Linvala, the Preserver
Legendary Creature — Angel
Flying
When Linvala enters, if an opponent has more life than you, you gain 5 life.
When Linvala enters, if an opponent controls more creatures than you, create a 3/3 white Angel creature token with flying.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Pioneer Masters
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #14633
Linvala, the Preserver hits the board as a 5/5 flyer that can generate a 3/3 Angel token and gain 5 life — all contingent on being behind, which is exactly when a six-mana card needs to pull its weight. Six mana for a conditional payoff that does nothing when you're ahead is the whole problem.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Linvala, the Preserver is a recovery piece for decks that expect to fall behind on board or life total — white lifegain and angel tribal shells get the most mileage, since both conditions trigger reliably in multiplayer games where someone is always ahead of you. In Modern and Legacy, six mana is a prohibitive rate for a creature that requires specific board states to generate full value; aggressive and midrange formats punish that kind of conditional ceiling hard. Pioneer is similarly unkind — the format has enough efficient threats that a 5/5 with no immediate guaranteed impact rarely makes the cut. Linvala, the Preserver is safest in Commander, where the politics of a four-player game almost guarantee you'll be the archenemy at least once.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available right now for Linvala, the Preserver, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for current market rates before buying. As a mythic with limited competitive demand, it typically sits in the budget-to-mid range and is usually easy to acquire without hunting.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.