The Versatility and Power of Liliana, Heretical Healer

Liliana, Heretical Healer is a planeswalker that offers a range of spells and abilities that can be used to disrupt opponents, generate card advantage, or control the board. As a versatile card, she can be played in various ways, making her a valuable addition to any Magic: The Gathering deck.

Understanding Liliana's Card Mechanics

Liliana has two main forms: Cleric and Planeswalker. As a Cleric, she gains 2 life whenever a player would lose life or gain life equal to the number of cards in their graveyard. This ability makes her an excellent choice for controlling an opponent's life total or generating card advantage.

When played as a Planeswalker, Liliana offers access to her abilities, which include drawing one card, gaining 3 life when cast, and returning a permanent to its owner's hand. Her first ability allows her to return a permanent to its owner's hand, while her second ability gives a boost to her own life total. In the Defiant Necromancer form, she also gets +1/+2 and gains trample.

Strategic Uses, Combos, and Synergies

Liliana is a versatile card that can be used in a variety of strategies. Here are some examples:

Life Gain Engine

By playing Liliana as her Cleric form, you can generate an almost unlimited amount of life gain by feeding her with cards from your graveyard.

• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as Cleric and feeding her with cards from your graveyard allows you to generate an almost unlimited amount of life gain while drawing one card whenever you return her.
• Example: In a combo deck, playing Liliana as Cleric and feeding her with cards from your graveyard can help stabilize an opponent's life total.

Card Advantage

Liliana's ability to draw one card when cast makes her an excellent choice for combo decks that rely on card draw.

• Example: In a combo deck built around or , playing Liliana can provide the necessary life gain or card advantage to make it work.
• Example: In a value deck, playing Liliana generates card advantage through her ability to draw one card when cast.

Board Control

With her Planeswalker abilities, Liliana can disrupt opponents by returning their permanents to their hand or boosting her own life total.

• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form can disrupt an opponent's strategy by returning their permanents to their hand.
• Example: In a combo deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form can help stabilize an opponent's life total or generate card advantage.

Combo Pieces

In a deck built around a specific combo piece, Liliana can provide the necessary life gain or card advantage to make it work.

• Example: In a combo deck built around , playing Liliana can help you get it into play or bring it back from the graveyard.
• Example: In a value deck built around , playing Liliana can generate card advantage through her ability to draw one card when cast.

Deckbuilding Roles and Archetypes

Liliana can be played in a variety of deck archetypes, including:

Control Decks

In control decks, Liliana is used to disrupt opponents with her Planeswalker abilities.

• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form allows you to disrupt an opponent's strategy by returning their permanents to their hand.
• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as her Cleric form can help stabilize an opponent's life total.

Combo Decks

In combo decks, Liliana provides the necessary life gain or card advantage to make a specific combo work.

• Example: In a combo deck built around , playing Liliana can provide the necessary life gain or card advantage to make it work.
• Example: In a value deck built around , playing Liliana generates card advantage through her ability to draw one card when cast.

Value Decks

In value decks, Liliana generates card advantage through her ability to draw one card when cast.

• Example: In a value deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form can generate card advantage through her ability to draw one card when cast.
• Example: In a value deck, playing Liliana as her Cleric form can help stabilize an opponent's life total.

Format Viability and Competitive Context

In Modern, Liliana is considered a very powerful card that can be played in a variety of strategies. She has been banned from some formats due to her high power level, but she remains playable in most formats.

In Standard, Liliana is often used in control decks or combo decks to disrupt opponents or generate card advantage. Her format viability depends on the specific metagame and deck archetype.

Rules Interactions and Technical Notes

Here are a few rules interactions and technical notes for Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer:

Planeswalker Abilities

Planeswalker abilities can only be triggered by other effects if the player has an available mana to cast them.

• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form allows you to return permanents to their hand when they are removed from the battlefield.
• Example: In a combo deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form can provide the necessary life gain or card advantage to make it work.

Trample

Trample is a keyword ability that allows a creature to deal excess damage to its target when it would otherwise deal non-trampling damage. In Liliana's case, her trample ability makes her more formidable in combat.

• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form can return an opponent's permanent to their hand while dealing excess damage with her trample ability.
• Example: In a combo deck, playing Liliana as her Planeswalker form can provide the necessary life gain or card advantage to make it work.

Life Gain Engine

The life gain engine provided by playing Liliana as Cleric can be used to stabilize an opponent's life total or generate card advantage.

• Example: In a control deck, playing Liliana as Cleric and feeding her with cards from your graveyard allows you to generate an almost unlimited amount of life gain while drawing one card whenever you return her.
• Example: In a combo deck, playing Liliana as Cleric can help stabilize an opponent's life total.

Art, Flavor, and Historical Context

The art for Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer shows Liliana in two different forms: a cleric with a staff, representing her ability to heal and protect others. In the Defiant Necromancer form, she is depicted as a more aggressive and powerful version of herself.

In terms of flavor, Liliana is portrayed as a powerful and complex character who walks the line between life and death. Her abilities reflect this complexity, allowing her to manipulate both life gain and card advantage.

Liliana was first introduced in the Lorwyn set in 2007 and has since become one of the most iconic planeswalkers in Magic: The Gathering.