Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death
Artifact // Artifact
: You gain 1 life. Then if you have at least 10 life more than your starting life total, transform this artifact.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Innistrad Remastered
- Price
- $0.29
- EDHREC rank
- #8071
Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death threatens five damage to any target every turn once it flips — which it does the moment you hit 30 life, a threshold life-gain decks reach routinely. The setup cost is real: three mana and a tap to gain 2 life per turn is slow if you're not already building around life totals, but Tetzin, Gnome Champion makes flipping it nearly automatic.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Tetzin, Gnome Champion
Tetzin, Gnome Champion generates artifacts and life in the same motion, and Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death slots in as a free threat that flips off the life Tetzin's triggers accumulate — no extra infrastructure needed.
Astarion, the Decadent
Astarion, the Decadent's ability to drain life from multiple opponents accelerates you past the 30-life threshold fast, turning Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death into a repeatable five-damage cannon that closes out stalled boards.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death actually lives — 40 starting life means the 30-life threshold is achievable rather than aspirational, and the five-damage activated ability on the back half can dome a player across multiple turns or finish off a planeswalker. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but essentially unplayed; competitive decks in those formats have no interest in a three-mana life-gain piece that takes multiple turns to flip. Modern sees the same problem at a slower pace — it's too fragile and too slow against the format's threat density. Oathbreaker functions similarly to Commander and is the one 60-card-adjacent format where a dedicated life-gain shell might reach the flip condition consistently.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.29 bulk tier
At $0.29, Chalice of Life // Chalice of Death is pure bulk — easy to pick up as a throw-in or cheap order filler. Bulk rares with narrow synergy profiles rarely climb unless a new commander or precon pushes the theme hard, so treat this as a low-risk slot for life-gain builds rather than a spec.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Tetzin, Gnome Champion
- Astarion, the Decadent
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.