Call from the Grave MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	1997-04-01
Set symbol
Set name	Astral Cards
Set code	PAST
Number	2
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Quinton Hoover

Key Takeaways

Card advantage is maximized, simulating an extra draw with recurring creature plays.
Mana costs are effectively circumvented, offering a significant pace advantage.
Initiative is maintained with guaranteed creature revival each upkeep phase.

Text of card

Put a random creature from a random graveyard into play under your control. Call from the Grave deals to you an amount of damage equal to that creature's casting cost.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Not only does Call from the Grave bring back a creature from your graveyard each turn, but it also keeps supplying you with options, essentially drawing you an additional card to play without losing hand resources.

Resource Acceleration: By reanimating creatures, you essentially bypass their mana costs, thereby accelerating your resource utilization. This can put you turns ahead of your opponent in terms of threats on the board.

Instant Speed: While Call from the Grave doesn’t operate at instant speed, its recurring effect works during every one of your upkeep phases. This means you’re guaranteed action at the beginning of your turn, setting the pace and giving you the initiative.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One aspect that players should be aware of when considering Call from the Grave is the discard element involved. Every utilization of this card requires a player to discard another card, which can be a significant drawback when hand size is crucial for maintaining a strategic advantage on the battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: Call from the Grave comes with a specific mana demand, necessitating black mana to cast. This mono-color requirement can limit deck-building flexibility and may not fit easily into multicolor deck strategies that are short on black mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that’s on the higher end of the spectrum, Call from the Grave demands a substantial mana commitment. For the same amount of mana, players may find other cards to be more cost-effective options, providing increased value or impact to their overall game plan.

Reasons to Include Call from the Grave in Your Collection

Versatility: Call from the Grave serves as a dynamic piece in zombie-themed decks, enabling recurring threat deployment each turn. It’s capable of fitting seamlessly into various strategies that hinge on creature resurrection and board presence.

Combo Potential: This enchantment synergizes well with cards designed to take advantage of creatures entering or leaving the battlefield, thus opening the door to powerful combo plays that can overwhelm opponents.

Meta-Relevance: With graveyard manipulation and creature recursion tactics on the rise, Call from the Grave can prove to be a formidable card. It aligns well with the current trends of playing resilient and recurring threats, offering sustained value as a game progresses.

How to beat Call from the Grave

Navigating around the Call from the Grave in MTG requires both strategic smarts and a touch of savvy card selection. This card keeps the undead horde relentlessly coming back for more, making it seem an unstoppable force at times. To swing the tide in your favor, graveyard management becomes your greatest ally. Packing your deck with cards that can exile or shuffle graveyards into libraries undermines the relentless zombie resurrection.

Consider enchantment destruction or cards that specifically say “exile target creature” to directly remove the threats that Call from the Grave keeps bringing back. It also pays to have instant-speed removal to react during upkeep before the reanimation ability triggers, maximizing your flexibility to interrupt this persistent strategy. Additionally, playing aggressively and reducing your opponent’s life total quickly can force them to use resources defensively, thus weakening the overall effectiveness of their strategy.

Ultimately, countering Call from the Grave involves disrupting the graveyard mechanics, timely removal of key threats, and maintaining enough pressure to prevent your opponent from leveraging their undead army to their full advantage. Successfully managing these aspects can help you break free from the card’s tenacious grip and claim victory.

Cards like Call from the Grave

Call from the Grave is a noteworthy piece within the array of zombie-themed cards in Magic the Gathering. This card bears a resemblance to zombie-centric enchantments like Endless Ranks of the Dead, which amplifies the zombie presence on the board with each upkeep. Yet Call from the Grave stands out by bringing a zombie back from the graveyard each turn, ensuring a constant threat to opponents.

Another comparable card is Rise of the Dread Marn. Like Call from the Grave, it leverages the concept of undead resilience, but Rise of the Dread Marn’s ability triggers upon a single mass event, creating numerous zombie tokens proportionate to the creatures that died in a turn. It doesn’t offer the recur every turn that Call from the Grave does, but it can be a massive one-time army builder. Zombie Apocalypse is yet another similar card to consider, allowing for the return of all zombie creatures from the graveyard at once, which can turn the tide in a single overwhelming wave of undeath.

Overall, while each of these cards has distinct ways of populating the board with zombies, Call from the Grave maintains a unique position by providing consistent undead reinforcements turn after turn, making it a powerful engine in any zombie-themed MTG deck.

Endless Ranks of the Dead - MTG Card versions

Rise of the Dread Marn - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Call from the Grave by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Call from the Grave MTG card by a specific set like Astral Cards, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Call from the Grave and other MTG cards: