Ayara, First of Locthwain — Magic: The Gathering card

Ayara, First of Locthwain

{B}{B}{B}
Legendary Creature — Elf Noble

Whenever Ayara or another black creature you control enters, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

{T}, Sacrifice another black creature: Draw a card.

*Mourning shifts seamlessly to celebration as she chooses her next suitor.*

Power/Toughness: 2/3

Set Throne of Eldraine
Rarity Rare
Mana Value 3
Artist Ryan Pancoast
Collector # 75

Why Play Ayara, First of Locthwain

Black creature-based strategies get a powerful engine piece that provides both incremental advantage and card selection. The life drain triggers accumulate quickly in decks that can deploy multiple black creatures per turn, creating meaningful pressure while stabilizing your life total. Her sacrifice ability transforms expendable creatures into fresh cards, making her particularly valuable in aristocrats strategies and creature-heavy midrange decks that need to refuel.

Format Notes

Commander represents Ayara's strongest format, where she serves as a popular aristocrats commander and powerful inclusion in black creature decks. The multiplayer nature amplifies her life drain ability, while the longer games provide more opportunities to generate card advantage through her sacrifice outlet. In Pioneer and Modern, she sees niche play in tribal black decks and sacrifice-based strategies, though the triple black mana cost limits her competitive adoption.

Combos & Synergies

Gravecrawler creates a repeatable engine when combined with other zombies, allowing you to continuously sacrifice and replay it for cards and life drain. Phyrexian Altar and similar mana-producing sacrifice outlets enable powerful loops, converting creatures into mana while drawing cards. Token generators like Bitterblossom and Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder maximize both abilities, providing steady streams of sacrifice fodder while triggering multiple life drain effects.
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