Liliana's Scorn MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Released | 2020-07-03 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Core Set 2021 |
| Set code | M21 |
| Number | 329 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Josh Hass |
Key Takeaways
- Gains you card advantage by forcing opponent discards and can reanimate a creature to your field.
- Instant speed offers tactical flexibility, impacting opponent’s strategy and play timing.
- Drawback includes mandatory self-discard, restrictive mana cost, and potential high cost impact.
Text of card
Destroy target creature. You may search your library and/or graveyard for a card named Liliana, Death Mage, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you search your library this way, shuffle it.
"We're done here."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Designed to outmaneuver your opponents, Liliana’s Scorn ensures card superiority by forcing a discard while potentially adding a creature to your board. This can significantly disrupt your opponent’s strategy and hand balance, bolstering your control over the game.
Resource Acceleration: The power of Liliana’s Scorn extends to resource management. By possibly returning a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield, you accelerate your resource deployment, allowing for more aggressive plays and strategic depth. This makes it an invaluable asset in decks that thrive on graveyard mechanics.
Instant Speed: Liliana’s Scorn’s instant speed is a tactical advantage that cannot be overstated. It enables reactive play during your opponent’s turn, keeping them guessing and allowing you to maximize the timing and impact of the spell. Holding up mana for such a game-changing spell can deter opponents from committing to their own strategies, resulting in a psychological edge that’s just as valuable as the mechanical one.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Liliana’s Scorn necessitates the player to discard a card, which can be particularly detrimental if you’re holding key pieces that you can’t afford to lose, diminishing your hand and potentially placing you at a disadvantage.
Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of this spell contains black mana, requiring a commitment to that color, thereby potentially constraining its inclusion to mono-black or black-inclusive multicolor decks, and limiting deck-building flexibility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that’s on the higher side for its type of effect, some players might find it cumbersome, especially when faster and less mana-intensive alternatives are available that could be more impactful earlier in the game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Liliana’s Scorn lends itself to a broad range of deck types, from dedicated control decks looking to thwart opposing strategies to black-based midrange decks that can benefit from its spot removal and life loss mechanics.
Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with decks that capitalize on discard mechanics or death triggers, enabling players to dismantle their opponent’s hand while setting up potent board states.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Liliana’s Scorn acts as a scalable solution, providing a critical answer to swarming tactics and maintaining card advantage in prolonged matches.
How to beat
Overcoming Liliana’s Scorn in Magic: The Gathering requires strategic planning and understanding of its mechanics. This potent spell can change the tide of the game by forcing each opponent to sacrifice two creatures. To effectively counter this, players should consider the timing of their creature plays and maintain a reserve of creatures in hand or cards that can generate creature tokens rapidly. This allows for a swift recovery post-Scorn.
Moments of flexibility in your deck construction can also be helpful. Including cards that can be played at instant speed allows you to wait out Liliana’s Scorn and then repopulate the board. Another tactic involves utilizing non-creature sources of power, such as enchantments or planeswalkers, which remain unaffected by the sorcery. Indestructible creatures or those with revival abilities also blunt the impact of this devastating spell.
Adapting to Liliana’s Scorn involves a mix of preemptive deck building and in-the-moment gameplay choices. Acknowledge its potential and prepare accordingly, and you’ll find yourself recovering quickly, ready to take control of the game once more.
Cards like Liliana's Scorn
The spell Liliana’s Scorn can be viewed as another compelling entry in the realm of control cards for Magic: The Gathering. A counterpart to consider might be Diabolic Edict, which also forces opponents to sacrifice a creature. While both cards share the element of making opponents lose creatures, Liliana’s Scorn offers an alternative benefit. Upon having a Liliana planeswalker on the battlefield, it becomes possible to clear away a wider array of threats beyond just creatures, demonstrating its versatility.
Another spell with congruent functionality is Chainer’s Edict. Similar to Liliana’s Scorn, this sorcery also compels a sacrifice from the opponent. Albeit, Chainer’s Edict possesses the added flexibility of flashback, allowing it to be used from the graveyard for extended influence over the game. Nevertheless, Liliana’s Scorn holds the potential for an immediate, wider board impact under the right circumstances.
It’s essential to gauge the unique aspects of these spells to optimize gameplay strategies. While each card has its situations where it shines, Liliana’s Scorn notably stands out in decks designed around its namesake planeswalker, promising more than just creature elimination when played strategically.
Cards similar to Liliana's Scorn by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Liliana's Scorn MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2021, 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 Liliana's Scorn 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 Liliana's Scorn has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Liliana's Scorn card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-06-23 | If the target creature is an illegal target by the time Liliana's Scorn tries to resolve, the spell won't resolve. You won't search for Liliana, Death Mage. If the target is legal but not destroyed (most likely because it has indestructible), you do search for Liliana. |
