Lifesmith MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Artificer |
| Released | 2010-10-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Scars of Mirrodin |
| Set code | SOM |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 124 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Eric Deschamps |
Key Takeaways
- Lifesmith pairs well with artifacts, providing life gain that can outpace opponent damage over time.
- Its instant-speed ability allows seamless integration into gameplay, offering flexibility and utility.
- Despite its benefits, Lifesmith requires specific mana and can be costly for the effects provided.
Text of card
Whenever you cast an artifact spell, you may pay . If you do, you gain 3 life.
The Sylvok see the artificer as a gardener, preparing the world for hardy growth.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lifesmith offers strategic benefits in card usage, particularly when you are building a deck focused on artifact synergy. With Lifesmith, every artifact you play could potentially equate to a life gain, effectively outpacing your opponent’s damage output over time and maintaining your life total as a resource.
Resource Acceleration: While Lifesmith itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it encourages the play of artifacts that often lead to ramping up your mana. In conjunction with artifacts that tap for mana or those that ensure you have the right colors of mana, Lifesmith can be part of an overall strategy of resource acceleration.
Instant Speed: Lifesmith’s ability triggers at whatever speed you can cast an artifact. This means that if you play an artifact at instant speed, you get the life gain immediately. It’s a passive ability that works seamlessly within the flow of the game, giving it a form of flexibility and utility at instant speed without being an instant itself. The true value comes from the life gained whenever an artifact enters the battlefield under your control, which can happen on any turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Lifesmith’s abilities necessitate a certain discard condition, compelling the player to forfeit potentially important hand assets, a move that could lead to being at a disadvantage during critical turns.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s cost is confined to a specific type of mana, which may not always be easily accessible, especially in multi-colored decks where mana fixing is critical for smooth gameplay.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana value, Lifesmith may not be the most mana-efficient card for the benefits it provides. In optimized decks, players often seek cards that offer a stronger impact for the same or less mana investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Lifesmith offers a robust addition to decks focusing on artifact synergies, providing a reliable source of life gain with each artifact you play, which can be particularly useful in longer games or against aggressive strategies.
Combo Potential: Lifesmith works well with cards that allow you to put multiple artifacts into play in a single turn, helping to stabilize your life total while developing your board presence. This makes it a valuable asset in artifact-heavy combos.
Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, Lifesmith maintains relevance in metagames where artifacts are prevalent. Its consistent life gain can be a counterbalance to the fast-paced, damage-oriented decks that often dominate play.
How to beat Lifesmith
Confronting a Lifesmith on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering can be a challenging endeavor. This creature shines in artifact-centric decks, where its ability to provide life gain for each artifact played is maximally exploited. To overcome Lifesmith’s advantages, players should consider strategies that limit the number of artifacts on the field or negate the life gain completely. Cards like Relic of Progenitus can keep the artifact count in check by removing them from the game entirely.
Another sound tactic would be to introduce effects that prevent life gain, such as using Tainted Remedy, which turns any life gain into life loss, effectively rendering Lifesmith’s ability detrimental to its controller. Implementing direct removal spells such as Doom Blade or Path to Exile can also dispatch a Lifesmith efficiently before its life-gaining ability becomes a significant problem.
It’s important to remember that while a solitary Lifesmith might not seem formidable, its potential increases exponentially with the number of artifacts played. Addressing it promptly or neutralizing its effects turns the tide of the game back to an even keel, thereby minimizing its impact on the overall match.
Cards like Lifesmith
Examining Lifesmith within a niche of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering, we can draw parallels with similar life-gaining cards. Lifesmith offers a straightforward benefit – you gain life each time you cast an artifact. This ability finds a cousin in Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice, which provides life equal to the toughness of creatures entering the battlefield under your control. Though Trostani’s effect is broader, it’s not as focused on the artifact synergy as Lifesmith is.
Essence Warden is another card that shares comparable traits, providing life gain whenever another creature enters the battlefield. While Essence Warden may trigger more often in creature-heavy decks, Lifesmith’s specificity to artifacts can be more fruitful in an artifact-centric strategy. Lastly, we have Auriok Champion that grants life when a creature comes into play as well. However, it also offers protection from specific colors, giving it an entirely different secondary utility.
In essence, when exploring various cards aimed at increasing your life total in Magic: The Gathering, the Lifesmith’s artifact synergy gives it a significant position within life-gain strategies, particularly in decks abundant with artifacts.
Cards similar to Lifesmith by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lifesmith MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin, 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 Lifesmith and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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 Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lifesmith has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
