Invincible Hymn MTG Card


Invincible Hymn - Shards of Alara
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Released2008-10-03
Set symbol
Set nameShards of Alara
Set codeALA
Number14
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byMatt Stewart

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides a major life increase tying directly into the quantity of cards within your library.
  2. Demands a deck built to maximize its effect, posing a strategic deck-building challenge.
  3. Its high mana cost can limit gameplay if not well-integrated into a player’s deck strategy.

Text of card

Count the number of cards in your library. Your life total becomes that number.

Bantians believe those who are born into the highest caste and live a life of discipline and virtue can ascend to become angels.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Invincible Hymn is a powerful card that can dramatically inflate your life total based on the number of cards in your library, potentially putting you far ahead of your opponent in terms of survivability.

Resource Acceleration: While Invincible Hymn doesn’t directly accelerate resources, the substantial life buffer it provides can afford you more turns to draw into your key cards and establish board presence.

Instant Speed: Although Invincible Hymn is played at sorcery speed, its massive impact compensates for the lack of flexibility, setting the stage for a more controlled and strategic late game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Invincible Hymn doesn’t force a player to discard directly, it does require a significant card investment. Building a deck around maximizing its benefit might lead to situations where you’re holding onto cards that could otherwise be used to respond to immediate threats or develop your board.

Specific Mana Cost: Invincible Hymn demands a considerable amount of white mana – eight in total. This can prove restrictive as it may not align well with multicolored mana bases, potentially limiting the decks it could be effectively played in.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost being so high, especially for its effect, it may arrive too late in the game. When considering the tempo of most games, cards with lower mana costs could provide more immediate impact or versatility.


Reasons to Include Invincible Hymn in Your Collection

Versatility: Invincible Hymn stands out due to its ability to adapt to various play styles. While primarily seen in life-gain decks, it’s also a heavy hitter in any strategy looking to capitalize on high life totals for alternate win conditions or powerful synergies with cards that scale off of life count.

Combo Potential: This card is a powerhouse in combos, setting the stage for a dramatically high life total that can be leveraged with cards like Serra Avatar or Aetherflux Reservoir. It can also turn the tide in games where your life total is a resource for potent spells and abilities.

Meta-Relevance: In games where stalling tactics and long-term play dominate, Invincible Hymn can become a decisive factor, putting you out of range of burst damage and setting up for a sustainable late-game plan. Its use shines particularly in metas where life totals are a battleground.


How to beat

Invincible Hymn is a unique card that, when played, can skyrocket a player’s life total based on the number of cards remaining in their deck. In contrast, cards such as Erebos, God of the Dead prevent life gain, effectively nullifying the massive life boost Invincible Hymn could provide. The card’s potential vulnerability lies in its reliance on a high card count within the library, which can be exploited.

Strategies to overcome Invincible Hymn focus on diminishing a player’s library size before the spell resolves. Using popular mill cards like Glimpse the Unthinkable or Tasha’s Hideous Laughter can drastically reduce the library’s count, hence weakening the impact of Invincible Hymn. Moreover, instant-speed graveyard shuffling effects such as Feldon’s Cane or Elixir of Immortality can disrupt the count at critical moments.

Additionally, effects that replace or prevent life gain are key. Cards like Sulfuric Vortex or Tainted Remedy can turn the tides against Invincible Hymn, redirecting the game back to a more manageable state. By integrating these strategies, players can mitigate the advantages Invincible Hymn offers, countering what can otherwise be an overwhelming obstacle.


Cards like Invincible Hymn

Invincible Hymn stands out in the realm of life-gaining spells within Magic: The Gathering, offering a potential to soar your life total to vertiginous heights. Comparable to Beacon of Immortality, which doubles a player’s life total, Invincible Hymn could set your tally even higher depending on the number of cards remaining in your library. While Beacon of Immortality is reusable due to its shuffle-back-into-the-library effect, Invincible Hymn’s one-time massive gain is unprecedented if set up correctly.

Another card in a similar category is Boon Reflection, a card that passively doubles the life you gain. It can rack up significant numbers over time, making it a mighty ally in life-gain decks. However, unlike the definitive spike in life that Invincible Hymn provides, Boon Reflection’s effect is conditional on subsequent life-gain triggers.

When evaluating Invincible Hymn against its counterparts, it becomes evident that its uniqueness lies in its capacity to change the course of a game in a single move. It carves its niche in MTG as a high-risk, high-reward strategy for life-gain enthusiasts looking to evade defeat and surprise their opponents.

Beacon of Immortality - MTG Card versions
Boon Reflection - MTG Card versions
Beacon of Immortality - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Boon Reflection - Shadowmoor (SHM)

Cards similar to Invincible Hymn by color, type and mana cost

Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins - MTG Card versions
Vanquish the Horde - MTG Card versions
Reverse the Sands - MTG Card versions
Archangel's Light - MTG Card versions
Play of the Game - MTG Card versions
Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins - From Cute to Brute (PCTB)
Vanquish the Horde - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Reverse the Sands - Commander 2016 (C16)
Archangel's Light - Dark Ascension (DKA)
Play of the Game - Battlebond (BBD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Invincible Hymn MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara, 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 Invincible Hymn and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Invincible Hymn has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-10-01 For your life total to become the appropriate number, you actually gain or lose the necessary amount of life. For example, if your life total is 20 and your library has thirty-two cards in it when Invincible Hymn resolves, Invincible Hymn will cause you to gain 12 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with Invincible Hymn accordingly.
2008-10-01 Invincible Hymn checks the number of cards in your library just once: when it resolves. It doesn’t continuously modify your life total as your library size changes.
2010-06-15 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Invincible Hymn will essentially set your team’s life total to the number of cards in your library. For example, suppose your team has 8 life and you have thirty cards in your library. Your life total (being the same as your team’s life total) changes from 8 life to 30 life, for a net gain of 22 life. Your team’s life total becomes 30 (22 + 8).

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