Pulsemage Advocate MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Cleric |
| Released | 2002-05-27 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Judgment |
| Set code | JUD |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 19 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Jeff Easley |
Text of card
oc T: Return three target cards in an opponent's graveyard to his or her hand. Return target creature card from your graveyard to play.
"Our unity revives our hopes."
Cards like Pulsemage Advocate
In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, the Pulsemage Advocate card presents a unique twist within the subset of creature-based card retrieval. It shares the concept of returning cards from the graveyard to a player’s hand much like the enchantment Auramancer, but the similarities end there. Auramancer focuses solely on returning enchantment cards and lacks any additional benefit upon entering the battlefield.
A closer relative in function is the Wall of Omens, which provides a defensive advantage with its higher toughness and also allows drawing a card when it enters the battlefield. Pulsemage Advocate, however, doesn’t just let you draw a card; it specifically retrieves cards from your graveyard, essentially letting you recycle key components of your strategy. Additionally, unlike Wall of Omens, Pulsemage Advocate requires one to give an opponent something in return—three cards from their graveyard to their hand.
Lastly, the Sun Titan stands as a formidable parallel. While being a more expensive, high-impact creature, Sun Titan has the potential to return a permanent card with converted mana cost 3 or less from the graveyard to the battlefield every time it attacks or enters the battlefield, providing repeated value without aiding your opponent. Unlike Pulsemage Advocate, this ability focuses on permanents and offers direct battlefield presence, making Sun Titan particularly valuable in recurring low-cost strategies.
Ultimately, Pulsemage Advocate offers a nuanced role in deck strategies that benefit from a balanced approach to graveyard interaction and requires a tactical edge to leverage giving an opponent an advantage for one’s own strategic gains.
Cards similar to Pulsemage Advocate by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Pulsemage Advocate provides a unique advantage when it comes to replenishing your hand. By returning three cards from an opponent’s graveyard to their hand, you can retrieve one permanent card from your own graveyard directly onto the battlefield. This transaction can tip the scales in your favor by selectively reviving crucial game pieces while also ensuring your hand remains well-stocked.
Resource Acceleration: The ability to bring back a high-cost permanent without paying its mana cost can significantly accelerate your resource development. Effectively, Pulsemage Advocate negates large mana costs, enabling you to leverage high-impact cards early on or recover quickly from setbacks without the traditional mana investment.
Instant Speed: Although Pulsemage Advocate’s ability isn’t cast at instant speed, the strategic implications of its activation at instant speed can be profound. It allows you to engage in battles over graveyards on your terms, bait opponents into unfavorable exchanges, or simply resurrect a key permanent at the most opportune moment without telegraphing your intentions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Pulsemage Advocate’s ability hinges on having cards in an opponent’s graveyard to return to their hand, which may not always be advantageous or even feasible, particularly if you’re facing deck types that rarely leave valuable targets in the graveyard.
Specific Mana Cost: As the card demands a mix of white mana and generic mana, its inclusion could be restrictive for multi-colored decks that struggle with mana consistency, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a creature that provides a utility rather than offensive or defensive prowess, the mana investment for Pulsemage Advocate is quite steep, potentially placing it at the lower end of the curve in terms of cost-effectiveness, especially when compared to other utility creatures in the same mana range.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Pulsemage Advocate introduces flexibility to your deck, adept at manipulating the graveyard while offering creature retrieval. Its capacity to return important creatures from your graveyard to your hand makes it a solid option for a variety of strategies, particularly those that can capitalize on recurring high-value targets.
Combo Potential: The card has intriguing synergy possibilities, playing well with strategies that benefit from repeated use of both players’ graveyards. Multiple Pulsemage Advocates can set up potent loops or enable graveyard-based combos, leading to significant advantages over the course of a game.
Meta-Relevance: With graveyard strategies frequently surfacing in various formats, having a card that interacts with the graveyard can give you an edge. Its utility in disrupting opponents’ graveyard tactics while reclaiming your own key creatures helps it maintain relevance in fluctuating metagames.
How to beat Pulsemage Advocate
Pulsemage Advocate is an intriguing utility card that brings a unique dynamic to the battlefield in MTG. This creature allows its controller to return three cards from an opponent’s graveyard to their hand in order to revive any creature from their own graveyard. The key to overpowering this advocate is to manipulate its ability for your gain or to minimize its utility.
An effective strategy involves managing the graveyard. Utilize cards that exile target cards from graveyards, to diminish the choices and benefits for the Pulsemage Advocate’s controller. Graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt can cripple the Advocate’s effect by ensuring there are no valuable targets to return. Additionally, watch for the right moment when an opponent’s graveyard lacks pivotal cards or their biggest threats have already been used.
Moreover, keep the board presence with removal spells ready. If Pulsemage Advocate cannot stay on the battlefield, its abilities are null. Cards like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can efficiently deal with it before the ability becomes a factor. By focusing on both graveyard control and removal, Pulsemage Advocate’s impact can be significantly blunted.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Pulsemage Advocate MTG card by a specific set like Judgment, 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 Pulsemage Advocate 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 Pulsemage Advocate 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 Pulsemage Advocate 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 | You can’t activate this ability unless a single opponent has at least three cards in their graveyard to target and you have a creature card in your graveyard to target. |