Bishop's Soldier MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Vampire Soldier
Abilities	Lifelink
Released	2017-09-29
Set symbol
Set name	Ixalan
Set code	XLN
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	6
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Scott Murphy

Key Takeaways

Lifelink provides a significant vitality boost during combat, making Bishop’s Soldier a subtle powerhouse.
Efficient mana cost ensures early game presence, allowing for strategic board development.
Pairing with life-generating cards creates combo opportunities, enabling potent synergies.

Text of card

Lifelink

Vampires, the noble class of old Torrezon, are guided by their dual loyalties to church and crown.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Bishop’s Soldier may not draw cards directly, its lifelink ability ensures that each attack or block can potentially translate into a health advantage. This ongoing benefit helps maintain your presence on the board, indirectly contributing to card advantage by preserving your creatures and life total.

Resource Acceleration: Bishop’s Soldier, by itself, doesn’t accelerate resources in terms of mana. However, its efficient mana cost allows you to deploy other cards alongside it more easily, helping to establish board presence without falling behind in terms of resource allocation.

Instant Speed: Though Bishop’s Soldier is a creature card and therefore not an instant, its two-drop casting cost allows for a swift response to an early aggressive game. This quick deployment can provide an immediate presence and influence as early as turn two, potentially shifting the momentum in your favor by virtue of its lifelink capability.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Bishop’s Soldier doesn’t explicitly necessitate a discard, playing it in decks that lean on card advantage may inadvertently pressure players into choosing between maintaining a card in hand or developing their board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: Featuring a precise mana cost that includes white, Bishop’s Soldier’s inclusion is naturally tailored for decks that can produce white mana reliably, potentially limiting its versatility across various strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing only two mana, the evaluation of Bishop’s Soldier’s cost-effectiveness must take into account the plethora of one-mana 2/1 creatures available. In comparison, the additional mana investment for lifelink may not always align with an aggressive deck’s tempo.

Reasons to Include Bishop’s Soldier in Your Collection

Versatility: Bishop’s Soldier is a solid choice for decks that center around lifegain strategies or need a reliable early blocker. Its dual capacity as both an attacker and defender makes it a flexible inclusion for various gameplay situations.

Combo Potential: The lifelink ability of the Bishop’s Soldier pairs well with cards that benefit from life gain, such as Ajani’s Pridemate, which grows stronger each time you gain life. This synergy helps construct powerful combos on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where aggressive decks are prevalent, having a low-cost creature with lifelink like Bishop’s Soldier can be crucial. It helps stabilize your life total while maintaining board presence, which can be pivotal in such metas.

How to beat

Bishop’s Soldier is a staple in lifelink-based decks within the vast universe of Magic: The Gathering. This unassuming creature card provides a consistent method for gaining life points, making it both a defensive asset and an annoyance for opponents who are seeking to whittle down your health. To effectively counteract the advantages provided by Bishop’s Soldier, one must focus on removal spells or abilities that can bypass its lifelink ability.

Cards such as Lava Coil and Fatal Push offer efficient solutions to remove a creature like Bishop’s Soldier from the battlefield. Additionally, utilizing board wipes like Wrath of God can reset the playing field, negating the incremental life advantage the soldier may have accrued. For a more preemptive approach, you can employ enchantments like Pacifism to neutralize Bishop’s Soldier without triggering its lifelink, essentially making it a non-threat.

In essence, while Bishop’s Soldier might not be the most formidable adversary in a magic duel, its presence can alter the game’s dynamic if not addressed promptly. Targeted removals or incapacitating cards remain the most effective strategies to curb its influence and maintain the upper hand in matches.

Cards like Bishop's Soldier

Bishop’s Soldier is a modest yet sturdy inclusion in white creature decks in Magic: The Gathering. Its lifelink ability sets it in good company with other two-mana creatures such as Healer’s Hawk and Ajani’s Pridemate. While Healer’s Hawk offers flying at the cost of reduced power, Bishop’s Soldier balances out as a 2/2 creature, ensuring a consistent presence on the battlefield.

Comparatively, Ajani’s Pridemate can grow significantly larger with its ability to gain +1/+1 counters whenever you gain life. Though the Pridemate doesn’t have lifelink innately, its synergy with Bishop’s Soldier can lead to an escalating threat for opponents. Another lifelink contender is Lone Missionary, which lacks the staying power with only a 2/1 stat-line but provides an immediate life gain boost upon entering the battlefield, a difference that can be critical in certain matchups.

Evaluating these options, Bishop’s Soldier garners respect for its simplicity and reliability in decks geared towards incremental life gain and board stability, making it a valuable card for Magic: The Gathering players who appreciate a consistent, defensive strategy.

Cards similar to Bishop's Soldier by color, type and mana cost

Voice of the Blessed - MTG Card versions

Silverflame Squire // On Alert - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bishop's Soldier MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan, 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 Bishop's Soldier and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bishop's Soldier has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal