Linvala, the Preserver

Linvala, the Preserver is a defensive angel that rewards you for being behind—she's a catch-up mechanic wrapped in a flying body. When she enters, she checks two conditions: if you're low on life, you gain 5; if opponents have more creatures, you make a 3/3 flying token. This makes her perfect for grindy, attrition-based strategies where you're happy to stabilize and then rebuild. You're not trying to out-race anyone early; instead, you're blocking, controlling the board, and using Linvala's defensive ETB triggers to swing the game back in your favor.

Build around flickering Linvala repeatedly with effects like Soulherder, Ephemerate, or Teleportation Circle to trigger her enters-the-battlefield clause every turn. Pair this with sacrifice outlets and token generators so you're creating an army of flying angels while stabilizing your life total. Include board wipes and spot removal to shrink opponents' creature counts and trigger Linvala's token generation consistently. Win by grinding out value and attacking with an ever-growing flying force once you've stabilized the board.

Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.