Sustaining Spirit
ALLAlliances/#18/1996Rare◆ Graded data
Reserved listColour IDMV 2
Current paper retail
Card Kingdom$2.49
Cardmarket€1.30
ManaPool$0.79
TCGplayer$1.12
Buylist (dealers pay)
Card Kingdom$0.65
Paper retail history (USD)
3 providers
Latest $2.49High $2.79Low $0.99▲ 151.5%
Market and collecting
Market overview
$1.12TCGplayer, USD, retail, nonfoil
Latest observation: 2026-11-10
7d▼ 0.9%30d▼ 9.7%90d▼ 13.2%
90d high
$1.29
90d low
$1.12
Paper printings priced
1
Currently 1st
Cheapest paper printing
$1.12
Alliances
- Down 9.7% over the last 30 days on TCGplayer.
- Currently 13% below its 90 day high of $1.29.
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Graded market
Graded card prices
Graded prices are market estimates for professionally graded copies of this exact printing where sufficient market data is available.
Additional graded market
AnyGrade 9.5
$98.75
AnyGrade 9
$24.99
AnyGrade 8
$17.50
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Play
Compare printings (1 priced)
Gameplay and rules
Creature — Angel Spirit
Cumulative upkeep (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.
0 / 3
Keywords
Cumulative upkeep
Card capabilities
Creature
Derived deterministically from card types, Oracle text and keywords. Not a strategic evaluation.
Format legality
Primary formats
Eternal formats
Digital formats
Rulings (7)
wotc1 Oct 2008
The second ability is not a prevention effect. It stops unpreventable damage from reducing your life total below 1.
wotc1 Oct 2008
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.
wotc1 Oct 2008
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 {1}” 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 {4} or sacrifice the permanent.
wotc1 Oct 2008
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.
wotc1 Oct 2008
If an effect asks you to pay life, you can’t pay more life than you have.
wotc1 Oct 2008
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.
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Ranked by shared capabilities, colour identity, mana value and type. Never by strategic judgement.
About this card
Sustaining Spirit
Sustaining Spirit is a Creature — Angel Spirit, with mana cost {1}{W} (mana value 2).
Format legality: Commander: legal, Modern: not_legal, Standard: not_legal, Pioneer: not_legal, Legacy: legal, Pauper: not_legal.
Current headline price on TCGplayer: $1.12 (down 9.7% over 30 days).
This exact printing has graded market data available further up the page. Graded prices reflect professionally slabbed copies; missing (grader, grade) combinations do not appear.
Frequently asked
Sustaining Spirit FAQ
How much is Sustaining Spirit worth?
The current TCGplayer USD retail price for Sustaining Spirit is $1.12. It is down 9.7% over the last 30 days. Over 90 days it has ranged from $1.12 to $1.29.
What is the cheapest printing of Sustaining Spirit?
The cheapest currently priced paper printing is from Alliances at $1.12 on TCGplayer.
What set was Sustaining Spirit first printed in?
The earliest English paper printing that MTGPrices tracks is from ALL #18, released 1996-06-10.
Is Sustaining Spirit legal in Commander?
Yes, Sustaining Spirit is currently legal in Commander per Scryfall's legality feed.
Is Sustaining Spirit legal in Modern?
Sustaining Spirit is not currently legal in Modern per Scryfall's legality feed.
Is Sustaining Spirit legal in Standard?
Sustaining Spirit is not currently legal in Standard per Scryfall's legality feed.
What does Sustaining Spirit do?
Sustaining Spirit is a Creature — Angel Spirit with mana cost {1}{W}. Its Oracle text reads: "Cumulative upkeep {1}{W} (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.".