The last ability will cause you to lose the game even if you somehow manage to have a life total greater than 0 at the time the Lich is put into the graveyard or if some other effect would prevent you from losing for having 0 life. If, on the other hand, some effect such as that from Platinum Angel says that you can't lose the game then even the last ability of the Lich cannot cause you to do so. The ability will just resolve and the game will continue as normal.
The last ability will cause you to lose the game even if you somehow manage to have a life total greater than 0 at the time the Lich leaves the battlefield or if some other effect would prevent you from losing for having 0 life. If, on the other hand, some effect such as that from Platinum Angel says that you can't lose the game then even the last ability of the Lich cannot cause you to do so. The ability will just resolve and the game will continue as normal.
Last observed on Scryfall 2 months ago at $964.50. Over the trailing 90 days the price moved between $964.50 and $1338.32 across 50 observations. Cross-checked across TCGplayer, eBay sold, Cardmarket EU, and Star City.
This printing is one of 2 catalogued treatments from LEA — the lineup includes Nonfoil alongside the standard finish. Across our catalog the Rarix library tracks every variant in the same family so collectors can compare price, scarcity and demand inside a single lineage.
Card #113 of *Limited Edition Alpha*, the set that shipped alongside the August 1993 Limited Edition Alpha release.
Card type: Enchantment, color identity black, printed at rare. Rares occupy the bottom-of-pack rare slot in standard boosters. Mana cost: {B}{B}{B}{B} (4 converted).
Legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Commander. This printing is on Wizards of the Coast's Reserved List — Wizards has committed never to reprint cards on that list, which underwrites a structural scarcity floor on every surviving copy.
EDHrec ranks this card #19,404 in Commander, putting it in the fringe-play tier of the format's playable pool.
Illustrated by Daniel Gelon. Rarix catalogs 289 other cards credited to this artist.
Magic: The Gathering · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · Illus. Daniel Gelon
Card data via Scryfall. Rarix is fan-made; not endorsed by the rights holders.
Note that usually you will have 0 or less life at the time Lich leaves the battlefield causing you to lose as a State-Based Action before the last ability can even go on the stack.
You can't pay life, just like any player at less than one life can't pay life. You can pay zero life if you want.
You can lose life and take damage, and thereby have a negative life total, while Lich is on the battlefield.
If an opponent steals control of Lich and no other effect prevents you from losing with a life total of zero, you will lose the game due to a zero life total as a State-Based Action before you can take any actions. The last sentence doesn't apply in this case since the Lich didn't leave the battlefield.
If an opponent steals control of Lich, their life total does not change. The life total changes for a player only when it enters under that player's control.
If you have multiple Lich cards on the battlefield, you must sacrifice a permanent for each damage done to you for each Lich. This is because the sacrifice is a triggered ability. But you only draw one card for each life gained regardless of how many Liches you have. This is because the draw is a replacement effect and not a triggered one. You lose if any one of the Liches leaves the battlefield.
If you take more than one damage at a time, sacrifice the permanents for that damage simultaneously. This allows you to sacrifice both a creature and any Aura that is on it all at once.
