Liliana's Specter MTG Card


Liliana’s Specter can disrupt plans and give players a significant advantage through its immediate effect. Its entry-trigger discard may lose impact against empty-handed opponents, making timing crucial. This specter adds tactical depth to decks focused on discard strategies and opponent disruption.
Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Specter
Abilities Flying
Power 2
Toughness 1

Text of card

Flying When Liliana's Specter enters the battlefield, each opponent discards a card.


Cards like Liliana's Specter

In the realm of creature cards with disruptive abilities, Liliana’s Specter enjoys a special place. If we explore cards with a paralleling impact, we can draw a line to Ravenous Rats, a staple that also forces a discard upon entry to the battlefield. While both invoke disruption, Liliana’s Specter scales this by prompting discards from all opponents, amplifying its strategic value in multi-player formats.

Another card that resonates with Liliana’s Specter’s effect is Burglar Rat. Both creatures share the same function of instigating discard, though Burglar Rat targets only one opponent. The specter’s ability to hit all opponents gives it a wider influence in a game, particularly in Commander. Finally, there’s Hypnotic Specter, a notorious card in MTG’s history for the same reason, yet it requires combat to compel the discard and adds the dimension of randomness.

Within Magic: The Gathering, utility creatures like Liliana’s Specter can significantly sway the game’s direction. Although other creatures can fulfill similar roles, the specter’s ability to impact multiple opponents simultaneously gives it a tactical edge, making it a solid choice for decks looking to capitalize on opponent disarray.

Ravenous Rats - MTG Card versions
Burglar Rat - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Specter - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Rats - MTG Card versions
Burglar Rat - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Specter - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Liliana's Specter by color, type and mana cost

Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
Royal Assassin - MTG Card versions
Plague Rats - MTG Card versions
El-Hajjâj - MTG Card versions
Frozen Shade - MTG Card versions
Scathe Zombies - MTG Card versions
Sorceress Queen - MTG Card versions
Lost Soul - MTG Card versions
Mindstab Thrull - MTG Card versions
Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions
Strongarm Thug - MTG Card versions
Razortooth Rats - MTG Card versions
Ghastly Remains - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Undead - MTG Card versions
Deepwood Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Dross Prowler - MTG Card versions
Nim Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vesper Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Specter - MTG Card versions
Dusk Imp - MTG Card versions
Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
Royal Assassin - MTG Card versions
Plague Rats - MTG Card versions
El-Hajjâj - MTG Card versions
Frozen Shade - MTG Card versions
Scathe Zombies - MTG Card versions
Sorceress Queen - MTG Card versions
Lost Soul - MTG Card versions
Mindstab Thrull - MTG Card versions
Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions
Strongarm Thug - MTG Card versions
Razortooth Rats - MTG Card versions
Ghastly Remains - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Undead - MTG Card versions
Deepwood Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Dross Prowler - MTG Card versions
Nim Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vesper Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Specter - MTG Card versions
Dusk Imp - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Liliana’s Specter enters the battlefield, each opponent discards a card. This effect not only depletes your opponent’s resources but can give you the upper hand by disrupting their planned plays, essentially shifting the scales towards your favor in the match.

Resource Acceleration: Though Liliana’s Specter doesn’t directly contribute to mana acceleration, making an opponent discard can indirectly accelerate your resources by reducing the threats and answers they have at their disposal, allowing you to allocate your mana more effectively in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: Though it operates at sorcery speed, Liliana’s Specter’s impact is felt immediately upon its arrival to the battlefield. Its ability to force a discard right away sets up situations where you can plan your moves with the knowledge of a depleted hand on your adversary’s side, thereby enabling more informed and potentially game-winning decisions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When Liliana’s Specter enters the battlefield, each opponent must discard a card, which could be less effective when facing an opponent with an empty hand, making the enter-the-battlefield trigger momentary and not always impactful.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring one black mana can limit this card to black-centered or multi-colored decks, potentially excluding it from mono-colored decks of other types that lack the required mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a casting cost of two colorless and one black mana for a creature with only 2/1 stats, there are alternative creatures or spells that might provide more value or more powerful effects for the same or perhaps a lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include Liliana’s Specter in Your Collection

Versatility: Liliana’s Specter can easily slip into various deck archetypes, particularly those that thrive on disrupting opponents’ hands. Its ability to force a discard upon entering the battlefield makes it a useful tool against multiple strategies.

Combo Potential: As a specter, this card can be part of an intricate web of interactions, especially in decks built around discard mechanisms or those that capitalize on opponents discarding cards — think synergies with Megrim or Waste Not for maximum effect.

Meta-Relevance: Given its low casting cost and immediate impact on the game, Liliana’s Specter holds its own in environments where tempo and early-game hand disruption can set the pace for victory, keeping crucial cards out of your opponent’s hands.


How to beat

Liliana’s Specter is a card that offers more than just a flying creature on the battlefield. Upon entering the game, this spell prompts each opponent to discard a card, which can disrupt strategies and hand balances early on. However, it can be outmaneuvered. A simple yet effective approach is countering it upon cast. Counterspells negate its entry effect and prevent the discard altogether.

If the Specter has already landed, creature removal spells are your next best bet. Direct removal such as Doom Blade or Path to Exile will quickly handle the creature before its presence becomes a problem. Additionally, enhancing your own hand size with card draw abilities can mitigate the impact of the forced discard, allowing you to maintain card advantage.

Understanding the timing of Liliana’s Specter’s ability is essential. Plan your plays to hold less valuable cards in hand when it is likely to come into play. With these tactics, you can diminish the impact of Liliana’s Specter and maintain control over the game’s flow, keeping your strategy intact and your options open.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the depths of MTG strategy brings us to the intriguing dynamics of Liliana’s Specter. Whether it’s integrating this card into your black-centered deck for its disruptive capabilities or analyzing its role within various formats, there’s always a deeper layer of strategy to uncover. If you’re keen on optimizing your plays or just curious about the spectral influences in your deck, our insights can sharpen your tactics. Dive deeper into the strategic nuances of playing Liliana’s Specter and other impactful creatures. Your journey towards dominating the battlefield is just a click away. Enhance your MTG knowledge with us.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Liliana's Specter MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and DCI 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 Liliana's Specter and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Liliana's Specter Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2006-01-02 and 2016-11-25. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 376022003NormalBlackJaime Jones
22006-01-02DCI PromosPDCI 522003NormalBlackJaime Jones
32010-07-16Magic 2011M11 1042003NormalBlackVance Kovacs
42012-06-01Planechase 2012PC2 342003NormalBlackVance Kovacs
52014-06-06ConspiracyCNS 1162003NormalBlackVance Kovacs
62016-11-25Planechase AnthologyPCA 342015NormalBlackVance Kovacs

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Liliana's Specter has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal