Stream of Life MTG Card
1993-08-05 - Number 217
1993-10-04 - Number 218
1993-12-01 - Number 218
1993-12-10 - Number 218
1993-12-10 - Number 218
1994-04-01 - Number 217
1994-04-01 - Number 217
1994-06-21 - Number 217
1995-04-01 - Number 272
1995-04-01 - Number 272
1997-03-24 - Number 328
1999-04-21 - Number 254
2001-04-11 - Number 272★
2001-04-11 - Number 272
2003-07-28 - Number 282★
2003-07-28 - Number 282
2005-07-29 - Number 272★
2005-07-29 - Number 272
2022-11-28 - Number 213
2022-11-28 - Number 510
1995-01-02 - Number 25
| Card sets | Released in 21 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Target player gains X life.
Cards like Stream of Life
Stream of Life holds its place in the realm of life-gaining cards in Magic: The Gathering. This simple yet classic spell offers a direct and variable amount of life gain equal to the mana invested. Comparatively, Healing Salve is another card that provides a fixed amount of life gain (3 life) or can protect a creature from damage. While it’s more restrictive in the amount of life gained, its versatility makes it a noteworthy alternative.
Exploring further, we detect another relative, Beacon of Immortality. This card goes a step beyond by doubling a player’s life total. Although its mana cost is significantly higher, the impact on the game can be game-changing, especially in formats where life totals can vary widely. Additionally, Beacon of Immortality gets shuffled back into the library, offering potential recurring value.
Overall, Stream of Life stands out for its scalable life gain adaptability. It allows players to tailor their use of the card to the ebb and flow of the game, ensuring that, in the right circumstances, it can be a customizable tool to stabilize or even outpace an opponent’s strategy, in line with other life-gaining tactics in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Stream of Life by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Stream of Life doesn’t directly provide card draw, it offers a different kind of advantage by potentially prolonging the game. This extra time can be crucial for finding key cards that lead to a winning strategy.
Resource Acceleration: In Magic: The Gathering, life points are a precious resource. Stream of Life bolsters your life total, effectively pushing you further from the brink of defeat and giving you more leeway to deploy your resources without the immediate pressure of losing.
Instant Speed: Although Stream of Life is a sorcery, its significant impact on life totals makes it a powerful card in the right circumstances. When played at the optimal moment, it can disrupt an opponent’s calculations for a lethal attack, allowing you to stabilize and seize control of the match.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Stream of Life doesn’t ask players to discard cards, it’s important to recognize that its benefit may not compensate for a card slot in your deck. Choosing Stream of Life might mean you’re foregoing other valuable cards that could directly affect the board state or deal with threats.
Specific Mana Cost: Stream of Life comes at a green-specific mana cost, which can be restrictive. Decks that heavily rely on multiple colors or are not green-centric may find it difficult to include Stream of Life in their strategies. This can limit the card’s versatility and hamper deck building flexibility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Gaining life can be beneficial, but at the cost Stream of Life demands, there may be more effective ways to spend your mana. For its mana cost, the card solely increases life total without providing additional board presence or direct interaction with the opponent. In fast-paced games, this often does not suffice to turn the tide in a player’s favor.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Stream of Life offers a straightforward and effective way to increase your life points. This card can slip into various decks, lending a hand to strategies that hinge on high life totals or those seeking insurance against aggressive tactics.
Combo Potential: This card can be a crucial component in life-gain combos or synergize with cards that benefit from life gain, like those with the lifelink ability or triggering effects whenever you gain life.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where aggressive decks are prevalent, Stream of Life can provide the necessary buffer to stabilize the game and give you the time needed to set up your win conditions or outlast your opponent’s resources.
How to beat
Stream of Life is an intriguing classic within the MTG universe, known for its straightforward life-gaining effect. Rooted in green’s core principles, it allows a player to pay X green mana to gain X life, a simple yet potentially game-lengthening ability. This card throws a wrench into the calculations of aggressive deck players who rely heavily on dealing damage quickly to win.
To effectively counter Stream of Life, players should look towards red or black spells that restrict life gain or even use it to their advantage. Tainted Remedy, for example, turns healing into harm, weaponizing the opponent’s strategy against them. Another tactic is to include preventative measures like Erebos, God of the Dead, which outright denies life gain, ensuring the opponent’s Stream of Life is rendered ineffective.
One must not underestimate enchantments that offer life loss such as Sulfuric Vortex, which serves a dual purpose by maintaining consistent damage pressure while negating life gain benefits. Thus, while Stream of Life can provide a temporary buffer, countering it requires strategic deck building focused on obstructing or exploiting the opponent’s healing mechanisms.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Stream of Life MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Stream of Life and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
Printings
The Stream of Life Magic the Gathering card was released in 17 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 3 different artists.
Show/hide all sets| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1993-08-05 | Limited Edition Alpha | LEA | 217 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 2 | 1993-10-04 | Limited Edition Beta | LEB | 218 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 3 | 1993-12-01 | Unlimited Edition | 2ED | 218 | 1993 | Normal | White | Mark Poole | |
| 4 | 1993-12-10 | Collectors' Edition | CED | 218 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 5 | 1993-12-10 | Intl. Collectors' Edition | CEI | 218 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 6 | 1994-04-01 | Foreign Black Border | FBB | 217 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 7 | 1994-04-01 | Revised Edition | 3ED | 217 | 1993 | Normal | White | Mark Poole | |
| 8 | 1994-06-21 | Summer Magic / Edgar | SUM | 217 | 1993 | Normal | White | Mark Poole | |
| 9 | Media Inserts | PMEI | 25 | 1997 | Normal | White | Terese Nielsen | ||
| 10 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border | 4BB | 272 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 11 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition | 4ED | 272 | 1993 | Normal | White | Mark Poole | |
| 12 | 1997-03-24 | Fifth Edition | 5ED | 328 | 1997 | Normal | White | Terese Nielsen | |
| 13 | 1999-04-21 | Classic Sixth Edition | 6ED | 254 | 1997 | Normal | White | Terese Nielsen | |
| 14 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 272★ | 1997 | Normal | Black | Andrew Goldhawk | |
| 15 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 272 | 1997 | Normal | White | Andrew Goldhawk | |
| 16 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 282★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Andrew Goldhawk | |
| 17 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 282 | 2003 | Normal | White | Andrew Goldhawk | |
| 18 | 2005-07-29 | Ninth Edition | 9ED | 272★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Andrew Goldhawk | |
| 19 | 2005-07-29 | Ninth Edition | 9ED | 272 | 2003 | Normal | White | Andrew Goldhawk | |
| 20 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 213 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole | |
| 21 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 510 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Mark Poole |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Stream of Life has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |