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Aetherflux Reservoir

Artifact

Legal Salt 1.32RemovalRank #372

Whenever you cast a spell, you gain 1 life for each spell you've cast this turn.

Pay 50 life: This artifact deals 50 damage to any target.

Why is this card good?

Aetherflux Reservoir is a combo finisher that doubles as a lifegain engine, and how you use it defines whether it's a build-around or a trap. The "Pay 50 life: deal 50 damage" ability is the dream — it can snipe a player from any life total, and if you chain enough spells you can fire it multiple times for a one-sided board wipe of opponents. But you need a way to gain that life back fast, which is why this shines in storm/spellslinger decks that cast a huge volume of cheap spells in one turn. Each cast triggers escalating lifegain, so by your 6th-7th spell you're banking 30+ life and approaching the 50 threshold. Best homes: Jeleva, Kykar, Krark/Sakashima, Urza, or any cantrip-heavy combo deck, especially with cost reducers and free spells. Don't run it in a normal midrange or value deck — without a high spell count, it's just a slow, do-nothing artifact. It demands real deckbuilding commitment to pay off.

Related cards

Sanguine Bond

Converts life gain into direct damage payoff.

Bolas's Citadel

Cast spells off top while paying life, fueling storm count and life loss.

Grapeshot

Alternative storm-count finisher in cheap spell decks.

Felidar Sovereign

Another high-life-total wincon for lifegain shells.

Test of Endurance

Wins via massive life total like Reservoir builds toward.

Approach of the Second Sun

Spell-cast wincon synergizing with high spell counts.

Mind's Desire

Storm payoff that fuels Reservoir's cast triggers.

Printings (6)

brrThe Brothers' War Retro Artifacts · #2M$26.08Buy

brrThe Brothers' War Retro Artifacts · #65M$29.22Buy

brrThe Brothers' War Retro Artifacts · #65zM$1199.00Buy

plstThe List · #KLD-192R$24.79Buy

kldKaladesh · #192R$23.21Buy

pkldKaladesh Promos · #192sR$43.30Buy

Rulings (4)

2016-09-20
The first ability counts the spell that caused it to trigger plus any other spells you cast earlier in the turn.
2016-09-20
The first ability counts spells you cast earlier in the turn even if you didn't control Aetherflux Reservoir as you cast them, and even if those spells were countered.
2016-09-20
The number of spells you've cast is counted only as Aetherflux Reservoir's triggered ability resolves. For example, if you cast a spell, then respond to the triggered ability with a second spell, you'll gain 4 life total.
2016-09-20
Aetherflux Reservoir's first ability doesn't trigger when you cast Aetherflux Reservoir itself.

Discussion (0)

Why is this card good?

Rulings (4)

2016-09-20

The first ability counts the spell that caused it to trigger plus any other spells you cast earlier in the turn.

2016-09-20

The first ability counts spells you cast earlier in the turn even if you didn't control Aetherflux Reservoir as you cast them, and even if those spells were countered.

2016-09-20

The number of spells you've cast is counted only as Aetherflux Reservoir's triggered ability resolves. For example, if you cast a spell, then respond to the triggered ability with a second spell, you'll gain 4 life total.

2016-09-20

Aetherflux Reservoir's first ability doesn't trigger when you cast Aetherflux Reservoir itself.