Pharika, God of Affliction MTG Card


Pharika excels in creating creatures at instant speed, offering strategic gameplay advantages. Her abilities are constricted by specific mana costs and the need for creature cards in graveyards. Pharika’s unique graveyard synergy makes her an asset against prevalent meta deck archetypes.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Enchantment Creature — God
Abilities Indestructible
Power 5
Toughness 5

Text of card

Indestructible As long as your devotion to black and green is less than seven, Pharika isn't a creature. : Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Its owner puts a 1/1 black and green Snake enchantment creature token with deathtouch onto the battlefield.


Cards like Pharika, God of Affliction

In the pantheon of deities within Magic: The Gathering, Pharika, God of Affliction stands as a unique blend of graveyard manipulation and creature support. When looking at similar cards, Erebos, God of the Dead provides a stark contrast — while both are part of the Theros god cycle, Erebos’s ability to draw cards at a life cost offers a direct resource gain unlike Pharika’s indirect utility of generating deathtouch creatures.

Pharika’s snake-generating feature echoes another card, Ophiomancer, which excels in producing deathtouch snakes, albeit at a different pace and without the graveyard interaction. The closest comparison might come from Deathrite Shaman who also manipulates the graveyard; however, Pharika’s influence extends to all graveyards and offers a wider sphere of strategic plays, though at a higher mana cost.

Ultimately, Pharika, God of Affliction holds its value in a deck that capitalizes on continuous graveyard synergies, providing both offensive and defensive benefits that the similar cards may not offer as comprehensively within the vast library of Magic: The Gathering.

Erebos, God of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Ophiomancer - MTG Card versions
Deathrite Shaman - MTG Card versions
Erebos, God of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Ophiomancer - MTG Card versions
Deathrite Shaman - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Pharika, God of Affliction by color, type and mana cost

Grim Feast - MTG Card versions
Pernicious Deed - MTG Card versions
Golgari Germination - MTG Card versions
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Autumnal Gloom // Ancient of the Equinox - MTG Card versions
Journey to Eternity // Atzal, Cave of Eternity - MTG Card versions
Gloomshrieker - MTG Card versions
Grim Feast - MTG Card versions
Pernicious Deed - MTG Card versions
Golgari Germination - MTG Card versions
Nyx Weaver - MTG Card versions
Autumnal Gloom // Ancient of the Equinox - MTG Card versions
Journey to Eternity // Atzal, Cave of Eternity - MTG Card versions
Gloomshrieker - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pharika, God of Affliction offers a repeatable way to utilize creatures in the graveyard, transforming them into deathtouch tokens. This grants a strategic upper hand, bolstering your board presence without depleting your hand.

Resource Acceleration: By converting graveyard resources into valuable 1/1 black and green Snake enchantment creature tokens, she effectively provides an alternative form of resource acceleration. This keeps your reserve of creatures steady and can deter attacks from opponents.

Instant Speed: Pharika’s ability can be activated at instant speed, offering flexibility during gameplay. It allows players to create a new blocker or an unexpected attacker during an opponent’s turn or in response to removal, which can swing the game’s momentum in your favor.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Pharika, God of Affliction offers strategic graveyard manipulation, it comes with a drawback. To activate her ability, players must have a creature card to exile from a graveyard, creating a situational hurdle that may not always be advantageous, especially when creature cards are scarce.

Specific Mana Cost: Pharika’s casting cost requires one black and one green mana, limiting her to decks that can reliably produce both types of mana. This can restrict deck building, particularly in formats where mana consistency is key.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing three mana to cast, including both color-specific and generic mana, Pharika comes in at a higher casting cost than some other gods in the pantheon. This can impact the speed of gameplay, as there are other creatures and gods with lower mana costs that can be played earlier or with less mana fixing.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Pharika, God of Affliction, offers a unique dynamic to your deck with her ability to influence the battlefield from the graveyard. Whether in a dedicated enchantment deck or as part of a Golgari control setup, her constant presence can tip the scales in your favor.

Combo Potential: This deity shines in creating combos with cards that capitalize on graveyard mechanics. Pharika’s ability to turn graveyard assets into creatures ensures you get value even from cards that have already served their purpose.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment teeming with strategies that rely on graveyard manipulation, Pharika can be a potent tool. She can disrupt your opponents’ plans while providing you with creatures to defend or mount an offense, making her a solid choice against a variety of popular deck archetypes.


How to Beat

Pharika, God of Affliction, is a unique deity card in MTG that brings both a challenge and an opportunity on the battlefield. As a deity that thrives on graveyard interactions, Pharika can turn creatures into daunting Snake enchantment creatures, potentially disrupting your strategy. The key to overcoming Pharika’s influence lies in preventing your own graveyard from becoming a resource for your opponent.

Utilizing graveyard hate cards such as Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can significantly weaken Pharika’s power, as they prevent cards from hitting the graveyard entirely or allow you to remove them before your opponent can capitalize. Additionally, enchantment removal spells like Return to Nature or Disenchant can directly target and remove Pharika from the field, effectively neutralizing the threat. It’s crucial to manage your plays and card choices, keeping in mind Pharika’s potential impact and having a response ready. By anticipating graveyard strategies, you are better positioned to dismantle Pharika’s dominion and maintain control of the game.

While Pharika can be a formidable presence, with carefully considered strategies and the right cards, she can be contained and even turned into a non-factor, ensuring your path to victory remains clear.


BurnMana Recommendations

Pharika, God of Affliction embodies the strategic depth MTG offers, proving that the cards in your graveyard can be just as potent as those in your hand or on the battlefield. With the capacity to transform fallen creatures into deathtouch tokens, she brings a new dimension to your Golgari deck’s tactics. To maximize your gameplay, consider integrating Pharika into synergistic strategies that thrive on graveyard interactions. She is a testament to the adaptability and resilience MTG players strive for. Go beyond mere play and enrich your collection with Pharika’s versatile power. Dive into our comprehensive guides to turn your deck into a well-oiled machine that even the gods would envy.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pharika, God of Affliction MTG card by a specific set like Journey into Nyx and Secret Lair Drop, 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 Pharika, God of Affliction and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Pharika, God of Affliction Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2014-05-02 and 2019-12-02. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12014-05-02Journey into NyxJOU 1542003NormalBlackPeter Mohrbacher
22019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 822015NormalBlackJason A. Engle

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pharika, God of Affliction has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2020-01-24 As a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color will determine whether any replacement effects that affect creatures entering the battlefield apply to that God. Because replacement effects are considered before the God is on the battlefield, the mana symbols in its mana cost won't be counted when determining this.
2020-01-24 Counters put on a God remain on it while it's not a creature, even if they have no effect.
2020-01-24 If a God is attacking or blocking and it stops being a creature, it will be removed from combat. It won't rejoin combat if it resumes being a creature later during that combat.
2020-01-24 If a God stops being a creature, it loses the type creature and the creature type God. It continues to be a legendary enchantment.
2020-01-24 If an effect causes a God to lose all abilities, its ability that causes it to stop being a creature still applies if appropriate.
2020-01-24 The abilities of Gods function as long as they're on the battlefield, regardless of whether they're creatures.
2020-01-24 The type-changing ability that can make a God not be a creature functions only on the battlefield. It's always a creature card in other zones, regardless of your devotion to its color. It's always a creature spell while it's on the stack.
2020-01-24 When a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color (including the mana symbols in the mana cost of the God itself) will determine if a creature entered the battlefield or not for abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield.
2020-01-24 Your devotion to two colors is the number of mana symbols among mana costs of permanents you control that are the first color, the second, or both. If an effect counts your devotion to two colors, a hybrid symbol that is both of those colors is counted just once.