Minwu wants a deck that gains life over and over and gets rewarded for it. It also suits a deck that keeps making its creatures bigger turn after turn.
Mana cost
White ()
Power / toughness3 / 3
RarityRare
Vigilance, lifelink
Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on each Cleric you control.
Picked for what they do in Minwu's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Minwu'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 Minwu 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 Coast6 Jun 2025
Each creature with lifelink dealing combat damage causes a separate life-gaining event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, Minwu's last ability will trigger twice. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, planeswalkers, and/or battles at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will trigger only once.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
If Minwu or another Cleric you control is dealt lethal damage at the same time that you gain life, it will die before Minwu's last ability would resolve.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
If you gain an amount of life "for each" of something or "equal to the number" of something, that life is gained as one event and Minwu's last ability triggers only once.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
In a Two-Headed Giant game, life gained by your teammate won't cause Minwu's last ability to trigger, even though it caused your team's life total to increase.
Wizards of the Coast6 Jun 2025
Minwu's last ability triggers just once for each life-gaining event, whether it's 1 life from Al Bhed Salvagers or 3 life from Balamb T-Rexaur.
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 pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine page+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters page+1/+1 CountersPuts +1/+1 counters on creatures, permanently raising their power and toughness. Unlike a temporary boost that wears off at end of turn, these markers stay put and stack up over a long game. Hardened Scales, The Great HengeOpen the +1/+1 Counters pageTypal/KindredTypal decks are built around one creature type, like Elves, Dragons or Zombies, with cards that make that type stronger. The type is printed after the dash on the card's type line, and the strategy is also called kindred or tribal.Open the Typal/Kindred pageTypal PayoffRewards you for playing lots of one kind of creature. That includes "lords" that make every other Goblin or Merfolk you control bigger, and cards that ask you to choose a creature type and then pay you off for it. A creature type is the word on the middle line of the card, like Goblin, Elf or Zombie.Open the Typal Payoff 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 pageClericsClerics are mostly white creatures that often gain you life or protect your other creatures.Open the Clerics page
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