Spirit Link

Lifelink Mechanic Insight

New 21 Dec 2022 Asked by stormcrow13 44 Comments

Do you know why creatures with the pseudo-lifelink that pre-dates lifelink didn’t get errata’d to lifelink. I understand why enchantments, like Spirit Link, that grant it didn’t get errata’d because it goes to the enchantment’s controller. But on creatures it is functionally identical in any circumstance most players would encounter except for stacking with lifelink. Do you have any insight into this?


Keywords represent exact rules text. If old cards do something similarly, but not exactly, it can’t be keyworded. For example, El Hajaj, the first creature to have the ability, limits the life gain to the toughness of the creature being damaged.

Request for Spirit Link Reprint

New 05 Mar 2021 Asked by cursecatcher 30 Comments

I understand that Spirit link is very similar to Lifelink (the card) and confusing for new players, but may I ask to reprint Spirit link and Vampiric link in supplemental sets (or print cards with similar effects)? They are a lot stronger than Lifelink, and I love them. I'm kinda disappointed that Vampiric link was not reprinted in TSR.


Spirit Link is it that uncanny valley where’s it’s very close, but just enough different to make people misplay it. I could imagine a new card inspired by it that’s a little more different to get out of the uncanny valley.

Card Naming and Similarity Guidelines

New 02 Mar 2020 Asked by masterjerelk 33 Comments

Design question : has there ever been time were you decided against a card name because it was too close of another popular card but whitout similarity in effect? Is it a concern at all? (Exemple: using ancestral in a car name that isn t blue nor draw card)


Spectral Lynx used to be called Spirit Lynx, but changed its name as it didn’t have lifelink, which at the time was informally called “spirit link”.

Prior Keywords Origin

New 30 Dec 2019 Asked by eyeball-frog 85 Comments

You mentioned there used to be nicknames for lifelink, vigilance, and haste before they were keyworded. What were they? What about other later keywords like reach, deathtouch, etc?


Vigilance was called the Serra ability after Serra Angel. Lifelink was called spirit link after the Legends card (which worked slightly differently than what we ended up keywording. Haste was called Raging after Raging Goblin or celerity which is what R&D called it.Reach was called the Spider ability after Giant Spider. Deathtouch was called the basilisk ability after Thicket Baslisk in Alpha. My point is that players will come up with slang usually based on the first and/or most popular card with the ability, but once we give it an official name, it eventually becomes the default. And yes, players always say they’re going to keep using the slang, but they don’t, not when the cards give it a real name.

Green and Lifelink

New 02 Apr 2019 Asked by eyeball-frog 61 Comments

Why doesn't green get lifelink? It makes sense from both a flavor standpoint (white's restoration and black's parasitism both work for nature) and a mechanical standpoint (green has full access to life gain, creatures, and creatures that gain life). Yet lifelink specifically remains off-limits.


We try hard to keep white and green separated as they are the two colors that overlap the most. We also limit most creature keywords to two colors and we really want lifelink in black for the life draining feel. That means only white or green can get it and we liked it more in white (and Spirit Link, a card that made the ability popular was in white).

Wizards' Magic Statues

New 01 Oct 2017 Asked by zanmor 36 Comments

are there still other statues around Wizards? Have we seen any in the past? Do they have names?


Different Magic statues in the building: Shivan Dragon (Mitzi)
Dakkon Blackblade
Prodigal Sorcerer
Jester’s Cap
Spirit Link
Goblin Bomb
Goblin Rock Sled
Goblin Grenade

Origin of Donate

New 30 Sep 2017 Asked by mandramas 40 Comments

Was Donate created to upgrade your Tunnel combo deck?


Different deck. That deck I won by putting a Spirit Link on a Force of Nature and then giving it to my opponent. The only two ways to give my opponent it requires swapping things so I couldn’t win if they had no creatures on the battlefield. Donate fixed that problem.

Keyword Slang Clarifications

New 04 Dec 2016 Asked by braveswordwielder 115 Comments

The "just keyword mill, everyone knows what it means" crowd may be interested to know that fan slang has in no way influenced other newly-keyworded abilities, as celerity (haste), Trollshroud (hexproof), spiderweb (reach), spirit link (lifelink), and goblin war drums (menace) attest. Just being the name of the first card with an ability doesn't make it the best name for that ability.


Well said.

Design Principles Inquiry

New 12 Sep 2015 Asked by eyeball-frog 13 Comments

Two questions about modern design principles. 1) Is Kiora, the Crashing Wave's +1 ability something that could be done in monogreen? 2) Would you guys reprint the card Spirit Link these days, or is it too close to regular lifelink?


We would print “Enchanted creature has lifelink” but that’s not the same as Spirit Link. For instance, if you put Spirit Link on another player’s creature, you, the controller of the aura gain the life. So no, we wouldn’t reprint Spirit Link.

Keywords: Lifelink vs Spirit Link

New 17 Mar 2015 Asked by ourfreezingpoint-blog-deactivat 31 Comments

Why is lifelink a keyword but spirit link not?


Lifelink is the cleaned up version of spirit link.

Keyword Decision Rationale

New 09 Mar 2015 Asked by thesharkupon 28 Comments

Why didn't Spirit link become the Keyword? It seems to be easily grokkable. Did it not have a good sound or did it take up too much space on a card?


Spirit is a supported creature type and we didn’t want to cause confusion by having overlapping game terms. Lifelink also made a stronger connection to life gain.

Last Minute Card Fix

New 09 Mar 2015 Asked by cobrakmmndr 27 Comments

Can you give us an example of a last minute card fix?


I took over names and flavor text at the very tail end of Apocalypse. There was a card calked Spirit Lynx. Which would have been fine, but it didn’t have the “spirit link” (later to be named lifelink) ability. I felt the name would cause confusion so I changed it, but it was so late that the collector numbers were locked so I had a small window of names available. I ended up changing it to Spectral Lynx.

Card Naming Challenges

New 20 Apr 2014 Asked by therealmeeotch 36 Comments

I was just telling my wife about collector numbers and how I remember reading an article where, for some reason, a card had to be named or renamed and it had to fall within an alphabetical range because the collector numbers had already been assigned. Since I can't remember more detail than that, could you tell me more about the time(s) this happened?


It’s happened numerous times. The most famous one I was involved in happened during Apocalypse. I was put in charge of names during the very end of Apocalypse so I had to do a final pass on the names. One card was called Spirit Lynx. It was a 2/1 with protection from green and regeneration. It didn’t though have lifelink which at the time was nicknamed “spirit link” after the card in Legends that granted it. I wasn’t going to put out a creature called Spirit Lynx that didn’t have spirit link so I changed the name at the last possible moment. As such, collector numbers were locked so I had very little wiggle room. I ended calling it Spectral Lynx.

Warhammer Function Change

New 13 May 2013 Asked by affinityforanime 19 Comments

No Mark, sorry, but you are mistaken on this one. Loxodon Warhammer was functionally changed by giving it lifelink. The original print of Loxodon Warhammer in Mirrodin had a triggered effect that works like Spirit Link. It even mattered more in some cases when the opponent "stole" it through Magnetic Theft and similar effects. This shows WotC has a conflicting policy on reprints and gives leverage to the case that Armadillo Cloak could have been printed in GTC with lifelink.


The change of Loxodon Warhammer is considered a mistake.

Lifelink Clarification

New 07 May 2013 Asked by mtgraptor 11 Comments

Mark stop being ignorant about the lifelink change! Just read the Daybreak Coronet printed version and the updated oracle text. And you will see it was changed.


I didn’t say lifelink was never changed. I said lifelink was never “spirit link” (aka it could never be put onto the opponent’s creature and gain you life for the damage). “Spirit link” is the ability on Armadillo Cloak.

Lifelink Definition Debate

New 07 May 2013 Asked by ingenkhoobor 15 Comments

"Lifelink has never done that." No, It DID do that; it doesn't do that NOW. It was errata'd. Why is it okay to errata lifelink to be a rider on damage when it was originally a triggered ability, but not okay to say it is functional errata? Tenth Edition Loxodon Warhammer demonstrates the "old" version.


No, Spirit Link did that. Lifelink did not and never has.

WotC Lobby Statues

New 05 Apr 2013 Asked by avatarofbro 14 Comments

I know there's a Shivan Dragon in the WotC lobby, a Prodigal Sorcerer in a meeting room, and a Jace, the Mind Sculptor somewhere else. Are there any other Magic statues laying around?


The Jace the Minsculpter is a statue we have at events not in the building. Other Magic statues in the building: Dakkon Blackblade, Goblin Grenade, the Jester from Jester’s Cap, Goblin Rocksled, Goblin King, the woman from the original Spirit Link and the goblin from Goblin War Drums. So, lots of goblins and a few others.

Keyword Origins

New 06 Jul 2012 Asked by danvogelsong 2 Comments

In the creation of keywords, is it okay to reference a previous card in the name? (same idea behind Fear, Provoke, and lifelink/Spirit Link). For example, could you keyword "At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. You may reveal that card." as "Delver"? If so, that'd be a fantastic blue and blue/black keyword you can work with. The original could be "Delver - Instant or Sorcery: Transform THIS".


We do this all the time in design. “Impulse for 3.”

Green Mechanic Dynamics

New 18 Jun 2012 Asked by pfsadfhsafas-blog 6 Comments

Green is the color of life gain and of creatures, along with White having both of those. Is its lack of lifelink because Green tends to get really big creatures, and it would be just too swingy, because its already too similar to White, both? Neither?


The first lifelink card was actually in black - El Hajjaj in Arabian Nights. (Okay, it didn’t technically have lifelink but it was the first precursor to the ability.) The card that directly led to lifelink was the card Spirit Link in Legends.  Spirit Link’s popularity led to numerous white creatures having the ability. We did it enough that we keyworded it. Then during Future Sight, I pushed to expand the creature keywords to a second color. We try to keep white and green separate as they already are the two colors that overlap the most. Black seemed like a good choice because of the drain flavor and because I had always liked El Hajjaj.

Lifelink's Flavor

New 31 May 2012 Asked by wickerpopstar 2 Comments

Lifelink: Primary in white, secondary in black? I understand the black flavor (draining energy from opponent) but what's the flavor for white?


White is primary in life gain. Basically the flavor came out of the same place that the Legends card Spirit Link came from.  I like to think that white knowing it’s fulfilling a righteous duty, is charged by it.


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