Valentin 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
Black, Green ()
Power / toughness1 / 1
RarityRare
Menace, lifelink
If a nontoken creature an opponent controls would die, exile it instead. When you do, you may pay . If you do, create a 1/1 black and green Pest creature token with "When this token dies, you gain 1 life."
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Whenever you gain life, you may pay . If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and those creatures gain trample until end of turn.
Picked for what they do in Valentin's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Valentin'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 Valentin 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 Coast16 Apr 2021
An ability that triggers “whenever you gain life” triggers just once for each life-gaining event, no matter how much life you gain.
Wizards of the Coast16 Apr 2021
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, a “whenever you gain life” ability will trigger twice. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers 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 Coast16 Apr 2021
If a nontoken creature an opponent controls would die, and both Valentin and another effect are trying to exile it instead, that opponent chooses which effect to apply. If Valentin’s effect ends up not applying because of this choice, the triggered ability that allows you to pay {2} won’t trigger, even if the creature card ends up in exile.
Wizards of the Coast16 Apr 2021
If you gain an amount of life “for each” of something, that life is gained as one event and the ability will trigger only once.
Wizards of the Coast16 Apr 2021
If you gain life at the same time a creature you control is dealt lethal damage, that creature dies before Lisette’s ability can put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Wizards of the Coast16 Apr 2021
You may only pay {1} once for each life gain event.
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 glossaryBGPlayers write colors as letters: B for black, G for green.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 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 pageDeath TriggerTriggers when a creature dies, whether it is this creature, one of yours or an opponent's. These are the cards that pay you in an Aristocrats deck: something else makes creatures die, and these decide what you get each time. Blood Artist, Solemn SimulacrumOpen the Death Trigger pageCombat TrickAn instant you cast during a fight to change how it ends: making a creature bigger or smaller, or keeping your creatures from dying. Boros Charm, Flawless ManeuverOpen the Combat Trick 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 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 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 pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker page
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. If you do, create a 1/1 black and green Pest creature token with "When this token dies, you gain 1 life."
. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and those creatures gain trample until end of turn.
Open the full glossary
