Felidar Sovereign MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Cat Beast
Abilities Lifelink, Vigilance
Power 4
Toughness 6

Key Takeaways

  1. Shifts gameplay with its victory condition, influencing player strategies toward life gain.
  2. Challenges deck construction with its specific mana cost and effect on game tempo.
  3. Creates diverse win conditions in MTG, analogous to cards like Test of Endurance.
Vigilance card art

Guide to Vigilance card ability

In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.

Text of card

Vigilance, lifelink At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have 40 or more life, you win the game.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Felidar Sovereign has a significant impact on the board upon entering the battlefield. With its life gain ability, it can shift the game’s dynamic and put you squarely in the lead. By potentially ending the game if your life total is high enough at the beginning of your upkeep, it provides a unique form of card advantage by negating the need for drawing and playing further cards.

Resource Acceleration: Although Felidar Sovereign itself does not directly accelerate resources, its presence can influence how you use your resources throughout the game. By encouraging investment into life gain strategies, it can lead to a stronger board presence and less need for defensive play, effectively letting you allocate resources more aggressively elsewhere.

Instant Speed: The real power of Felidar Sovereign is not found in instant speed interactions but rather in the constant threat it poses while on the board. Even though it’s a creature that must be played at sorcery speed, the mere possibility of meeting its victory condition can force your opponent to play as if facing an instant-speed threat, often leading them to overcommit resources to halt your life gain or remove the Sovereign itself.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Felidar Sovereign doesn’t directly force you to discard cards, it does require you to have a substantial life total to win, which often means holding onto cards that help you gain life rather than playing a more proactive game.

Specific Mana Cost: Costing two white and four generic mana, Felidar Sovereign can be challenging to cast on curve, especially in multicolored decks that may not prioritize white mana or have the necessary ramp to accelerate its play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a six mana value, Felidar Sovereign enters the battleground later than most creatures, which might impair your tempo and leave you vulnerable to faster, more aggressive strategies while you’re setting up your board to meet its win condition.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Felidar Sovereign is not just a life-total payoff card, it’s also a robust creature that can bolster the defense of any white-based deck. With a strong 4/6 stat line, it stands firm on the battlefield and provides an alternate win condition if your life total is high enough.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with strategies aiming to gain vast amounts of life quickly. Pairing Felidar Sovereign with life-gain engines can not only strengthen your position but can also abruptly end the game in your favor under the right circumstances.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where games may last longer and board states become more complex, Felidar Sovereign can shine. It’s a threat that demands an answer, fitting well into a meta with heavy creature-based matchups or where stalling strategies are common.


How to beat

Felidar Sovereign is a formidable card that boasts both vigor and a unique winning condition, capable of securing a win if your life total is at a lofty 40 or more at the start of your upkeep. Navigating around this powerhouse involves strategic removal or disruption. Pinpointing opportunities to control or negate its lifelink ability proves pivotal in preventing that crucial life total from being reached.

One approach to disrupt Felidar Sovereign’s game-ending threat is through efficient creature removal spells that can handle its substantial toughness. Cards like Doom Blade or Path to Exile, with their low mana costs, can swiftly dispatch the Sovereign before its ability can take effect. Counterspells also play a critical role in keeping it off the battlefield entirely. Don’t overlook the potency of board wipes, such as Wrath of God or Damnation, which can reset the playing field.

Another tactic focuses on lower life totals, leveraging cards such as Erebos, God of the Dead or Sulfuric Vortex to put a lid on life gain strategies. Lastly, swiftness is key; apply pressure and aim to conclude the game rapidly before your opponent has the chance to revel in the might of the Sovereign’s decree.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG means being prepared for every scenario. Felidar Sovereign stands as a unique and powerful card, providing a direct path to victory for those with life gain strategies at their core. Whether you’re facing this vigilant beast across the battlefield or wielding its power in your deck, understanding its strengths and vulnerabilities is crucial. Is your collection ready for the tactical depth Felidar Sovereign adds? Are you prepared to counteract its win condition? Expand your MTG knowledge, find new synergies, and refine your strategies. Dive into our comprehensive guides and emphasize smart play to reign supreme in your next duel.


Cards like Felidar Sovereign

In the landscape of alternative win condition cards in Magic: The Gathering, Felidar Sovereign stands out with its unique victory clause. It echoes the life-based winning strategy of Test of Endurance, which also offers a triumph to players reaching a high life total. However, Felidar Sovereign demands a lower threshold of 40 life compared to Test of Endurance’s 50, while presenting a more robust body on the battlefield.

Approaching win conditions from a different angle, Mortal Combat offers victory for having a certain number of creature cards in your graveyard. This contrasts sharply with Felidar Sovereign, which focuses on maintaining a high life total rather than relying on a stocked graveyard. It highlights the diverse paths to victory that players can explore within the game.

Considering the broader spectrum of win scenarios, Felidar Sovereign provides a solid option for players invested in life gain strategies. Its immediate win condition upon upkeep reminds us of the infamous Maze’s End, which wins the game by fulfilling a land-based requirement. This versatile range of victory cards including Felidar Sovereign enriches game tactics, allowing for creative and thrilling paths to triumph in Magic: The Gathering.

Test of Endurance - MTG Card versions
Mortal Combat - MTG Card versions
Maze's End - MTG Card versions
Test of Endurance - Judgment (JUD)
Mortal Combat - Torment (TOR)
Maze's End - Dragon's Maze Promos (PDGM)

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Gempalm Avenger - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora (DDO)
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Silverstorm Samurai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Oathsworn Giant - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Deathless Angel - DCI Promos (PDCI)
Kjeldoran Gargoyle - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Duskrider Peregrine - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
Crovax, Ascendant Hero - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Lairwatch Giant - Lorwyn (LRW)
Spirit of the Hearth - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Sun Titan - Commander 2021 (C21)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Felidar Sovereign MTG card by a specific set like Resale Promos and Zendikar, 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 Felidar Sovereign and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Felidar Sovereign Magic the Gathering card was released in 7 different sets between 2007-01-01 and 2019-12-02. Illustrated by 8 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-01-01Resale PromosPRES 262015normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
22009-10-02ZendikarZEN 122003normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
32015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 26s2015normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
42015-10-02Battle for ZendikarBFZ 262015normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
52019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 1082015normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
62019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 11822015normalborderlessTatamepi
72020-09-26The ListPLST BFZ-262015normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Felidar Sovereign has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2015-08-25 Felidar Sovereign’s triggered ability checks to see if you have 40 or more life as your upkeep begins. If you don’t, the ability won’t trigger at all. If you do, the ability will check again as it tries to resolve. If you don’t have 40 or more life at that time, the ability won’t do anything.
2015-08-25 In a Two-Headed Giant game, your life total is the same as your team’s life total. As such, the ability triggers if your team has 40 or more life.

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