Lifespark Spellbomb MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact |
| Released | 2003-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Mirrodin |
| Set code | MRD |
| Number | 197 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Jim Nelson |
Key Takeaways
- Lifespark Spellbomb converts lands into creatures, providing a tactical edge and enhancing board presence.
- Instant speed activation of Lifespark Spellbomb allows for flexible, reactive gameplay options.
- Synergizes with graveyard strategies and artifact interactions, underlining its inclusion in diverse MTG decks.
Text of card
, Sacrifice Lifespark Spellbomb: Until end of turn, target land becomes a 3/3 creature that's still a land. , Sacrifice Lifespark Spellbomb: Draw a card.
"Awaken that which was never asleep." —Spellbomb inscription
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lifespark Spellbomb offers players the potential to transform land cards into creatures, which can be essential in pushing for an advantage on the board. Although it doesn’t directly allow you to draw additional cards, the ability to turn a basic resource into a threat can indirectly contribute to card advantage, as you’re effectively gaining an additional card’s worth of value from your lands.
Resource Acceleration: This card gently assists in resource acceleration by allowing your lands to serve a dual purpose. While it doesn’t provide a traditional ramp by increasing your land count or mana supply, it effectively squeezes more utility out of each land, thereby accelerating your game plan by broadening the potential uses of your available resources. This can be particularly beneficial in the mid to late game where maximizing the efficiency of every card is crucial.
Instant Speed: Although Lifespark Spellbomb itself must be played at sorcery speed, its activation can be at instant speed, offering flexibility in playstyle. This allows players to retain open mana and decide whether to turn a land into a creature during an opponent’s end step or in response to an event, preserving the element of surprise and enabling reactive strategies.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Lifespark Spellbomb does not have a discard requirement directly, activating it and then drawing a card requires sacing the Spellbomb. This could potentially diminish your board presence, especially when your hand needs to maintain key spells for game progression or defense.
Specific Mana Cost: Lifespark Spellbomb’s ability to turn into a creature is dependent on having green mana. This can be a limiting factor for decks that do not run green or have the means to produce green mana, therefore reducing this card’s versatility in multicolored or single-color decks not aligned with green.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing one mana for the Spellbomb and another to activate may not seem steep, but considering the return – a mere one mana creature until end of turn – it can be underwhelming. Numerous alternatives exist that permanently provide a creature or other forms of utility at a similar or lower cost, making Lifespark Spellbomb an option that often sits on the sidelines in favor of more impactful cards.
Reasons to Include Lifespark Spellbomb in Your Collection
Versatility: Lifespark Spellbomb is a flexible addition to decks that can make use of its ability to turn lands into creatures temporarily, allowing for surprising combat tricks or blocking strategies.
Combo Potential: The card’s utility in graveyard-based strategies is undeniable as it can be sacrificed for its effect, enabling synergies with cards that interact with artifacts or the graveyard.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where land creatures can catch opponents unprepared or where artifact recursion is prevalent, Lifespark Spellbomb proves to be a low-cost tool to navigate through and manipulate such metas effectively.
How to beat
Lifespark Spellbomb presents a unique tool for MTG players, primarily serving those who seek to animate their lands into creatures for a tactical advantage. This card allows a land to become a 3/3 creature until end of turn, which can be a surprise tactic against an unprepared opponent. However, countering Lifespark Spellbomb’s effect can be straightforward with proper strategy.
One effective method to undermine this card’s benefit is the use of instant removal spells that can target creatures or lands. This means cards such as Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization can dispatch the animated land before it gets a chance to cause any trouble. Additionally, relying on enchantments like Imprison In The Moon or Song of the Dryads can turn the animated land into an inert state, rendering the Spellbomb’s effect useless.
Therefore, keeping a versatile set of responsive cards in hand and maintaining a keen awareness of when to neutralize your opponent’s assets proves crucial. It is this preparedness and quick thinking that will consistently help in overcoming the challenges posed by cards like Lifespark Spellbomb in the game of MTG.
Cards like Lifespark Spellbomb
Lifespark Spellbomb is a versatile little artifact within the world of Magic: The Gathering. Its similarity to other Spellbombs, like Pyrite Spellbomb and Aether Spellbomb, is that it can be sacrificed for an effect and cycled away for a new card. However, Lifespark Spellbomb stands out by turning a land into a 3/3 creature, often catching opponents off guard in combat or providing a surprise blocker.
Exploring further, Unstable Obelisk shares the ability to morph into another resource, transforming from a mana rock to a removal spell. While the Obelisk is more costly, it has the upside of eliminating any permanent, not just enabling a surprise attack. Another comparable card could be Nissa, Who Shakes the World. Like Lifespark Spellbomb, Nissa has the power to animate lands. Albeit more powerful, Nissa comes with a higher mana investment and her static ability that doubles Forest mana production.
Ultimately, Lifespark Spellbomb has its unique place as a low-cost, flexible asset that can create temporary but pivotal advantages on the battlefield. A practical tool for any MTG deck looking to capitalize on versatile artifacts.
Cards similar to Lifespark Spellbomb by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lifespark Spellbomb MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin, 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 Lifespark Spellbomb and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lifespark Spellbomb has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Lifespark Spellbomb card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-08-01 | A noncreature permanent that turns into a creature can attack, and its abilities can be activated, only if its controller has continuously controlled that permanent since the beginning of their most recent turn. It doesn’t matter how long the permanent has been a creature. |
