Selfless Savior MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Dog
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Protects significant creatures instantly without additional mana costs, beneficial for maintaining board state.
  2. Limited to white mana decks, may be less versatile in multicolored strategies or high tempo plays.
  3. Crucial for decks that require safeguarding valuable combo pieces against common removal strategies.

Text of card

Sacrifice Selfless Savior: Another target creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy it.)

She raised him from an orphaned pup and gave him a life of love. With his last act, he thanked her.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Selfless Savior doesn’t directly increase your hand size, but it plays a significant role in maintaining board presence. With its sacrifice ability, it protects key creatures from removal, effectively negating an opponent’s card and preserving your battlefield advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although not a typical accelerator, the Selfless Savior allows for a different kind of tempo boost. By safeguarding your more important creatures that contribute to your strategy, it accelerates your game plan without needing additional mana investment.

Instant Speed: The true strength of Selfless Savior lies in the ability to use its sacrifice feature at instant speed. This flexibility lets you react to threats at a moment’s notice, making it a formidable tool in ensuring your pivotal creatures survive through critical turns.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Selfless Savior can be a card that you end up discarding due to its more situational utility, especially if you’re needing to streamline your hand and focus on more impactful plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring white mana can be restrictive for multicolored decks needing a flexible mana base, potentially causing the card to be a less optimal choice in non-monowhite strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing only one white mana seems low, it is essential to consider opportunity costs; for instance, deploying Selfless Savior could take the place of other one-drop creatures or spells that might offer immediate impact or more significant board presence.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Selfless Savior is a flexible card that can be easily slotted into a wide range of white-based decks. Its ability to protect key creatures makes it a pivotal inclusion in strategies focused on maintaining a strong board presence.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with creatures that benefit from being targeted or saved from destruction. It can be a critical component in combo decks seeking to protect their combo pieces from removal.

Meta-Relevance: With a metagame that frequently features removal-heavy decks, Selfless Savior’s ability to shield your most valuable creatures can prove to be an undeniable asset, making it a timely addition to any competitive collection.


How to Beat Selfless Savior

The challenge of overcoming Selfless Savior in Magic: The Gathering lies in its noble ability to shield other creatures from harm. This one-drop white creature excels at safeguarding more valuable allies, making it a linchpin in many defensive strategies. Dealing with Selfless Savior requires strategy and precision. One effective tactic involves triggering removal actions while Selfless Savior is tapped out or when your opponent is low on mana, limiting their capacity to exploit its ability.

Another approach is to pressure opponents into using Selfless Savior’s sacrificial ability prematurely, via board wipes or multi-target spells, subsequently clearing the path for your important attacks. Utilizing cards that cause opponents to sacrifice creatures can outmaneuver the Savior’s protection, as this bypasses its ability altogether. Employing these strategies requires critical timing and resource management, ensuring that when the moment to strike arises, the Savior’s selflessness is rendered moot, and the board is yours to dominate.

Understanding and anticipating your opponent’s gameplay around Selfless Savior, while deploying these tactical maneuvers, will help you maintain control of the game and ultimately lead you to victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the intricacies of MTG gameplay involves nuanced understanding and strategic planning. Selfless Savior offers a profound layer of defense, boosting white-based decks by safeguarding crucial creatures. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the scene, incorporating this noble canine in your collection could cement your victory against removal-heavy decks. As you aim to build a resilient and flexible strategy, consider how Selfless Savior might blend into your existing playbook or inspire new tactical approaches. For more insights and strategic depth, we invite you to enhance your gameplay by exploring our compendium of wisdom and advice. Elevate your MTG experience today.


Cards like Selfless Savior

Selfless Savior is a notable creature in Magic: The Gathering, often compared to Dauntless Bodyguard in the realm of one-drop white creatures designed to protect key pieces on the battlefield. Both creatures can be sacrificed to safeguard another creature, but Selfless Savior offers this protection without targeting, granting more flexibility during gameplay. Alseid of Life’s Bounty is another similar card, providing not only protection with its sacrifice ability but also a lifelink trait, although it requires mana to activate its ability.

Moving beyond one-drops, cards like Giver of Runes and Mother of Runes emerge as parallels with their abilities to confer protection in MTG games. While these tools do not require the creatures themselves to be sacrificed, they do necessitate tapping, restricting their utility to once per turn. Additionally, Giver of Runes cannot target itself, contrasting Selfless Savior’s unrestricted defensive capability. Overall, the presence of Selfless Savior boosts any MTG white-based strategy focused on resilience and creature endurance through simple yet potent protective measures.

Assessment of Selfless Savior next to these counterparts emphasizes its strength as a defensive one-drop in MTG, favored for its immediate, mana-free protection that can persist across turns without hindrance.

Dauntless Bodyguard - MTG Card versions
Alseid of Life's Bounty - MTG Card versions
Giver of Runes - MTG Card versions
Mother of Runes - MTG Card versions
Dauntless Bodyguard - Dominaria (DOM)
Alseid of Life's Bounty - Theros Beyond Death (THB)
Giver of Runes - Modern Horizons (MH1)
Mother of Runes - Urza's Legacy (ULG)

Cards similar to Selfless Savior by color, type and mana cost

Savannah Lions - MTG Card versions
Benalish Hero - MTG Card versions
Icatian Infantry - MTG Card versions
Icatian Scout - MTG Card versions
Icatian Javelineers - MTG Card versions
Kjeldoran Warrior - MTG Card versions
Trade Caravan - MTG Card versions
Vigilant Martyr - MTG Card versions
Honor Guard - MTG Card versions
Nomads en-Kor - MTG Card versions
Volunteer Militia - MTG Card versions
Soul Warden - MTG Card versions
Resistance Fighter - MTG Card versions
Cho-Arrim Alchemist - MTG Card versions
Honorable Scout - MTG Card versions
Eager Cadet - MTG Card versions
Devoted Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Faerie Guidemother // Gift of the Fae - MTG Card versions
Kor Duelist - MTG Card versions
Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful - MTG Card versions
Savannah Lions - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Benalish Hero - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Icatian Infantry - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Icatian Scout - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Icatian Javelineers - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Kjeldoran Warrior - Ice Age (ICE)
Trade Caravan - Homelands (HML)
Vigilant Martyr - Mirage (MIR)
Honor Guard - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Nomads en-Kor - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Volunteer Militia - Portal Second Age (P02)
Soul Warden - Historic Anthology 1 (HA1)
Resistance Fighter - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Cho-Arrim Alchemist - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Honorable Scout - Planeshift (PLS)
Eager Cadet - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Devoted Caretaker - Odyssey (ODY)
Faerie Guidemother // Gift of the Fae - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Kor Duelist - Wizards Play Network 2009 (PWP09)
Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Selfless Savior MTG card by a specific set like Secret Lair Drop and Secret Lair Drop, 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 Selfless Savior and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Selfless Savior Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-12-02 and 2020-07-03. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 12862015normalblackRandy Vargas
22019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 7322015normalblackRandy Vargas
32020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 3932015normalblackRalph Horsley
42020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 362015normalblackRalph Horsley

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Selfless Savior has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

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