Laquatus's Champion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Nightmare Horror
Power 6
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Significant life total swings with Laquatus’s Champion amplify strategic depth and card advantage in gameplay.
  2. Its reanimation potential offers creative resource acceleration beyond standard casting methods.
  3. Surprise board state shifts are possible with instant speed synergies, creating unexpected victory paths.

Text of card

When Laquatus's Champion enters the battlefield, target player loses 6 life. When Laquatus's Champion leaves the battlefield, that player gains 6 life. : Regenerate Laquatus's Champion.

Темный дар Чейнера еще более темной душе.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Laquatus’s Champion offers an efficient trade-off upon entering or leaving the battlefield. By causing a life swing of six points when it comes to play and again when it leaves, you can put yourself in a potent position against your opponent, both threatening their life total and bolstering your own – a dual benefit that provides a significant card advantage when life totals are a critical factor.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly influencing mana, Laquatus’s Champion’s reanimation potential allows you to bypass the regular casting cost. Combining with graveyard mechanics can effectively accelerate your resource advantage by putting a high-powered creature into play without paying its mana cost, if leveraged properly with your deck’s strategy.

Instant Speed: While the card itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the life loss it inflicts can turn the tide at critical junctures. Partnering Laquatus’s Champion with instant speed reanimation spells or abilities enables surprise shifts in board state and life totals, potentially disrupting your opponent’s calculations during their turn and opening opportunities for sudden comebacks or game-winning moves.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Laquatus’s Champion enters the battlefield requiring the discard of a certain number of cards, which could be detrimental during late-game scenarios when hand size may be critical to maintain.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost is particularly restrictive, demanding a commitment to black mana sources. Players running multicolor decks may find this cost challenging to meet consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes a total of six mana, Laquatus’s Champion may arrive on the battlefield later than more efficient creatures. Its cost potentially hinders early game tempo and strategy implementation.


Reasons to Include Laquatus’s Champion in Your Collection

Versatility: Laquatus’s Champion is a multifaceted card that can be a game-changer in both aggro and control decks. Its ability to act as both a threat and life swing provides considerable adaptability on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with reanimation strategies or effects that can repeatedly leave and return it to the battlefield, triggering its life-gain and loss ability each time for significant life swings.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state that heavily features creature-based strategies, Laquatus’s Champion can be the perfect answer, providing not only a sizable body but also a way to disrupt your opponent’s life total, gaining an edge in races and combat scenarios.


How to beat

Laquatus’s Champion is a formidable card known for its come-into-play ability to sap life from your opponent and its potential to regain it upon leaving the battlefield. Facing this black creature can be a challenge, but there are strategies to minimize its impact on the game. For starters, removal spells that exile it directly, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can be effective since they prevent the life gain trigger when the Champion leaves the battlefield.

Counterspells also play a vital role in stopping Laquatus’s Champion from hitting the board in the first place. Being proactive and having a counterspell ready when your opponent has the mana to cast it can save you a significant amount of life. Additionally, leveraging graveyard hate like Rest in Peace can negate its ability to be a recurring threat from the graveyard, making sure that your opponent won’t benefit from its leave-the-battlefield effect.

Understanding the dynamics of timing and the stack in Magic: The Gathering can drastically alter the course of a game against this card. Preventive measures, timely removal, and graveyard disruption are key tactics to triumph over Laquatus’s Champion and maintain control over the duel.


Cards like Laquatus's Champion

Laquatus’s Champion is an intriguing creature card that presents some unique features in Magic: The Gathering. It shares certain traits with other notable creature cards that evoke terror on the battlefield. Take Phyrexian Obliterator, for instance, a creature known for its forceful ability causing opponents to sacrifice permanents. Both embody the threat of substantial life point swings though Laquatus’s Champion directly targets player’s life totals with its leave-the-battlefield trigger.

In the realm of life manipulation, we find Exquisite Bloodstalker. While it lacks the immediate impact of Laquatus’s Champion, it provides a consistent drain on opponents as they lose life. However, the Champion makes a bolder entrance and exit, offering a potent swing in the race to whittle down life totals. Then contrast with Gray Merchant of Asphodel, which also affects life totals upon entering the battlefield. Although the Merchant affects all opponents in a multiplayer game, it lacks the intimidation factor of Laquatus’s Champion’s return ability to the battlefield.

Ultimately, Laquatus’s Champion holds a distinctive place in MTG. Through its lifecycle-effect synergy and swinging life totals, it remains a formidable choice for players seeking to leave a lasting impression on the battlefield.

Phyrexian Obliterator - MTG Card versions
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Obliterator - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Theros (THS)

Cards similar to Laquatus's Champion by color, type and mana cost

Nightmare - MTG Card versions
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Ihsan's Shade - MTG Card versions
Necrosavant - MTG Card versions
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Anurid Murkdiver - MTG Card versions
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Bog Hoodlums - MTG Card versions
Nightmare - Arena Beginner Set (ANB)
Demonic Hordes - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Ihsan's Shade - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Necrosavant - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Dakmor Lancer - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Face of Fear - Odyssey (ODY)
Wire Surgeons - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Grave Titan - Fallout (PIP)
Chittering Harvester - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Crossway Troublemakers - Crimson Vow Commander (VOC)
Anurid Murkdiver - Onslaught (ONS)
Gempalm Polluter - Legions (LGN)
Nefashu - Scourge (SCG)
Twisted Abomination - Scourge (SCG)
Iname, Death Aspect - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Deathcurse Ogre - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Yawgmoth Demon - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Ascendant Evincar - Tenth Edition (10E)
Bog Hoodlums - Lorwyn (LRW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Laquatus's Champion MTG card by a specific set like Torment Promos and Torment Promos, 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 Laquatus's Champion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Laquatus's Champion Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2002-02-04 and 2018-03-16. Illustrated by Greg Staples.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-02-04Torment PromosPTOR 671997normalblackGreg Staples
22002-02-04Torment PromosPTOR 67†1997normalblackGreg Staples
32002-02-04Torment PromosPTOR 67†a1997normalblackGreg Staples
42002-02-04TormentTOR 671997normalblackGreg Staples
52002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 378751997normalblackGreg Staples
62014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1252015normalblackGreg Staples
72018-03-16Masters 25A25 952015normalblackGreg Staples

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Laquatus's Champion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-03-16 As Laquatus’s Champion’s second ability resolves, the player who gains 6 life is the player who was the target of the first ability (or, if that ability is still on the stack, the player who is its target).

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