Sustaining Spirit MTG Card
1996-06-10 - Number 18
2008-09-22 - Number 36
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Angel Spirit |
| Abilities | Cumulative upkeep |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Text of card
Cumulative Upkeep: o1o W Any damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 instead reduces it to 1.
"Faith is our greatest protector." —Halvor Arensson, Kjeldoran Priest
Cards like Sustaining Spirit
Sustaining Spirit is an intriguing inclusion in the world of creature protection in Magic: The Gathering. Resembling cards such as Avacyn, Angel of Hope, it offers a blanket protection by preventing your life total from reducing to less than 1. Yet, Sustaining Spirit differs in its cumulative upkeep cost, which requires a long-term game strategy to harness its potential effectively.
Parallel to Sustaining Spirit, we have cards like Worship, which also ensure your survival under devastating circumstances. Worship requires you to have a creature in play to activate its ability, which serves as both an advantage and a limitation depending on board presence. Then we have Fortune Thief, which can catch opponents off-guard thanks to its morphing capability, allowing a similar effect to Sustaining Spirit’s but with the element of surprise.
Ultimately, when evaluating protection strategies and the durability they offer within Magic: The Gathering, Sustaining Spirit stands out. It provides a unique safety net, but careful deck building is essential to support its cumulative upkeep cost, setting the stage for strategic defensive plays.
Cards similar to Sustaining Spirit by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Sustaining Spirit can provide a persistent benefit that can negate the need to hold additional protective spells in your hand, helping to refine your deck’s strategy and maintain card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: While Sustaining Spirit itself doesn’t generate additional mana or tokens, its ability to prevent life loss allows players to strategically utilize life as a resource, giving them the freedom to tap out for impactful plays without fear of a lethal counterattack.
Instant Speed: The ability of Sustaining Spirit to be cast at instant speed enables players to respond dynamically to threats on the battlefield. This flexibility ensures that your strategy remains fluid and adaptable up until the last possible moment, maximizing your commanding presence on the game board.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Sustaining Spirit has an upkeep cost that may require strategic discarding, which can diminish your hand and reduce your options later in the game.
Specific Mana Cost: Its casting cost necessitates both white mana and colorless mana, making it less flexible for decks that are not primarily white or that have a strict mana curve.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of three mana, including two that must be white, it’s a significant investment for its effect, and it may compete with other valuable three-drops in your deck.
Reasons to Include Sustaining Spirit in Your Collection
Versatility: Sustaining Spirit compliments a wide array of strategies, notably in decks that strive to preserve life totals. Its ability to convert damage to life gain after reducing life to 1, easily integrates with defensive decks.
Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that prevent damage or life loss, creating a robust defensive combo that can frustrate opponents and prolong your survival in the game.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where aggressive strategies predominate, Sustaining Spirit can be a game-changer. Its unique damage conversion mechanism allows it to effectively counter and outlast numerous onslaughts, making it a prudent choice for players dealing with a hostile meta.
How to beat
Sustaining Spirit is an iconic card that can influence the endurance of your gameplay in Magic: The Gathering. Known for its unique ability to prevent your life total from dropping below 1, it stands as a formidable defense piece on the battlefield. However, its resilience can be overcome with strategic moves.
Effective methods to disarm the Sustaining Spirit’s effect include employing removal spells that bypass its ability, such as exile effects or spells that force the player to sacrifice a creature. Additionally, using cards with -1/-1 counters can whittle down Sustaining Spirit’s defenses, as its prevention ability won’t trigger if it’s destroyed due to having 0 or less toughness. Moreover, implementing alternative win conditions, such as decking your opponent or leveraging poison counters, can sidestep the life-preserving nature of Sustaining Spirit entirely.
While the Sustaining Spirit does offer a buffer against defeat, its powers are not insurmountable. With thoughtfully chosen cards and strategies, you can find ways to navigate around its protective shield and secure victory.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Sustaining Spirit MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Masters Edition II, 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 Sustaining Spirit 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
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Printings
The Sustaining Spirit Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Rebecca Guay.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-06-10 | Alliances | ALL | 18 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Rebecca Guay | |
| 2 | 2008-09-22 | Masters Edition II | ME2 | 36 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Rebecca Guay |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Sustaining Spirit has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Sustaining Spirit card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | Does not affect damage if you are already at zero or negative life. You still take it all. |
| 2008-10-01 | If an effect asks you to pay life, you can’t pay more life than you have. |
| 2008-10-01 | Paying cumulative upkeep is always optional. If it’s not paid, the permanent with cumulative upkeep is sacrificed. Partial payments of the total cumulative upkeep cost can’t be made. For example, if a permanent with “cumulative upkeep ” has three age counters on it when its cumulative upkeep ability triggers, it gets another age counter and then its controller chooses to either pay or sacrifice the permanent. |
| 2008-10-01 | Sustaining Spirit won’t prevent you from losing the game if your life total is 0 or less or some other effect causes you to lose the game. |
| 2008-10-01 | The ability doesn’t change how much damage is dealt; it just changes how much life that damage makes you lose. An effect such as Spirit Link will see the full amount of damage being dealt. |
| 2008-10-01 | The second ability applies only if your life total is being reduced by damage. Other effects or costs (such as “lose 1 life” or “pay 1 life”) can reduce your life total below 1 as normal. |
| 2008-10-01 | The second ability is not a prevention effect. It stops unpreventable damage from reducing your life total below 1. |