Salvage MTG Card

Salvage affords card advantage by enabling retrieval of essential spells or creatures from your graveyard. Its instant speed use promotes flexibility and strategic plays during crucial moments of the game. Despite its benefits, Salvage’s discard requirement and specific mana cost pose potential setbacks for players.

Portal Second Age (P02)
1998-06-24 - Number 145

Treasure Chest (PZ2)
2016-11-16 - Number 65789

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery

Text of card

Take any one card from your graveyard and put that card on the top of your library.

"What was taken shall be restored." —Arathel, elvish queen

Cards like Salvage

Salvage stakes its claim in the realm of graveyard utility spells in Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand, it shares a commonality with spells like Disentomb. However, Salvage offers an additional layer of productivity by also drawing you a card, whereas Disentomb is a straightforward one-for-one retrieval.

Another parallel can be drawn to Regrowth, a spell that broadens the scope to any card type. While Regrowth does not draw a card, its flexibility in target selection can be invaluable depending on the situation. Additionally, Eternal Witness offers a similar effect on a creature body, with the power to return any card from your graveyard to your hand. The creature presence potentially offers board advantage beyond the retrieval effect that Salvage provides.

Ultimately, Salvage finds its niche within graveyard recovery options. It sets a balance between the narrow focus of Disentomb and the wide embrace of Regrowth, providing both card advantage and selectivity that can be a crucial pivot for many decks in the diverse landscapes of Magic: The Gathering.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Salvage provides a strategic edge by retrieving a key card from your graveyard, which essentially increases the cards at your disposal and keeps your game plan on track.

Resource Acceleration: By pulling an essential land or creature from your graveyard, Salvage can act as an indirect form of resource acceleration, smoothly reinstating important assets to ensure a steady development on the battlefield.

Instant Speed: The ability to be played at instant speed means Salvage can be woven seamlessly into your strategy, offering the flexibility to respond to an opponent’s play or end their turn with a decisive retrieval.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Salvage card mandates discarding a card to access its ability. For players who are already struggling with card advantage, this prerequisite can be a significant drawback, reducing their hand size and potentially leading to a disadvantageous position.

Specific Mana Cost: Salvage comes with a particular mana requirement, including a mix of generic and colored mana. This can pose a challenge for multi-color decks that might face mana base complications and may not consistently generate the right colors at the right time to cast Salvage effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When assessing the efficiency of Salvage against other MTG cards, its mana value could be deemed excessive for its return. Other cards in the same mana range may offer more impactful effects or immediate board presence, making Salvage a less appealing option for deck builders who are optimizing for cost-effectiveness.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Salvage can be a multifaceted tool in your arsenal, apt for inclusion in decks that leverage graveyard mechanics as well as those looking to recycle key spells or creatures.

Combo Potential: Salvage shines in its ability to retrieve combo pieces from the graveyard, ensuring that your deck’s synergies can be consistently accessed throughout the game.

Meta-Relevance: Given that many competitive formats are rife with interaction and removal, a card like Salvage helps maintain your game plan’s continuity against disruptive strategies.

How to beat

Salvage, a distinct card in MTG, affords players a strategic avenue for recycling valuable spells from their graveyard. Reminiscent of Regrowth’s capabilities, Salvage enables the return of a noncreature card to its owner’s hand, thereby granting a second chance at playing key spells. However, opposing this dynamic card requires precision and foresight. Success lies in utilizing counterspells like Negate to thwart Salvage’s activation or Graveyard hate cards such as Tormod’s Crypt, which palpably clear the graveyard before Salvage can retrieve anything of value.

Another tactic to consider is the timing of spells. Employ instant-speed removal when the target card hits the battlefield instead of waiting for Salvage to bring it back. This preemptive move limits the opportunities for card revival. Moreover, hand disruption plays like Thoughtseize disrupt your opponent’s tactics effectively, removing Salvage before it even becomes a threat.

In essence, while Salvage offers a tool for card advantage and counterplay, it’s far from unbeatable. By adopting a measured approach, focusing on hand disruption, counterspells, and graveyard management, players can maneuver around Salvage’s utility and maintain control of the game state.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Salvage MTG card by a specific set like Portal Second Age and Treasure Chest, 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 Salvage and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Salvage Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-06-24 and 2016-11-16. Illustrated by Keith Parkinson.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1998-06-24	Portal Second Age	P02		145	1997	Normal	Black	Keith Parkinson
2	2016-11-16	Treasure Chest	PZ2		65789	2015	Normal	Black	Keith Parkinson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Salvage has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal