Which is the better stand-alone EDH life-gain card?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on June 5, 2020, 2:33 a.m. by StopShot
I want to pick the card that will most likely gain me the most amount of life in a game. I don't plan on running any cards that synergize or play around with the lifegain. I just want something CMC 3 or less that will help me in staying around longer in the game. Right now I'm running Sun Droplet and I want a back-up life gain card in the event that it gets removed.
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Authority of the Consuls Pros:
+Tapping creatures stops haste creatures from attacking right away.
+Stops a few enemy combos that involve creatures entering the battlefield repeatedly.
Authority of the Consuls Cons:
-Playing AotC late in the game won't award any life gain from creatures already on the battlefield.
-Creatures getting tapped might annoy my opponents enough to remove the enchantment.
Orim's Prayer Pros:
+If the same creature attacks me multiple times I get repeated life gain off of it.
+Prevents me from dying to token strategies that flood the board with 1/1's.
Orim's Prayer Cons:
-No life gain is made from creatures that attack other players or don't attack at all.
-This card does nothing of value if the playgroup decides to be peaceful.
Which would you pick or favor more? I know it depends more on the meta, but if you were forced to pick one for all scenarios factored in which would it be? The point is to gain the most life to survive longer in the game.
PhotogenicParasympathetic says... #3
Authority of the Consuls is better - making your opponent's things enter tapped is a very strong effect, negating hasty creatures, and leaving them more open to attack.
That said, I'd run both of these cards over Sun Droplet.
June 5, 2020 3:05 a.m.
How are you taking the majority of damage? I'm guessing it's from combat, but is it typically spread out across lots of smaller things, or a few larger creatures? And how many life loss effects do you go up against on a regular basis?
If you're talking about getting swarmed (for the most part), then Ghostly Prison seems like a better way of dealing with life loss than either of these.
If you specifically want to negate the damage though, Angelheart Vial is an iteresting option. It's basically Sun Droplet (albeit more expensive) but with built in card draw.
But of those two options, I would probably lean into Orim's Prayer. While I think that Authority of the Consuls does more, I think that the stax side of the card will draw it unwanted hate which you don't need if your goal is only to gain life. And I think you'll see more life gain off of Orim's Prayer or at least other players leaving you alone since swinging with a bunch of 1/1s is effectively useless. And this buys you time, which is what life gain for the sake of life gain does.
June 5, 2020 6 a.m.
“I don’t plan on running any cards that synergize or play around with life-gain”.
My guy, I’m gonna be brutally honest here. Even in a mono-white deck (which is what I’m guessing you’re running), the only good use of life gain is precisely for cards that give you some payoff. Cards like Aetherflux Reservoir for example justify gaining life. Otherwise, the only point of life that matters is the last one. You should not be losing that life point unless your deck is lacking in card draw or lacking in sufficiently powerful win-conditions. Basically: if you keep dying, trim some fat from the deck and make it stronger. You need either draw power, stopping power, or both. Don’t add more life gain.
This all said, Authority of the Consuls is a fantastic card particularly for stopping infinites, but I’d recommend Blind Obedience over authority because it also stops artifacts (unless you’re already running Blind Obedience). Incidentally, extort tends to gain you lots of life in a multiplayer setting.
June 5, 2020 10:23 a.m.
Sultai_Sir says... #6
Hi! Sultai_Sir here. Which choice you make depends on your meta. Do you see a bunch of combo decks? Authority of the Consuls is there for you. Seeing a bunch of low to the ground token decks? Orim's Prayer is your best friend, although Authority of the Consuls still gets in some work. Although Authority of the Consuls is generally considered the better card, Orim's Prayer still has its uses. Hope this helps!
June 5, 2020 1:25 p.m.
Brutal_B, I think Fountain of Renewal might be a better choice than that card, but I'm looking for more lifegain per turn than either card.
June 6, 2020 1:53 p.m.
golgarigirl says... #10
I usually prefer cards that don't rely on my opponent's strategies to gain me life (or literally anything else my deck wants to do, for that matter). If no one is playing creature-heavy decks, then what? Can you control the life gain to some extent? That's what I'd run.
That said, of the cards, Authority is better. The mana cost (opportunity cost) is lower, and the tap effect is definitely worth something.
Unless your deck is built around life gain, running life gain for it's own sake is seldom worth it...so if there are also any cards that do it atop something else you want to do, I would look there.
shadow63 says... #2
Between the two cards Authority of the Consuls is the better card it coming in earlier and tapping creatures push it above the prayer. If you want something that cost more mana and will get you more life potentially you could try Venser's Journal. Theres also Ashes of the Abhorrent
June 5, 2020 3:05 a.m.