Healing Salve
Instant
Choose one —
• Target player gains 3 life.
• Prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Battle Royale Box Set
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #21988
Healing Salve does one of three things — gain 3 life, prevent 3 damage, or split the two — and none of those outcomes justify a card slot at any competitive table. Three life is not a meaningful resource in Commander, and a one-shot damage shield that costs a full card is a trade you will almost always lose.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Healing Salve is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but legality is not the same as playability. In Commander, 3 life is noise against 40 starting totals and multiplayer damage output — there is no shell where Healing Salve pulls weight. Pauper is the one format where commons sometimes find narrow homes, but even there the card sees no meaningful play. Legacy and Vintage ignore it entirely.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Healing Salve is deep bulk — the price reflects supply measured in millions, not demand. It will not appreciate; there is no competitive pressure to ever absorb that supply.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.