Enlightened Confidant — ruling 1

Enlightened Confidant's ability checks at the moment it would trigger to see if you gained life this turn. If you didn't, the ability won't trigger at all. Once your end step begins, it's too late to gain life in order to cause this ability to trigger. However, the last part of the ability will check how much life you've gained as the ability resolves, so you could still gain more life while the ability is on the stack to make putting a card into your hand easier.

Enlightened Confidant — ruling 2

If a card in your graveyard has an X in its mana cost, X is 0 for the purpose of determining its mana value.

Enlightened Confidant : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Enlightened Confidant is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.

Official card text

Lifelink At the beginning of your end step, if you gained life this turn, surveil 1. If you put a card with mana value less than or equal to the amount of life you gained this turn into your graveyard this way, put that card into your hand.

How it works : Enlightened Confidant

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1August 21, 2026· Wizards of the Coast
Enlightened Confidant's ability checks at the moment it would trigger to see if you gained life this turn. If you didn't, the ability won't trigger at all. Once your end step begins, it's too late to gain life in order to cause this ability to trigger. However, the last part of the ability will check how much life you've gained as the ability resolves, so you could still gain more life while the ability is on the stack to make putting a card into your hand easier.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2August 21, 2026· Wizards of the Coast
If a card in your graveyard has an X in its mana cost, X is 0 for the purpose of determining its mana value.
No other card is named in this ruling.