"Underrealm Lich:Filter power!"

"Underrealm Lich:Filter power!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Just when you think that the Golgari would not have more ways of putting cards into their graveyard in comes Underrealm Lich to shatter your expectations and give you great news about card drawing.

Underrealm Lich is a 5 mana 4/3 creature that says if you would draw a card , instead look at the top three cards of your library , then put one into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. Filter power at work! So instead of ending up with a sucky card on your first draw you now have the option of having a Sensei's Divining top effect by looking at three cards and being able to make choices that would be more beneficial to you. The only difference is that you would be keeping a card and throwing things out.

Do you need this spell in your hand? Do you need this spell in your graveyard? Would you be able to reanimate the creature you just dumped casually into your graveyard with the reanimation spell that you also casually kept in your hand?

Did you just get a Victimize with a creature in play and you just threw Triskelion and Mikeaus the Unhallowed in your graveyard? Now try to control yourself from grinning.

Of course opponents will instantly recognize that a golgari deck filtering lands to keep and dump in the graveyard is surely a bad thing. They will then plan the demise of this loved creature.

Unfortunately for them Underrealm Lich also has this ability that will let it stay on the battlefield much longer. All you need is to do is to pay 4 life and make him Indestructible!. He becomes tapped and unavailable to block or tap for anything once you activate this but heck you just protected your card advantage didn't you? So short of bouncing , sacrificing or putting -1/-1 counters on him your opponents just had their list of options shortened.

Underrealm Lich will be a welcome addition to already strong EDH decks and who knows what this will probably do in the hands of more creative people.