Grave Sifter MTG Card
2014-11-07 - Number 44
2017-06-09 - Number 112
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Elemental Beast |
| Power | 5 |
| Toughness | 7 |
Key Takeaways
- Grave Sifter excels in creature recovery, making it a key card for tribal decks.
- The six mana cost is a drawback but can lead to significant game swings.
- Limited to green decks, its potential is unmatched in the right strategy.
Text of card
When Grave Sifter enters the battlefield, each player chooses a creature type and returns any number of cards of that type from his or her graveyard to his or her hand.
It claws at the earth in a vain attempt to reclaim what it once was.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Grave Sifter provides an unparalleled level of card advantage for players employing creature-heavy decks. By returning all creature cards of a chosen type from your graveyard to your hand, Grave Sifter allows you to recover from board wipes and sustain your presence in the game.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources in term of mana, Grave Sifter accelerates your resource availability through creature recursion. This gives you a significant advantage by repopulating your hand with potential threats and enables synergistic play with creatures that have enter-the-battlefield effects.
Instant Speed: Grave Sifter’s ability is not at instant speed, which means strategic planning is required to maximize its potential. However, when timed well, this powerful effect can dramatically swing the game in your favor on your turn, especially after an opponent has committed to a mass removal spell.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: When you summon Grave Sifter from your hand, no immediate discard is required, ensuring your resources remain unaffected. However, the need to balance your graveyard resources in anticipation of its ability can be considered an indirect cost. Players must skillfully determine which creatures to retain in the graveyard for optimal usage.
Specific Mana Cost: The demanding green mana cost of Grave Sifter implies its inclusion is primarily in decks with a green mana base. This limitation constrains deck-building creativity and may deter players who operate multicolored or non-green decks from utilizing this creature’s potential fully.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: At six mana, Grave Sifter stands on the higher end of the mana curve. This significant cost can make it challenging to play in the early to mid-game phases, potentially giving opponents time to establish their board presence or disrupt your gameplay strategy.
Reasons to Include Grave Sifter in Your Collection
Versatility: Grave Sifter integrates seamlessly into a plethora of Commander and casual play decks that leverage creatures, specifically in strategies focused on tribal synergies. The ability to recover key creatures from the graveyard adds a layer of resilience to your gameplay.
Combo Potential: With the environment of Magic teeming with graveyard interaction, Grave Sifter acts as a critical piece in combos and can set up powerful turns, potentially returning an entire board’s worth of creatures to your hand for a formidable comeback or overwhelming advantage.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state where board wipes and creature control are common, Grave Sifter ensures that you maintain longevity, enabling you to quickly rebuild your board presence and sustain pressure on your opponents.
How to Beat
Grave Sifter is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering with the power to shift the tides of a match by allowing players to return creatures from their graveyard to their hand. While a potent ally in creature-heavy decks, overcoming Grave Sifter relies on smart and preemptive gameplay decisions. Anticipating when your opponent might deploy this card can be a game-changer.
One strategy is to limit the number of creatures that end up in your opponent’s graveyard before they have the chance to activate Grave Sifter’s effect. Graveyard hate cards, such as Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze, can efficiently keep graveyards clean and minimize the potential impact of Grave Sifter. Additionally, instant-speed removal like Path to Exile can disrupt your opponent’s timing, making it harder for them to capitalize on Grave Sifter’s ability. If Grave Sifter does make its way onto the battlefield, prioritizing the removal of key creatures from your opponent’s graveyard can still leave you in a strong position, lessening the card’s impact and keeping the Grave Sifter at bay.
Ultimately, maintaining graveyard control and aiming for timely interactions can prevent Grave Sifter from becoming a deciding factor. By remaining vigilant and leveraging the right cards, managing the threat posed by Grave Sifter can be simple, allowing you to stay ahead in the game.
Cards like Grave Sifter
Grave Sifter stands as a unique creature in MTG, providing a powerful effect to the tribal strategies especially prevalent in Commander formats. Its primary function, to selectively return creatures from the graveyard to their owners’ hands, mirrors the abilities of cards like Patriarch’s Bidding. While the Bidding resurrects all creatures of a chosen type directly onto the battlefield, Grave Sifter’s effect is more controlled, allowing players to select what enters their hand rather than the field.
Another card worth mentioning is Creeping Renaissance. Similar to Grave Sifter, it enables players to retrieve multiple creatures from the graveyard. However, Grave Sifter is creature-based and can be a recurring threat via flicker or reanimation strategies, whereas Creeping Renaissance is a one-time sorcery. Finally, there’s Living Death, which performs a grave swap, bringing back all creatures from the graveyard while removing those in play. Though this provides an immediate board impact, Grave Sifter offers more strategic planning and synergy with creature-based decks.
So, when it comes down to restoring tribes and maximizing graveyard potential, Grave Sifter provides a particular set of advantages that enrich creature-heavy and tribal decks within the rich tapestry of MTG strategies.
Cards similar to Grave Sifter by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Grave Sifter MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2014 and Commander Anthology, 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 Grave Sifter and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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 Magic products
Printings
The Grave Sifter Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2014-11-07 and 2017-06-09. Illustrated by Jesper Ejsing.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014-11-07 | Commander 2014 | C14 | 44 | 2015 | normal | black | Jesper Ejsing | |
| 2 | 2017-06-09 | Commander Anthology | CMA | 112 | 2015 | normal | black | Jesper Ejsing |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Grave Sifter has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Grave Sifter card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-11-07 | The creature type each player chooses applies only to that player. For example, if another player chose Elf, you wouldn’t return Elf cards to your hand unless you also chose Elf (or if an Elf card in your graveyard also had the creature type you chose). |
