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Pojo's Magic The Gathering Card of the Day
Daily Since November 2001!

Phylactery Lich
Image from Wizards.com

Phylactery Lich
M11

Reviewed July 21, 2010

Constructed: 3.40
Casual: 3.90
Limited: 2.60
Multiplayer: 2.60

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

Click here to see all our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Phylactery Lich

What was I saying yesterday about a viable black aggro archetype? Well, find room for some artifacts, because this is going into it. An indestructible 5/5 for three mana is worth having to drop an artifact and keep it around. Everflowing Chalice might not be a big help in an aggro deck, but the Tutelage will give it to you for free and you can drop it early enough that the Lich here gets to make his turn three debut. Equipment is also a nice addition to any deck that wants to attack, and any deck with an indestructible 5/5 wants to attack.

Constructed- 3.5
Casual- 4
Limited- 3
Multiplayer- 3

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Phylactery Lich
 
Most of Magic's attempts to adapt modern fantasy's concept of the lich involve players turning themselves into one. Summoning one is almost as good, though, especially when it's as scary as Michael Komarck's interpretation here. Fittingly, this lich can easily meet its end against the forces of chaos or nature that can target its phylactery, but much of the time, it will be a powerhouse.
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 2/5
Multiplayer: 2/5

Paul

Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Phylactery Lich 
 
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is Phylactery Lich a flavorful and potentially powerful card. In standard we don't have the artifact lands but this card could be playable in a mono black aggressive artifact deck although the question is raised, is bending your deck to suit a 5/5 indestructible body worth it? Time will tell. In extended we have Ornithopter and Vault of Whispers and more are all available to you its impact is to be seen. In eternal this card wont see much play creatures need to be stellar, its possible vault of whispers dark ritual into this but its easily handled. In casual and multiplayer this is a powerful card for black mages and flavorful for collectors, a decent card for casual players and will probably be popular. In limited this card is hard to work around but if your mono black and have a few handy artifacts. Overall a flavor fully impressive card with great artwork and constructed possibilities.
 
Constructed :2.5
Casual: 3.0
Limited :2.0
Multiplayer : 3.0

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Phylactery Lich which for three Black mana can be an Indestructible 5/5 as long as a marked artifact is in play. 
In an all Black deck this can be a pretty powerful effect, especially in multiples as only one artifact with a counter needs to be in play for any number of Phylactery Lich cards to remain indestructible.  They are still vulnerable to other forms of removal, but a three mana 5/5 is quite playable even with a condition.  With cards like this being printed alongside the returning Nantuko Shade it looks like the very aggressive time for Black will continue unabated.
 
In any format it may be tempting to play an artifact creature on the first or second turn to set up a turn three Lich, but the creature will be quite vulnerable to a variety of removal.  Equipment cards are an excellent choice here as they can have the token placed on them on turn three then equipped on the fourth turn for a full attack from the Lich. 
With the next set being a return to Mirrodin expect a ton of artifacts and additional support that may add even more value to a Black/Artifact deck.
 
For Limited this may look like a very powerful card, but the triple
Black cost is a bit problematic in an often multicolor format.   In
addition getting both the Lich and an artifact card available at the same time can be harder to manage than in a deck designed with it in mind.  Choosing this as a first pick in Booster really locks you into an all Black and artifact deck and any other players going for Black will disrupt your potential choices.  For Sealed the ability to play a single color is reduced and the number of artifacts in your pool can be few to almost none.  The playability depends entirely on what is available and even then hinges on the luck of the draw.  Running some Blue for library control can assist in seeing the needed combination, but that makes getting the three Black mana in the first few turns impossible.  By the time you can play it the Indestructible aspect may be less useful than a larger creature with less baggage.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 4.5


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