Sorin the Mirthless is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
+1: Look at the top card of your library. You may reveal that card and put it into your hand. If you do, you lose life equal to its mana value. −2: Create a 2/3 black Vampire creature token with flying and lifelink. −7: Sorin deals 13 damage to any target. You gain 13 life.
Complete guide
Sorin the Mirthless is a versatile black planeswalker that provides card advantage, board presence, and a massive finishing blow. Whether you are looking to dig through your library or stabilize with lifelink tokens, Sorin offers a dark bargain for those willing to pay the price in blood.
Card Selection and Costs
Sorin's first ability allows you to look at the top card of your library. You have a choice: reveal the card to put it into your hand at the cost of life equal to its mana value, or leave it on top. This is particularly powerful for filtering through lands, which have a mana value of 0 and thus cost no life to draw.
Generating a Presence
His second ability creates a 2/3 Vampire token with flying and lifelink. This token is an excellent defensive tool, as the lifelink helps recoup the life lost from Sorin's first ability, while flying ensures it can block or attack effectively over crowded battlefields.
The Ultimate Finisher
If Sorin reaches 7 loyalty, he can unleash a devastating blast of 13 damage to any target. Because this ability also gains you 13 life, it often creates a 26-point life swing that can immediately end the game or turn a losing situation into a winning one.
Common Mistakes
A common error is forgetting that if you choose not to reveal the card with the +1 ability, it must remain on top of your library. You cannot put it into your hand without revealing it and losing the life. Additionally, keep in mind that the life loss is not damage, so effects that prevent damage will not stop the life loss from the first ability.
Interaction examples
Sorin the MirthlessYou activate the +1 ability of Sorin the Mirthless. You look at the top card of your library and see a card with a mana value of 4. If you choose to reveal it, you put it into your hand and your life total decreases by 4. If you do not want to lose the life, you leave the card on top of your library, and your life total remains the same.
VampireYou activate the -2 ability of Sorin the Mirthless. A 2/3 black Vampire creature token with flying and lifelink is placed onto the battlefield. This token can now be used to attack or block, and any damage it deals will result in you gaining that much life, helping to offset Sorin's card-draw costs.
You activate the -7 ability of Sorin the Mirthless, targeting your opponent. Upon resolution, the opponent is dealt 13 damage and you gain 13 life. If the opponent had 13 or less life, they lose the game immediately.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Sorin the Mirthless
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you choose not to reveal the card you looked at with Sorin's first loyalty ability, it stays on top of your library.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Sorin the Mirthless + Tree of Perdition + Doubling Season
- 1Cast Sorin for
. - 2Sorin enters the battlefield with eight loyalty counters.
- 3Activate Tree of Perdition by tapping it, causing target opponent's life total to be swapped with Tree of Perdition's toughness.
- 4Activate Sorin's third ability by removing seven loyalty counters from it, causing the opponent to lose thirteen life and you to gain thirteen life.
- 5The opponent loses the game due to having zero or less life.
Sorin the Mirthless + Tree of Perdition + Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider
- 1Cast Sorin for .
- 2Sorin enters the battlefield with eight loyalty counters.
- 3Activate Tree of Perdition by tapping it, causing target opponent's life total to be swapped with Tree of Perdition's toughness.
- 4Activate Sorin's third ability by removing seven loyalty counters from it, causing the opponent to lose thirteen life and you to gain thirteen life.
- 5The opponent loses the game due to having zero or less life.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Sorin the Mirthless
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.