Lagonna-Band Elder MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Centaur Advisor
Released	2013-09-27
Set symbol
Set name	Theros
Set code	THS
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	21
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Min Yum

Key Takeaways

Enchantment control is key to maximizing the Lagonna-Band Elder’s life gain and card draw abilities effectively.
The card’s specific mana requirements can restrict its utility in diverse or multicolored deck strategies.
Lagonna-Band Elder shines in decks designed to exploit its abilities, outperforming other creatures in life gain.

Text of card

When Lagonna-Band Elder enters the battlefield, if you control an enchantment, you gain 3 life.

"The best lessons are not the ones I teach. They are the ones the pupils realize for themselves."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Lagonna-Band Elder is a strategic addition for decks looking to maintain a steady flow of cards. When it enters the battlefield, if you control an enchantment, you’ll get to draw a card. This feature is particularly beneficial as it keeps your hand replenished, giving you more options and sustaining your advantage over the course of a match.

Resource Acceleration: While the Lagonna-Band Elder itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it aligns well with enchantment-heavy decks that often incorporate other cards to ramp up your mana. By efficiently bolstering your board presence with creatures, it supports a strategy that leads to resource acceleration through synergistic deck building.

Instant Speed: Although the Lagonna-Band Elder operates at sorcery speed, its effect complements decks that run a suite of instant speed spells. Having creatures like the Elder allows you to establish a board presence on your turn, which frees up your mana on the opponent’s turn for those crucial instant speed interactions, ensuring you’re always a threat during all phases of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike some other creature cards that do not have any additional costs or requirements beyond their mana cost, Lagonna-Band Elder demands some set-up to use its ability optimally. It requires a significant enchantment presence on the battlefield to capitalize on its ability, which could be a setback in games where you’re unable to establish or maintain such presences.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost is locked into two specific colors of mana—one plain and two white. This requirement may challenge deck-building flexibility and it might not seamlessly fit into all strategies, especially in multi-colored decks that may not reliably produce white mana early in the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana for a creature with a base stat line of 3/3, it may not always represent the best value in terms of mana-to-power/toughness efficiency. Additionally, without an enchantment to trigger its ability, it lacks the immediate board impact other creatures at a similar cost might offer, potentially hindering tempo against more aggressive decks.

Reasons to Include Lagonna-Band Elder in Your Collection

Versatility: Lagonna-Band Elder brings more to the table than just a creature presence. When you’re running a deck with a strong Plains presence, this card makes sure you get additional value every time it enters the battlefield. It’s a solid choice for white-based midrange decks that appreciate a life boost alongside a respectable creature.

Combo Potential: In the realm of combos, Lagonna-Band Elder interacts well with cards that bounce creatures back to your hand or manipulate the number of Plains you control. Its ability can be activated multiple times in the right deck, turning it from a simple creature into a recurring source of life gain.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG environment ebbs and flows, life gain can often disrupt the tempo of aggressive decks looking to close out games quickly. Inserting Lagonna-Band Elder into your arsenal could give you the edge in a meta where sustaining your life total is paramount to outlasting opponents.

How to beat

The Lagonna-Band Elder can be a valuable asset in MTG, offering a beneficial life gain for those who play enchantments. Similar to other creatures that have a life gain on entering the battlefield, like the well-known Kitchen Finks, Lagonna-Band Elder can provide a health buffer. However, unlike Kitchen Finks, its ability is conditional upon controlling an enchantment.

When facing this centaur cleric, there are several strategies to mitigate its impact. An effective approach is managing enchantments with spells like Disenchant, or using board control to keep enchantment counts low, thus nullifying the life gain trigger. Cards with exile effects, such as Path to Exile, can also remove the Elder before it becomes more of a nuisance, avoiding the life gain even if an enchantment is present.

In essence, keeping the Lagonna-Band Elder in check requires preemptive board management, focusing on enchantment removal or exile mechanics. By doing so, its influence on the game is significantly lessened, and opponents are left with a straightforward creature that offers less benefit and can be addressed with traditional creature control tactics.

Cards like Lagonna-Band Elder

Lagonna-Band Elder stands out within the pantheon of creatures in MTG due to its conditional life gain ability. It’s akin to Centaur Healer, which also nets you 3 life when it enters the battlefield. However, the benefits of Lagonna-Band Elder are contingent on controlling another permanent with a white mana symbol in its mana cost, unlike the unconditional life gain provided by Centaur Healer.

Comparably, we have Kitchen Finks, offering not only life gain but also the resilience of the persist mechanic. While Lagonna-Band Elder can be a boon in the right deck, Kitchen Finks provides a more consistent benefit. Lone Missionary is another related creature, straightforward with a 2 life gain upon entry. Although it gives less life than Lagonna-Band Elder can potentially give, it doesn’t have a conditional trigger.

Ultimately, Lagonna-Band Elder can be a strong pick for decks that can reliably meet its condition, aligning well with strategies that leverage white-centric permaments to their fullest. In decks tuned to maximize its ability, it outshines counterparts in terms of life gained.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lagonna-Band Elder MTG card by a specific set like Theros, 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 Lagonna-Band Elder and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lagonna-Band Elder has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-09-15	If you don't control an enchantment when Lagonna-Band Elder enters the battlefield, its ability won't trigger. If it does trigger, but you don't control an enchantment when the ability tries to resolve, you won't gain life.