Breath of Life

Breath of Life was originally released in the Portal Second Age set in 1998 before being brought into the core ruleset in the Seventh Edition core set, which launched in 2001. As a sorcery spell that returns a creature card from a player's graveyard directly to the battlefield, it serves as a white-aligned reanimation effect, a mechanical space that was historically more common in black. The inclusion of this card in Seventh Edition marked a period where Wizards of the Coast sought to clarify and modernize the card frame and core mechanics for a burgeoning global player base.

The artwork for this specific printing was created by Roger Raupp, a frequent contributor to the game during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Raupp’s illustration features a ethereal, glowing figure emerging from a spectral space, intended to visually represent the metaphysical act of pulling a soul back from death. The Seventh Edition version of this card is notable for its use of the updated white-border aesthetic, which was the standard for core sets of that era to distinguish them from the black-bordered expansion sets.