Healing Salve MTG Card
1993-08-05 - Number 22
1993-10-04 - Number 23
1993-12-01 - Number 23
1993-12-10 - Number 23
1993-12-10 - Number 23
1994-04-01 - Number 22
1994-04-01 - Number 22
1994-06-21 - Number 22
1995-04-01 - Number 28
1995-04-01 - Number 28
1996-07-01 - Number 4
1996-10-08 - Number 20
1996-12-31 - Number 4
1997-03-24 - Number 33
1998-10-12 - Number 16
1999-04-21 - Number 22
1999-11-12 - Number 31
2001-04-11 - Number 18★
2001-04-11 - Number 18
2003-07-28 - Number 22★
2003-07-28 - Number 22
2009-04-10 - Number 14
2011-01-10 - Number 14
2014-12-05 - Number 14
2022-11-28 - Number 319
2022-11-28 - Number 22
| Card sets | Released in 26 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Instant |
Text of card
Gain 3 life, or prevent up to 3 damage from being dealt to a single target.
Cards like Healing Salve
Healing Salve, part of the iconic “Boon” series in Magic: The Gathering, stands out for its simple yet versatile ability. It offers players a choice to either prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn or gain 3 life. This bifurcated utility can be compared to other protective spells like Moment’s Peace. While Moment’s Peace foregoes the life-gain option, it provides comprehensive damage prevention through its fog effect, shielding from all combat damage for a full turn.
Giant Growth serves as a mirror of sorts to Healing Salve, emphasizing offense over defense. Instead of preventing damage or restoring health, it boosts a creature’s power and toughness by +3/+3 until the end of the turn. This increase can turn the tide of combat in a player’s favor, potentially removing an opponent’s threat from the board.
Gather Courage is yet another spell that shares healing salve’s proactive defense approach. It provides a creature with a +2/+2 boost at no mana cost if its casting is conjoined with the tap of a creature you control, giving it a combat advantage and potentially saving it from lethal damage.
Each spell caters to different strategic needs, but Healing Salve’s duality ensures its place as a versatile tool in any MTG player’s arsenal.
Cards similar to Healing Salve by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Healing Salve doesn’t generate card advantage in the traditional sense by drawing cards, it does provide utility that can effectively negate an opponent’s card, such as thwarting a burn spell aimed at a creature or preserving your life total. This can indirectly lead to a form of card advantage by nullifying the effects of your opponent’s cards.
Resource Acceleration: Healing Salve itself doesn’t offer resource acceleration in terms of mana or card draw. However, its low cost allows players to preserve resources by protecting valuable creatures or keeping themselves alive without having to invest heavily in mana or other cards.
Instant Speed: As an instant, Healing Salve offers flexible timing, allowing players to respond to threats or attacks during the opponent’s turn. This can disrupt an opponent’s strategy or combat math, potentially leading to favorable exchanges and allowing you to optimize your plays around your opponent’s actions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Healing Salve does not require a discard, ensuring your hand remains full. This trait keeps you at an advantage in terms of resource retention.
Specific Mana Cost: Healing Salve necessitates a single white mana, anchoring it solidly in white-based strategies and potentially restricting its integration into more diverse or multi-colored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing only one white mana, when compared to other cards in the game providing similar or greater utility, Healing Salve’s cost-effectiveness can be questioned. Players may find other spells that offer more impact or versatility for the same or lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include Healing Salve in Your Collection
Versatility: Healing Salve is a card with flexible uses, able to protect life totals or save creatures during tight moments in a match. Its ability to either prevent damage or heal makes it useful in a variety of situations, fitting well into decks that prioritize defense or life gain.
Combo Potential: This card can intertwine with strategies centering around life total benchmarks or damage prevention. It’s a useful tool for setting off life-gain related triggers or padding your life to thwart an opponent’s strategy, particularly in decks that capitalize on incremental advantages.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where fast, aggressive decks predominate, Healing Salve can provide critical breathing room. It may not be the flashiest card, but in a finely-tuned deck, it offers a counterbalance to direct damage strategies that are prevalent in many metagames.
How to beat
Healing Salve is one of the original “boons” in Magic: The Gathering, encompassing the essence of white magic’s lifesaving spells. It provides a simple choice: prevent three damage from being dealt to any target, or heal three life. At a glance, this may seem like a modest advantage to overcome.
In comparison, spells like Dispel or Negate can neutralize Healing Salve before it fulfills its purpose, by countering it directly. A strategic move would be to hold onto these counterspells until your opponent casts a pivotal spell like Healing Salve, especially when the prevention of damage could alter the course of the game. Timing is everything; by understanding when to play your spells, you can effectively diminish Healing Salve’s impact.
Taking into account the tempo and potential impact of such a spell, it becomes clear that the real power lies not in the healing, but in the strategic denial of your opponent’s expectations. In essence, by outmaneuvering your opponent and making informed decisions on when to counter their plays, you can mitigate the effects of Healing Salve and maintain control of the game’s pace and outcome.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Healing Salve MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Healing Salve 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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Printings
The Healing Salve Magic the Gathering card was released in 23 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 11 different artists.
Show/hide all sets| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1993-08-05 | Limited Edition Alpha | LEA | 22 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 2 | 1993-10-04 | Limited Edition Beta | LEB | 23 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 3 | 1993-12-01 | Unlimited Edition | 2ED | 23 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 4 | 1993-12-10 | Collectors' Edition | CED | 23 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 5 | 1993-12-10 | Intl. Collectors' Edition | CEI | 23 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 6 | 1994-04-01 | Foreign Black Border | FBB | 22 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 7 | 1994-04-01 | Revised Edition | 3ED | 22 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 8 | 1994-06-21 | Summer Magic / Edgar | SUM | 22 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 9 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition | 4ED | 28 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 10 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border | 4BB | 28 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 11 | 1996-07-01 | Rivals Quick Start Set | RQS | 4 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 12 | 1996-10-08 | Mirage | MIR | 20 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Hannibal King | |
| 13 | 1996-12-31 | Introductory Two-Player Set | ITP | 4 | 1993 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 14 | 1997-03-24 | Fifth Edition | 5ED | 33 | 1997 | Normal | White | Zina Saunders | |
| 15 | 1998-10-12 | Urza's Saga | USG | 16 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Heather Hudson | |
| 16 | 1999-04-21 | Classic Sixth Edition | 6ED | 22 | 1997 | Normal | White | Dan Frazier | |
| 17 | 1999-11-12 | Battle Royale Box Set | BRB | 31 | 1997 | Normal | White | Zina Saunders | |
| 18 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 18★ | 1997 | Normal | Black | Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt | |
| 19 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 18 | 1997 | Normal | White | Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt | |
| 20 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 22★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt | |
| 21 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 22 | 2003 | Normal | White | Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt | |
| 22 | 2009-04-10 | Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic | DDC | 14 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt | |
| 23 | 2011-01-10 | Masters Edition IV | ME4 | 14 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 24 | 2014-12-05 | Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic | DVD | 14 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt | |
| 25 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 319 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier | |
| 26 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 22 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dan Frazier |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Healing Salve has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |