Sustaining Spirit
Creature — Angel Spirit
Sustaining Spirit
Creature — Angel Spirit
Card Text
Cumulative upkeep (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
Damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 reduces it to 1 instead.
Card Details
- Mana Value
- 2
- Colors
- White
- Color Identity
- White
- Power / Toughness
- 0 / 3
- EDHREC Rank
- #23,864
Format Legalities
Market Prices
Prices from TCGPlayer and Cardmarket
Price History (30d)
All Printings (7)
| Set | # | Rarity | Lang | Artist | Price | Foil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Edition II (ME2) | #36 | rare | en | Rebecca Guay | — | — |
| Alliances (ALL) | #18 | rare | en | Rebecca Guay | $1.65 | — |
| Alliances (ALL) | #18 | rare | de | Rebecca Guay | — | — |
| Alliances (ALL) | #18 | rare | es | Rebecca Guay | — | — |
| Alliances (ALL) | #18 | rare | fr | Rebecca Guay | — | — |
| Alliances (ALL) | #18 | rare | it | Rebecca Guay | — | — |
| Alliances (ALL) | #18 | rare | pt | Rebecca Guay | — | — |
Official Rulings (7)
The ability doesn’t change how much damage is dealt; it just changes how much life that damage makes you lose. An effect such as Spirit Link will see the full amount of damage being dealt.
The second ability is not a prevention effect. It stops unpreventable damage from reducing your life total below 1.
Paying cumulative upkeep is always optional. If it’s not paid, the permanent with cumulative upkeep is sacrificed. Partial payments of the total cumulative upkeep cost can’t be made. For example, if a permanent with “cumulative upkeep {1}” has three age counters on it when its cumulative upkeep ability triggers, it gets another age counter and then its controller chooses to either pay {4} or sacrifice the permanent.
If an effect asks you to pay life, you can’t pay more life than you have.
The second ability applies only if your life total is being reduced by damage. Other effects or costs (such as “lose 1 life” or “pay 1 life”) can reduce your life total below 1 as normal.
Sustaining Spirit won’t prevent you from losing the game if your life total is 0 or less or some other effect causes you to lose the game.
Does not affect damage if you are already at zero or negative life. You still take it all.
Cards Similar to Sustaining Spirit
View all 200 similar cards →Looking for alternatives to Sustaining Spirit? These Magic: The Gathering cards share similar effects and gameplay roles.

Jötun Grunt
Creature — Giant Soldier
$0.21

Mwonvuli Ooze
Creature — Ooze
$0.70

Energy Storm
Enchantment

Volunteer Reserves
Creature — Human Soldier
$0.12

Wall of Shards
Snow Creature — Wall
$7.66