Life Burst MTG Card


Life Burst’s stacking ability amplifies life gain, offering significant late-game stability. Instant speed use provides strategic flexibility and control over the game flow. Despite high mana costs, its ability to counter aggressive strategies makes it valuable.
Life Burst - Odyssey
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Released2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set nameOdyssey
Set codeODY
Number30
Frame1997
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byJohn Avon

Text of card

Target player gains 4 life, then gains 4 life for each Life Burst card in each graveyard.

As uplifting as a mystic's dreams.


Cards like Life Burst

Life Burst, as part of the broad spectrum of healing spells in Magic: The Gathering, shares some common ground with cards focused on life gain. It shines when compared to the likes of Healing Salve, which offers a one-off life boost of three points or can prevent damage. Life Burst, with its capability to escalate healing with each successive cast from the graveyard, provides potentially greater, recurring value over time.

Rest for the Weary is another card that enters this pantheon of life-giving spells. It promises a quick jump in life total, and if played with its landfall condition, it doubles its initial offering. Despite the allure of this surge in health, unlike Life Burst, it doesn’t provide the sustained healing that can deter opponents over several turns. Renewed Faith brings additional versatility by allowing a choice between immediate life gain or drawing a chance at more strategic options, yet it still doesn’t match the incremental advantages offered by Life Burst.

Through the lens of life gain effectiveness, Life Burst uniquely stands out. Its repeatable effect can become a soothing refrain in the tumult of MTG duels, making it a preferable choice for players looking to outlast their opponents with a stream of health boosts.

Healing Salve - MTG Card versions
Rest for the Weary - MTG Card versions
Renewed Faith - MTG Card versions
Healing Salve - MTG Card versions
Rest for the Weary - MTG Card versions
Renewed Faith - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Life Burst by color, type and mana cost

Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Divine Offering - MTG Card versions
Alabaster Potion - MTG Card versions
Invulnerability - MTG Card versions
Remedy - MTG Card versions
Rhystic Shield - MTG Card versions
Samite Ministration - MTG Card versions
Shield Wall - MTG Card versions
Shelter - MTG Card versions
Equal Treatment - MTG Card versions
Aura Extraction - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Test of Faith - MTG Card versions
Echoing Calm - MTG Card versions
Dawn Charm - MTG Card versions
Graceful Reprieve - MTG Card versions
Last Breath - MTG Card versions
Angelsong - MTG Card versions
Rest for the Weary - MTG Card versions
Puncturing Light - MTG Card versions
Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Divine Offering - MTG Card versions
Alabaster Potion - MTG Card versions
Invulnerability - MTG Card versions
Remedy - MTG Card versions
Rhystic Shield - MTG Card versions
Samite Ministration - MTG Card versions
Shield Wall - MTG Card versions
Shelter - MTG Card versions
Equal Treatment - MTG Card versions
Aura Extraction - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Test of Faith - MTG Card versions
Echoing Calm - MTG Card versions
Dawn Charm - MTG Card versions
Graceful Reprieve - MTG Card versions
Last Breath - MTG Card versions
Angelsong - MTG Card versions
Rest for the Weary - MTG Card versions
Puncturing Light - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Life Burst offers the potential to regain life multiple times thanks to its stacking ability. Each time it’s played, subsequent copies become progressively more powerful, restoring increasingly significant amounts of life, and thereby helping you to stabilize during the late game.

Resource Acceleration: By providing a substantial life buffer, Life Burst allows players to use their life as a resource more freely. This can accelerate your game plan as you can afford to pay life for effects or use life-gain as a synergistic tool with cards that thrive on higher life totals.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Life Burst at instant speed gives you the flexibility to respond to threats or negate damage on an opponent’s turn. This element of surprise can be a critical factor in maintaining control of the game and can be used strategically to outmaneuver opponents.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Casting Life Burst requires players to have other cards in hand to discard. This prerequisite can be a major setback when your hand is already running low, forcing tough decisions on which resources to forfeit and potentially disrupting strategic plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Life Burst’s casting cost demands a specific combination of mana colors. If your deck doesn’t run smoothly on these colors or if you’re facing mana-fixing issues, harnessing the power of this card can be challenging, reducing its overall flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that’s on the higher side, Life Burst may come into play later than other life-gaining options. In fast-paced games where gaining life early could be crucial, the efficiency of this card might not always align with your game plan, giving your opponents an edge during critical turns.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Life Burst is a compelling addition to any deck that prioritizes life gain. It not only boosts your health but can increasingly disrupt your opponent’s strategy with repeated plays from the graveyard.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combos, particularly in decks with mechanics that trigger upon gaining life. The incremental advantages it provides can quickly tilt the game in your favor by synergizing with cards designed to exploit life gain.

Meta-Relevance: As metagames frequently shift, a card like Life Burst remains relevant due to its ability to counteract aggressive, burn-heavy decks that dominate certain environments, making it a strategic choice for defense-oriented players.


How to beat

The challenge of facing Life Burst in Magic: The Gathering lies in its ability to potentially offer a substantial life gain to your opponent. This spell can turn the tide by providing an influx of health, often used strategically to outpace aggrieve strategies that depend on diminishing life totals quickly. To effectively counteract Life Burst, it’s crucial to integrate disruption into your game plan. Consider spells that preemptively remove cards from your opponent’s hand or employ graveyard hate strategies that impede the recovery of Life Burst from the graveyard, diminishing its recurring value.

Instant speed removal or damage spells can play a vital role in mitigating the impact of Life Burst. Through such interventions, it’s possible to thwart an opponent’s attempts to stabilize their life total. Another approach could include diversifying your threats; rather than relying solely on damage, incorporate elements that enforce alternative win conditions, lessening the relevance of your opponent’s life gain. In considering strategies that utilize life manipulation themselves, these can adjust the match’s dynamics, making Life Burst’s effects less pivotal. By constructing a deck with these considerations, the threat posed by Life Burst can be efficiently neutralized, maintaining your path to victory.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Life Burst MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Life Burst and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Life Burst has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal