Drain Life
30th Anniversary Edition 399 • common
- Set
- 30th Anniversary Edition
- Collector number
- 399
- Rarity
- Common
- Mana cost
- X mana 1 generic mana black mana
- Type
- Sorcery
- Colors
- Black
- Artist
- Douglas Shuler
- Market price
- €38.90
What it does
Spend only black mana on X.
Drain Life deals X damage to any target. You gain life equal to the damage dealt, but not more life than the player's life total before the damage was dealt, the planeswalker's loyalty before the damage was dealt, or the creature's toughness.
Where you can play it
- StandardNot legal
- PioneerNot legal
- ModernNot legal
- LegacyLegal
- VintageLegal
- CommanderLegal
- PauperLegal
- BrawlNot legal
- HistoricNot legal
- TimelessNot legal
- Penny DreadfulNot legal
- OathbreakerLegal
Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Card text via Scryfall. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards. As of the last catalogue refresh.
Where to find one
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Where it came from
Drain Life was originally featured in the Alpha set of Magic: The Gathering in 1993, designed by Richard Garfield as a staple black sorcery that scaled in power based on the player's mana investment. The card quickly became a foundational element of early control decks, allowing players to drain an opponent's life total while simultaneously gaining health. Douglas Shuler provided the original, somber illustration, which captured the dark, visceral nature of the spell and cemented its aesthetic identity within the game’s early years.
The 30th Anniversary Edition, released in 2022, serves as a celebratory reprint set designed to commemorate three decades of Magic: The Gathering history. These cards utilize the classic card frames and original art, including Shuler's iconic depiction of Drain Life, specifically intended for collectors rather than tournament play. By faithfully reproducing the card's original layout, the set offers enthusiasts a high-quality, retrospective look at the mechanics and visual design that defined the game's debut in the nineties.
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Who's collecting this
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About Drain Life
Drain Life is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. 30th Anniversary Edition 399 • common. Catalog data is sourced from Scryfall. No public cards collectors track this one yet — adding yours would make you the first on collecto.rs.
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Where does the Drain Life catalog entry come from?
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