, 
, 
, and so on) in mana costs of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.Heliod, Sun-Crowned turns every life-gain event into a +1/+1 counter on a creature or enchantment you control. Its activated ability can give another creature lifelink for the turn, supplying a way to start those triggers through damage. Indestructible helps keep the engine in place, and it functions as an enchantment while your devotion to white is below five.
Soul Warden provides repeated life-gain events as creatures enter, while lifelink attackers such as Serra Ascendant can generate counters during combat. Each event produces one trigger regardless of the amount of life gained, so gaining one life several times can create more counters than gaining the same total in a single event. Counter-focused decks can use that distinction when choosing support cards.
Walking Ballista forms a dedicated combo when it has enough counters to survive the first activation and receives lifelink from Heliod. Removing a counter to deal damage gains life, which triggers Heliod to replace a counter on Ballista. Repeating the sequence can deal repeated damage while the necessary pieces and legal targets remain available.
Heliod's lifelink ability cannot target Heliod itself, and the counter trigger still needs a legal target. When devotion makes Heliod a creature, it becomes vulnerable to additional creature-specific answers even though it remains indestructible. The best homes can generate life naturally and use the counters productively, allowing Heliod to contribute outside the dedicated Ballista interaction.
