Balm of Restoration
Artifact
, 
, Sacrifice this artifact: Choose one —
• You gain 2 life.
• Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Fallen Empires
- Price
- $0.47
- EDHREC rank
- #30125
Balm of Restoration gives you a reusable artifact that either gains 2 life or prevents 2 damage, then sacrifices itself to do both at once — the ceiling is modest and the floor is nearly invisible. It's a bulk pickup for narrow lifegain-matters builds only; most Commander decks have no reason to run it.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Balm of Restoration is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but realistically it only sees play in Commander. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more efficient life gain and damage prevention, and neither format has a reason to give up a card slot for two incremental points of anything. In Commander, it fits a specific lane: dedicated lifegain-matters decks that want cheap, repeatable triggers to feed commanders like Oloro or Lathiel — outside that lane, the effect is too small to justify the slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.47 bulk tier
At $0.47, Balm of Restoration sits firmly in bulk territory and is easy to acquire for any budget build. It's unlikely to appreciate unless a future lifegain commander pushes demand, so pick it up if you need it and don't worry about the price moving.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.