"Rhys the Exiled" is a 3/2 legendary elf warrior creature card printed for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Morningtide." This is one of the cards in Morningtide that encourage the building around the theme of a creature type and/or sub-type. In the case of Rhys the Exiled, players are encouraged to build around elves and warriors.

The converted mana cost for Rhys the Exiled is three. You will need one green mana and two colorless mana to bring Rhys the Exiled from your hand and onto the battlefield. For what Rhys the Exiled can do, the converted mana cost is definitely worth it for the most part. Keep in mind that Rhys the Exiled is a legendary creature and is subject to the "legend rule." If there is another Rhys the Exiled on the battlefield at the same time, both of them get sent to the graveyard.

What does Rhys the Exiled do in the first place?

The first ability lets you gain one point of life for each elf you control whenever Rhys the Exiled attacks. This ability is good for a straight elf deck. If you have at least eight elves on the battlefield under your control, you gain eight points of life whenever you attack with Rhys the Exiled.

Should Rhys the Exiled get sent to the graveyard, you pay one black mana and sacrifice an elf to regenerate it. That should not be a problem if you have means to produce elf tokens. You simply need to sacrifice an elf token and pay one black mana.

One can ask: How do you get the most out of Rhys the Exiled?

So far, elves are dominant mostly in green decks. However, there are elves that require black mana or white mana. You can do a three color or a five color deck with elves. In the case of getting the most out of the first ability, you can use black, white, and green.

You need the white enchantment from "Shadowmoor" called "Boon Reflection." Whenever you gain life points, Boon Reflection doubles it. Using the previous example with the eight elves, you would get sixteen points of life whenever Rhys the Exiled attacks. You simply need to put more elves onto the battlefield.

You then follow up with "Sanguine Bond," "Tainted Sigil," and "Wound Reflection." In this order, you gain sixteen points of live via Boon Reflection. Sanguine Bond causes a target player to lose that many points of life. Then, you sacrifice Tainted Sigil to gain life points equal to the life points lost by all players this turn. In this case, you gain another sixteen points of life. If you manage to kill one opponent in this method, you can target another opponent. Wound Reflection simply doubles the loss of points opponents suffer.

Overall, Rhys the Exiled is a good card to have if you are building around elves. Rhys the Exiled allows you to gain life for each elf you control whenever it attacks. It is quite the opposite of the elf cards that produce one green mana for each elf on the battlefield. Still, being able to gain life is always good.

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