Curse of Vitality MTG Card


It provides recurring life gain in long games, strengthening your position progressively over time. Enables synergetic plays with life payment cards while maintaining a healthy life total. Demands specific conditions to be met, which can limit its effectiveness without proper setup.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura Curse
Abilities Enchant

Text of card

Enchant player Whenever enchanted player is attacked, you gain 2 life. Each opponent attacking that player does the same.

Good health beckons many a vigorous follower.


Cards like Curse of Vitality

Curse of Vitality is an intriguing enchantment in the Magic: The Gathering universe. This card mirrors certain traits of life-gaining spells such as Sun Droplet and Cradle of Vitality. While Sun Droplet provides a consistent, albeit slower, life increment during each upkeep, Curse of Vitality grants you life whenever the cursed player is attacked, potentially offering more immediate benefits during a multiplayer game.

Cradle of Vitality stands out with its ability to not just gain life but also fortify a creature whenever life is gained. Unlike Curse of Vitality, it can lead to a snowballing creature threat, though both enchantments shine in decks focusing on life gain strategies. A less direct but still noteworthy comparison can be drawn to Courser’s Accorder, which also ties into gaining life when certain conditions are met, specifically when you gain a land. The accorder doesn’t directly interact with opponent maneuvers like Curse of Vitality does, offering a more self-reliant path to life gain.

Each card exhibits its unique characteristics that can influence a player’s deck strategy. Curse of Vitality stands out due to its multiplayer game synergy, turning each assault against your adversaries into a boon for your own survival.

Sun Droplet - MTG Card versions
Cradle of Vitality - MTG Card versions
Sun Droplet - MTG Card versions
Cradle of Vitality - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Curse of Vitality shines in long games, where it can repeatedly trigger, providing you with life gain each turn and gradually tipping the scales in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: By helping you stay healthy, Curse of Vitality indirectly contributes to resource acceleration since you can use your life as a resource for other powerful life-pay cards without compromising your position.

Instant Speed: Though Curse of Vitality itself is not an instant, it plays well alongside instant-speed cards. It rewards you for leaving mana open, allowing you to cast instants on your opponent’s turn and still reap benefits during your own.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Curse of Vitality doesn’t specifically require a discard to play, it does prompt players to meet certain conditions to trigger life gain, which can sometimes feel as taxing as a discard requirement if the setup isn’t in place.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost demands one white mana, potentially complicating its inclusion in multi-color or color-flexible decks that may not always have white mana readily available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For three mana, Curse of Vitality provides a reoccurring life gain benefit that hinges on opponents losing life. Yet, the mana investment and condition-sensitive nature of the pay-off can be a bit steep, especially when other cards might provide more immediate or guaranteed life gain without such prerequisites.


Reasons to Include Curse of Vitality in Your Collection

Versatility: Curse of Vitality can serve a dual role in your decks. This enchantment offers both a steady life gain and a deterrent against aggressive strategies, making it a flexible choice for a variety of deck builds looking to stabilize against rush opponents.

Combo Potential: This card works well when paired with effects that trigger from life gain or punish opponents for being cursed. It can set off a cascade of advantageous effects each time your opponents take a certain action, further intensifying your strategic advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where attrition wars are common, Curse of Vitality can tip the scales in your favor. It’s particularly impactful in multiplayer formats, such as Commander, where multiple opponents can unwittingly contribute to your life total, potentially securing your victory through sustained life gain and strategic interactions.


How to beat

Curse of Vitality is a unique enchantment that can subtly tip the scales in multiplayer games of MTG. Its mechanic awards life gain whenever the cursed player is attacked, incentivizing opponents to target them. To come out on top against this card, players must adapt their strategies. Precision is key: direct damage spells or effects that don’t require attacking, such as “Burn” spells or abilities from creatures or planeswalkers, can bypass the life gain trigger.

Control decks, packed with removal spells, can also disarm the threat posed by Curse of Vitality. Utilizing board wipes or targeted removal for the enchantment itself, if your deck has access to such effects, is an effective remedy. Alternatively, transforming the dynamic that Curse of Vitality brings to the table can be beneficial. By deploying your own life gain strategies or cards that thrive on having higher life totals, the curse’s impact is mitigated. Approach the game with flexibility, adjusting your tactics as you place higher value on non-combat damage and control elements to maintain dominance over the curse.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Curse of Vitality MTG card by a specific set like Treasure Chest 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 Curse of Vitality and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Curse of Vitality Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-11-16 and 2017-08-25. Illustrated by Kieran Yanner.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-11-16Treasure ChestPZ2 657652015NormalBlackKieran Yanner
22017-08-25Commander 2017C17 32015NormalBlackKieran Yanner

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Curse of Vitality has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2017-08-25 A player is attacking another player if they control a creature that’s attacking that player. If no creatures are attacking the enchanted player as a Curse’s ability resolves (most likely because they’ve left the battlefield), only the Curse’s controller performs its actions.
2017-08-25 Each Curse’s ability triggers only once, no matter how many creatures are attacking the enchanted player.
2017-08-25 If you enchant yourself with one of these Curses, you’ll get its effects whenever another player attacks you.
2017-08-25 The triggered ability of these Curses won’t trigger if only a planeswalker controlled by the enchanted player is attacked.