Yay, a giant zombie lord I wonder why they didn't give him zombie. black - zombie red - elemental white -knight green - druid Blue's titan would be hard to label though
DonRoyale
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(9 votes)
Everything about this thing is sexy, especially its artwork.
10 power and 3 attackers for 6 mana? Deathtouch and the ability to spit out 4 more power in two separate attackers in each concurrent turn? Oh, you shouldn't have. :)
siregar
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
IMHO the best of the titans. This thing also kills that stupid wall of denial.
Laguz
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
It's really hard to decide wether this or the white or green titan is the best of the cycle. All three are just disgustingly powerful.
Its just a shame that black has moved from zombies to vampires, otherwise this could have been that much better. Death Baron still exists though.
U-caster
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
...well...you could play this guy then wait a turn to sac his tokens for a demon of deaths gate....
SethLarz
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Yeah seems like the best titan. I could be wrong though.
Spet
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(6 votes)
The more I look at this card, the more I like it. Get this guy to hit your graveyard, then play him on turn 5 with Rise from the Grave and watch your opponent cry.
VirtueVsVice
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(7 votes)
Best titan I would say.
Faust-The-Desolate
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Wow black token gen.
A0602
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I really like this.
Wraique
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I looked at it, saw one black zombie and thought, 'Yeah not bad. I don't what al; the fuss is ab- OMG TWO ZOMBIES?!'
Seaking.
jumpenrun
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Freakin magic, bias with black. lol The best of all 5 giant and i think the best creature card in M11(on my opinion).
Demonic_Angel13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
He looks like he should be a zombie giant, but with Death Baron cycling out it wouldn't do much.
LTJZamboni
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Best titan, will see much constructed play. 5/5
bijart_dauth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(6 votes)
is it just me, or is deth tuch rather useless, most of the time, if a creatue hase more than 6 tughness it has more than 6 power, and i am not gunna swing with this guy if he is going to die, then again, all the others got a signiture from there collors (i am surprised they havent key worded fire breathing yet) and fear would have been to powerfull on such a big creature, oh well, they more than made up for it with the other ability.
Wratharrow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
must.... have... at least... ONE......
arguably the BEST titan in m11.
SleetFox
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This is an obscenely efficient attacker. It needs to be dealt with immediately or else it's game over; it can run over almost anything, and even if it gets killed there's still its zombie horde. Mana Leak is the best thing that's happened to anyone not playing this card. It's the most reliable, one-sided answer to this. Otherwise the board needs to get nuked.
mutantman
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(8 votes)
Holy **** look at that art, that's terrifying. Hang on, I think I need to change my pants now.
Eternal_Blue
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(7 votes)
when other people see powercreep they go 'ooo, i have to have that!', when i see powercreep i go 'sigh.. another nail in magic's coffin'.
i guess it's just a different way of looking at things.
Stray_Dog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
You can see the two zombies falling off him :)
OutlawD1: "Yay, a giant zombie lord I wonder why they didn't give him zombie. black - zombie red - elemental white -knight green - druid Blue's titan would be hard to label though"
@ OutlawD1: Nice attempt :D I guess they ran into the same problem you did with labelling the Frost Titan, and had to go all or nothing. Or maybe these guys are two parts giant and only one part zombie/knight/elemental etc, and that flavour is suggested by their associated colour instead of a specific creature type. Personally, druid doesn't quite feel right to me for Primeval Titan... suits the land ability I think but not everything else. Then again we do have Ondu Giant... Plus, and I only just realised this, if you gave Sun Titan the Knight creature type then it would work a bit TOO well with Knight Exemplar. As for black and red, they are good to go :)
Blkmagic81
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I soo love this card, i was lucky enough to pull him twice in both my sealed event and won them both on him alone well with a little help for crystal ball to search for him lo...Hell one of my opponents conceded in top 8!! against me without even playing cause he didnt want to play against a deck that had one in it..I still dont see how the green titan is more than this one
nineyears
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
he is great. i like everything about this titan, however, he is being overshadowed by primeval titan big time.
Jonnythekid107
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pulled one in a fat pack... works great with another pull, Serra Ascendant in a lifegain/vampire deck. While your vamps and spells rack up life (alongside Sorin and Ajani), this guy beats your opponent to a pulp and keeps giving you blockers.
cloneffect
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Best Titan - I think - you can do silly things with Primeval Titan and Sun Titan generates ridiculous card advantage - but this guy is just nuts. A whole feast of craziness; wild zombie parties galore! Add deathtouch to the bargain and...wow, just wow.
Not powercreep, though, just a good strong creature. Creatures have obviously got a lot better, but previously they were very weak compared to non-creature spells, so that's ok. And this guy doesn't speed the game up any; in fact, his casting cost means that he slows things down, which is exactly what everybody wanted after the lightning-fast standard of the last couple years.
allmighty_abacus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
by far the best titan
Donovan_Fabian
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(8 votes)
Are you serious wotc.. why is black getting a very.. VERY.. green ability. A mass token creator, in black? I know black has some token creation, but why does the green one get lands and this one makes tokens. I'd have rather the green one said search for two lands when it enters the battlefield or something, and then also make tokens per turn. Why the green one is trample and land fetch and this one is make massive amounts of tokens I have no idea.
On the other hand, death touch on a giant creature seems really really unnecessary, so that part I don't understand. As always, absolutely deadly rite of replication target. Yes I'll take 50 power worth of creatures please, plus another 10 from last turn, plus another 4 when the first titan attacks, for a total of 64 over two turns.
On plus side emeria with mitotic slime also wrecks any strategy using the grave titan. So it wont be all that overpowered by itself.
Mattmedia
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I had one of these and a lilana in my sealed pool, and usually when he hits the ground its game. I also think that although Deathtouch is kind of silly, Fear would of made him definitely the most powerful creature in M11, other than that i don't know of any other mechanic they could of had.
TheGodOfWar91
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
It reminds me of a Big Daddy.
When it etb or attacks, it makes Little Sisters.
SorianSadaskan
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(7 votes)
The Deathtouch really meant that: 'You with the control deck. Don't think your walls can stop me for long.' Sooner and later, he will hit though and get you.
He's terrifying consider how he kept walking towards you knocking down all obstacles infront of him with corpses crawling out of his chest coming for you as well. WOTC emphasize him, but this Black Titan tends in somewhat inherit Green traits by making tokens.
1ftMafia
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(4 votes)
1st turn: forest, birds of paradise. 2nd turn: swamp, tap forest, swamp, and bird to cast joraga treespeaker & lvl it once. 3rd: turn: swamp, tap all 3 land, the bird, and the elf to cast grave titan.
CJM2
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Wins games like a boss in limited. Plus, you can bring him back with Disentomb and Rise from the Grave. I've drafted him twice, and I have yet to lose a game where he hits the board.
Teakon
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Love this card!
Try using him and Captivating Vampire!
Tap 5 vamps. Target Grave Titan. BOOM! You have a Vampire Giant that is 7/7 and craps out little baby zombies.
Now most people hate Captivating Vampire but vamps and zombies are going to rule the hell out of the game, just watch.
@bobjunior How does that work? Double strike doesn't make the creature attack twice it just deals Damage during both first strike stage and normal stage combat damage step. It NEVER attacks twice. ONLY way for your strategy to work is with World at War. And then you get your 4 tokens. Just take a look at Double Cleave. It explains what double strike does. Or simply look up rules on it.
Trbokix
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Turn 5. Next turn enchant with a $0.75 rare from Rise and I'll be sayin GG. Good luck on that combo. I'll have 6 2/2 zombies out. Plus two Grave titans. Then Fling!
bobjunior
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I think that a grappling hook, sword of vengeance, and world at war could be fun with this guy.The grappling hook for double strike and to compliment the deathtouch by choosing your target (double strikes first strike damage also compliments deathtouch as it is instant), the sword for first strike making deathtouch instantly effective on defense, haste ( if you have mana to attach on turn one), and vigilance as bonus, trample allows double strike damage to pass to player or planeswalker. World at War to do it many times. Nice card overall.
@ Teakon: Thanks for making me rethink this, and better explain such synergies correctly.
Lionhawk
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Simply the best Titan...or any other Mythic rare for that matter. 5/5
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Donovan_Fabian
In a column on the WotC website, one of the 2011 designers gave the reason this Titan makes tokens. Turns out a sketch of the art for this guy came in befor they had figured out what his ability would be. And said sketch featured a bunch of zombies falling out of the Titan's gut. So it was decreed that this Titan would make Zombie tokens.
As to why he has Deathtouch, the design team wanted him to have a keyword ability, and due to the strength of making two Zombie tokens, they wanted one that wouldn't add too much power. Deathtouch was perfect for the job.
Ph1005
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In what deck would its use be maximised?
River26
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Combined with Mask of Riddles definitely would be scary
Test-Subject_217601
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Power creep needs to go die. Seriously Wizards, I don't mind how horrifyingly strong you're making creatures, just make them cost a bit more, a 6/6 with Deathtouch that generates tokens when it comes into play should NOT cost six mana. NEVER EVER EVER EVER!!!!! You hear me? DEATH TO POWER CREEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AXER
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The sexiest Giant !!
Gomorrah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
U-caster, awful, awful idea. Absolutely dreadful. You're trading 10 damage across 3 creatures and 6 damage from yourself for 9 damage with evasion. Removal exists. I hate to bring up the "It dies to removal" argument, but in this case, it's quite a glaring point. If you Path Grave Titan, you still have 2 2/2s to attack your opponent with, but with DoDG, you're down 4 creatures and 6 life.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Gomorrah - he's talking about waiting a turn so that you can create an additional 2 tokens by attacking, then saccing 3 tokens for a Demon of Death's Gate. So you're not trading 10 points of power across 3 creatures; you're trading 5 across 3 token creatures. @Blkmgc81 - Primeval is worth more because, in constructed, the fact that he can search for any land makes him a combo boss. There are 4 or 5 competitive decks that he's a staple in, as well as numerous, numerous rogue decks.
Having said that, Grave Titan is definitely, definitely a great card. In limited he's just insane. It's always a huge pain in the rear when your opponent plays him. It's probably the one card that, on its own, can win a game. I remember the first time I played against in in limited - it was a very close stalemate with the opponent, who then played this. He proceed to completely overwhelm me in about 2 turns. When you talk about bombs in limited, this card could be the very definition.
In constructed he isn't bad, but due to Day of Judgment the tokens aren't as potent as they might otherwise be. However, because of the tokens, he can overwhelm a battlefield on his own - which means that he can do well as a finisher in Bx control decks. Although Jund is dying out thanks to Obstinate Baloth, Leyline of Sanctity and Vengevine decks, he's also a better 6 drop than Broodmate Dragon. In Scars there'll also be zombies, so he could find his way into a few aggro decks in the future too.
The_Trendkill
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
I think that in actuality Grave Titan is the most powerful of the M11 Titans. While Primeval Titan is of course the attractive one because of its immense card advantage and ramping capability, Grave Titan instead brings it with raw power. He has the advantage in damage-dealing over his red comrade Inferno Titan in the obvious advantage that he can't be destroyed by Doom Blade and in the more subtle advantage that he spreads his power over multiple bodies. By necessity, three creatures are much harder to remove than one. Day of Judgment is the only thing he fears.
Although each of the Titans have a defining board presence, I think his is the most definitive. He can swing games around nearly immediately, providing three creatures for the price of one- one of those creatures being remarkably explosive and dangerous (himself, of course). He complicates combat with his deathtouch. When he and his zombie buddies attack, he makes two more to stay behind and block and potentially attack with him next turn. His damage has the potential to continually increase at a linear rate.
He's sick, in both function and form, and a definitive 5/5.
channelblaze
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
TERMINATE him and let Demigod of Revenge rule all of the spirit avatars!
Cyberium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Powerful card, but like the Green and White titans I don't appreciate the obvious power of the card for its mana cost. Six mana and you bring a 6/6 deathtouch, sure, but does it really have to add TWO tokens over and over?
Rikiaz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I definatly want 2 of these for my zombie/skeleton deck. Best thing that could happen is turn one discard him somehow then turn two reanimate for a turn two 6/6 Deathtouch who starts your undead apocalypse with awesome looking art and an army of zombies.
SinnerSage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The fact that he wasn't a zombie itself caused me some trouble (coughNoxious Ghoul , Call to the Gravecough) but now with Nim Deathmantle it's all sunshines, rainbows, death and decay.
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Spectacular Art Looks Straight Out Of A Spawn Comic. And The zombie Corpses Out The Torso Floodin The Battlefield So Badass. Best Titan By Far!
SpencerDub
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Rancorite: Except that Grave TItan's triggered ability doesn't trigger on dealing damage. Read the card again. It says "Whenever Grave Titan enters the battlefield or attacks," which is not the same as dealing damage.
If you want an example of a triggered ability that would be benefited by double strike, look at Hypnotic Specter. Since the card explicitly says, "Whenever Hypnotic Specter deals damage to an opponent," then double strike, which causes a creature to deal damage twice, would cause Hypnotic Specter's ability to trigger twice. But Grave Titan's ability doesn't say that.
To break it down further, double strike doesn't change how many times a creature attacks. When you declare attackers, whether or not any of them have first or double strike, the creatures you are attacking with are considered by the game to be attacking creatures, logically enough. This is before anyone's dealt their damage-- you've just said, "I'm attacking with these guys." At that point, your opponent could play an Arrow Volley Trap, even before blockers are declared and before any of your creatures deal combat damage. The game doesn't consider creatures with double strike to be attacking twice; it considers them attacking creatures who deal damage once during the first strike combat damage step, and again during the normal combat damage step.
While it's a good idea to fall back on resources like the FAQ, it's also important to read them carefully and understand the fundamentals of the game.
Rancorite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@spencerdub Ahh my bad for not reading the actual cards ability and jumping to conclusions, yes you are correct, my apologies to you both.
JanusAurelius
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(4 votes)
I got one of these at the M11 prerelease and didn't use it... 'cause I'm stupid.
This monster will win you tourneys in Limited, for sure. Like each other M11 Titan, this one is excellent for what it wants to do. He's no better nor worse than Frost, Sun, Inferno or Primeval. Of course, doubling season is one of its best friends.
I would not put him in my zombie deck however. He would be good (he cant be any less!), of course, but a decent zombie deck has already won by turn 6, since with zombie lords your ordinary 3-drop zombies should be way over 6/6 by turn 6, whil ehaving swamplwalk and regen. I dont usually buy 40$ cards if they're not quintessential to the deck.
ScepterofEternities
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I run this guy in a green-black deck with death baron, undead warchief and a whispersilk cloak. A 6/6 unblockable with shroud that gives me, if I have everything I mentioned above, two 5/4 zombies with deathtouch each turn? Hell yeah.
Oh, and I got this guy in the first pack I opened in two years. It was an awesome moment.
This guy was awesome at Worlds this year. I must pick up four.
Gelzo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Traded this for some cards I could use for EDH.
I guess this isn't really specific to this card, but some of the cards in Magic are just too expensive to be worth playing with unless you're really into playing competitively, right?
I guess this isn't the most insightful comment, but with six pages of commentary already here, I don't feel much obligation to analyze it in depth.
Ava_Adore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
tempting to play a black blue deck with both titans and mask of the mimic, these not being legendary just wants you to drop out as many as you can
Selez
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Deathtouch is supposed to weaken him because it's redundant for such a large body to have. The reason they gave him a bad first ability is to balance out the fact that, of the five titans, his triggered ability is the best.
I'm not really sure when the color pie was thrown out the the window, but it sure was before this. mtg has done a great job of completely screwing up the power levels by giving control or otherwise spell-based colors ludicrously powerful creatures to lean on...
Just1Micky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Playing MTG for about 4 years now, my first Mythic Rare card at long last (I should point out that I did get lots of 'Time-Shifted' cards however (Vhati il-Dalfor the win)).
friendtoall17
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm glad that dark ritual is currently not in the cycle for standard solely because of this card. And I'll be EXTRA thankful we don't see dark ritual once New Phyrexia comes out and we have to have answers for the Phyrexian Obliterator.
....btw, 5 out of 5 for this one. Solid card.
drebhan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Don't get me wrong, great card, but Deathtouch? Why, he is already a 6,6 he should have had intimidate or something that isn't implied by the 6/6. 4/5
krauser-gogetthegirl
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
the flavor of this guy is awesome. its jason voorhees with a gas mask and dead people fallin out his chest.
Hayw00d0909
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I'm willing to bet this is the best of the M10 Titans. He floods the board with zombies, and can mess up just about anything in his way. He's great. 5/5
PhyrexianFryCook
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Flavor wise I find it so bizarre that he isn't a zombie. Looking at that art its hard to explain how that COULDN'T be a zombie.
infernox10
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Yo dawg, we heard you like zombies, so we put TWO zombies in your zo-
...
Wait, he isn't a zombie.
Rise from the Grave this guy.
Noooow we're talkin'.
rinoh20
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
he should have intimidate. i know i would run away screaming like a little girl if i saw that thing charging at me with zombies spewing out of its chest.
Kitty_the_Kat
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
He would be far too powerful if he was directly attached to the zombie tribe, this way he's at least somewhat balanced. Although he could still be used alongside Death Baron...
Free 3/3 zombies with Deathtouch?
That's not even counting the rest of the possible zombie lords out there! You can make his drops pretty beefy, just keep a counter or two to avoid your opponent's boardwipe...
Imperialstonedragon
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(2 votes)
why the hell is he not a zombie?!
Opaque
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I used to think his deathtouch was an empty ability, until I was considering gang-blocking one. Ugh.
grave titan is a beast on his own, but i don't find him comboing spectacularly well with anything. still one of the best titants. #2 imo
5/5
deadeye1387
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A 6/6 with deathtouch. An awesome card, but was this really nesessary?
AncientTimer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Best of the broken Titans. And deathtouch surely isn't useless. GT is also super efficient token generator which is out of color pie for Black.
goldstar971
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Grave titan plus recurring nightmare as long as you have three mana two of it black you can make 2 2/2 black zombies at will
Foryth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of my favorite plays is bringing two of them into play at the same with using Victimize. (having used Buried Alive beforehand of course) The zombie tokens also make good Victimize targets if you want to bring anything back again.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'll note that this guy is quite good; but now that I looked at him again; he's basically the same as Rampaging Baloths
Comments (81)
I wonder why they didn't give him zombie.
black - zombie
red - elemental
white -knight
green - druid
Blue's titan would be hard to label though
10 power and 3 attackers for 6 mana? Deathtouch and the ability to spit out 4 more power in two separate attackers in each concurrent turn? Oh, you shouldn't have. :)
Its just a shame that black has moved from zombies to vampires, otherwise this could have been that much better. Death Baron still exists though.
Get this guy to hit your graveyard, then play him on turn 5 with Rise from the Grave and watch your opponent cry.
Seaking.
The best of all 5 giant and i think the best creature card in M11(on my opinion).
arguably the BEST titan in m11.
i guess it's just a different way of looking at things.
OutlawD1: "Yay, a giant zombie lord
I wonder why they didn't give him zombie.
black - zombie
red - elemental
white -knight
green - druid
Blue's titan would be hard to label though"
@ OutlawD1: Nice attempt :D I guess they ran into the same problem you did with labelling the Frost Titan, and had to go all or nothing. Or maybe these guys are two parts giant and only one part zombie/knight/elemental etc, and that flavour is suggested by their associated colour instead of a specific creature type.
Personally, druid doesn't quite feel right to me for Primeval Titan... suits the land ability I think but not everything else. Then again we do have Ondu Giant...
Plus, and I only just realised this, if you gave Sun Titan the Knight creature type then it would work a bit TOO well with Knight Exemplar.
As for black and red, they are good to go :)
Not powercreep, though, just a good strong creature. Creatures have obviously got a lot better, but previously they were very weak compared to non-creature spells, so that's ok. And this guy doesn't speed the game up any; in fact, his casting cost means that he slows things down, which is exactly what everybody wanted after the lightning-fast standard of the last couple years.
On the other hand, death touch on a giant creature seems really really unnecessary, so that part I don't understand. As always, absolutely deadly rite of replication target. Yes I'll take 50 power worth of creatures please, plus another 10 from last turn, plus another 4 when the first titan attacks, for a total of 64 over two turns.
On plus side emeria with mitotic slime also wrecks any strategy using the grave titan. So it wont be all that overpowered by itself.
When it etb or attacks, it makes Little Sisters.
He's terrifying consider how he kept walking towards you knocking down all obstacles infront of him with corpses crawling out of his chest coming for you as well. WOTC emphasize him, but this Black Titan tends in somewhat inherit Green traits by making tokens.
2nd turn: swamp, tap forest, swamp, and bird to cast joraga treespeaker & lvl it once.
3rd: turn: swamp, tap all 3 land, the bird, and the elf to cast grave titan.
Try using him and Captivating Vampire!
Tap 5 vamps. Target Grave Titan. BOOM! You have a Vampire Giant that is 7/7 and craps out little baby zombies.
Now most people hate Captivating Vampire but vamps and zombies are going to rule the hell out of the game, just watch.
@bobjunior
How does that work? Double strike doesn't make the creature attack twice it just deals Damage during both first strike stage and normal stage combat damage step. It NEVER attacks twice. ONLY way for your strategy to work is with World at War. And then you get your 4 tokens. Just take a look at Double Cleave. It explains what double strike does. Or simply look up rules on it.
@ Teakon: Thanks for making me rethink this, and better explain such synergies correctly.
In a column on the WotC website, one of the 2011 designers gave the reason this Titan makes tokens. Turns out a sketch of the art for this guy came in befor they had figured out what his ability would be. And said sketch featured a bunch of zombies falling out of the Titan's gut. So it was decreed that this Titan would make Zombie tokens.
As to why he has Deathtouch, the design team wanted him to have a keyword ability, and due to the strength of making two Zombie tokens, they wanted one that wouldn't add too much power. Deathtouch was perfect for the job.
@Blkmgc81 - Primeval is worth more because, in constructed, the fact that he can search for any land makes him a combo boss. There are 4 or 5 competitive decks that he's a staple in, as well as numerous, numerous rogue decks.
Having said that, Grave Titan is definitely, definitely a great card. In limited he's just insane. It's always a huge pain in the rear when your opponent plays him. It's probably the one card that, on its own, can win a game. I remember the first time I played against in in limited - it was a very close stalemate with the opponent, who then played this. He proceed to completely overwhelm me in about 2 turns. When you talk about bombs in limited, this card could be the very definition.
In constructed he isn't bad, but due to Day of Judgment the tokens aren't as potent as they might otherwise be. However, because of the tokens, he can overwhelm a battlefield on his own - which means that he can do well as a finisher in Bx control decks. Although Jund is dying out thanks to Obstinate Baloth, Leyline of Sanctity and Vengevine decks, he's also a better 6 drop than Broodmate Dragon. In Scars there'll also be zombies, so he could find his way into a few aggro decks in the future too.
Although each of the Titans have a defining board presence, I think his is the most definitive. He can swing games around nearly immediately, providing three creatures for the price of one- one of those creatures being remarkably explosive and dangerous (himself, of course). He complicates combat with his deathtouch. When he and his zombie buddies attack, he makes two more to stay behind and block and potentially attack with him next turn. His damage has the potential to continually increase at a linear rate.
He's sick, in both function and form, and a definitive 5/5.
Except that Grave TItan's triggered ability doesn't trigger on dealing damage. Read the card again. It says "Whenever Grave Titan enters the battlefield or attacks," which is not the same as dealing damage.
If you want an example of a triggered ability that would be benefited by double strike, look at Hypnotic Specter. Since the card explicitly says, "Whenever Hypnotic Specter deals damage to an opponent," then double strike, which causes a creature to deal damage twice, would cause Hypnotic Specter's ability to trigger twice. But Grave Titan's ability doesn't say that.
To break it down further, double strike doesn't change how many times a creature attacks. When you declare attackers, whether or not any of them have first or double strike, the creatures you are attacking with are considered by the game to be attacking creatures, logically enough. This is before anyone's dealt their damage-- you've just said, "I'm attacking with these guys." At that point, your opponent could play an Arrow Volley Trap, even before blockers are declared and before any of your creatures deal combat damage. The game doesn't consider creatures with double strike to be attacking twice; it considers them attacking creatures who deal damage once during the first strike combat damage step, and again during the normal combat damage step.
While it's a good idea to fall back on resources like the FAQ, it's also important to read them carefully and understand the fundamentals of the game.
Ahh my bad for not reading the actual cards ability and jumping to conclusions, yes you are correct, my apologies to you both.
I would not put him in my zombie deck however. He would be good (he cant be any less!), of course, but a decent zombie deck has already won by turn 6, since with zombie lords your ordinary 3-drop zombies should be way over 6/6 by turn 6, whil ehaving swamplwalk and regen. I dont usually buy 40$ cards if they're not quintessential to the deck.
Oh, and I got this guy in the first pack I opened in two years. It was an awesome moment.
EDIT: It was a foil one, too.
I guess this isn't really specific to this card, but some of the cards in Magic are just too expensive to be worth playing with unless you're really into playing competitively, right?
I guess this isn't the most insightful comment, but with six pages of commentary already here, I don't feel much obligation to analyze it in depth.
....btw, 5 out of 5 for this one. Solid card.
...
Wait, he isn't a zombie.
Rise from the Grave this guy.
Noooow we're talkin'.
Free 3/3 zombies with Deathtouch?
That's not even counting the rest of the possible zombie lords out there! You can make his drops pretty beefy, just keep a counter or two to avoid your opponent's boardwipe...
the zombie spawning is great, but i don;t find it that useful.
i find Primeval Titan a lot more useful in my green deck, then this in my blakc, as primeval opens up my next turn for a big bomb, like Liege of the Tangle, Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer, Engulfing Slagwurm, or Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger. and if i have Rampaging Baloths or Grazing Gladehart out, then double landfall trigger.
grave titan is a beast on his own, but i don't find him comboing spectacularly well with anything.
still one of the best titants. #2 imo
5/5
GT is also super efficient token generator which is out of color pie for Black.