Lulu, Vengeful HollyphantHow it works & interactions with other cards

Aerial Retribution

Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant features a triggered ability that checks how many 'other' creatures with flying you have declared as attackers. Note that Lulu herself has flying, but she does not count toward the life-loss and life-gain calculation because the ability specifies 'other creatures.' This means you need at least one additional flying creature to trigger the effect. The amount of life lost by each opponent and gained by you is equal to the number of those other flying creatures that were declared as attackers in the same combat phase.

Triggering and Resolution

The ability triggers exactly once during the Declare Attackers step, provided at least one other creature with flying is attacking. Step 1: You declare your attackers, including Lulu and other creatures. Step 2: The game counts how many creatures with flying (excluding Lulu) are attacking. Step 3: The ability is put onto the stack with that number determined. Step 4: When the ability resolves, each opponent loses that much life simultaneously, and you gain the total life once. If a creature loses flying after this point, or is removed from combat, the amount of life exchanged does not change because the value was locked in when the ability triggered.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is forgetting that creatures must have flying at the moment they are declared as attackers to be counted. If a creature gains flying through an ability after it has already been declared as an attacker, Lulu will not count it for that combat. Additionally, Lulu's ability triggers 'whenever you attack,' which means it only triggers once per combat phase regardless of how many creatures you attack with. It does not trigger separately for each creature.

Tactical Considerations

Because Lulu drains life from 'each opponent,' she is exceptionally strong in multiplayer formats like Commander. While a traditional creature might only hit one player, Lulu's trigger ensures that your aerial assault weakens the entire table. It is often best to pair her with low-cost flyers or ways to grant flying to your existing ground forces to ensure the drain value remains high every turn.

Interaction examples

The Doubling Throne

Roaming ThroneLulu, Inspiring Hollyphant

If you have Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant and Roaming Throne (with 'Elephant' or 'Angel' chosen) on the battlefield and you attack with Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant and Lulu, Inspiring Hollyphant, the Vengeful Hollyphant's ability triggers. Because of Roaming Throne, it triggers a second time. Each trigger will see one 'other' creature with flying (the Inspiring Hollyphant) and cause each opponent to lose 1 life and you to gain 1 life twice, for a total of 2 life drained per opponent.

Granting Flight

Lulu, Forgetful HollyphantSolemn Simulacrum

First, you play Lulu, Forgetful Hollyphant and receive her boon. Next, you cast Solemn Simulacrum; the boon triggers and gives the Golem flying perpetually. When you later attack with Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant and the flying Solemn Simulacrum, Lulu's ability triggers. Since the Golem now has flying, it is counted as one 'other creature with flying,' causing each opponent to lose 1 life and you to gain 1 life.

A Multi-Hollyphant Assault

Lulu, Curious HollyphantLulu, Wild Hollyphant

If you declare an attack with all three creatures, Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant sees two 'other' creatures with flying (Curious and Wild). Her trigger will result in each opponent losing 2 life and you gaining 2 life. Simultaneously, Lulu, Curious Hollyphant and Lulu, Wild Hollyphant will also trigger, checking the 'other' flyers and providing card draw and power buffs respectively.