Liesa, Forgotten Archangel
Legendary Creature — Angel
Flying, lifelink
Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, return that card to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.
If a creature an opponent controls would die, exile it instead.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Promos
- Price
- $1.90
- EDHREC rank
- #2001
Liesa, Forgotten Archangel shuts down creature recursion for your opponents while returning your own creatures that die to hand — a 4/5 flying lifelink body that generates card advantage and disrupts graveyard loops simultaneously. Five mana is the real cost: she competes with your turn-five play and dies to the same removal she's meant to punish, so build around her rather than just slotting her in.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness
Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness runs a nontoken creature death engine, and Liesa, Forgotten Archangel guarantees every creature that dies on your side comes back to hand — Ardbert converts those deaths into value and Liesa makes sure the fuel never runs out.
Kaalia of the Vast
Kaalia of the Vast cheats Angels, Demons, and Dragons into play, and Liesa, Forgotten Archangel ensures that when any of those expensive bodies get answered, you recover them to hand instead of losing them permanently.
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk
Liesa, Shroud of Dusk taxes opponents two life per spell, and Liesa, Forgotten Archangel layers on a second punishment by exiling any creature that dies on their side — the two Liesas together apply pressure from multiple angles in a lifegain-matters shell.
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine sacrifices Angels to activate its ability, and Liesa, Forgotten Archangel returns those sacrificed Angels to hand, turning what would be a shrinking resource into a repeatable loop.
Ratadrabik of Urborg
Ratadrabik of Urborg creates token copies of legendary creatures that die, and Liesa, Forgotten Archangel returns the originals to hand — you keep the token and recast the legend, generating compounding board presence from a single removal spell.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Liesa, Forgotten Archangel does her best work: graveyard recursion is ubiquitous in the format, her exile-on-death clause hits opponents meaningfully in longer games, and the hand-refill effect scales well when multiple creatures die in a single combat. In Legacy and Vintage she's legal but irrelevant — five mana for a utility creature doesn't clear the bar in formats running Reanimator and fast combo. Modern and Pioneer are similar: five mana is a real commitment in those formats and there are narrower, cheaper options for graveyard disruption. Oathbreaker is a fine home if the signature spell supports a life-drain or aristocrats theme.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.90 cheap tier
At $1.90, Liesa, Forgotten Archangel is cheap for a mythic rare with consistent demand across Kaalia of the Vast, Shilgengar, Sire of Famine, and Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness builds. That broad Commander appeal is a floor — this card doesn't spike to bulk, but it's also not climbing without a major reprint or new commander that breaks the engine open.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.