Vampiric Link MTG Card


Vampiric Link - Planar Chaos
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant
Released2007-02-02
Set symbol
Set namePlanar Chaos
Set codePLC
Number92
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byKev Walker

Key Takeaways

  1. Card provides life gain equivalent to damage dealt, offering a way to stabilize in-game positions effectively.
  2. Demands a card discard for activation, possibly hindering hand availability during critical gameplay moments.
  3. Versatility shines across various decks; it’s a meta-relevant tool in aggressive-strategy-dominated environments.

Text of card

Enchant creature Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain that much life.

The familiar's fangs deliver the master's bite.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Vampiric Link presents a unique form of card advantage. Once attached to a creature, any damage that the enchanted creature deals translates into life gain for you. This can create a differential that’s equivalent to drawing extra cards and gaining additional resources, letting you stabilize in the game.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, the life gained through Vampiric Link can be considered a resource acceleration of sorts. A higher life total gives players more leeway to use life as a resource, enabling strategies that involve paying life for powerful effects.

Instant Speed: Although Vampiric Link is an Aura that gets cast at sorcery speed, the resulting life gain occurs instantly whenever the enchanted creature deals damage. This allows for strategic plays, including timing blocks or attacks to maximize life gain and mitigate incoming damage on the fly.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Vampiric Link demands a card to be discarded to activate its ability. In situations where your hand is already depleted, this requirement can be a significant drawback, reducing your ability to respond to an opponent’s threats.

Specific Mana Cost: Vampiric Link requires black mana to cast, which can constrain its inclusion only to decks that run black or have a mana base sufficiently flexible to accommodate the color.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With Vampiric Link’s mana cost, it may be seen as too expensive when compared to other aura spells. This can particularly be a disadvantage in faster-paced games where lower-cost spells might offer more immediate board impact or disruption capabilities.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Vampiric Link provides significant flexibility across multiple deck archetypes due to its ability to attach to any creature. It turns your most fearsome creatures into a source of life gain or can neutralize an opponent’s threat by providing you with the life they would drain.

Combo Potential: This enchantment shines when combined with creatures that deal large amounts of damage or have life-linking capabilities, further increasing your life total and tipping the scales in your favor during matches.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where aggressive strategies are common, Vampiric Link can serve as an excellent tool for stabilizing your life total while hindering your opponent’s momentum, ensuring that you remain a formidable contender in the current meta.


How to beat

Vampiric Link is a unique aura in Magic: The Gathering that can turn the tides by giving a creature lifelink, thereby allowing its controller to gain life equal to the damage dealt. When allied with creatures boasting high power, it becomes a significant obstacle. However, dealing with Vampiric Link effectively hinges on a proactive strategy.

Removal spells are the key. By targeting creatures enchanted with Vampiric Link before they can deal damage, the aura becomes a worthless investment. Direct damage spells or those that force a sacrifice ensure that the creature—and the enchantment—never impact the board state. Enchantment removal is also a viable strategy; spells such as Disenchant or back-to-nature effects allow players to remove Vampiric Link directly, thus nullifying the life-gain advantage.

Control players might opt for counterspells to prevent Vampiric Link from resolving in the first place. Efficient counters like Negate or Dovin’s Veto can prevent the enchantment from ever hitting the field. Being aware of your opponent’s strategy and holding up the necessary response is crucial for maintaining dominance against Vampiric Link strats.


BurnMana Recommendations

Vampiric Link is a dynamic card that can shift the flow of any MTG match. Understanding its nuances helps you gain an edge, either by bolstering your creatures or turning an opponent’s threat into your lifeline. As you enhance your collection and strategies, consider the broader implications of life gain, resource management, and board control Vampiric Link introduces. Dive into MTG’s intricate mechanics and discover how enchantments like Vampiric Link can redefine your gameplay. Elevate your deck-building skill set and stay competitive in various metagames with insights and recommendations from BurnMana. Embrace the depth of the game – join our community to enhance your MTG expertise.


Cards like Vampiric Link

Vampiric Link is an intriguing life-gaining enchantment in Magic: The Gathering, offering a unique twist on enchantment auras that enhance creatures. It’s often likened to cards like Spirit Link, which also confers a life-gaining ability tied to the amount of damage dealt. Yet, what sets Vampiric Link apart is its flexibility – it can be attached to any creature, not just your own. This allows for defensive strategies, not typically associated with such auras.

Looking to other comparable cards, we observe Mark of the Vampire, which not only grants life gain similar to Vampiric Link but also provides a significant power and toughness boost. However, Mark of the Vampire requires a larger mana investment, which could be a critical factor in gameplay decisions. Lifelink is another related keyword in the game that mirrors this mechanic, although it’s inherent to the creature itself and cannot be moved or played as a separate entity.

When delving into the pool of life-gain enchantments within Magic: The Gathering, Vampiric Link stands out for its cost-efficiency and versatile applications, making it a fascinating option for players crafting decks around life manipulation and control tactics.

Spirit Link - MTG Card versions
Mark of the Vampire - MTG Card versions
Lifelink - MTG Card versions
Spirit Link - MTG Card versions
Mark of the Vampire - MTG Card versions
Lifelink - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Vampiric Link MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos, 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 Vampiric Link and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Vampiric Link has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2008-04-01 You gain life for all damage which is not prevented, regardless of what the creature damages (player or another creature) or the toughness of the blocking creature. If you put this on a 5/5 and it is blocked by a 1/1, you still gain 5 life.

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