Charnel Serenade MTG Card


The card can turn previous creature losses into significant power boosts on the board. Charnel Serenade’s instant speed allows surprise tactics that can dramatically shift gameplay. Mana specificity and discard requirements reveal this card’s tactical investment considerations.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Surveil,Suspend

Text of card

Surveil 3, then return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it. Exile Charnel Serenade with three time counters on it. Suspend 3—


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Charnel Serenade offers the player an opportunity to scale their army by placing a number of +1/+1 counters on creatures controlled, equivalent to the number of creatures in their graveyard. This not only bolsters the current board presence but effectively makes use of fallen creatures, turning previous losses into current advantages.

Resource Acceleration: By potentially enhancing multiple creatures, Charnel Serenade allows for an accelerated threat presence on the board. Each creature made stronger can equate to more pressure on your opponent and an increase in offensive capability, driving the game’s momentum in your favor.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Charnel Serenade at instant speed grants a substantial tactical edge. This unexpected buff during combat or at the end of your opponent’s turn can swing the tide of battle, provide defensive surprises, or even secure the game outright before the opponent has a chance to recover on their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Charnel Serenade requires a player to part with another card from their hand to play it. This can be especially taxing when players are trying to maintain a healthy hand size, potentially setting back their game strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Its mana cost is locked into a particular combination of colors, necessitating a deck that can reliably produce both. This can make the card less flexible and harder to cast in a timely manner, especially in formats where mana fixing is not as easily accessible.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Boasting a higher mana investment for its effects could place players at a tempo disadvantage. In environments where speed is essential, committing such resources might not be the most strategic choice when other options could accomplish similar goals for less.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Charnel Serenade provides a unique flexibility as it augments sacrifice-based strategies which are prevalent across various deck archetypes. Its ability to manipulate creature death can also serve as both offensive and defensive utility in game play.

Combo Potential: As a card that thrives on the demise of creatures, Charnel Serenade has the capacity to synergize with cards that benefit from or trigger off death triggers, setting the stage for powerful and possibly game-ending combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-heavy decks are common, Charnel Serenade’s value skyrockets. Its role in graveyard strategies and interaction with the board state make it a force to be reckoned with in the current competitive landscape.


How to beat

Charnel Serenade is a unique card that can significantly sway the momentum of the game in its user’s favor. This card allows players to amass a significant number of tokens which can overwhelm opponents when left unchecked. The key, therefore, lies in managing the battlefield. Counterspells are one of the most straightforward methods to prevent Charnel Serenade from resolving and altering the game state. Removal spells that can clear multiple creatures at once, like Wrath of God or Doomskar, are also effective in dealing with the tokens that it generates.

Additionally, strategies that include graveyard disruption can be pivotal. Using cards like Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus can help to mitigate the advantage gained from the creatures that Charnel Serenade would thrive upon. Enchantment removal like Disenchant or Return to Nature also become necessary when facing enchantments with the potential to generate exponential value over time.

Ultimately, being proactive and prepared for what Charnel Serenade brings to the table is critical. Using these tactics, players can ensure that their chances of victory remain high against decks utilizing this powerful enchantment.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Charnel Serenade MTG card by a specific set like Murders at Karlov Manor Commander and Murders at Karlov Manor Commander, 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 Charnel Serenade and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Charnel Serenade Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2024-02-09 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by Alex Stone.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12024-02-09Murders at Karlov Manor CommanderMKC 3362015NormalBlackAlex Stone
22024-02-09Murders at Karlov Manor CommanderMKC 262015NormalBlackAlex Stone

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Charnel Serenade has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Charnel Serenade card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2024-02-02 Cards exiled with suspend are exiled face up.
2024-02-02 Due to a recent rules change to suspend, you are no longer required to cast the suspended card as the second triggered ability of suspend resolves. Instead, as the second triggered ability resolves, you may cast the card. Timing permissions based on the card’s type are ignored. If you don’t cast the card, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2024-02-02 Exiling a card with suspend isn't casting that card. This action doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.
2024-02-02 Finality counters aren’t keyword counters, and a finality counter doesn’t give any abilities to the permanent it’s on. If that permanent loses its abilities and then would go to a graveyard, it will still be exiled instead.
2024-02-02 Finality counters don’t stop permanents from going to zones other than the graveyard from the battlefield. For example, if a permanent with a finality counter on it would be put into its owner’s hand from the battlefield, it does so normally.
2024-02-02 Finality counters work on any permanent, not only creatures. If a permanent with a finality counter on it would go to a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead.
2024-02-02 If an effect refers to a "suspended card," that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
2024-02-02 If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2024-02-02 If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card's owner's next upkeep.
2024-02-02 If the second triggered ability is countered, the card can't be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it's no longer suspended.
2024-02-02 If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it's exiled.
2024-02-02 If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," such as with suspend, you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those if you want to cast the card.
2024-02-02 Multiple finality counters on a single permanent are redundant.
2024-02-02 Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that gives you the option to cast the card when the last time counter is removed.
2024-02-02 The creature card you choose doesn’t need to be a card you put in your graveyard with surveil. You may choose a creature card that was already in your graveyard before you surveilled.
2024-02-02 The mana value of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn't paid.
2024-02-02 When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) triggers. It doesn't matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
2024-02-02 You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage's ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.