This card has the greatest flavor text of any card ever printed.
LuckyMonkey2367
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(2 votes)
you, my friend, are awesome.
BryanFR
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
simply one of my favorite cards, just cause of the artwork and colors, Kev Walker is amazing
ToidiDiPuts
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(5 votes)
It's like a Rise from the Grave every turn for a CMC that is only higher by two, only has to be paid once, and can be paid with W and/or B instead of just B.
so powerful. 5/5
y3roc42
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(5 votes)
Kinda funny when you force the person to play a phage from the graveyard, still, 4.5/5 but only that low because I save the 5/5 for broken cards
raptorman333
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
y3roc42, you don't Force them to do anything with this enchantment.
AXER
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This card has kicked my a**. 3 Duo Color mana & 4 Colorless is a very cheap cost for what it's capable of!!!
Powereslave
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Casual fun, and that's it. Too expensive to see competitive play in any format it's legal in.
Jinx585
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
MTGfreak- if you control the enchantment, you can not make your opponent summon phage to their side of the field, it would be summoned on your side of the field... So raptor was right in thinking you don't force your opponent to do anything
pretty cool card, although I find by the time turn 7 rolls around the victor has usually been decided already... And if you cast it it won't save you until the next turn... But still good, and really fun
Playability is an optional extra for any card with this much flavour. It's unfortunate that the most flavoursome cards are nearly always unusably bad or so good you can't afford them.
no_body
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
paradox haze.
Enchantment_Removal
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I used to get so annoyed when people tried to resolve this spell. And then they try to say that they are not dangerous. Don't combo with this card. Playing it is enough. But then red players might not ever let you live to the point of having 7 mana in the future.
Evermint
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(10 votes)
Best flavor text in the entirety of Magic. It's poignant. It's succinct. It's so beautiful. If only I could find a way to play this in Legacy.
achilleselbow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm gonna try this in an EDH deck. It's a slower format, and you'll have lots of graveyards to choose from :-)
Gaussgoat
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is utterly ridonculous. It is SO good. You can combine it with a host of black removal and/or B/W removal to populate the graveyard, and then go to town.
5/5
Belz_
★☆☆☆☆ (1.7/5.0)(7 votes)
@y3roc42: You, sir, are one of those folks who don't know how to read cards.
MightyMortox
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@raptorman333 & @Belz_, this is not a "may" ability, at the beginning of your upkeep, you must put a creature from a graveyard into play under your control. That means if there is only one creature in all of the available graveyards, you must put that creature into play (forced, no choice), if an opponent can get Phage the Untouchable into the graveyard as the only creature in any graveyard, you will have to play it, and you will then lose the game. Y3roc42 was correct in his statement.
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
it is on my side bord I run a pure white deck so I would rather use Emeria, the Sky Ruin most of the time but when facing decks with stuff that works well with my deck I side it in.
Test-Subject_217601
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Combo with the Haunt mechanic.
Great_North
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Absolutely great card. Everything about this locks together perfectly and awesomely: the name, the colors, the art, the mechanics, the flavor text, UGH! SO GOOD! As for playability? Well it sure would be fun in a big multiplayer match. No one would want to get rid of it!
ratchet1215
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I really wish this card triggered both during your upkeep and when it came into play, M11 Titan style. It just has no immediate impact on the game (unlike Marshal's Anthem), and when I do get around to playing it it always gets removed.
Polychromatic
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(10 votes)
I wanna high-five whoever came up with the flavor text for this card.
supershawn
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(6 votes)
combo's with the abyss.
you get your creatures back, and if you like one of their creatures better, you can get that one instead.
*** hell I bought this card and every time I have drawn it so far I've won the game.
BUT I NEVER PLAYED THIS DAMN CARD!!!
IT JUST SAT IN MY HAND DOING NOTHING!
TWICE I HAD ENOUGH MANA TO PLAY IT BUT INSTEAD I PLAYED SOMETHING ELSE THAT WON ME THE GAME THAT VERY SAME TURN!!!!!!!
I want to play this card so bad but I can't bring myself to play it in those do or die situations that tend to come up late game when it's a choice between sacing all my creatures to ashnods alter and unearthing my corpse conesore and extractor demon and equiping the corpse connesoir with nim deathmantle and attacking for 10 sweet unblockable damage winning me the game, or saccing all me creatures to ashnods alter and playing this and gravedigger... leaving me open to my opponents 6 unblockable damage next turn, also enough to kill me.
I think I'm going to replace this card with Reya Dawnbringer despite being an all black deck I think I can get her out much faster than this.
Hayw00d0909
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Same issue as supershawn with this card, I'm sorry to say. I play a casual Reanimator, and couldn't have been happier to have opened a single copy of this beautiful card.
That was a while ago, and since then I've used it just one time, and the same turn I placed it on the battlefield, I was swinging for a win anyway after playing Living Death the turn before with a HUGE graveyard thanks to a couple Buried Alive. I almost wanted to show mercy for a single turn and let this card finally do something for me, but after 8 or so turns, the game was just too close... and I needed a win.
This situation will likely arise again, and this card will sadly prove useless to me. I don't get it... It's so color affordable, but thats just not enough I'm afraid. I love everything else about it - art, flavor and a great ability, but that god damned mana cost...
Its a shame that I might need to replace this with something a lot less satisfying.
Splizer
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
This thing has so many combos with Doomgape and similar sac engines it hurts my head.
leomistico
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(5 votes)
@Polychromatic: The flavour text is about a man dead (sense of repose), that just a moment after his death (The next moment) comes back to life against his own will. With a sense of resignation (He sighed ) he is blinded by the new-life light, and can't do anything about it...
I, too, didn't undestand the flavour text before, but thinking about it, it can be one of the most terrifying... Every word means something, and everything conveys a sense of impotence! Great flavour text!
I used to like this card but it has a very high casting cost, and despite Reya Dawnbringer it isn't a creature itself, so you can't reanimate it. However you can consider cards like Lost Auramancers (like NARFNra said) or Academy Rector...
4/5
dberry02
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
This thing is amazing simply because it isn't legendary and you can stack multiple of these in play.
One of the all time great enchantments. Hope they remember it when they do a From the Vault: Enchantments (and you know they will).
Demonic_Math_Tutor
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Some of the best artwork I have ever seen on a B/W hybrid card. But then again, there are very few B/W hybrid mana cost cards out there...
DarthParallax
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(14 votes)
See the Sword that was Broken! It has been Reforged! I am the Heir of Elendil! Fight for me, and I will hold your Oaths fulfilled!
WHAT SAY YOU?!
WhiteWizard42
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
MTGFreak: "Debtors' Knell + Reya Dawnbringer + Emeria, the Sky Ruin = 3 creatures coming back each turn!"
And if one of the creatures you reanimate is Sheoldred, Whispering One, then it gets bumped up to 4 creatures a turn.
ignaeon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Cards like this are why I say chimney imp is far from terrible.
Whitedeckftw
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Combined with the new Crypt Ghast, I think this card is definately going into my new Orzhov/Old Orzhov combined deck. It'll probably hit play at around 5th turn now.
OrphanerDualscar
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Actually my favorite card ever. The flavor alone gives me an awesome idea for a story.
One of the best uses I can imagine for this awesome card is in a Scion of the Ur-Dragon Commander deck.
"Remember all those dragons I sent to the graveyard?"
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I would put this forward as one of the cards closest to being perfect. Powerful, flavorful, thought provoking, and aesthetically pleasing. Wonderful, wonderful design.
Kirbster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A pretty nice way to cover your butt when you drop Life's Finale. First reign of everything that was in play and the three best creatures in your opponent's deck? Why not?
JimmyNoobPlayer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@überschweinen: Perhaps the same can be said of all cards. But enough talk, have at you!
Ataraxiom
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This flavourtext, more than any other, accurately describes the morning rituals of any MTG player with a 9-5 job.
Burningsickle
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
epic, and darthparallex's comment just makes it so much better.
Comments (45)
so powerful. 5/5
pretty cool card, although I find by the time turn 7 rolls around the victor has usually been decided already... And if you cast it it won't save you until the next turn... But still good, and really fun
And then they try to say that they are not dangerous.
Don't combo with this card. Playing it is enough. But then red players might not ever let you live to the point of having 7 mana in the future.
If only I could find a way to play this in Legacy.
5/5
you get your creatures back, and if you like one of their creatures better, you can get that one instead.
*** hell I bought this card and every time I have drawn it so far I've won the game.
BUT I NEVER PLAYED THIS DAMN CARD!!!
IT JUST SAT IN MY HAND DOING NOTHING!
TWICE I HAD ENOUGH MANA TO PLAY IT BUT INSTEAD I PLAYED SOMETHING ELSE THAT WON ME THE GAME THAT VERY SAME TURN!!!!!!!
I want to play this card so bad but I can't bring myself to play it in those do or die situations that tend to come up late game when it's a choice between sacing all my creatures to ashnods alter and unearthing my corpse conesore and extractor demon and equiping the corpse connesoir with nim deathmantle and attacking for 10 sweet unblockable damage winning me the game, or saccing all me creatures to ashnods alter and playing this and gravedigger... leaving me open to my opponents 6 unblockable damage next turn, also enough to kill me.
I think I'm going to replace this card with Reya Dawnbringer despite being an all black deck I think I can get her out much faster than this.
That was a while ago, and since then I've used it just one time, and the same turn I placed it on the battlefield, I was swinging for a win anyway after playing Living Death the turn before with a HUGE graveyard thanks to a couple Buried Alive. I almost wanted to show mercy for a single turn and let this card finally do something for me, but after 8 or so turns, the game was just too close... and I needed a win.
This situation will likely arise again, and this card will sadly prove useless to me. I don't get it... It's so color affordable, but thats just not enough I'm afraid. I love everything else about it - art, flavor and a great ability, but that god damned mana cost...
Its a shame that I might need to replace this with something a lot less satisfying.
The flavour text is about a man dead (sense of repose), that just a moment after his death (The next moment) comes back to life against his own will. With a sense of resignation (He sighed ) he is blinded by the new-life light, and can't do anything about it...
I, too, didn't undestand the flavour text before, but thinking about it, it can be one of the most terrifying... Every word means something, and everything conveys a sense of impotence! Great flavour text!
I used to like this card but it has a very high casting cost, and despite Reya Dawnbringer it isn't a creature itself, so you can't reanimate it. However you can consider cards like Lost Auramancers (like NARFNra said) or Academy Rector...
4/5
This + Traumatize anyone?
I am the Heir of Elendil!
Fight for me, and I will hold your Oaths fulfilled!
WHAT SAY YOU?!
And if one of the creatures you reanimate is Sheoldred, Whispering One, then it gets bumped up to 4 creatures a turn.
"Remember all those dragons I sent to the graveyard?"
5/5 because this flavor text is amazing