Sustaining Spirit

one generic mana one white mana Creature — Angel SpiritPower and toughness0/3

Cumulative upkeep one generic mana one white mana (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)

Damage that would reduce your life total to less than 1 reduces it to 1 instead.

"Faith is our greatest protector." —Halvor Arensson, Kjeldoran Priest

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1.24 $

7 printings

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Sustaining Spirit rulings

2008-10-01
Sustaining Spirit won’t prevent you from losing the game if your life total is 0 or less or some other effect causes you to lose the game.
2008-10-01
The second ability is not a prevention effect. It stops unpreventable damage from reducing your life total below 1.
2008-10-01
The ability doesn’t change how much damage is dealt; it just changes how much life that damage makes you lose. An effect such as Spirit Link will see the full amount of damage being dealt.
2008-10-01
If an effect asks you to pay life, you can’t pay more life than you have.
2008-10-01
The second ability applies only if your life total is being reduced by damage. Other effects or costs (such as “lose 1 life” or “pay 1 life”) can reduce your life total below 1 as normal.
2008-10-01
Paying cumulative upkeep is always optional. If it’s not paid, the permanent with cumulative upkeep is sacrificed. Partial payments of the total cumulative upkeep cost can’t be made. For example, if a permanent with “cumulative upkeep ” has three age counters on it when its cumulative upkeep ability triggers, it gets another age counter and then its controller chooses to either pay or sacrifice the permanent.
2004-10-04
Does not affect damage if you are already at zero or negative life. You still take it all.

Sustaining Spirit keyword rules

Cumulative upkeep Rule 702.24

Cumulative upkeep is a triggered ability that imposes an increasing cost on a permanent. “Cumulative upkeep [cost]” means “At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent is on the battlefield, put an age counter on this permanent. Then you may pay [cost] for each age counter on it. If you don’t, sacrifice it.” If [cost] has choices associated with it, each choice is made separately for each age counter, then either the entire set of costs is paid, or none of them is paid. Partial payments aren’t allowed.

If a permanent has multiple instances of cumulative upkeep, each triggers separately. However, the age counters are not connected to any particular ability; each cumulative upkeep ability will count the total number of age counters on the permanent at the time that ability resolves.