Lifegain payoffs
Gaining life does nothing by itself. These turn it into cards, counters, damage, or a win — which is what makes a lifegain deck a deck.
Run this search live → or edit it: the site reads plain English, so "payoffs for gaining life under 3 mana" works too.
| Card | Cost | Type | What it does | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood Artist | {1}{B} | Creature — Vampire | Whenever this creature or another creature dies, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $3.77 |
| 2 | Zulaport Cutthroat | {1}{B} | Creature — Human Rogue Ally | Whenever this creature or another creature you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $1.23 |
| 3 | Gray Merchant of Asphodel | {3}{B}{B} | Creature — Zombie | When this creature enters, each opponent loses X life, where X is your devotion to black. You gain life equal to the life lost this way. (Each {B} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to black.) | $4.34 |
| 4 | Basilisk Collar | {1} | Artifact — Equipment | Equipped creature has deathtouch and lifelink. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it. Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.) Equip {2} ({2}: Attach to target creature you con… | $5.48 |
| 5 | Exsanguinate | {X}{B}{B} | Sorcery | Each opponent loses X life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way. | $0.38 |
| 6 | Authority of the Consuls | {W} | Enchantment | Creatures your opponents control enter tapped. Whenever a creature an opponent controls enters, you gain 1 life. | $4.50 |
| 7 | Bastion of Remembrance | {2}{B} | Enchantment | When this enchantment enters, create a 1/1 white Human Soldier creature token. Whenever a creature you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $0.34 |
| 8 | Aetherflux Reservoir | {4} | Artifact | Whenever you cast a spell, you gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn. Pay 50 life: This artifact deals 50 damage to any target. | $22.25 |
| 9 | Sheoldred, the Apocalypse | {2}{B}{B} | Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor | Deathtouch Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life. Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life. | $100.88 |
| 10 | Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose | {2}{B} | Legendary Creature — Vampire Cleric | Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life. {3}{B}{B}: Creatures you control gain lifelink until end of turn. | $11.98 |
| 11 | Blind Obedience | {1}{W} | Enchantment | Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.) Artifacts and creatures your opponents control enter tapped. | $5.79 |
| 12 | Sanguine Bond | {3}{B}{B} | Enchantment | Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life. | $7.84 |
| 13 | The Meathook Massacre | {X}{B}{B} | Legendary Enchantment | When The Meathook Massacre enters, each creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. Whenever a creature you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life. Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, you gain 1 life. | $25.20 |
| 14 | Exquisite Blood | {4}{B} | Enchantment | Whenever an opponent loses life, you gain that much life. | $38.46 |
| 15 | Crypt Ghast | {3}{B} | Creature — Spirit | Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.) Whenever you tap a Swamp for mana, add an additional {B}. | $17.30 |
| 16 | Bontu's Monument | {3} | Legendary Artifact | Black creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. Whenever you cast a creature spell, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $4.44 |
| 17 | Archivist of Oghma | {1}{W} | Creature — Halfling Cleric | Flash Whenever an opponent searches their library, you gain 1 life and draw a card. | $6.53 |
| 18 | Enduring Tenacity | {2}{B}{B} | Enchantment Creature — Snake Glimmer | Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life. When Enduring Tenacity dies, if it was a creature, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control. It's an enchantment. (It's not a creature.) | $12.99 |
| 19 | Bloodthirsty Conqueror | {3}{B}{B} | Creature — Vampire Knight | Flying, deathtouch Whenever an opponent loses life, you gain that much life. (Damage causes loss of life.) | $38.89 |
| 20 | Nadier's Nightblade | {2}{B} | Creature — Elf Warrior | Whenever a token you control leaves the battlefield, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $0.42 |
| 21 | Ayara, First of Locthwain | {B}{B}{B} | Legendary Creature — Elf Noble | Whenever Ayara or another black creature you control enters, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. {T}, Sacrifice another black creature: Draw a card. | $9.14 |
| 22 | Forsaken Monument | {5} | Legendary Artifact | Colorless creatures you control get +2/+2. Whenever you tap a permanent for {C}, add an additional {C}. Whenever you cast a colorless spell, you gain 2 life. | $5.82 |
| 23 | The Wind Crystal | {2}{W}{W} | Legendary Artifact | White spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. If you would gain life, you gain twice that much life instead. {4}{W}{W}, {T}: Creatures you control gain flying and lifelink until end of turn. | $6.93 |
| 24 | Cruel Celebrant | {W}{B} | Creature — Vampire | Whenever this creature or another creature or planeswalker you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $3.14 |
| 25 | Alhammarret's Archive | {5} | Legendary Artifact | If you would gain life, you gain twice that much life instead. If you would draw a card except the first one you draw in each of your draw steps, draw two cards instead. | $10.47 |
| 26 | Kardur, Doomscourge | {2}{B}{R} | Legendary Creature — Demon Berserker | When Kardur enters, until your next turn, creatures your opponents control attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able. Whenever an attacking creature dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. | $3.70 |
| 27 | Moldervine Reclamation | {3}{B}{G} | Enchantment | Whenever a creature you control dies, you gain 1 life and draw a card. | $0.34 |
| 28 | Fumigate | {3}{W}{W} | Sorcery | Destroy all creatures. You gain 1 life for each creature destroyed this way. | $0.31 |
| 29 | Serra Ascendant | {W} | Creature — Human Monk | Lifelink (Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.) As long as you have 30 or more life, this creature gets +5/+5 and has flying. | $29.12 |
| 30 | Heliod, Sun-Crowned | {2}{W} | Legendary Enchantment Creature — God | Indestructible As long as your devotion to white is less than five, Heliod isn't a creature. Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature or enchantment you control. {1}{W}: Another target creature gains lifelink until … | $21.51 |
30 of 3503 cards the search scored for "payoffs for gaining life". Ordered by how much each card is played, among the cards that matched. Prices and legality come from Scryfall; the list was last refreshed on 2026-09-23.
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