Presence of the Wise MTG Card

Presence of the Wise - Saviors of Kamigawa

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2005-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Saviors of Kamigawa
Set code	SOK
Number	23
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Christopher Moeller

Key Takeaways

Provides card advantage and mana boost, key for strategic depth and board control.
Instant speed casting allows for reactive plays and maximizing turn potential.
Mandatory discard and specific mana cost can limit its versatility in play.

Text of card

You gain 2 life for each card in your hand.

"Humbly I bow. Silently I wait. Deeply I listen."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Unlocking new strategic depths, Presence of the Wise provides a significant card draw mechanism, often ensuring a fresher hand of options to outmaneuver adversaries.

Resource Acceleration: Besides card draw, this powerful spell can substantially ramp up your mana resources, propelling you ahead in the race for board dominance.

Instant Speed: The flexibility to cast Presence of the Wise at instant speed offers tactical adaptability, allowing players to react to opponents’ moves with precision or to maximize their own turn efficiency.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Presence of the Wise obligates players to discard another card from their hand, which can be particularly cumbersome when your hand is already limited. This cost can negatively impact strategic flexibility, forcing you to make difficult decisions about what resources to keep and what to sacrifice.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost demands a specific blend of mana colors, which can sometimes complicate casting it, especially in multicolored decks that don’t focus on the card’s colors. This requirement can influence deck building and may deter the card’s inclusion in decks that can’t reliably provide the right mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a noticeable investment of mana required to play Presence of the Wise, the card might be considered costly compared to other cards with similar effects. Players must weigh its benefits against its mana demands, especially when considering its placement in a deck where mana efficiency is crucial.

Reasons to Include Presence of the Wise in Your Collection

Versatility: Presence of the Wise is a flexible spell that can find a home in a variety of deck builds. Its primary function to gain life scaled to the highest mana value among spells you own suggests it can slot into decks that play high-cost cards or wish to counter act aggressive strategies.

Combo Potential: As decks are constructed with synergies in mind, Presence of the Wise can be a key piece in life-gain strategies, bolstering your life total significantly in the right setup. Such an increase can trigger multiple effects or abilities related to life changes, enhancing your overall game plan.

Meta-Relevance: Given that competitive environments often fluctuate, a card like Presence of the Wise can be crucial when facing burn or aggro decks that aim to reduce life totals quickly. With its life-gain capability, it helps in extending the game, giving you the upper hand against such strategies.

How to beat

Understanding how to navigate around card advantages is crucial when facing cards like Presence of the Wise in MTG. This spell gives your opponent a significant boost in life and card advantage, which can be daunting. However, countering the card’s effects involves a strategic approach. Timing is essential; apply pressure early in the game before this card can turn the tides. Utilize spells that restrict your opponent’s ability to gain life or draw cards, such as Damping Sphere or Narset, Parter of Veils.

Disruptive plays are also key. Implementing hand disruption tools like Thoughtseize or Duress can preemptively remove Presence of the Wise from your opponent’s hand before they have the chance to cast it. Moreover, if the spell does resolve, aim to capitalize on the turn they spent casting it by developing a formidable board presence or advancing your win condition. Remember, MTG is a game of resources, and while Presence of the Wise can provide a substantial benefit to your opponent, it is not insurmountable with the right strategy.

Always be prepared with a versatile deck, including options to counteract such life and card advantage spells, ensuring that you maintain control of the game’s pace and direction.

Cards like Presence of the Wise

Presence of the Wise stands as a distinctive spell in the realm of MTG card draw and life gain. It resembles functionalities of cards such as Revitalize, which confers the dual advantage of drawing a card and gaining 3 life. Presence of the Wise, shines with its potential for scaling, since it draws you a number of cards and you gain twice that much life based on the number of lands you control. This offers a significant late-game advantage over Revitalize, which has a fixed outcome.

Another related card would be Sphinx’s Revelation, well-known for its flexibility. Like Presence of the Wise, Sphinx’s Revelation scales with your investment of mana, though it does command a higher initial investment due to its blue and white mana requirements. While Presence of the Wise is limited to the number of lands you control, Sphinx’s Revelation’s scalability is defined by the amount of mana you can pour into it, potentially drawing more cards and gaining more life in a single use.

To sum up, while each card has its place in different strategies and decks, Presence of the Wise introduces a powerful late-game tactic for players who build their mana base steadily. It might be outpaced by alternatives in earlier turns, but can surpass them as the game progresses and land count increases.

Cards similar to Presence of the Wise by color, type and mana cost

Great Teacher's Decree - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Presence of the Wise MTG card by a specific set like Saviors of Kamigawa, 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 Presence of the Wise and other MTG cards: