Havengul Lich MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Zombie Wizard
Power 4
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Boosts card advantage by reanimating creatures, effectively expanding your hand’s reach into the graveyard.
  2. Allows for significant resource acceleration, exploiting creatures from any graveyard for strategic plays.
  3. Offers flexibility and instant-speed interactions, enabling surprise plays and responsive board setups.

Text of card

: You may cast target creature card in a graveyard this turn. When you cast that card this turn, Havengul Lich gains all activated abilities of that card until end of turn.

Fusing intelligence with the power of undeath requires inspiration of the darkest kind.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Havengul Lich provides a substantial boost in card advantage by granting access to creatures in your graveyard. This mechanism allows you to reuse your best utility creatures or value engines, essentially turning your graveyard into an extension of your hand.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to replay creatures from any graveyard can lead to a form of resource acceleration. Not only does this expand the range of options available to you, but it can also facilitate plays that can otherwise be out of reach due to mana or card limitations.

Instant Speed: While Havengul Lich’s activation is not at instant speed, it provides flexibility by allowing instant-speed interactions once the creature is on the battlefield. This means you can effectively set up your board to respond during an opponent’s turn, based on the creatures you’ve acquired with the Lich’s ability, leveraging both surprise and timing to your advantage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To take full advantage of Havengul Lich’s capabilities, you may need to discard creatures to the graveyard first. This prerequisite means you’re deliberately lowering your hand count, which might hamper your gameplay if you are bereft of other resources or ways to recoup card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Havengul Lich’s casting and activation costs require both blue and black mana. This necessitates a focus on two colors within your mana base, potentially limiting the card’s integration into multicolored or colorless decks that may not support these requirements efficiently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, including one blue and one black, Havengul Lich comes into play later than other creatures or cards with graveyard interaction abilities. Other options may be more mana-efficient while achieving similar effects earlier in the game, which can be pivotal in matches where tempo is crucial.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Havengul Lich offers a highly flexible role within various deck archetypes, as it can continuously make use of creatures in your graveyard by granting them new life on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card is renowned for its synergy with cards that either sacrifice themselves or benefit from exiting the graveyard, thereby setting the stage for powerful and potentially game-winning combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where graveyard mechanics and creature-based strategies are ever-present, Havengul Lich holds its ground as a relevant card capable of providing value and unexpected plays against the grain of many prevailing deck builds.


How to beat

Havengul Lich offers a unique set of abilities that can be daunting to face in Magic: The Gathering. Its capacity to gain access to creatures in graveyards presents a significant challenge. To overcome this advantage, one strategy is to utilize graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, which can remove creatures from the graveyard or keep them from entering in the first place, thus nullifying the Lich’s ability.

Another effective approach involves leveraging instant-speed removal spells that can disrupt the Lich before it starts to generate value. Options include Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization, ensuring that the Lich is dealt with promptly. Additionally, countermagic spells such as Counterspell or Dovin’s Veto can prevent the Lich from ever hitting the board and potentially disrupting your opponent’s rhythm.

Addressing Havengul Lich necessitates a proactive game plan, as letting it linger can lead to an overwhelming tide of recurring threats. Therefore, a mix of graveyard negation and swift removal forms the foundation of a successful strategy against this tenacious undead adversary.


BurnMana Recommendations

The enchanting realm of MTG is a treasure trove of tactics, and mastering cards like Havengul Lich can elevate your gameplay to new heights. With its versatility and combo potential, this card transcends the ordinary by transforming your graveyard into a strategic asset. Whether seeking to counter popular meta decks or concocting devastating combos, incorporating Havengul Lich into your collection could be the turning point in your MTG journey. Keen to explore the full potential of this compelling card and refine your deck-building skills? Dive deeper with us and discover how Havengul Lich can herald your triumphs in the battlegrounds of MTG.


Cards like Havengul Lich

Havengul Lich offers a unique tactical advantage in MTG, akin to creature cards that manipulate the graveyard. Its ability to gain the activated abilities of creatures in graveyards means it frequently draws comparisons to cards like Gisa and Geralf, which also allow for casting zombies from the graveyard. Nevertheless, Havengul Lich takes it further by not being constrained to a zombie-only theme and extending its influence across any creature’s traits.

Analogous in nature, yet distinct in application, is the Scarab God, which reanimates creatures from any graveyard as powerful zombies, still, without adopting their abilities. Where Havengul Lich really separates itself is its potential continuous effect, enabling multiple uses and interactions in a single turn, provided sufficient mana is available. Then there’s Necrotic Ooze, inheriting only the abilities of creatures in your graveyard upon its own demise, offering no control over timing like the repeated activation potential of Havengul Lich.

While evaluating these graveyard synergy cards, Havengul Lich consistently shines for its versatility and the potential to significantly influence gameplay, solidifying its reputation as a formidable card in the realm of MTG.

Gisa and Geralf - MTG Card versions
Necrotic Ooze - MTG Card versions
Gisa and Geralf - Eldritch Moon (EMN)
Necrotic Ooze - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

Cards similar to Havengul Lich by color, type and mana cost

Nebuchadnezzar - MTG Card versions
Skeleton Ship - MTG Card versions
Nymris, Oona's Trickster - MTG Card versions
Kotose, the Silent Spider - MTG Card versions
Narfi, Betrayer King - MTG Card versions
Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth - MTG Card versions
Consuming Aberration - MTG Card versions
Tattered Drake - MTG Card versions
Dementia Sliver - MTG Card versions
Dralnu, Lich Lord - MTG Card versions
Ghastlord of Fugue - MTG Card versions
Gravelgill Axeshark - MTG Card versions
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born - MTG Card versions
Horror of the Dim - MTG Card versions
Haunter of Nightveil - MTG Card versions
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker - MTG Card versions
Necromaster Dragon - MTG Card versions
Possessed Skaab - MTG Card versions
Taigam, Sidisi's Hand - MTG Card versions
The Scarab God - MTG Card versions
Nebuchadnezzar - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Skeleton Ship - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Nymris, Oona's Trickster - Wilds of Eldraine Commander (WOC)
Kotose, the Silent Spider - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Promos (PNEO)
Narfi, Betrayer King - Kaldheim (KHM)
Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth - Midnight Hunt Commander (MIC)
Consuming Aberration - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
Tattered Drake - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Dementia Sliver - Time Spiral (TSP)
Dralnu, Lich Lord - Time Spiral (TSP)
Ghastlord of Fugue - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Gravelgill Axeshark - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born - Multiverse Legends (MUL)
Horror of the Dim - Gatecrash (GTC)
Haunter of Nightveil - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker - GRN Guild Kit (GK1)
Necromaster Dragon - Dragons of Tarkir Promos (PDTK)
Possessed Skaab - Magic Origins (ORI)
Taigam, Sidisi's Hand - Commander 2017 (C17)
The Scarab God - Commander Masters (CMM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Havengul Lich MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension and Commander 2017, 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 Havengul Lich and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Havengul Lich Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2012-02-03 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by James Ryman.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12012-02-03Dark AscensionDKA 1392003normalblackJames Ryman
22017-08-25Commander 2017C17 1732015normalblackJames Ryman
32023-03-21Shadows of the PastSIS 632015normalblackJames Ryman

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Havengul Lich has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-01-22 Havengul Lich’s activated ability creates a delayed triggered ability that triggers when you cast the creature card. This triggered ability will go on the stack on top of the creature spell and will resolve before the creature spell will.
2011-01-22 If you don’t cast the creature card that turn, Havengul Lich won’t gain any of its abilities.
2013-04-15 Havengul Lich’s ability changes the zone you are permitted to cast the card from, not the times you are permitted to cast it. You can cast a creature card that has been targeted by Havengul Lich from the graveyard, but unless it has flash, you can only do so if it’s your main phase, the stack is empty, and you have priority.
2016-06-08 Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “
-ost:
-ffect].” Some keywords are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text.
2019-10-04 Havengul Lich gains the activated abilities of the card as it existed in the graveyard while that card is still a spell on the stack.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks