I love this card big huggy bunches, but darn it if i can get triple black any time before the heat death of the universe using only the lands included in the precon.
NeoKoda
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
It doesn't say dies because it's pre M12.
VampireCat
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I agree with DarthParallax, this card works much better in CounterPunch than Devour for Power.
I'm not completely certain why this didn't go into the Counterpunch pre-con, but ended up in the Devour for Power.
Don't get me wrong, it's good in both, but the commander in Counterpunch directly contributes to saccing your own creatures.
TrueBloodWolf
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
In my Replica deck, it turns all of my Replica's to " Sacrifice, Some Cool effect + opponents sacrifice a creature" haha xD
Like Wizard Replica ", Sacrifice: Counter a Spell" and By the way, since he died, you have to sacrifice a creature too~ It really keeps their field advantage down because of Replicates :D
Combine with a way to give the "3/1" replica's a Persist effect, and turns there effect to making it so you have to sacrifice 2 creatures when I use their effect. xD
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(7 votes)
I think greg is saying that the ridiculous flavor of GRAVE PACT in particular, should have warranted an exception and gotten the 'dies' wording early.
also, Ghave likes this card. I mean, if you needed me to tell you that, that's a LITTLE sad, but definitely this goes in every Ghave Guru of Spores deck you can think of.
EDIT: Now horrendously broken-er than before. Thank you, Innistrad and Morbid!!! ^_^
(Reaper of the Abyss is particularly evil.)
Havrekjex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I absolutely despise seeing this card on the other side of the table. 5/5.
@Saltar: Attrition won't work, because they can just sacrifice the targeted creature to Grave Pact and the ability will fizzle.
Still Gravepact is phenomenal. Run with Fleshbag Marauder, evoke creatures, Eldrazi spawn, or whatever. It's just that good. If you want to be extra brutal, run it with Karmic Justice and Martyr's Bond.
Lash_of_Dragonbreath
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Recently started playing one of it. From that point on, my first reaction to half the cards I see is "nice sinergy with Grave Pact". Reassembling Skeleton, It that Betrays, Shriekmaw, any token maker (Mitotic Slime, for example), and that is only the beggining.
It's almost always worth it if you can spare 4 mana (which you almost always can in Commander/EDH, though the heavy color requirement may hurt a bit there).
This card is insanely good, to the point that I'm not sure if I even like it. You build around it, it'll completely shut down all of your opponents at once (provided that their win conditions in some way involve creatures). And if you just toss it in as filler... it'll still win you plenty of games. Great political card too; nobody wants to kill your stuff, and people won't attack you if you've got so much as a chump-blocker.
I'm tempted to put it in every black deck I make, and I don't like cards that are that good. Yeah, the mana cost is very black-intensive, but if your opponent doesn't have a way to get rid of this (and not every color does) it's basically a guaranteed win, and not a very creative one. Butcher of Malakir is a much fairer version of this card. We've banned this in my playgroup because it makes games so predictable and one-sided.
ArdentDawn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It That Betrays loves this card. It doesn't trigger with Annihilator, but in a multiplayer or tag-team game, this card can be devastating.
Squab
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Best game I played with this... EDH deck at school with like 6 or 7 people... I had my mono-white deck, and a friend with my mono-black deck attacked me. He attacked, I blocked. Some stuff died. Then I realized what was going to happen... bwahahaha
the quintessential black enchantment. if you are playing creatures and your opponent has this out, you must get rid of it, or you will most likely lose. game changing card like that is 5/5
pretty crazy if both you and your opponent EACH have one of these out.
Kill everything for free every round and have the fattest beetle of all time
GCAcul
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Turns Killing Wave into B: Sacrifice any number of creatures and they have to sacrifice the same number of creatures
Hugomanen
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@saltar: It wouldn't give you extra advantage, you sacrifice the creature as part of the activation cost, triggering grave pact while the destroy effect is on the stack, your opponent can then sac the creature you targeted, making Grave Pact redundant.
fantasic card. remember when i put in my g/b deck with saproling burst, verdant force, devouring strossus, phyrexian dreadnought (before the stifle ruling)... also works well in a token deck using thallid devourer as a finish move and in about a million other ways. indestructible? no problem and as many of the invul combos players make involve creatures, it can come in handy in getting rid of difficult situations (i remember using this to win a game against someone using worship, concerted effort and pristine angel). powerful in any format when placed with the right cards.
azure_drake222222
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Grave Pact Pact {0}
Enchantment
Echo {3BBB}
Whenever a creature you control dies, each other player sacrifices a creature.
If you don't pay the Echo cost, you lose the game.
Duskmantle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is hilarious in a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck. Every time you sacrifice a saproling to put a +1/+1 counter on something, each opponent pretty much has to sacrifice a creature. And then, of course, you'll have cards like Scavenger Drake in there, and that's just double (or triple/quadruple depending on the number of players) the fun~
XaiviarNightwing
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With Apprentice Necromancer out it reads " Pay X black mana and sacrifice apprentice necromancer: each opponent sacrifices X creatures. Then return a creature from your graveyard to play it has haste. Sacrifice it at end of turn. Then each opponent sacrifices a creature." This is without adding Carnival of Souls to make it free, or then adding death's shadow to hit a opponent for 12 if you reduced your life to 1. Don't want to reduce your life total then deathgreeter will protect you, if he brings a friend then black has the lowest cost most efficient infinite life combo: Appentice necromancer x2 Deathgreeter s Carnival of souls. 2 dark ritual s turn 2 for 3rd turn lulz or ornothopter culling the weak Dark Rit for turn 1 play turn 2 lulz
Anything that dies *ever* will nuke *everything* (well, creature wise anyway.) Keep a sacrifice creature around (they're usually 1 toughness) and if they go to nuke Last Laugh, you sac the creature, everyone else sacs one, and then you're dealing about 4 damage probably, further triggering others. If they target gravepact, it goes to the graveyard (or you can sac, depending) and everything gets nuked for 2+ damage, probably cascading into more death. Fun stuff.
One of the funniest scenarios possible in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is the Golgari mirror match when both players have one of these out. Some ridiculously complicated stalemate scenarios can arise with both players keeping up with the other in creature count and neither willing to attack because the resulting back-and-forth triggering of the Grave Pacts will wipe the entire board.
Then when you consider that at least one of them probably has a Blood Artist out, things get really interesting.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@XaiviarNightwing That doesn't quite work. You can't target the apprentice necromancer with his own ability. It goes like this: Choose targets for ability. Pay activation cost of ability to put ability on the stack. Resolve ability (assuming no responses)
There is no time for anyone to react during this process, but you can't target the same apprentice necromancer with his own ability. You can, however, use another apprentice necromancer.
This card is a classic. So insanely powerful and combo-tastic. I use it in my Vish Kal EDH deck to make his abilities even more scary. I sacrifice tokens, bloodghast, solemn simulacrum, and sometimes, when I'm feeling mean, I sacrifice yosei.
Dwst
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Concerned I have the timing details down properly:
Grave Pact in play - Cast Bone Splinters that has a cost of sacrificing a creature to destroy a creature - Target of Bone Splinters is declared as creature is sacrificed - sacrificed creature triggers Grave Pact forcing a creature sacrifice in response - opponent can choose the targeted creature as the response sac, right? so only one creature ends up dying from Bone Splinters effect? Hoping y'all can convince me otherwise ---
Kariuko
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Dwst, that sounds right to me. If you have stuff of your own you don't mind destroying or that you actually want it to get destroied, you could also target one of your own creatures, making them sac 2 for your 2.
Comments (38)
Don't get me wrong, it's good in both, but the commander in Counterpunch directly contributes to saccing your own creatures.
Like Wizard Replica "
Combine with a way to give the "3/1" replica's a Persist effect, and turns there effect to making it so you have to sacrifice 2 creatures when I use their effect. xD
also, Ghave likes this card. I mean, if you needed me to tell you that, that's a LITTLE sad, but definitely this goes in every Ghave Guru of Spores deck you can think of.
EDIT: Now horrendously broken-er than before. Thank you, Innistrad and Morbid!!! ^_^
(Reaper of the Abyss is particularly evil.)
Still Gravepact is phenomenal. Run with Fleshbag Marauder, evoke creatures, Eldrazi spawn, or whatever. It's just that good. If you want to be extra brutal, run it with Karmic Justice and Martyr's Bond.
It's almost always worth it if you can spare 4 mana (which you almost always can in Commander/EDH, though the heavy color requirement may hurt a bit there).
I'm tempted to put it in every black deck I make, and I don't like cards that are that good. Yeah, the mana cost is very black-intensive, but if your opponent doesn't have a way to get rid of this (and not every color does) it's basically a guaranteed win, and not a very creative one. Butcher of Malakir is a much fairer version of this card. We've banned this in my playgroup because it makes games so predictable and one-sided.
pretty crazy if both you and your opponent EACH have one of these out.
Kill everything for free every round and have the fattest beetle of all time
Glissa, the Traitor
Arcbound Ravager
Ornithopter
Use the Arcbound Ravager to sacrifice the Ornithopter
Ornithopter goes to your graveyard
Grave Pact makes everyone else sac a creature
Glissa, the Traitor returns the Ornithopter from your graveyard to your hand
Play the Ornithoper again
Repeat until you opponents have no creatures
Swing with a monstrous Arcbound Ravager
Enchantment
Echo {3BBB}
Whenever a creature you control dies, each other player sacrifices a creature.
If you don't pay the Echo cost, you lose the game.
This is without adding Carnival of Souls to make it free, or then adding death's shadow to hit a opponent for 12 if you reduced your life to 1. Don't want to reduce your life total then deathgreeter will protect you, if he brings a friend then black has the lowest cost most efficient infinite life combo:
Appentice necromancer
x2 Deathgreeter s
Carnival of souls.
2 dark ritual s turn 2 for 3rd turn lulz
or ornothopter culling the weak Dark Rit for turn 1 play turn 2 lulz
Anything that dies *ever* will nuke *everything* (well, creature wise anyway.) Keep a sacrifice creature around (they're usually 1 toughness) and if they go to nuke Last Laugh, you sac the creature, everyone else sacs one, and then you're dealing about 4 damage probably, further triggering others. If they target gravepact, it goes to the graveyard (or you can sac, depending) and everything gets nuked for 2+ damage, probably cascading into more death. Fun stuff.
Then when you consider that at least one of them probably has a Blood Artist out, things get really interesting.
That doesn't quite work. You can't target the apprentice necromancer with his own ability. It goes like this:
Choose targets for ability.
Pay activation cost of ability to put ability on the stack.
Resolve ability (assuming no responses)
There is no time for anyone to react during this process, but you can't target the same apprentice necromancer with his own ability. You can, however, use another apprentice necromancer.
This card is a classic. So insanely powerful and combo-tastic. I use it in my Vish Kal EDH deck to make his abilities even more scary. I sacrifice tokens, bloodghast, solemn simulacrum, and sometimes, when I'm feeling mean, I sacrifice yosei.
Grave Pact in play -
Cast Bone Splinters that has a cost of sacrificing a creature to destroy a creature -
Target of Bone Splinters is declared as creature is sacrificed -
sacrificed creature triggers Grave Pact forcing a creature sacrifice in response -
opponent can choose the targeted creature as the response sac, right? so only one creature ends up dying from Bone Splinters effect?
Hoping y'all can convince me otherwise ---
Unfortunately for me, i can only afford Butcher of Malakir
It would be a great addition for any zombie deck.
That would be one heck of a beatstick! Especially, in Multiplayer!