Drain Life

Errata for Battles

Will drain life get errata for battles?

I don’t believe so.

Battles Drain Life Errata

Black's Syphon Mechanics

Doesn't Black get a lot of that syphon effect from the "each opponent loses 1 life, you gain life equal to the life lost" effect? What makes Mind Syphon different?

Black is allowed to drain life from other players. It is not allowed to drain cards.

Black Drain Life Lifegain

Specific Color X Costs

I don't know how it would be depicted on a card, but has the possibility of a spell costing (X) of one color been floated? Maybe in card text "(X) must be paid with Red mana". Or has that been printed and I don't know about it?

We’ve written it out. Drain Life is almost that.

Card Printing Colors Drain Life Mana Red

Drain Life Design

Technically, Drain Life was an X card where you could only use Black mana for X. The templating was as an additional cost, but I'm pretty sure if you were to design it today, it'd be X1B with "use only Black mana for X" in the text.

You are correct.,

Black Drain Life Mana Templating

Black/Red Lightning Helix

Would a Black/Red Lightning Helix be a color pie bend/break? I feel like it falls into what they're allowed to do.

Black can do it and Red/White can do it. We wouldn’t do it in Black/Red without adding a Red thing and even then because of the high profile of Lightning Helix and Drain Life, I doubt we’d do it.

Bend / Break Black Boros (R/W) Color Pie Colors Drain Life Lightning Helix Rakdos (B/R) Red White

Unique Combos in Colors

You said you loved having red/white being able to function as a drain life. So, what's the difference between that and having blue/green grant a creature flying and then destroy target creature with flying?

Neither Red nor White’s weaknesses involves draining. Blue and Green are both supposed to have issues with outright destroying creatures.

Blue Boros (R/W) Creatures Destroy Drain Life Flying Green Red White

Black's Mechanic Nuances

If black gets -n/-n as a burn replacement, is creature target only drain life a bend?

Drain is in Black’s color pie so creature drain is neither bend not break.

Bend / Break Black Color Pie Colors Creatures Drain Life

Lifelink in Black

Someone said today that Lifelink doesn't belong in black. Please explain why it does! :-)

It’s Drain Life on a creature. In fact, the ability first appeared in black on the card El-Hajjaj in Arabian Nights.

Arabian Nights Black Creatures Drain Life Humor Lifelink

Specific Mana Costs

Could a card be printed with mana cost "X" that needs to be spent using a specific color (or only a specific color)? A quick example being a "Fireball" that doesnt' also require the R in it's cost but must only use Red mana? It makes the spell cheaper but still works with the color pie (I know, too powerful and not something I would want to see in standard; just an example)

Yes, it was called Drain Life and was in Alpha. : ) Now the less snarky version: We’ve talked about doing more of that and probably will be a small theme when we find the right set for it.

Alpha Card Printing Color Pie Colors Drain Life Mana Red Standard

Erebos Ability Feedback

I'm a bit disappointed with Erebos, while his "can't gain life" is very flavorful, it is the weakest among the god cards, since it depends too much on the opponent: if my opponent doesn't run lifegain, it is totally useless ability. It woudn't be better if from a gameplay standpoint, while keeping the flavor, if erebos static ability was an upkeep drain life like ability (opponents lose 2 life and you gain the same)? So it could be relevant in every matchup, like all the other gods.

Did you miss the part where he draws you cards? : ) Historically, that’s proven very good.

Drain Life Flavor Game Play God Lifegain

Effect Color Distribution

Is the Pestilence/Pyrohemia effect both black and red? I'd think it was black only if it gained life as well, but Pestilence Demon saw print recently suggesting it is still a black effect too. How so when black also gets drain life effects and mass destruction?

It’s a black effect. Pyrohemia is from Planar Chaos, the set that experimented with an alternate reality where the color pie had played out differently.

Black Card Printing Color Pie Colors Demon Drain Life Pestilence Demon Planar Chaos Pyrohemia Red

Lifelink Rule Proposal

May I please plead a rules-change to lifelink? Can you give it the clause that Drain Life has, where you can't gain more life than the life of a player/toughness of a creature damaged that way? I really don't understand it the way it currently works(I do understand the rules behind it).

This is a case where there’s a Vorthos answer and a Melvin answer. The first is thinking of it as a drain and the second is keying off of damage dealt. Here we’ve leaned towards the Melvin answer.

Creatures Drain Life Lifelink Melvin / Mel Rules Vorthos

Desired Healing Fireball

Things I want: XRW fireball that gains you that much life.

You want a white/red Drain Life? : )

Drain Life Red White

Color Pie Insights

is the similarity of affects of lightning helix and the mono black drain life spells problematic, they have a substantial flavor difference in their affects but they tend to have a very similar affect on the game play.

I don’t mind multicolor occasionally creating a monocolor effect. It happens very infrequently and it’s an interesting insight to the quirks of the color pie.

Black Color Pie Colors Drain Life Flavor Game Play Lightning Helix Monocolor Spells