Balduvian Dead MTG Card
1996-06-10 - Number 43
2006-07-21 - Number 43
2008-09-22 - Number 79
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Zombie |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Text of card
o R: Remove target summon card in your graveyard from the game to put a Graveborn token into play. Treat this token as a 3/1 black and red creature that can attack the turn it comes into play. Bury Graveborn token at end of turn.
Cards like Balduvian Dead
The Balduvian Dead is a niche creature card in Magic: The Gathering that offers both a rugged defense and a nuanced way of generating creature tokens. When looking at other cards with the ability to create creatures, one might draw comparisons to Rukh Egg. Unlike Balduvian Dead, Rukh Egg requires destruction to churn out a creature token, which, while being a larger token, doesn’t offer the recurring utility.
Another card that echoes the concept of token generation is Sengir Autocrat. Although it provides an instant army of tokens upon entering the battlefield, these tokens disappear with the Autocrat, differing from the sustainable token production provided by the Balduvian Dead’s activation cost. Furthermore, Raise the Alarm stands out as an efficient way to quickly create two tokens at instant speed, which can be crucial for defensive or offensive strategies. However, it lacks the staying power and the strategic depth granted by a repeatable token creation ability that Balduvian Dead possesses.
Analyzing these cards highlights the strategic value inherent in the Balduvian Dead’s design for MTG players who favor control and gradual strength building. As a result, it holds a unique place among creature generation cards within the game.
Cards similar to Balduvian Dead by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Balduvian Dead card offers a strategic advantage by allowing you to recur it from your graveyard to the battlefield. This reusability potentially leads to increased card advantage as you’re effectively utilizing the same card multiple times throughout the course of the game.
Resource Acceleration: By providing a creature token upon leaving the graveyard, Balduvian Dead can contribute to resource acceleration. These tokens can be leveraged for various strategies, including sacrificing for mana, increasing your creature count, or executing combo plays that require a specific number of creatures.
Instant Speed: While the card itself may not be an instant, its activation from the graveyard can be done at the end of an opponent’s turn, mimicking instant speed utility. This flexibility allows for clever timing, giving players the opportunity to strategically plan their moves during the opponent’s end step, ensuring they keep the tempo and maintain board presence.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Balduvian Dead necessitates discarding a card as part of its unearth ability. This can be a strategic setback, particularly in game scenarios where your hand is already depleted, leaving you with fewer options to respond to opponents’ moves.
Specific Mana Cost: To cast Balduvian Dead, you need both red and black mana. This dual mana requirement makes the card less flexible, requiring a deck that can reliably produce both colors, potentially limiting its inclusion in mono-colored or certain multi-colored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost requiring four mana, including two that are color-specific, Balduvian Dead might be considered a lofty investment. For players aiming for a lean and efficient deck build, there might be alternate cards that offer greater utility or impact for the same, or even a lower, mana cost.
Reasons to Include Balduvian Dead in Your Collection
Versatility: Balduvian Dead offers a unique utility in graveyard-centric decks. It can act as both an offensive and defensive tool, allowing players to reanimate creatures for key blocking or attacking moments.
Combo Potential: This card interacts well with strategies focused on sacrifice and recursion. Its ability to return a creature from the graveyard to play, even if temporarily, opens up opportunities for various combo plays.
Meta-Relevance: In metagames where control decks are prevalent, Balduvian Dead’s resilience against removal due to its reanimation ability could give you a persistent threat that’s difficult for opponents to fully neutralize.
How to beat
The Balduvian Dead card presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to consistently reanimate a creature token. This ability provides its controller with a steady steam of blockers or minor offensive threats. However, there are several strategies that can effectively neutralize this persistent threat. Graveyard hate, such as cards like Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus, can shut down the Balduvian Dead’s reanimation ability by removing the graveyard as a resource altogether.
Additionally, enchantment removal spells like Disenchant or Naturalize offer a straightforward solution by targeting the enchantment directly, leaving the opponent without their precious token generator. Lastly, using exile effects is another solid strategy. Cards like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares can remove the created tokens and prevent them from being a recurring nuisance. It’s important to handle the Balduvian Dead with a mix of foresight and prompt removal to keep it from overwhelming the game.
In essence, while the Balduvian Dead can be a resilient and frustrating card to face, employing the right removal tools and strategies will ensure that this undead adversary does not dominate the game.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Balduvian Dead MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Coldsnap Theme Decks, 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 Balduvian Dead and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Balduvian Dead Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Mike Kimble.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-06-10 | Alliances | ALL | 43 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Mike Kimble | |
| 2 | 2006-07-21 | Coldsnap Theme Decks | CST | 43 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Mike Kimble | |
| 3 | 2008-09-22 | Masters Edition II | ME2 | 79 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Mike Kimble |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Balduvian Dead has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Balduvian Dead card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-10-01 | If the ability is activated during a turn’s Ending phase (after any “at the beginning of the End step” triggers would have triggered that turn), the Graveborn token will remain on the battlefield until the following turn’s End step. |