Convalescence MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Released | 1998-06-15 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Exodus |
| Set code | EXO |
| Number | 5 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | D. Alexander Gregory |
Text of card
During your upkeep, if you have 10 or less life, gain 1 life.
Selenia had hurt Mirri terribly, but injuries of the flesh could be treated. The wounds she had torn in Crovax's soul would never close.
Cards like Convalescence
The Convalescence card offers a unique restorative ability within Magic: The Gathering, providing players a way to gain life each turn if they take the time to set up their battlefield accordingly. This enchantment echoes the life-gaining sentiment found in cards like Angel’s Mercy, which also offers a burst of life but without the recurrent benefit Convalescence provides.
Looking at Elder’s Judgment, which shares the preventive approach but offers a one-time significant life gain when a creature dies, we see the immediate vs. gradual life advantage disparity. Another analogous card is Ajani’s Mantra, which likewise grants consistent life gain each turn; however, it lacks the damage threshold aspect that makes Convalescence a tactical card, potentially triggering when most needed.
While Convalescence may not be as instant or as impactful in a single turn as some alternatives, its potential to influence the long game can make it a valuable inclusion for decks that thrive on life gain and control strategies. It caters to a different kind of deck dynamic compared to its counterparts, underscoring the importance of understanding synergy over raw power in deck construction.
Cards similar to Convalescence by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When Convalescence is on the battlefield, it provides continuous life gain which indirectly offers card advantage by preserving your resources and reducing the need to spend cards on self-preservation.
Resource Acceleration: Convalescence doesn’t directly accelerate resources in form of mana, but it allows for a longer game strategy, ensuring that your health resource is in check, which is crucial for decks that need time to deploy their win conditions.
Instant Speed: While Convalescence itself isn’t an instant, its effect is continuous, so once you’ve played it, it accelerates your game pace at instant speed every turn without needing to allocate additional mana or cards, granting you the freedom to play other spells or hold back resources during your opponent’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The effectiveness of Convalescence is hinged on having no cards in hand, meaning players must discard their hand to activate its full potential. This can be a steep price, particularly for those playing strategies that require a variety of options to respond to an opponent’s moves.
Specific Mana Cost: Convalescence’s casting cost is firmly in the white mana camp, demanding a dedicated source from your mana pool. This specificity may restrict its integration into multicolored decks or those that cannot consistently produce the necessary white mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement of one white mana and three other mana, Convalescence comes with a mana value that could be considered high given its narrow application. Its cost demands a significant investment from your mana resources that could potentially be used for more impactful plays during a game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Convalescence offers a flexible life-gain option that can be a boon to decks focusing on bolstering life totals, playing especially well in white-based defensive strategies.
Combo Potential: This card synergizes with effects that trigger upon life gain or reaching a high life total, creating opportunities for potent card interactions and combos within the game.
Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of aggressive strategies, the inclusion of Convalescence in a deck can provide a crucial lifeline, making it a relevant card against such tactics in the meta.
How to beat Convalescence
Convalescence in Magic: The Gathering offers a unique way to gain life when your life total is under a certain threshold, setting it apart from other cards that often provide life gain at a more constant rate. Its ability is conditional and can be both a boon and a liability, depending on the game’s circumstances. Unlike cards such as Lifelink, which grant life proportional to damage dealt, Convalescence requires your life total to be lower than a set point, thus necessitating a relatively riskier playstyle.
To successfully counter the passive life gain from Convalescence, players should consider strategies that either maintain their opponent’s life above the threshold or employ burst damage to eliminate the player in one fell swoop, bypassing the incremental life gain. This makes it essential to monitor life totals carefully and devise tactics that either apply steady pressure or set up for a game-ending combo. Ensuring that damage dealt outpaces the life-gain capability of Convalescence can be key to victory for those facing off against this unique enchantment.
It becomes clear that the nuances of managing life totals and timing attacks are central to overcoming the advantages that Convalescence provides in a player’s arsenal. Understanding the ebb and flow of life points in Magic: The Gathering can transform Convalescence from a safety net into a liability for the unprepared player.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Convalescence MTG card by a specific set like Exodus, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Convalescence and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Convalescence has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Convalescence card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | The life total is checked when it triggers and the ability will be put on the stack only if you have 10 life or less. It checks again on resolution and does nothing if you have more life by then. |