the card text actualy says " when serra avatar enters graveyard " so yes it does enter the grave yard, however it does not stay there long enough for any spell to be played. my question is if you have a card like life line or rememberance in play, which effect would take presidence? could you imagine sacrificeing her to life chisle/diamond valley/worthy cause to double your life, bouncing her pack into play with life line and re-doubling your life with the chourus in the prosces? scary thought if it works

  -- By michael from chicago on January 13, 2011

To Kith - I bet you're not playing with a single creature in your deck, if you're saying that this is bad because of the existence of Path to Exile. Name a reasonable creature that can survive a Path. Darksteel Colossus? - no chance. Akroma? - still gets exiled. Progenitus? - come on, anyone can say that! Progenitus still dies to Wrath of God and Final Judgement. Serra Avatar is really, really frikken awesome. Give it lifelink (Armadillo Cloak/Behemoth Slegde) and double your life total with every swing. This also works nicely if you have an Ageless Entity and/or Cradle of Vitality :P

  -- By Jens N from Denmark on February 09, 2010

This is an amazing card with a ton of combo potential, but there sure are a lot of people confused about what can and cannot be done with this card. Serra Avatar never, ever goes to the graveyard. This means you cannot Skull Fracture/ Exhume it. This also means Cinder Cloud will not deal your opponent any damage.. Now as far as this Repercussion/Terror combo Repercussion says when a creature is dealt damage, Repercussion deals that much to the creature's controller. Now look at Terror. It destroys the creature but doesn't actually deal it any damage. This means no damage from Repercussion, and no dead opponent.

  -- By Jim from Madison, WI on November 17, 2009

pretty tough if you play it with wall of reverance but nowadays this card cant do anything against path to exile

  -- By kith from philippines on July 07, 2009

OH NO! Hard cast Phthisis!

  -- By AAA from michigan, MI USA on May 18, 2009

The only problem with this card is that everything revolves around it, making it easy to snipe or remove.

  -- By Anonymous from Temple City, CA USA on March 01, 2009

goes great with loxodon warhammer

  -- By Anonymous from chicago on January 15, 2009

I use to be obsessed with this card back in the day, even more so when I just happened to have a magic deck on me and ran into Richard Garfield in Indianapolis, IN and had him sign mine. Not really the greatest card, but very cool none the less. My only problems with this card is it's 4WWW casting cost yet it is still a very vulnerable creature. I remember the first time I got 7 Billion life was by using this card with Mercadian Masques' Noble Purpose. Not the greatest card in the world, but a cool card none the less. 4/5.

  -- By John from Indiana on January 14, 2009

might be fun with kiki jiki... since she's not a legend... and Angelic Chorus... double yer life every turn.

  -- By keith sherrill from Seattle, Wa on April 07, 2008

Good for any white, white-black, or white-green life-gain deck. If you can play it right then you can destroy and regenerate this card a few times and (depending on if your life gain deck is any good) have a HUGE amount of life. In my opinion the best 2 types of lifegain green or white

  -- By Anonymous from Behind You on September 01, 2007

works wonders with ivory tower and beacon of immortality. whispersilk cloak ensures victory.

  -- By Anonymous from california on February 20, 2007

umm...u can't reanimate serra avatar....

  -- By Anonymous from GA on January 29, 2007

you cannot play this creature from graveyard with exume................. must shuffle into library................

  -- By furio spectre from ita on December 15, 2006

I typically use Noble Purpose, Spirit Link, and Armadillo Cloak. Using Noble Purposes and Spirit Links and 2 Serra Avatars, against a Goblin/Patriarch's Bidding deck, my life actually multiplied by 10 every time I attacked, bringing my life total all the way up to four TRILLION something, before he finally gave up. My Armadillo Cloaks were all at the bottom of the deck. ^__^ True stroy

  -- By Otaku-sama from Fayetteville, NC on November 09, 2006

too good to be true. what if i use it with loxodon warhammer?

  -- By nick stamatelos from athens greece on September 06, 2006

sorry buddy, exhumes a sorcery and by the time you use it, serra avatar is back in your library. You can corpse dance her for a first turn kill if you can play some sort of mox or something.

  -- By Anonymous from MI on February 01, 2005

ura shards, fling , bloodshot cyclops & a real killer combo of sneak attack , weatherseed treefolk & alter of dementia! what do ya get boys ? well for every red i can sneak in a weatherseed treefolk sack it through the alter to deck opponent for 5 cards & put treefolk back in hand ! also the avatar is killer for decking someone through alter because the avatar gets shuffled back into library & possibly if one had a wordly tutor get it back! oh also priest of titiana , karmic guide, seething song thorn elemental, tornado elemental work well!

  -- By sean t from akron,ohio on January 02, 2005

This appears to be a very badass card, but if your opponent has a cinder cloud you are dead!

  -- By Anonymous from Olympia WA on December 17, 2004

this card is the ultimate big

  -- By Anonymous from realm of serra on April 30, 2004

derek hopkins: You should try reading the card before you post a review. When Serra Avatar is put into a graveyard, shuffle Serra Avatar into owner's library. it wont work in a reanimation deck. However, A very sweet combo is Serra Avatar / Quicksilver Amulet. Bring in the avatar very early on.

  -- By DeckTech Expert from Pinckney, MI on March 03, 2004

This card shows you the true extent of the power found in the Urza's Saga expansion. Combine it with a Sneak Attack, for even more fun. And what about a Spirit Link? The only drawback is mane, and any good player can come up with that...

  -- By F. G. D. W. from Potsdam NY on January 28, 2004

Put this in a life gaining deck with black to have some diabolic intents and it will always be by your side. Also use spirit link for some huge life totals and then it just gets bigger and bigger.

  -- By from alot on November 07, 2003

Sure sure, great creature. Two problems: one, if you are near death, the avatar is useless. Two, it is too dangerous. Some guy with a red/ black deck can use repurcussion and terror. Game over. Go with Akroma or Avatar of woe. Much safer cards to play.

  -- By Anonymous from Vermont on October 29, 2003

this card goes great with cards like spirit link and fireshrieker

  -- By Anonymous from nowhere in particular on October 12, 2003

Great combo here: Red/White Astral slide. Play the avatar. Use slide to remove it from the game, drop dimensional breach. Your avatar comes back as the only permanent on the board. Beautiful combo.

  -- By Kris from New Haven, CT on September 15, 2003

Some guy I know gave me one. He was leaving town and just handed me this because I had hooked him up with some other stuff. Pretty sweet card. Its the only creature in my oath deck, so you kinda get the point =)!

  -- By Anonymous from The Alley of Cats and Dogs on September 02, 2003

all i can say is that the card is a true ninja

  -- By Anonymous from Fairbanks, AK USA on March 02, 2003

who's the moron that gave this card a four? This card fits into so many combinations, like with piper, sneak attack. Definitely one of the top ten cards ever made outside of the power nine.

  -- By Anonymous from Goshen, IN on January 05, 2003

THIS IS THE BEST CARD EVER! One time i got my serra avatar up to a 189/190! No one with a life gaining deck or cleric deck can truly call themselves a magic player unless they have this card! This is my favorite card! And you there... kid who rated it a 4... YOU DIE! SERRA AVATAR IS THE RULER OF THE WORLD!

  -- By Juz call me lil-mc from US on December 23, 2002

Insane card, spirit link, armadillo cloak and serras embrace work pretty well. One of the best creatures ever made.

  -- By Anonymous from uk on November 01, 2002

try using...angelic chorus and,soul link, spiritualize combos. with the right mind and cards your almost unbeatable.

  -- By x_dine from Houston,TX on October 06, 2002

Avatar, Altar of Dementia, Regeneration. Who says you can't make a G/W Millstone deck?

  -- By El Diablo from Cheeseland, Ohio on September 24, 2002

Put a spirit link and pariah on it and raise it's power whenever your opponent attacks. Pipers better because it stays in play.

  -- By Thomas Marlin from Blue Island, IL USA on July 11, 2002

Good,but it could be better if it had flying as standard.Use it in gain life decks (Congregate,angelic chorus) or just use a worship

  -- By Stuart M from Dunfermline,Scotland on July 06, 2002

This card rules. Plain and simple.

  -- By Anonymous from Concord, NH USA on July 06, 2002

This is an icredable card (but sometimes is too expensive depending on how much life you have. If you make a green/white deck with heroes reunion and overrun this card is unstoppabble.

  -- By Anonymous from USA on June 24, 2002

omg

  -- By andrew&dan from elsewhere on April 26, 2002

Piper! Why use a piper when you can sneak attack it!

  -- By Anonymous from CT on April 23, 2002

Ever heard of a Sneak Attack, Avatar (often 1st turn kill)?

  -- By Anonymous from Socorro, NM on April 23, 2002

very simple a first turn 20/20 creature.in a mono black deck;first hand serra avatar,swamp,dark ritual,skull fracture,exhume.first you play the swamp then dark ritual,with the 3 mana play skull fracture and discard serra avatar then exhume the avatar.thats how it is done (you can use this for all tipes of creatures)

  -- By derek hopkins from palm harbor FL on April 14, 2002

this card is aswome. ok, in my W/G deck the combo is; play serra avatar, next turn play congregate(sp), cataclysm(sp) and rancor. then dodge the violent swings of ur opponent/s all aimed at ur head.

  -- By Anonymous from groton, MA USA on April 01, 2002

A great combo card. play it with an elvish piper on for 1 green mana in a green/white deck then put armadillo cloak on it ( +2+2 trample, and when it deals damage, you gain that much life.) So what you have is a giant creature with trample that doubles its power ever attack.

  -- By C.J. from Elk Grove, CA USA on January 29, 2002

Spirit Link!

  -- By G.P. from Blackburn, UK on January 17, 2002

Undoubtedly one of the best cards in the game, especially in gain life/shadow decks... serra avatar & dauthi embrace together is nearly unstoppable

  -- By Anonymous from Minneapolis, MN USA on December 21, 2001

try using it with noble purpose(spelling??) you can double your life every turn with abosulte killer combo

  -- By Anonymous from boston,mass on December 21, 2001

This is a beautiful card! This card is needed in any life-gaining deck, that wants pure power. If you have more than one of these cards it good to have remembrance aroudn too, to bring her back as soon as ossible when she dies.

  -- By Anonymous from Fairmont, WV USA on August 06, 2001

A good card, but you are at 5 life, its only a 5/5 and for a whopping 3WHITE 4COLORLESS. However, I will let anyone who is reading this in on the secret to my white life-gain deck... Its 4 card combo is Serra Avatar, Angelic Chorus, Mother of Runes, and Phyrexian Processor. With angelic Chorus in play if you play an avatar it doubles your life while also doubling the power/toughness on your avatar. Give it protection from whatever color your opponent may be playing and killem in one hit with an unblockable Avatar. The Processor also rips ass when you sac alot of life and get it back every turn along with huge creatures. The key to the deck, is the ANGELIC CHORUS/SERRA AVATAR combo.

  -- By Mastermind from Dominia on May 06, 2001