every card in hand counts, such a requirement can set you back if your hand options are already scarce.

Specific Mana Cost: Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor calls for a precise combination of mana, one that spans across three colors – black, red, and blue. This specificity can potentially limit deck-building options, as it necessitates a tri-color mana base that may not align with a player’s preferred strategy or available card pool.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a casting cost of one black, one red, and one blue mana, plus three generic mana, Lynde sits at a higher echelon in terms of mana investment. While her abilities may entice a multi-colored deck pilot, there are cards with lower mana requirements that may synergize more efficiently with certain deck themes or strategies.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor offers a unique flexibility to player decks that thrive on curses and enchantments. Her ability to penalize opponents each time they try to remove a curse transforms an apparent disadvantage into an advantage and encourages a variety of deck-building directions.

Combo Potential: Harnessing her ability to return curses from the graveyard to the battlefield upon the cursed player’s defeat, Lynde excels in combinations that make the most of enchantment synergies, creating a new level of strategy as you maneuver your curses across different opponents.

Meta-Relevance: As players adapt to an MTG meta that includes an increasing number of enchantment-based strategies, having Lynde ready can give you a significant edge. The persistent threat of her curse-related abilities makes her a must-consider for any meta where durability and recurring effects are key to victory.


How to beat

Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor is a tricky Commander to play against in Magic: The Gathering. This Grixis wizard with a penchant for curses can quickly turn a game on its head if left unchecked. Beating Lynde requires a solid strategy to prevent curses from becoming your downfall.

To counter her curse-centric game plan, prioritise removal spells that can handle enchantments. Cards like Disenchant or Mortify offer clean answers to troublesome curses she may have cast upon you. It’s also wise to hold up counter spells when you suspect your opponent is about to unleash a key curse that could swing the momentum in their favor. If you’re playing at a table with multiple opponents, diplomacy can be just as effective; persuade others that the Lynde player is a threat to everyone and join forces to keep her influence in check. Lastly, never underestimate the power of direct removal spells. Lynde’s ability to return curses to the battlefield only triggers upon her death, so exile effects or tucking her into the owner’s library with spells like Condemn are particularly effective in ensuring those curses stay away for good.

Understanding Lynde’s mechanics and preparing your deck with these strategies will greatly increase your chances of outlasting the Cheerful Tormentor’s strategic curse-laden onslaught.


Cards like Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor

Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor firmly establishes her place among the cast of Commander-oriented witches in MTG. She’s often likened to commander favorites like Kess, Dissident Mage, due to her ability to control and manipulate spells. However, Lynde stands out by focusing on Curses, offering a rarely explored avenue for enchantment enthusiasts. Kess excels with instant and sorcery spell recursion, but Lynde brings a unique gameplay by seeking advantage from curses cast upon your opponents.

Another card entering the conversation is Mathas, Fiend Seeker. Like Lynde, Mathas plays politics by marking opponents’ creatures and gaining benefits for their demise. While Lynde leads to retributive effects through curses when her controlled curses are broken, Mathas’s benefits are immediately tangible when marked creatures die. Alela, Artful Provocateur also merits mention for her synergy with enchantments, though she primarily interacts with artifact and enchantment spells empowering your board state with faerie tokens rather than capitalizing on curse interactions.

When analyzing the dynamics they bring to the Commander table, Lynda’s unique curse-centric playstyle offers a fresh experience in contrast with the abilities of Kess or Mathas, thus securing her a niche among enchantment-based commanders in MTG.

Kess, Dissident Mage - MTG Card versions
Mathas, Fiend Seeker - MTG Card versions
Alela, Artful Provocateur - MTG Card versions
Kess, Dissident Mage - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Mathas, Fiend Seeker - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Alela, Artful Provocateur - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor MTG card by a specific set like Midnight Hunt Commander and Midnight Hunt Commander, 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 Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2021-09-24. Illustrated by Anna Steinbauer.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-09-24Midnight Hunt CommanderMIC 762015normalblackAnna Steinbauer
22021-09-24Midnight Hunt CommanderMIC 382015normalblackAnna Steinbauer

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lynde, Cheerful Tormentor has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-09-24 In a multiplayer game, if a player enchanted by one of your Curses leaves the game, perhaps because they have been tormented too much by Lynde, that Curse will be put into your graveyard and cause Lynde's first triggered ability to trigger.
2021-09-24 Lynde's last ability doesn't target, so you can use it to attach a Curse to a player who has hexproof.

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