Liliana's Standard Bearer MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Zombie Knight
Abilities Flash
Power 3
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Strategically played post-board wipe, it compensates for losses by restocking your hand, maintaining momentum.
  2. Instant speed offers flexibility, catching opponents off guard with its surprise blocker or responsive draw.
  3. Though powerful, controlled timing and exile effects are key strategies to counter its game-changing abilities.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash When Liliana's Standard Bearer enters the battlefield, draw X cards, where X is the number of creatures that died under your control this turn.

The purple banner of the House of Vess is a symbol of death wherever it's flown.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Liliana’s Standard Bearer can be a significant source of card advantage. When played after a board wipe or in response to multiple creatures dying, it can draw you a card for each creature that was put into your graveyard this turn. This can quickly restock your hand, keeping the momentum in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While Liliana’s Standard Bearer doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, by drawing multiple cards, you’re effectively ramping up your potential to play additional spells in subsequent turns. This influx of resources can overwhelm opponents as you deploy more threats than they can handle.

Instant Speed: One of the strongest aspects of Liliana’s Standard Bearer is its ability to be cast at instant speed. This allows you to wait for the optimal moment to capitalize on its card draw effect, such as in response to an opponent’s mass removal or combat tricks. Plus, it’s a surprise blocker that can turn the tide in combat scenarios where blockers are traded or die.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Triggering Liliana’s Standard Bearer’s ability hinges on having one of your creatures die, which may not be consistent or entirely within your control, particularly in a game where maintaining a board presence is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: Liliana’s Standard Bearer requires both black mana and generic mana, meaning it can be challenging to cast in multicolored decks that may not reliably produce the necessary black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two black mana, this card comes at a higher expense compared to other options in the three-drop slot, potentially impacting your curve and delaying other plays.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Liliana’s Standard Bearer offers flexibility in deck building due to its ability to act as both a proactive and reactive card. It can easily slot into a variety of black-centric or multicolor decks, th riving in strategies that involve creature sacrifice or discard elements.

Combo Potential: This card sparks synergy with numerous graveyard mechanics and can be a pivotal piece in combo decks that seek to capitalize on death triggers and creature recursion for advantage.

Meta-Relevance: Since the Standard Bearer can draw cards in response to board wipes or mass removal, it remains a relevant choice in metas dominated by control decks that rely heavily on such strategies. It ensures card flow continuity even in the face of adversary.


How to beat

Liliana’s Standard Bearer is a unique card in the MTG universe that can turn the tide of a game when played at the right moment. It particularly shines in situations where creatures have died during the turn, filling your hand with new cards. However, despite its power, it can be outmaneuvered. Timing is everything. To minimize its impact, aim to control when creatures are sent to the graveyard. This could mean avoiding board wipes or removal spells until after the bearer has been played, or until you can handle a potential surge in your opponent’s hand size.

Another strategy is to rely on exile effects. Cards that exile creatures bypass the graveyard, ensuring that Liliana’s Standard Bearer doesn’t trigger its potent ability. Moreover, hand disruption can be an effective method to ensure this creature doesn’t affect the playing field—removing it before it can be cast or reducing the overall benefit it could provide.

Ultimately, while daunting, Liliana’s Standard Bearer’s influence on the game can certainly be mitigated. Keeping a watchful eye on the timing of death triggers and employing strategic removal can ensure that you maintain the upper hand in your matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Liliana’s Standard Bearer makes for an intriguing addition to any deck that grapples with the ebb and flow of the battlefield. The ability to restock your hand at instant speed grants a tactical edge, often resulting in a game-changing maneuver. Whether you’re fending off control decks or looking for that combo piece, this card ensures you are prepared. Dive deeper into MTG strategies, optimize your gameplay, and expand your collection with confidence. Embrace the unexpected turns and elevate your deck’s potential with Liliana’s Standard Bearer. Let us guide your journey towards MTG mastery — continue learning with us today.


Cards like Liliana's Standard Bearer

Liliana’s Standard Bearer draws strength from being played at a moment that shifts the tide in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to draw cards is reminiscent of Midnight Reaper, which also capitalizes on creatures dying. However, Liliana’s Standard Bearer’s flash ability enables a surprise factor, allowing players to use it reactively after a board wipe or trade-off during the opponent’s turn, whereas Midnight Reaper is a constant presence that lacks the element of surprise.

Grim Haruspex similarly enjoys the benefit when creatures you control meet their demise, granting a draw per non-token creature’s last breath. While it doesn’t possess flash, it’s less restrictive than Liliana’s Standard Bearer, allowing a continuous card draw. On the more aggressive front, Species Specialist offers a twist by drawing cards whenever creatures of the chosen type die. This selective advantage can be more predictable but doesn’t offer the surprise play advantage.

Liliana’s Standard Bearer stands out in terms of its instant-speed response, maximizing moments when the board changes rapidly. This demonstrates its unique place among creature-focused draw spells in Magic: The Gathering, with the capacity to turn the loss of your creatures into a powerful advantage.

Midnight Reaper - MTG Card versions
Grim Haruspex - MTG Card versions
Species Specialist - MTG Card versions
Midnight Reaper - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Grim Haruspex - Khans of Tarkir Promos (PKTK)
Species Specialist - Commander 2020 (C20)

Cards similar to Liliana's Standard Bearer by color, type and mana cost

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Nim Abomination - MTG Card versions
Nantuko Husk - MTG Card versions
Nettling Imp - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Royal Assassin - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
El-Hajjâj - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Plague Rats - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Frozen Shade - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Scathe Zombies - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Sorceress Queen - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)
Wall of Bone - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)
Lost Soul - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Mindstab Thrull - Masters Edition (ME1)
Mischievous Poltergeist - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Strongarm Thug - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Razortooth Rats - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Ghastly Remains - Legions (LGN)
Lord of the Undead - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Deepwood Ghoul - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Dross Prowler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Nim Lasher - Mirrodin (MRD)
Nim Abomination - Darksteel (DST)
Nantuko Husk - Ninth Edition (9ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Liliana's Standard Bearer MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2021 and 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 Standard Bearer and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Liliana's Standard Bearer Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-07-03 and 2023-04-21. Illustrated by Josh Hass.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 1102015normalblackJosh Hass
22020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 2992015normalblackJosh Hass
32023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 2552015normalblackJosh Hass

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Liliana's Standard Bearer has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-06-23 The value of X is determined only as the triggered ability resolves. If Liliana's Standard Bearer dies while that ability's on the stack, it will count itself.

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