• Feed — Target opponent loses life equal to the amount of life they lost this turn.
• Friends — You gain life equal to the amount of life you gained this turn.
Astarion rewards extremes: gain a pile of life or drain an opponent hard in a single turn, then double down on your end step. Build around aggressive lifegain triggers and life-loss/aristocrat effects so the chosen mode snowballs out of control. You win by either pumping your life total to fuel payoffs or by repeatedly halving an opponent's life with the Feed mode plus other drain.
Doubles the impact of any big lifegain or life-loss spike in a turn, giving a strong recurring payoff for free.
Built-in deathtouch + lifelink makes Astarion a great blocker and an evasive Voltron threat.
Color identity gives access to the best lifegain payoffs, drain, and aristocrats package in BW.
Feed mode can erase an opponent's life total in one turn after a big drain or combat hit.
Six mana and the trigger only happens at your end step, so it's slow and easily disrupted.
Lifegain alone doesn't close games; you need payoffs that convert life into damage.
Relies on stacking effects within a single turn, making it vulnerable to removal and board wipes resetting your engine.
Removing Astarion shuts off the doubling, and he's a high-value target with deathtouch making chump-blocks risky for you to value.
Legendary Creature — Vampire Elf Rogue
