Haliya wants a deck that gains life over and over and gets rewarded for it. It also works in a deck built around Humans or Soldiers.
Mana cost
White ()
Power / toughness3 / 3
RarityRare
Whenever Haliya or another creature or artifact you control enters, you gain 1 life.
At the beginning of your end step, draw a card if you've gained 3 or more life this turn.
Warp (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)
Picked for what they do in Haliya's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Haliya's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Haliya works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast25 Jul 2025
Haliya, Guided by Light’s second ability checks how much life you’ve gained during the turn at the time it resolves, not what your life total is compared to what it was when the turn began. For example, if you start the turn at 10 life, gain 6 life during the turn, then lose 6 life later that turn, Haliya’s second ability will cause you to draw a card as it resolves.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWPlayers write colors as letters: W for white.LifegainLifegain decks gain life over and over and use cards that reward each gain with extra cards, creatures or damage to opponents. Everyone starts at 40 life in Commander, so the extra life also keeps you safe while you set up.Open the Lifegain pageLifegain PayoffTurns life gain into an actual effect: draining opponents, drawing cards, or growing creatures each time you gain life. Without one of these, gaining life mostly just delays things. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Sanguine BondOpen the Lifegain Payoff pageLifegain EngineGains you life again and again, on a trigger that keeps happening, rather than once. You start at 40 life in Commander, so life is something to spend as well as a cushion, and a card like this sets off every card that rewards you for gaining it. Soul Warden, Trostani, Selesnya's VoiceOpen the Lifegain Engine pageAlternative CostLets you cast a spell by paying some other cost instead of its mana cost, like life, a card from your hand, or nothing at all.Open the Alternative Cost pageLife GainGains you life, once or over and over. Soul Warden, The Great Henge. In Commander life is something to spend, not just a cushion, and many of these cards also set off others that reward gaining life.Open the Life Gain page
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