{"product_id":"lions-eye-diamond","title":"Lion's Eye Diamond (Original Art)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLion’s Eye Diamond\u003c\/em\u003e (LED) is a zero-mana cost artifact from \u003cem\u003eMirage\u003c\/em\u003e (1996). You can add three mana of any one color to your mana pool by discarding your hand and sacrificing LED. When \u003cem\u003eLion’s Eye Diamond\u003c\/em\u003e was printed, it was originally viewed as a “bad \u003cem\u003eBlack Lotus\u003c\/em\u003e”. It mirrored \u003cem\u003eLotus’s\u003c\/em\u003e explosive mana ability but added a steep drawback since you had to discard your entire hand to use it. Early players dismissed it as nearly unplayable, since casting spells after discarding seemed impossible. But as the game evolved – and mechanics like Madness, Flashback, Threshold, and Storm were introduced – LED transformed from a “junk rare” into one of the most powerful combo enablers in Magic’s history. \u003cem\u003eLion’s Eye Diamond\u003c\/em\u003e is a centerpiece of Legacy combo decks. It’s played in Legacy Storm decks like ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) and TES (The Epic Storm). In these decks LED acts as a Black Lotus substitute – generating three mana after the player casts a tutor or recursion spell (e.g. \u003cem\u003eInfernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Past in Flames, Gaea’s Will\u003c\/em\u003e). It’s synergy with Infernal Tutor and\/or Burning Wish can enable some explosive T1-2 kills by producing a lot of mana in combination with other fast mana acceleration like \u003cem\u003eDark Ritual\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eLotus Petal\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eInfernal Tutor \u003c\/em\u003e+ \u003cem\u003eLED\u003c\/em\u003e is a core combo in these decks (e.g. cast \u003cem\u003eInfernal Tutor\u003c\/em\u003e, hold priority, crack \u003cem\u003eLED\u003c\/em\u003e for BBB, discard hand, then tutor for \u003cem\u003eAd Nauseam\u003c\/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eTendrils of Agony\u003c\/em\u003e). \u003cem\u003eLion’s Eye Diamond\u003c\/em\u003e is also featured in other popular combo variants like \u003cem\u003eDoomsday\u003c\/em\u003e (Thassa’s Oracle wincon) and Black Saga Storm.  Another Legacy archetype where \u003cem\u003eLED\u003c\/em\u003e is played is in Dredge. In these decks it provides mana and discards your entire hand, which is a feature, not a drawback. \u003cem\u003eLED\u003c\/em\u003e enables some explosive openings with Faithless Looting, Breakthrough and Dredge cards such as \u003cem\u003eGolgari Grave-Troll\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eStinkweed Imp\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eLion’s Eye Diamond \u003c\/em\u003eis also seen in some Vintage combo decks (e.g. \u003cem\u003eLandless Spy, Underworld Breach, Belcher\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eStorm\u003c\/em\u003e). In cEDH decks, \u003cem\u003eLED\u003c\/em\u003e is used in \u003cem\u003eUnderworld Breach\u003c\/em\u003e combos (e.g. \u003cem\u003eUnderworld Breach\u003c\/em\u003e + \u003cem\u003eBrain Freeze\u003c\/em\u003e infinite loops), \u003cem\u003eAd Nauseam\u003c\/em\u003e Storm decks, and \u003cem\u003eTivit, Seller of Secrets\u003c\/em\u003e builds. \u003cem\u003eLion’s Eye Diamond\u003c\/em\u003e is on the Reserved List, it will never be reprinted in paper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"artwhirled","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44762017300525,"sku":null,"price":0.01,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0721\/8000\/6957\/files\/Lions_Eye_Diamond_Original_Art_front_a_white.jpg?v=1775126758","url":"https:\/\/artwhirled.com\/products\/lions-eye-diamond","provider":"Art Whirled","version":"1.0","type":"link"}