Gyrus, Waker of Corpses MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Hydra
Power 0
Toughness 0

Key Takeaways

  1. Gyrus thrives on board presence, reanimating creatures to leverage enter-the-battlefield effects.
  2. The commander serves as a resource accelerator, using the graveyard as an extended hand.
  3. It encourages decks built with instant-speed interactions, maximizing attack phase efficiency.

Text of card

Gyrus, Waker of Corpses enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the amount of mana spent to cast it. Whenever Gyrus attacks, you may exile target creature card with lesser power from your graveyard. If you do, create a token that's a copy of that card and that's tapped and attacking. Exile the token at end of combat.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gyrus, Waker of Corpses thrives on providing incremental advantage by reanimating creatures from your graveyard whenever it attacks. This not only populates the board but also gives access to creatures’ enter-the-battlefield abilities or other triggered effects, thus leveraging the resources from your graveyard to keep your hand full.

Resource Acceleration: As a commander, Gyrus can be particularly potent. It offers a unique form of resource acceleration as you can effectively utilize your graveyard as an extension of your hand, bringing back creatures with different mana costs to adapt to the evolving state of the game. This effectively bypasses the need to cast creatures from your hand, conserving your mana and other resources for crucial turns.

Instant Speed: While Gyrus itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it incentivizes a deck build that utilizes instant-speed interaction. By including cards that can fill the graveyard at instant speed, you ensure that Gyrus has plenty of targets to choose from when it swings, thus maximizing your efficiency and board presence during each of your attack phases.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When it comes to Gyrus, Waker of Corpses, players must be willing to reach into their graveyard as part of the cost for its ability. If your graveyard is lacking in creatures, you’re missing out on the card’s potential, effectively discarding the opportunity to maximize its power.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Gyrus, you are looking at a strict mana requirement that necessitates a build around Jund colors (black, red, and green). This can prove to be restrictive when deck building, as you must ensure a stable mana base to consistently summon him to the battlefield.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Gyrus brings a unique mechanic to the table, his mana cost is on the higher end. Summoning a tri-color creature with an X in its cost means that its efficiency is directly proportional to the amount of mana invested, and that can be quite steep—in terms of both quantity and color diversity—compared to other cards with similar or more impactful effects.


Reasons to Include Gyrus, Waker of Corpses in Your Collection

Versatility: Gyrus, Waker of Corpses offers a unique ability to recur creatures across multiple game phases. Its adaptability comes from its flexibility to be cast for varying amounts of mana, which can be tuned to different game states and deck strategies.

Combo Potential: The built-in reanimation effect of Gyrus presents numerous combinations with cards that have enter the battlefield abilities or other synergy with being resurrected from the graveyard. By exploiting these interactions, players can create powerful plays that leverage graveyard strategies.

Meta-Relevance: Gyrus, while may not be at the forefront of the current competitive meta, can find its place in a shifted landscape where graveyard-based play is more prevalent. Its role in a deck that aims at out-valuing opponents with recurring threats can make it a sleeper hit in certain metas.


How to beat

Gyrus, Waker of Corpses is a formidable creature card that commands attention in Magic: The Gathering. With a unique ability to bring creatures back from the graveyard to the battlefield with haste, opponents can quickly become overwhelmed. Fortunately, there are several strategies to undermine the strength of Gyrus.

Effective removal spells such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares can directly address Gyrus, taking him out of play before his ability triggers. Graveyard hate cards, like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, shut down his ability to reanimate creatures, nullifying his primary threat. Control decks equipped with counter spells also stand a good chance, as they can prevent Gyrus from ever hitting the field in the first place.

In essence, minimizing Gyrus’s impact is about disrupting key mechanics he relies on. Removal, graveyard control, and strategic counters are the cornerstones of this approach. By staying vigilant and disrupting your opponent’s gameplay, you stand a good chance of conquering the challenges posed by Gyrus, Waker of Corpses.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’ve been intrigued by the depth of tactics that Gyrus, Waker of Corpses brings to the battlefield, you know that MTG is a game of nuance and strategy. Leveraging your graveyard effectively can become a powerful avenue to victory, and Gyrus sits at the heart of that gameplay. As you fine-tune your decks and ponder your next maneuver, we invite you to dive deeper into the synergies and potential that Gyrus introduces. Ready to optimize your graveyard strategy and discover potent card interactions? Our insights can guide you to make your next game with Gyrus a resounding success. Unlock your full potential in MTG with us.


Cards like Gyrus, Waker of Corpses

Gyrus, Waker of Corpses, carves a niche for itself in the realm of creature cards that interact with the graveyard in Magic: The Gathering. Similar Eldritch aberrations include The Mimeoplasm, which also feasts on graveyards, absorbing the abilities and power of the creatures it exiles. However, Gyrus presents a unique twist by creating a token copy that’s a direct attack enabler, unlike the Mimeoplasm’s more build-around nature.

Merely glancing at Sedris, the Traitor King, reveals another comparable undead tactician. This card brings creatures back from the graveyard to the field, albeit temporarily with Unearth. The contrast lies in Gyrus’s ability to repeatedly create attacking tokens each combat, whereas Sedris offers a one-time reanimation. Another peer is Karador, Ghost Chieftain, allowing you to cast creatures from your graveyard; however, Gyrus pulls ahead in aggressive strategies by providing immediate token generation onto the battlefield.

When side by side with its counterparts, Gyrus, Waker of Corpses, offers a distinctive blend of graveyard synergy and combat focus. It stands out among MTG graveyard manipulation cards for its ability to put immediate pressure on opponents and provide recurring value each turn.

The Mimeoplasm - MTG Card versions
Sedris, the Traitor King - MTG Card versions
Karador, Ghost Chieftain - MTG Card versions
The Mimeoplasm - Commander 2011 Oversized (OCMD)
Sedris, the Traitor King - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Karador, Ghost Chieftain - Commander 2011 (CMD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gyrus, Waker of Corpses MTG card by a specific set like Treasure Chest and Commander 2018, 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 Gyrus, Waker of Corpses and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Gyrus, Waker of Corpses Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-11-16 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Slawomir Maniak.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-11-16Treasure ChestPZ2 706612015normalblackSlawomir Maniak
22018-08-09Commander 2018C18 412015normalblackSlawomir Maniak

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gyrus, Waker of Corpses has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-07-13 Although the token is attacking, it was never declared as an attacking creature (for the purposes of abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks, for example).
2018-07-13 Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied creature card will trigger when the token enters the battlefield. Any “as
-his creature card] enters the battlefield” or “
-his creature card] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the chosen creature card will also work.
2018-07-13 Gyrus’s token copies exactly what was printed on the original creature card and nothing else. It doesn’t copy any effects that modified it before it was put into your graveyard.
2018-07-13 If Gyrus enters the battlefield without being cast, then no mana was spent to cast it. It enters the battlefield without any +1/+1 counters. If no other effects are increasing its toughness at that time, it will be put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action.
2018-07-13 If another creature enters the battlefield as a copy of Gyrus, consider how much mana was spent to cast that creature to determine how many +1/+1 counters it enters with.
2018-07-13 If the copied creature card has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.
2018-07-13 The amount of mana you spent to cast Gyrus is usually equal to its converted mana cost, normally 3 plus the value chosen for X. However, you also include any additional costs you pay, including the commander tax.
2018-07-13 You choose which player or planeswalker the token is attacking. It doesn’t have to be attacking the same player or planeswalker that Gyrus is attacking.

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