<p>You can use <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bLich%5d">Lich</a> with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDeath%27s%5d%2b%5bShadow%5d">Death&#39;s Shadow</a> or <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMagus%20of%20the%20Mirror%5d">Magus of the Mirror</a> or <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bRepay%20in%20Kind%5d">Repay in Kind</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T16:25:04.740Z
2017-02-11T12:49:20.650Z
2017-02-11T12:49:20.650Z
VolleyJosh
<p>Lich, at a cost of BBBB, is too expensive to be part of a competitive tournament combo given it's only playable in Legacy (compare to the 6 mana win with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bPainter%27s%5d%2b%5bServant%5d">Painter&#39;s Servant</a> + <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bGrindstone%5d">Grindstone</a>) or Vintage (compare to the 4 mana win with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bTime%20Vault%5d">Time Vault</a> + <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bVoltaic%20Key%5d">Voltaic Key</a>).  There is also the big downside that you can lose the game to a <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDisenchant%5d">Disenchant</a> or have to sacrifice all of your lands to a big swing from an agro deck.  But there are a lot of cool things you can do with it in casual play (possibly with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bPlatinum%20Angel%5d">Platinum Angel</a> as backup).</p>

<p>Lich is actually a really interesting card for it's combo potential.  Most combo cards have one ability you can combo off of.  Lich has three.  These have been partially discussed by <a href="https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/23172/9999">@VolleyJosh</a> and <a href="https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/23176/9999">@AlexP</a>, but I want to go more into detail.  Here they are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It let's you be alive with 0 (or less) life.  This means you can use it to kill a player using cards that give your life total to someone else like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMirror%20Universe%5d">Mirror Universe</a>, <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMagus%20of%20the%20Mirror%5d">Magus of the Mirror</a>, and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bRepay%20in%20Kind%5d">Repay in Kind</a>.  It also makes <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDeath%27s%5d%2b%5bShadow%5d">Death&#39;s Shadow</a> a 13/13 for one mana.</p></li>
<li><p>It lets you turn life gain into card draw.  This can create a powerful draw engine with cards like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bEssence%20Harvest%5d">Essence Harvest</a>, <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bConsume%20Spirit%5d">Consume Spirit</a>, and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bSapling%20of%20Colfenor%5d">Sapling of Colfenor</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>It lets you ignore any non-damage loss of life .  Because you don't die for having less than 0 life, and the only penalty from Lich is for taking damage, other sources of life loss don't matter.  This combos great with <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDelaying%20Shield%5d">Delaying Shield</a>, which converts all of that pesky damage into irrelevant life loss.  This also negates the downsides of cards like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bAd%20Nauseam%5d">Ad Nauseam</a>, <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDark%20Confidant%5d">Dark Confidant</a>, <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bReanimate%5d">Reanimate</a>, and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bSapling%20of%20Colfenor%5d">Sapling of Colfenor</a>.</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T14:38:28.067Z
I don't think the mana cost is the reason it isn't good in competitive play.
Joe W
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T15:57:41.977Z
@JoeW As shown in point 1, Lich can be used in a 2-card win combo that only requires one color of mana.  What is different about Lich's win combo from other "competitive" ones?  It's either the mana cost or the risk of losing the game that comes with playing Lich.  I've rearranged the answer a bit to make this clearer.
Zags
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T16:36:34.800Z
How many other multi card win combos also set your opponent up to be able to win the game with a single card? The fact that there are so many cards that can cause the lose of lich and thus the game is a bigger issue then the mana cost especially in a mono color deck.
Joe W
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T13:19:35.720Z
2018-07-06T15:52:08.997Z
2018-07-06T15:52:08.997Z
Zags
<p>Lich is an extreme card advantage card. If the battlefield is balanced - no advantage to either player in attacking - and your opponent is not playing direct damage, and you have any repeatable life gain at all, you will draw your whole deck in short order.</p>

<p>It isn't a card you could drop into any Black deck; it requires you to construct a deck around it. But a good combo deck is designed to reproduce the conditions that are good for the combo. So the disadvantages are mitigated and you have a powerful card drawing engine.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:06:57.800Z
2015-02-23T15:06:57.800Z
jprete
<h1>Why was Lich created?</h1>
<p>I think this is the real subtext of your question: why does Lich exist?</p>
<p>I think to understand Lich, you've got to put it in context: <strong>it's a flavor-first design from Alpha</strong>. Lich is, first and foremost, supposed to feel like lichdom in fantasy stories, particularly Dungeons &amp; Dragons: undeath, power and immortality at a grave price.</p>
<p>One thing the card does well is establish a big theme for black: trading away your life for power in near-suicidal ways.</p>
<p>However, one of Alpha's biggest shortcomings is that it's all over the map about what cards are worth as a resource. On the one side, you've got cards like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bAncestral%20Recall%5d">Ancestral Recall</a>. On the other, you've got <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bLich%5d">Lich</a>.</p>
<p>So, Lich is an early attempt to do something pretty tricky in Magic, and it is, by most standards, a misfire (part of what hurts it now is errata which forces &quot;cards&quot; to &quot;nontoken permanents,&quot; thereby cutting off many strategies for artificially inflating your permanent count). You can see attempts to refine this design in various cards like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNefarious%20Lich%5d">Nefarious Lich</a> and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNecropotence%5d">Necropotence</a>.</p>
<h1>What can you do with Lich?</h1>
<p>Nearly any card this weird is fodder for at least a few combos.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Lich turns life gain into cards. This is very pretty powerful because it's easier to gain 1 life than to draw a card, but any deck built around this as an enabler is going to be rather fragile.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Lich sets your life total to zero. You can try to abuse this with various cards, such as <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMirror%20Universe%5d">Mirror Universe</a>.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Lich makes life loss that isn't damage meaningless to you. (Look at <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bAd%20Nauseam%5d">Ad Nauseam</a> for instance).  Note that you can't <em>pay</em> life, either, though.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Lich will kill <em>its controller</em> when it goes to the graveyard. You could try to set up some Donate-style combos with this, but it's pretty bad because you need other cards to ensure you don't die at zero life.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h1>Is it good in a competitive environment?</h1>
<p>No.</p>
<p>But most Magic cards aren't.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-02T18:57:58.687Z
No mention of Mirror Universe in the "What can you do with Lich?" section?
Powerlord
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-02T19:21:37.320Z
@Powerlord "Such as Soul Conduit." >.>
Alex P
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-02T20:40:29.147Z
Right, but the reason I mentioned Mirror Universe is that it was a well known and highly effective strategy in Alpha/Beta... the same sets that contained Lich in the first place.
Powerlord
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-05T14:48:48.320Z
@Powerlord Mirror Universe is originally from Legends, so several years after Alpha/Beta.
bwarner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-08T05:56:35.880Z
@bwarner alpha came out in July '93, Beta in October '93, Legends in June '94, so people playing Alpha/Beta at the time most definitely were likely to be playing Legends cards as well.
chiliNUT
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T11:59:03.480Z
As a note, look at the new [Lich's Mastery](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=lich%27s%20mastery), which is a "fixed" variant of Lich + Nefarious Lich.
Samthere
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-06T13:01:20.657Z
@Samthere Huh. They finally made a Lich card that works well. Cool.
Alex P
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T02:11:26.357Z
LIch + Platnium Angel + Donate!
Joshua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-02-23T18:37:23.700Z
2018-07-04T15:34:21.193Z
2020-06-17T09:01:24.697Z
Alex P
<p>Is there any good deck which uses <a href="http://magiccards.info/be/en/22.html">Lich</a>?</p>

<p>Sure, there is some very corner-case where <strong>having it in the battlefield</strong> will help you, such as if you have fewer life than permanents, <em>and</em> you are about to kill your opponent, but even in that case, you'd rather have a card which actually kills him, rather than this…</p>

<p>So: is it just a terrible card, or is or has there been any actual use?</p>

<hr>

<p>The question is if there is a <em>deck</em> where it would make sense to <strong>put this card and not another one</strong>, <strong>NOT</strong> if there is a strange corner case where if you magically happened to have this card in your hand, it would make sense to play it. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:02:32.063Z
This question seems incredibly questionable, and I would argue primarily opinion based. Literally every card in mtg can have a use.
Waterseas
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:04:22.523Z
@Waterseas I disagree. If it's so easy, you should be able to answer it.
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:14:38.367Z
I can give several examples where it could be relevant just off the top of my head. Lich + Laboratory Maniac + Life gain. Lich + Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Whether it is answerable or not is completely beside the point.
Waterseas
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:22:19.117Z
@Lohoris The added paragraph sounds combative. I would recommend rewording the entire question to the tune of "Are there any good decks that use Lich" or "How do you go about building a Lich deck"?
GendoIkari
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:28:36.840Z
The linked 'lich' page has a 'view decks with lich' link: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck_search_result.asp?CardName=Lich&partner=MAGCINFO  have you looked through these decklists for an answer to your question?
Colin D
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T15:49:59.153Z
@ColinD I never noticed that link, I'm looking at it now, thanks
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T16:00:32.407Z
Voted to close as primarily opinion based. It looks like the author wants a single example to convince him that the card is not terrible. It seems argumentative to me.
Rainbolt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T16:19:22.093Z
@Rainbolt and why is [this](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/6195/is-there-any-way-to-rehabilitate-the-junk-rare-lost-in-the-woods) in-topic, instead? It's **exactly** the same question (about a different card, ofc).
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T16:30:01.703Z
@Lohoris I can't tell you how many times I have been challenged on a close vote by users who cite other questions exactly like it. The existence of other opinionated questions does not excuse yours. I suggest you read [How many questions on meta have asked, “Why can't I ask this question when that question is open”?](http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/124635/254466). Also, look at the accepted answer on that question. It starts with (in bold), "This is a terribad card beyond redemption." Also, the question is three years old.
Rainbolt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T16:31:14.503Z
@Rainbolt so are you claiming that if the answer is "it's bad" it is in-topic, while if there are uses then it becomes off-topic?
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T16:35:25.173Z
@Lohoris No, I am not.
Rainbolt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T17:27:56.957Z
@Lohoris Suggestion: If you're going to be argumentative about reasons for voting to close, I would recommend taking your discussion to a discussion.
Waterseas
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T17:56:14.980Z
@Rainbolt Ahem. Note that there's also another answer that explains how to play that same terribad card *at a Pro Tour.*
Alex P
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-23T19:47:28.437Z
In response to your update: whether or not one should substitute card A for card B in a deck will depend on your reasons. From a flavor perspective (see Alex P.'s answer), it may make complete sense to include Lich over "better" cards that are more likely to win games.
Hao Ye
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-24T14:39:41.987Z
So sad to see this question on hold.  These are some of my favorite type of questions.
John
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-26T20:26:45.340Z
@John These types of questions are what mtg forums are for, not stack exchange.
Waterseas
<magic-the-gathering>
Has there ever been any use for Lich?
o0'.
# Has there ever been any use for Lich?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-23)

Is there any good deck which uses [Lich](http://magiccards.info/be/en/22.html)?

Sure, there is some very corner-case where **having it in the battlefield** will help you, such as if you have fewer life than permanents, *and* you are about to kill your opponent, but even in that case, you'd rather have a card which actually kills him, rather than this…

So: is it just a terrible card, or is or has there been any actual use?

---

The question is if there is a *deck* where it would make sense to **put this card and not another one**, **NOT** if there is a strange corner case where if you magically happened to have this card in your hand, it would make sense to play it.

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This question seems incredibly questionable, and I would argue primarily opinion based. Literally every card in mtg can have a use.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I disagree. If it's so easy, you should be able to answer it.  
> **username_1**: I can give several examples where it could be relevant just off the top of my head. Lich + Laboratory Maniac + Life gain. Lich + Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Whether it is answerable or not is completely beside the point.  
> **username_2**: @Lohoris The added paragraph sounds combative. I would recommend rewording the entire question to the tune of "Are there any good decks that use Lich" or "How do you go about building a Lich deck"?  
> **username_3**: The linked 'lich' page has a 'view decks with lich' link: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck_search_result.asp?CardName=Lich&partner=MAGCINFO  have you looked through these decklists for an answer to your question?  
> **username_0**: @ColinD I never noticed that link, I'm looking at it now, thanks  
> **username_4**: Voted to close as primarily opinion based. It looks like the author wants a single example to convince him that the card is not terrible. It seems argumentative to me.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 and why is [this](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/6195/is-there-any-way-to-rehabilitate-the-junk-rare-lost-in-the-woods) in-topic, instead? It's **exactly** the same question (about a different card, ofc).  
> **username_4**: @Lohoris I can't tell you how many times I have been challenged on a close vote by users who cite other questions exactly like it. The existence of other opinionated questions does not excuse yours. I suggest you read [How many questions on meta have asked, “Why can't I ask this question when that question is open”?](http://meta.stackexchange.com/q/124635/254466). Also, look at the accepted answer on that question. It starts with (in bold), "This is a terribad card beyond redemption." Also, the question is three years old.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 so are you claiming that if the answer is "it's bad" it is in-topic, while if there are uses then it becomes off-topic?  
> **username_4**: @Lohoris No, I am not.  
> **username_1**: @Lohoris Suggestion: If you're going to be argumentative about reasons for voting to close, I would recommend taking your discussion to a discussion.  
> **username_5**: @username_4 Ahem. Note that there's also another answer that explains how to play that same terribad card *at a Pro Tour.*  
> **username_6**: In response to your update: whether or not one should substitute card A for card B in a deck will depend on your reasons. From a flavor perspective (see username_5.'s answer), it may make complete sense to include Lich over "better" cards that are more likely to win games.  
> **username_7**: So sad to see this question on hold.  These are some of my favorite type of questions.  
> **username_1**: @username_7 These types of questions are what mtg forums are for, not stack exchange.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-02-23. Score: 15 | Accepted answer

# Why was Lich created?

I think this is the real subtext of your question: why does Lich exist?

I think to understand Lich, you've got to put it in context: **it's a flavor-first design from Alpha**. Lich is, first and foremost, supposed to feel like lichdom in fantasy stories, particularly Dungeons & Dragons: undeath, power and immortality at a grave price.

One thing the card does well is establish a big theme for black: trading away your life for power in near-suicidal ways.

However, one of Alpha's biggest shortcomings is that it's all over the map about what cards are worth as a resource. On the one side, you've got cards like [Ancestral Recall](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bAncestral%20Recall%5d). On the other, you've got [Lich](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bLich%5d).

So, Lich is an early attempt to do something pretty tricky in Magic, and it is, by most standards, a misfire (part of what hurts it now is errata which forces "cards" to "nontoken permanents," thereby cutting off many strategies for artificially inflating your permanent count). You can see attempts to refine this design in various cards like [Nefarious Lich](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNefarious%20Lich%5d) and [Necropotence](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bNecropotence%5d).

# What can you do with Lich?

Nearly any card this weird is fodder for at least a few combos.

* Lich turns life gain into cards. This is very pretty powerful because it's easier to gain 1 life than to draw a card, but any deck built around this as an enabler is going to be rather fragile.
* Lich sets your life total to zero. You can try to abuse this with various cards, such as [Mirror Universe](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMirror%20Universe%5d).
* Lich makes life loss that isn't damage meaningless to you. (Look at [Ad Nauseam](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bAd%20Nauseam%5d) for instance). Note that you can't *pay* life, either, though.
* Lich will kill *its controller* when it goes to the graveyard. You could try to set up some Donate-style combos with this, but it's pretty bad because you need other cards to ensure you don't die at zero life.

# Is it good in a competitive environment?

No.

But most Magic cards aren't.

> **Comments:**
> **username_12**: No mention of Mirror Universe in the "What can you do with Lich?" section?  
> **username_5**: @username_12 "Such as Soul Conduit." >.>  
> **username_12**: Right, but the reason I mentioned Mirror Universe is that it was a well known and highly effective strategy in Alpha/Beta... the same sets that contained Lich in the first place.  
> **username_13**: @username_12 Mirror Universe is originally from Legends, so several years after Alpha/Beta.  
> **username_14**: @username_13 alpha came out in July '93, Beta in October '93, Legends in June '94, so people playing Alpha/Beta at the time most definitely were likely to be playing Legends cards as well.  
> **username_15**: As a note, look at the new [Lich's Mastery](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=lich%27s%20mastery), which is a "fixed" variant of Lich + Nefarious Lich.  
> **username_5**: @username_15 Huh. They finally made a Lich card that works well. Cool.  
> **username_16**: LIch + Platnium Angel + Donate!  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2015-02-23. Score: 4

You can use [Lich](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bLich%5d) with [Death's Shadow](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDeath%27s%5d%2b%5bShadow%5d) or [Magus of the Mirror](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMagus%20of%20the%20Mirror%5d) or [Repay in Kind](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bRepay%20in%20Kind%5d).


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2018-07-06. Score: 2

Lich, at a cost of BBBB, is too expensive to be part of a competitive tournament combo given it's only playable in Legacy (compare to the 6 mana win with [Painter's Servant](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bPainter%27s%5d%2b%5bServant%5d) + [Grindstone](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bGrindstone%5d)) or Vintage (compare to the 4 mana win with [Time Vault](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bTime%20Vault%5d) + [Voltaic Key](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bVoltaic%20Key%5d)). There is also the big downside that you can lose the game to a [Disenchant](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDisenchant%5d) or have to sacrifice all of your lands to a big swing from an agro deck. But there are a lot of cool things you can do with it in casual play (possibly with [Platinum Angel](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bPlatinum%20Angel%5d) as backup).

Lich is actually a really interesting card for it's combo potential. Most combo cards have one ability you can combo off of. Lich has three. These have been partially discussed by [@username_8](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/23172/9999) and [@AlexP](https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/23176/9999), but I want to go more into detail. Here they are:

1. It let's you be alive with 0 (or less) life. This means you can use it to kill a player using cards that give your life total to someone else like [Mirror Universe](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMirror%20Universe%5d), [Magus of the Mirror](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMagus%20of%20the%20Mirror%5d), and [Repay in Kind](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bRepay%20in%20Kind%5d). It also makes [Death's Shadow](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDeath%27s%5d%2b%5bShadow%5d) a 13/13 for one mana.
2. It lets you turn life gain into card draw. This can create a powerful draw engine with cards like [Essence Harvest](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bEssence%20Harvest%5d), [Consume Spirit](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bConsume%20Spirit%5d), and [Sapling of Colfenor](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bSapling%20of%20Colfenor%5d).
3. It lets you ignore any non-damage loss of life . Because you don't die for having less than 0 life, and the only penalty from Lich is for taking damage, other sources of life loss don't matter. This combos great with [Delaying Shield](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDelaying%20Shield%5d), which converts all of that pesky damage into irrelevant life loss. This also negates the downsides of cards like [Ad Nauseam](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bAd%20Nauseam%5d), [Dark Confidant](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDark%20Confidant%5d), [Reanimate](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bReanimate%5d), and [Sapling of Colfenor](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bSapling%20of%20Colfenor%5d).

> **Comments:**
> **username_10**: I don't think the mana cost is the reason it isn't good in competitive play.  
> **username_9**: @JoeW As shown in point 1, Lich can be used in a 2-card win combo that only requires one color of mana.  What is different about Lich's win combo from other "competitive" ones?  It's either the mana cost or the risk of losing the game that comes with playing Lich.  I've rearranged the answer a bit to make this clearer.  
> **username_10**: How many other multi card win combos also set your opponent up to be able to win the game with a single card? The fact that there are so many cards that can cause the lose of lich and thus the game is a bigger issue then the mana cost especially in a mono color deck.  

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### Answer by username_11 on 2015-02-23. Score: 1

Lich is an extreme card advantage card. If the battlefield is balanced - no advantage to either player in attacking - and your opponent is not playing direct damage, and you have any repeatable life gain at all, you will draw your whole deck in short order.

It isn't a card you could drop into any Black deck; it requires you to construct a deck around it. But a good combo deck is designed to reproduce the conditions that are good for the combo. So the disadvantages are mitigated and you have a powerful card drawing engine.


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