Modeling Deck Outcomes with Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant

In TCG ·

Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant MTG card art

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Modeling Lulu’s Impact: A Flying Lifegain Experiment

When you’re building a deck around Lulu, Vengeful Hollyphant, you’re not just chasing value—you’re crafting a data-driven engine of inevitability. This legendary Elephant Angel from Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate comes with a deceptively simple stat line: 2 mana, a 2/4 body, and a powerful flying trigger that scales with how many other flying creatures you attack with. In practical terms, Lulu invites you to model not just “Can I win this combat?” but “How aggressively can I push the life swing across multiple combat steps?” 🧙‍♂️🔥

Let’s ground this in the card’s specifics. Lulu’s mana cost is {2}{W}{B}, placing her firmly in the Whitemagic-Black spectrum—colors renowned for lifegain, removal, and resilient boards. Her ability is straightforward in text yet explosive in result: “Flying. Whenever you attack with one or more other creatures with flying, each opponent loses that much life and you gain that much life.” The “that much” tracks the total power of the attacking flying creatures, so the math rewards you for assembling a squad of reliable fliers. With Lulu on the battlefield, a single swing can turn the aggressiveness of combat into a multi-turn life swing—perfect for a data-driven deck plan that wants to forecast win probability across draws and boards. ⚔️🎲

From a modeling perspective, Lulu acts as a multiplier on your flying density. In a typical BW flying-lifegain shell, you’ll want a mix of early fliers, mid-game curve toppers, and a handful of lifegain enablers or payoff cards. The goal is to maximize the number of attackers with flying while maintaining a sustainable life total so that your life total doesn’t crash before you can unlock Lulu’s full potential. If you’re simulating outcomes, you’ll track metrics like: average life swing per combat, probability of hitting a lethal opponent life total, and how many turns Lulu’s trigger can sustain your board state against removal-heavy opposition. 🧙‍♂️💎

Modeling mechanics: what the data can tell us

In a data-driven approach, you’d build a Monte Carlo model that cycles through thousands of draws from your deck, recording the moments Lulu’s trigger matters most. You’d assign probabilities to drawing your key flying creatures, your lifegain effects, and your removal suite. The beauty of Lulu is that the lifegain trigger scales with the number of attacking fliers, so the model rewards aggressive air power but also emphasizes the need for protection—because Lulu won’t swing a win on its own if you can’t land the attack or keep her safe from disruption. 🧭

Consider a baseline Lulu-focused build with eight to ten reliable fliers (think cheap one- to two-mana fliers that you can cast early) and a handful of life-swing or lifegain enablers. The data highlights a few key patterns: more flying bodies increases the likelihood of a meaningful life swing; early pressure forces opponents to answer, which buys you time to assemble Lulu and your support crew; and a couple of preservative tools (read: removal or counters) dramatically improves your win rate in slower metas. The result is a deck that isn’t just “attack”—it’s a carefully timed series of life exchanges that punishes patience and rewards aggression. 🔥🎨

Deck-building implications: turning theory into practice

  • Density of fliers matters: The more you pack in early flyers, the more reliably Lulu will trigger on the next combat. Include a mix of evasive threats and resilient bodies to ensure Lulu can lead the charge even if one or two targets are removed.
  • Life-swing sequencing: Plan your life totals so that you’re not overreaching into a lifetotal crash mid-combat. Pair Lulu with stable lifegain or shield effects to ride the swing to victory across turns.
  • Protection and disruption: A thin Lulu board can crumble to removal. Calibrate your suite with removal, graveyard hate, or tempo plays to keep the board stable long enough for Lulu to do the heavy lifting.
  • Combo-lite potential: While Lulu isn’t a commander in this format, you can stack allies with flying for explosive turns. Think synergy with other Hollyphants or payoffs that care about combat damage or flying counts, and you’ll unlock a data-backed path to recurring wins. 🧙‍♂️⚔️
  • Flavor and design: The card group around Lulu—Lulu, Curious Hollyphant; Lulu, Inspiring Hollyphant; and friends—forms a theme that invites you to explore multi-card synergies. The artwork by Jakob Eirich and the bold mechanical concept echo the fun, sometimes goofy, but always sharp design philosophy of this set. 🎨

Beyond the numbers, Lulu’s identity is a celebration of the multiverse’s playful grandeur. She embodies a strategy where finesse and force meet—an approach that resonates with fans who’ve spent hours piloting flying tokens or lifegain engines across the table. The Alchemy Horizons frame adds a modern, experimental flavor to the card’s presentation, inviting you to experiment with new interactions that weren’t as accessible in previous MTG eras. And yes, the tactile thrill of assembling a deck that actually scales its win condition with your planning is exactly why data-driven deck modeling feels so satisfying for many players. 🧙‍♂️💫

As you test and refine, think of Lulu as your captain of a strategic aerial squad, guiding your decisions with every attack. The life totals are your score, and the board state is your canvas. Whether you’re delving into a story-rich competitive scene or simply enjoying a friendly Friday night, Lulu offers a unique lens on combat math that’s as rewarding as it is nerve-wracking. And if you’re someone who loves collecting and testing physical components along with your digital tables, you’re not alone—we all want a little more sparkle in the process. 💎

For fans who like a hands-on approach to testing and presentation, the product below is a nice companion for testing sessions and on-the-table organization—while you run the numbers, you’ll also have a sturdy place to hold your cards and keep everything in check. The brand-new MagSafe Card Holder Phone Case from the linked shop keeps things tidy between games, letting you carry your most-used cards with style as you prototype new versions of Lulu-inclined lists. 🧩

MagSafe Card Holder Phone Case

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