Tired of never getting Lilliana 1.0's last ability off? Here you go.
Hayw00d0909
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Nice. get a hand full of creature bombs, plant them into the yard and rack up study counters, then unleash for a win.
Art, flavor and mechanics are great 5/5
Ximenez
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(6 votes)
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!
.Blaze.
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If this doesn't scream commander I don't know what does. Not sure what others will do, but all my EDH decks will be running this.
Lord_of_Tresserhorn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mmmmhhhh, proliferate!
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Roger wrote a book of the dead. Blank are its pages, can't be read. A gift from him to one named Fred In form of blows to the side of the head.
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
How I Did It
by Victor Frankenstein
Frederick: It's pronounced 'Fronkensteen'
Tanaka348
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I don't think it's worth it if you're not making use of the discard outlet part of the card. Luckily, there are plenty of viable decks that want discard outlets, so just because it can't slip into EVERY deck doesn't mean it isn't good.
It shall be gruesome in my Riku's-Copies casual edh, it's all about his UG effect (Although copying rite of replication an kicking both of them is a very fun use of his UR effect in my opinion)
Shadoflaam
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(20 votes)
That is not dead which can eternal lie And with strange aeons, even death may die.
Hylebos
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
I played against a person in the Pre-release who got both a foil and a non-foil Grimoire of the Dead in her first pack, it was horrifying. Definitely a flashy way to finish someone off, great for EDH.
sonorhC
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
@Minus_Prime, I love it.
And Tanaka348, you're always making use of the discard part, since you can just discard three big fatties that you can't cast yet, and they'll be included in the mass resurrection.
On thinking about it more, this is a really insane card. It takes about as long to use it as something like Lux Cannon, but instead of just destroying one card, it does the same thing as a planeswalker's ultimate, almost certainly guaranteeing you the win.
BeechGuy
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
play this with Contagion Engine
Oleggio
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(6 votes)
Liliana Vess use this book to doing her evilness.
Bad girl...
BuffJittePLZ
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(2 votes)
A risky card. It will be fun in casual though, but not used anywhere else.
Kaizeischi
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Idk... I feel like this card just looks amazing. And it DOES look amazing... but I know in an EDH, with 3+ people bearing down your neck, you're most likely going to discard three cards and then have it destroyed. :/
hedronMatrix
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This + Iname, Death Aspect as an EDH General + all the tutors to get this card out = You win
bowlofgumbo
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Great card, great art; versatile, viable uses and relatively fresh.
Igooog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
AMG. SO MANY GOOD COMBOS WITH Undead Alchemist. IT MAKES ME HAPPY.
AngelicOverseer
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(10 votes)
My name is Ash and I am a slave. Close as I can figure, the year is thirteen hundred A.D and I'm being dragged to my death. It wasn't always like this, I had a real life, once. A job. I had a wonderful girlfriend, Linda. Together we drove to a small cabin in the mountains. It seems an archeologist had come to this remote place to translate and study his latest find: Necronomiconexmortis. The Book of the Dead. Bound in human flesh and inked in blood, this ancient Samarian text contained bizarre burial rights, funeral incantations, and demon resurrection passages, it was never meant for the world of the living. The book awoke something dark in the woods, something evil.
... Shop smart, shop S-Mart!
Kretor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I pulled a couple of these among the Innistrad boosters I got. The reason I like the card is its use of counters. I tried modifying my bloodthirst/proliferate deck to use with this card, to some satisfying results. The ability to utilize a few clever proliferates (while still buffing your own creatures) to activate the card within 1-2 turns of summon can make for a quick win or an even quicker comeback against any unsuspecting opponent.
I can see many decks that it would be near-worthless against, as can any card, but it certainly is worthy of mythic rare status.
biged223
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I run this and life's finale in a black green with lots of deathtouch stuff. Stalls until I can kill everything and the best 3 cards in an opponents library and then BOOM. Evil man.
Drakethesage
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
5/5 Just for Lovecraft love.
Arachnos
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Reanimators everywhere just creamed their pants. A card that can give you an army within 4 turns, with a drawback that is not a drawback at all since you can just discard the very things you want to reanimate.
Seems pretty bad in constructed. Kinda like suspending Living End, but who does that anyway? People playing that card are cascading into it and that deck isn't even that good.
DacenOctavio
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Such a terribad card. Really. You need 3 study counters, and good bomb creatures to discard. Horrible in limited, mediocre in constructed formats that actually have creatures worth discarding. You will get this K-gripped, Qasali Pridemaged, Ancient Grudged, Nature's Claimed, what have you. Your graveyard will get nuked by Tormod's Crypt, a standing Leyline of the Void out of the sideboard, Relic, and even Nihil Spellbomb. Good luck.
The first time I saw this book, I immediately thought "Necronomicon". To later discover that "Necronomicon" was this card's playtest name, I'm actually a bit sad that they decided to change it.
shotoku64
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
At first I thought this card was pretty good. Then I realized that if you discard creature cards, they come back anyways. Then I decided it was really good.
Pigfish99
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Groovy.
thewalkingdead
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
this is too good.... ugggggg mmmmmmm...... ok. total synergy with itself, gotsta get like 2 or 3 mmmm.... exhuming.... dig dig dig
I HOPE SOMEONE CAN ANSWER THIS QUESTION. I AM A NOOB TO MAGIC AND STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EVERY DETAIL OF THIS VERY COMPLEX GAME. WHEN USING GRIMOIRE OF THE DEAD...IF I DO NOT HAVE A CARD TO DISCARD FROM MY HAND CAN I STILL ADD THE COUNTER AS LONG AS I TAP FOR MANA? OR DO I HAVE TO HAVE A CARD IN MY HAND TO DISCARD IN ORDER TO ADD THE COUNTER? ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. THIS IS A REALLY COOL CARD. BTW.
ArrowKeys
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@littlemonster717: Discarding a card is part of the activation cost of putting a counter onto the book. Even if you have it untapped and there's a land open, you can't use the ability if you don't have anything to discard.
On another note, I have this in my tabletop zombie deck. It's quite neat once you get it off XD
In the right deck, you only need to discard one card to make this ready to use. Proliferate is probably the mechanic of choice here, although it would work well with Doubling Season, Gilder Bairn, and Giant Fan. Rings of Brighthearth might also be useful.
Unfortunately, proliferate is a little on the slow side, and you probably wouldn't want to use it without also running Infect, and Grimoire of the Dead might not be the most effective weapon those kinds of decks can use (although reanimating several Ichor Rats would be amusing). If you're still trying to use proliferate, your weapon of choice is probably Tezzeret's Gambit, maybe with a Snapcaster Mage to pull it off a second time. There'd be a certain irony to getting this up and running with Spread the Sickness. I've always wanted to turn a game of MTG into a generic Zombie Horror Survival movie.
Speaking of Zombies, another strategy is to run this in Zombie tribal. With Ghoulcaller's Chant, the card disadvantage doesn't hurt quite as much, and it can fuel an Unbreathing Horde in the mean-time. At the same time, it can be fueled by Call to the Grave.
That's a very flavorful deck idea, right there. Now if only WotC will reprint Dawn of the Dead in the next couple of sets...
Ricster24
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This amazing card is in my Glissa, the Traitor EDH deck. For some reason (thank the magic gods) it always pops up with the beautiful Welding Jar, just in case. RAPE.
Sutebe
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's based off Lovecraft's Necronomicon, which was said to drive anyone who read it insane, which is funny because this actually works well with the madness mechanic.
EchoSim
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just got this card in a booster pack for Christmas and none of my friends can figure out the exact effect of this card. The effect in question is: When all creatures from all graveyards come into your control as "black Zombies in addition to their other colors and types"; does this mean they are now 2/2 Zombie tokens or are they the original cards that are now black Zombies?
And yeah, the reference to the Necronomicon makes it a keeper in my opinion! :P
Alsebra
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@EchoSim - They're exactly what they were before, just adding a color (black) and a creature type (Zombie). For example, Hanweir Watchkeep is normally a red Human Warrior Werewolf; if it came back via the Grimoire, it'd become a red and black Human Warrior Werewolf Zombie.
Amnesigenic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Use Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas to animate it, then sac it and it will trigger morbid for everything brought back. Tri-color deck to make most use of that, but it can be done, with the lands that they have in standard.
Oh hey! Liliana's old college textbook! Imagine that!
InfernalPyre
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My initial reaction to Grimmoire: "AWESOME"
Got one and used it a few times:"Meh"
Reaction after dropping one into my Heartless Lich Selfmill: "AWESOME... Where have you been all my life.
Shorter Version: On first look this card is awesome, though it runs clunky unless you find a will to mass mill yourself or your opponent. I love it 4/5
Angus_Burger
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@DacenOctavio
Well said, my good man. This card is ten kinds of garbage, incredibly bad for constructed, too slow even for limited, = with an effect anyone can see coming. A control deck will bounce/disenchant it, a combo deck will laugh as you waste your cards and mana, while an aggro deck will kill you before the third counter is close to it.
Even with profileration, this is still far too clunky, and profilerating means you built your entire deck around this effect. It sucks for EDH, constructed and limited.
@Arachnos
Reanimators creamed their pants? With this slow, 4-turn piece of garbage? Have you ever played a reanimator? Way too slow for reanimator, you want a good creature out by turn 3 maximum, not freaking turn 6-7.
EternalGlory
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Comboes with Angel of Glory's Rise in the worst of ways.
drpunkerz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card has proved super useful in my deck that has a lot of sacrifice. I can get it out on turn two with a dark ritual, I can sacrifice my own creatures like phyrexian debaserphyrexian defiler and phyrexian denouncer, which will kill off one of their creatures and my own, netting me two more creatures in graveyards, discard my high-powered beasts (looking at you, reaper from the abyss), throw out useful cards like bone shredder, which I'll just use the echo cost to my advantage, and use murder and victim of night on my opponents creatures, all of which will continue to add the amount of creatures I'll control once the thing activates.
Rikiaz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is amazing. Flavor wise it's the freaking Necronomicon! I love H. P. Lovecraft so I love this card's flavor. This is golden in a graveyard based commander deck, like say my Mimeoplasm one. Otherwise not amazing but certainly not bad either.
Osprey_93
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I traded my friend this for an Angelic overseer for my angel human deck, he had no interest in her from running zombies but the poor fool grimoir'd back my angel of glory's rise from my graveyard and promptly board wiped himself, I Lol'd.
Smoke_Stack
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
excellent card. pair with life's finale for some real shenanigans! I tend to use it even if I don't have anything good in my yard. Just as good early game as it is late game. 5/5
I'm not too sure if he sees other cards entering the battlefield if he himself is reanimated by this, but even so... I once did 20+ damage once with this and Flayer and had a field full of creatures to boot xD
metabreed
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Made an Izzet deck with this bad boy and am using lots of sifting cards to zip through the deck and of course Flayer of the Hatebound had to come along for the ride. Izzet is a natural fit for this card, although pumping it up to Grixis by adding a splash of black is a real blast too.
psychichobo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's pretty good for madness if your aggro is stalled somehow. This was a win con for a Mill-All style deck a friend of mine ran, but we kept stealing them off him and exiling our graveyards. So yeah, don't rely on it, but it's a tidy little time bomb to distract people with.
DangeRuss
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seems like his would combo surprisingly well with Tibalt. Wonder why no one else thought of that.
gideon999
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This, phyrexian plaguelord and blood artist. Ruthlessly sacrifice everything to kill your opponents creatures then get it all back, making them lose life at the same time.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
its not competitive I think, to slow and cheap removal shuts it down. But it is a very powerful effect, and teaches newer players the importance of artifact removal.
Comments (68)
...Aww shi-
*dies*
Here you go.
Art, flavor and mechanics are great 5/5
Blank are its pages, can't be read.
A gift from him to one named Fred
In form of blows to the side of the head.
by Victor Frankenstein
Frederick: It's pronounced 'Fronkensteen'
And with strange aeons, even death may die.
And Tanaka348, you're always making use of the discard part, since you can just discard three big fatties that you can't cast yet, and they'll be included in the mass resurrection.
On thinking about it more, this is a really insane card. It takes about as long to use it as something like Lux Cannon, but instead of just destroying one card, it does the same thing as a planeswalker's ultimate, almost certainly guaranteeing you the win.
Bad girl...
...
Shop smart, shop S-Mart!
I can see many decks that it would be near-worthless against, as can any card, but it certainly is worthy of mythic rare status.
Standard legal combo currently.
On another note, I have this in my tabletop zombie deck. It's quite neat once you get it off XD
Unfortunately, proliferate is a little on the slow side, and you probably wouldn't want to use it without also running Infect, and Grimoire of the Dead might not be the most effective weapon those kinds of decks can use (although reanimating several Ichor Rats would be amusing). If you're still trying to use proliferate, your weapon of choice is probably Tezzeret's Gambit, maybe with a Snapcaster Mage to pull it off a second time. There'd be a certain irony to getting this up and running with Spread the Sickness. I've always wanted to turn a game of MTG into a generic Zombie Horror Survival movie.
Speaking of Zombies, another strategy is to run this in Zombie tribal. With Ghoulcaller's Chant, the card disadvantage doesn't hurt quite as much, and it can fuel an Unbreathing Horde in the mean-time. At the same time, it can be fueled by Call to the Grave.
That's a very flavorful deck idea, right there. Now if only WotC will reprint Dawn of the Dead in the next couple of sets...
The effect in question is: When all creatures from all graveyards come into your control as "black Zombies in addition to their other colors and types"; does this mean they are now 2/2 Zombie tokens or are they the original cards that are now black Zombies?
And yeah, the reference to the Necronomicon makes it a keeper in my opinion! :P
When it came out, it was one of the best rated things in Innistrad.
Graveborn comes out, and a few months later, BOOM above average rating.
W/e. Reanimation is for legacy.
Got one and used it a few times:"Meh"
Reaction after dropping one into my Heartless Lich Selfmill: "AWESOME... Where have you been all my life.
Shorter Version: On first look this card is awesome, though it runs clunky unless you find a will to mass mill yourself or your opponent. I love it 4/5
Well said, my good man. This card is ten kinds of garbage, incredibly bad for constructed, too slow even for limited, = with an effect anyone can see coming. A control deck will bounce/disenchant it, a combo deck will laugh as you waste your cards and mana, while an aggro deck will kill you before the third counter is close to it.
Even with profileration, this is still far too clunky, and profilerating means you built your entire deck around this effect. It sucks for EDH, constructed and limited.
@Arachnos
Reanimators creamed their pants? With this slow, 4-turn piece of garbage? Have you ever played a reanimator? Way too slow for reanimator, you want a good creature out by turn 3 maximum, not freaking turn 6-7.
I'm not too sure if he sees other cards entering the battlefield if he himself is reanimated by this, but even so... I once did 20+ damage once with this and Flayer and had a field full of creatures to boot xD
Ruthlessly sacrifice everything to kill your opponents creatures then get it all back, making them lose life at the same time.