Yep, it's Healing Salve. Back in the day, this card was decent in Limited. Funny to compare it to the other 3-for-1 cards: Ancenstral Recall, Dark Ritual, Giant Growth, and Lightning Bolt.
What saddens me is when inferior versions of this already mediocre card are printed...
jsttu
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(5 votes)
Just about useless. No one who us aware of even minor complexities and metagames plays this card, and those that do quickly find out why others do not. Best used as a proxy for a different card
GainsBanding
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Sort of removal in ME4 limited (via blocking and saving your dude). And your opponent will get super mad when it saves you from a lethal Fireball.
ninjaman98
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is actually a useful but terrible card, there are times when I just beg for 3 life
BlackAlbino
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
if only it redirected that 3 damage
DiasFlac420
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(7 votes)
Don't underestimate it. It may seem weak but the damage prevention can prove VERY useful against infect. 4.5/5
Condemn - Target goes away. They can gain whatever life. Ponder- Look at the top 3 and rearrange. Draw. Duress- Nab a card from their hand. Even if you don't, you have perfect information Bolt - It's still good. Dismember - It's green, trust me. It even works like a combat trick, just like Growth did. Or you just kill things with it.
Card parity is key. Ancestral was the breakout of the cycle because it flat out nuked card parity, and the rest struggled to maintain it. In the newer proposed 1-drop boon cycle, every card is at least a 1-for-1 and fits with the flavor of the color it rests in.
DritzD27
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card makes me sad. :(
JimmyNoobPlayer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@DacenOctavio: That's an interesting perspective and I agree with most of what you say, but your inclusion of Dismember made me go WTF. That doesn't make sense from a flavor or a mechanics viewpoint.
How is killing arbitrary creatures ? Core sets sometimes grudgingly include flying creature destruction to help out the limited format, but that's all. How is paying life ? Channel did it to get mana (which is extremely Green) but that was an old card from when the color pie was a little wonky. How is reducing power and toughness ? I don't know of any Green card that does that.
Why not include Giant Growth in your list. It's a little more situational than Lightning Bolt, but I think it still holds up and usually gives card parity. It can save your creature from burn or kill an enemy's creature in combat, or it can cause three more damage like Bolt.
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Easily the best of all the boon's, who needs cards when you could have 3 whole life!!!
A better "more balanced" boon cycle, with a little bit more emphasis on the number three:
White: 1 mana Candles Glow without the arcane :0 Blue: Brainstorm Black: Blackmail (as an instant if you like). Red: Bolt Green: Giant Growth
jonrds
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Should have been both. That way it could stop bolt or save your creature from a growth while gaining you life. Redirecting 3 damage would probably have been way too strong (lets you save a creature and lightning bolt pretty much any combat). It also isn't very white.
The problem with this is that you pretty much never come out on top using it. You use a 1 mana card to hose that 1 mana lightning bolt. If you're creature is about to kill something and they growth it, you can use this to save your creature but theirs still lives. The only time I can see this making you come out ahead is protecting your 4/4 from a ball lightning or something like that.
Letting you gain the 3 life in addition to preventing the damage would have at least meant that when you trade this slightly unfavorably you still get 3 life as a consolation prize.
Comments (16)
What saddens me is when inferior versions of this already mediocre card are printed...
4.5/5
Healing Salve - Gain 3 or prevent 3.
Ancestral Recall- Target player draws 3.
Dark Ritual- Add {B}{B}{B}.
Lightning Bolt - Deal 3.
Giant Growth - Target gets +3/+3
The new, theoretical power-adjusted boon cycle:
Condemn - Target goes away. They can gain whatever life.
Ponder- Look at the top 3 and rearrange. Draw.
Duress- Nab a card from their hand. Even if you don't, you have perfect information
Bolt - It's still good.
Dismember - It's green, trust me. It even works like a combat trick, just like Growth did. Or you just kill things with it.
Card parity is key. Ancestral was the breakout of the cycle because it flat out nuked card parity, and the rest struggled to maintain it. In the newer proposed 1-drop boon cycle, every card is at least a 1-for-1 and fits with the flavor of the color it rests in.
How is killing arbitrary creatures
How is paying life
How is reducing power and toughness
Why not include Giant Growth in your list. It's a little more situational than Lightning Bolt, but I think it still holds up and usually gives card parity. It can save your creature from burn or kill an enemy's creature in combat, or it can cause three more damage like Bolt.
5/5 Stars
White: 1 mana Candles Glow without the arcane :0
Blue: Brainstorm
Black: Blackmail (as an instant if you like).
Red: Bolt
Green: Giant Growth
The problem with this is that you pretty much never come out on top using it. You use a 1 mana card to hose that 1 mana lightning bolt. If you're creature is about to kill something and they growth it, you can use this to save your creature but theirs still lives. The only time I can see this making you come out ahead is protecting your 4/4 from a ball lightning or something like that.
Letting you gain the 3 life in addition to preventing the damage would have at least meant that when you trade this slightly unfavorably you still get 3 life as a consolation prize.