games take about 10 minutes per player
The 15 terms in Card Types & Game Zones are enough to identify any cards basic function
While you do need some draw to make this strategy work, it can create a surprisingly threatening board
But the truly desirable Reserved List cards are from an era of Magic design where things were quite different than they are now, and many of them are powerful in odd and unique ways
Lifegain Liesa, Shroud of Dusk | Illustration by Slawomir Maniak Commander (1) Creature (26) Archangel of Thune Archivist of Oghma Athreos, God of Passage Auriok Champion Burnished Hart Celestine, the Living Saint Dauthi Voidwalker Felidar Sovereign Giada, Font of Hope Gray Merchant of Asphodel Great Unclean One Kambal, Consul of Allocation Lion Sash Rhox Faithmender Righteous Valkyrie Serra's Emissary Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Solemn Simulacrum Sun Titan Sunscorch Regent Suture Priest Tymna the Weaver Valkyrie Harbinger Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose Vizkopa Guildmage Witch of the Moors Instant (7) Crush Contraband Despark Flawless Maneuver Return to Dust Surge of Salvation Swords to Plowshares Szat's Will Sorcery (9) Austere Command Blot Out the Sky Deadly Tempest Debt to the Deathless Farewell Fumigate Revival / Revenge Unburial Rites Yawgmoth's Vile Offering Enchantment (17) Ashes of the Abhorrent Aura of Silence Authority of the Consuls Blind Obedience Cleric Class Dawn of Hope Ethereal Absolution Exquisite Blood Firja's Retribution Ghostly Prison Painful Quandary Phyrexian Arena Polluted Bonds Rampage of the Valkyries Sanguine Bond Smothering Tithe Sphere of Safety Artifact (4) Arcane Signet Norn's Annex Sol Ring Well of Lost Dreams Land (36) Bojuka Bog Cabal Coffers Castle Locthwain Caves of Koilos Command Beacon Command Tower Fabled Passage Fetid Heath Godless Shrine High Market Isolated Chapel Memorial to Folly Myriad Landscape Orzhov Basilica Path of Ancestry Plains x6 Reliquary Tower Seraph Sanctuary Shattered Sanctum Shineshadow Snarl Shizo, Death's Storehouse Silent Clearing Swamp x4 Temple of Silence Temple of the False God Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Vault of Champions Vault of the Archangel As the name suggests, lifegain decks want to increase their life total and trigger lifegain payoffs like Sanguine Bond or Dawn of Hope
From devastating board wipes to complex creatures, rares are often the cards that create memorable moments and form the competitive core of a deck
