Lightning Angel

Creature — Angel

Flying, vigilance, haste

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (51)

SteelSentry on Which is More Important: Total …

4 months ago

Some of those are also relative because sometimes being one bigger than the other is a much bigger deal than just one. I can tell you from Standard that I can remember way more Lightning Strikes being cast than Shocks ever were unless you were in specifically a Prowess-style deck; thrown at a player, 2 and 3 damage is the difference between a playset doing 8 and 12, and 2 toughness and 3 toughness are important breakpoints in creature design for many reasons, the Bolt test being one of them.

Shared Summons is certainly a powerful card, especially in combo decks, but Eladamri's Call letting you find the right creature and casting it the same turn makes it better in most cases than getting two creatures and then dying to some artifact or enchantment you didn't have the mana to remove with Reclamation Sage which means I prefer it in most cases.

Lightning Angel is actually a good example of 3 vs 4. Mantis Rider is good, and also, relevantly, a Human, but it dies to Bolt or a 1/1 plus a Shock, and anything it kills it trades with. In a mirror match, the Angel can block other Angels all day, dodges Bolt, and unless you're playing a cube (Flame Slash and Flametongue Kavu are popular includes) or a format that has playable expensive red removal like Witchstalker Frenzy, a red deck may struggle to kill it 1-for-1.

With the draw spells, this is a very common theory in Yu-Gi-Oh actually, but a card going +1 like Quick Study is very powerful. More cards is always better, as is mana-to-card ratio, but little burst draw or cantrips usually live and die on their efficiency, and Quick Study being the cheapest unconditional way outside power to go card positive makes it incredibly noteworthy. Like the tutor argument, you might prefer card filtering cantrips that leave you neutral because the right card is more important than more cards, but it depends on why you're putting the spell there in the first place.

It's a very interesting topic that is often ignored in Commander due to the nature of the format, but the idea that "1 isn't always 1" is what really makes card analysis for 60 and 40 card formats special to me.

DemonDragonJ on Which is More Important: Total …

4 months ago

I often wonder which is more important for a card: its overall cost or its cost-to-effect ratio (i.e., its mana efficiency); for example, there is no question that Lightning Bolt is superior to both Shock and Searing Spear, but, between the other two cards, I would choose Shock over Searing Spear in the majority of situations, because Shock has a ratio of 2 damage for 1 mana, whereas Searing Spear has a ratio of 1.5 damage for 1 mana.

For a slightly more complicated example, compare Eladamri's Call to Shared Summons; the former card can find a creature for a mere 2 mana, which is very efficient, but it simply replaces one card in its controller's hand with another, whereas the latter card can search for two creatures, which leaves its caster with an additional card in hand, compared to before it is cast, but it is less efficient, costing 2.5 mana per creature found, so it is not as clear which card is superior, there.

Opportunity is literally a double version of Quick Study, as they both have the same ratio of cost to effect, but which is the superior card? Is it really better to spend six mana to draw four cards, as doing that would leave the caster with less mana to cast the spells that they draw? Also, Quick Study is strictly better than is Inspiration, as it costs 1 less mana to cast, but, between Concentrate and Tidings, I am not certain which is superior, since they both allow a player to draw one less card than their mana values.

On the subject of card drawing, in the realm of repeatable card drawing, Arcane Encyclopedia is strictly better than is Jayemdae Tome, as it costs only 3 mana to draw a single card, compared to 4, but Tower of Fortunes can draw four cards for 8 mana, which is a ratio of 2 mana per card, but that ability costs 8 mana, overall, so the question is if it is worth 8 mana to draw four cards.

Continuing that theme, there are numerous creatures (and one enchantment) that allow a player to repeatedly draw cards, such as Azure Mage, Spectral Sailor, Faerie Mastermind, Triskaidekaphile, or Treasure Trove, a ratio of 4 mana for one card, but Mystic Archaeologist can draw 2 two cards for 5 mana, a ratio of 2.5 mana per card, which is definitely far superior, in my mind.

Hedron Archive is literally two Mind Stones put together, and Dreamstone Hedron is literally a triple Mind Stone, so they all have the same cost-to-effect ratio, but I prefer the original Mind Stone, since the existence of Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus makes it difficult to justify using the other mana rocks, at least, for me.

To use the example of Skyward Eye Prophets, a 1/1 creature for 2 mana is perfectly acceptable, a 2/2 creature for 4 mana is slightly expensive, but nothing outrageous, but a 3/3 creature for 6 mana is simply too much, although, as a side note, I have a copy of that creature, in one of my decks, because I really like its ability.

For a further example, I would choose Mantis Rider over Lightning Angel in the majority of situations, since it provides a better rate than does the angel, and, similarly, I would choose Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers over Vernadi Shieldmate, since the former creature is more efficient for its cost.

I believe that I have provided a sufficient number of examples, for this discussion, so which trait do you believe is more important: overall mana cost or cost-to-effect ratio/mana efficiency? I certainly am interested to hear your thoughts on this matter.

DemonDragonJ on Patriotic Pride

1 year ago

I have replaced Lightning Angel with Venerable Warsinger, which reduced this deck's average converted mana cost from 3.69 to 3.68, because, as great as the angel was, she was merely a flying beater, while the warsinger actually has a useful ability. I know that not all of the creatures in my deck have a mana value of 3 or less, but this deck has numerous ways to either increase either the warsinger's power or the damage that it deals, so I feel that it is a worthy addition to this deck.

GofyTomcat1 on Jeskai Aggro

3 years ago

If you're playing Modern, maybe consider Geist of Saint Traft or Lightning Angel? Both are budget options in the format that really work for this style of build. Lightning Angel is basically a Mantis Rider with an extra toughness, and while Geist doesn't fly, he has Hexproof, meaning he's basically going to dodge most of the removal in the format. He's also 6 power spread across 2 bodies for 3 mana, so that's a lot of value.

You'll also want some cheaper interaction and removal, such as Lightning Bolt, Counterspell, Lightning Helix, and Path to Exile/ Prismatic Ending. All of these spells won't cost you a whole lot of money, but they'll help you interact with the board state and/or finish off the opponent in the case of the burn spells. Another great option is Boros Charm, since it does literally everything a deck like this wants to do! 4 damage to the face, double strike on a creature, or protecting your board state from opposing removal.

LunchBox1211 on Card creation challenge

4 years ago

Blood-Age Excavation

Enchantment - Saga

: ~ deals 2 damage to any target. Investigate.

: Investigate, then you may sacrifice a clue token and tap an untapped land you control. If you do, create 2 treasure tokens.

: ~ deals 3 damage to each opponent. For each opponent dealt damage this way, reveal card from the top of your library until you reveal an artifact. Exile that artifact and put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Then you get an emblem with "You may cast artifacts you control in exile. Spells cast this way cost more to cast."

---

I was building a Bant deck and noticed that Stoic Angel and Lightning Angel were kind of similar. Both 3/4's for 1, Colour a, Colour b, Colour c, where Colour a, Colour b, and Colour c are different. They also both have vigilance, and an additional ability/effect that feels like something you would see in their colours.

Make another angel in this 2 card cycle. You could use a wedge or a shard, I don't care.

ej133 on The Spirit of '76: Jeskai Geist

5 years ago

I mean, yeah, I got it, but... why Lightning Angel?

Like...

Why?

triproberts12 on Suggestions for cards with bitchin' …

5 years ago

I'm wondering how viable a commander deck with the tackiest art can be. Vaevictis Asmadi, Lightning Angel, Veldrane of Sengir.

Honestly, I love the old art aesthetic, but if you know of ridiculous art on cards that are playable, but maybe not found at the top of EDHREC, lay them on me.

DemonDragonJ on Commander Legends Reprints

5 years ago

Neither Meteor Crater nor Overabundance have ever been reprinted, so I would very much like to see them in this set, and a reprint of Lightning Angel with new artwork (preferably by either Raymond Swanland or Steve Argyle) would be nice (not that there is anything wrong with the original artwork by R.K. Post, however).