Corpse Appraiser MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Vampire Rogue
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Corpse Appraiser grants card advantage, previews threats, and sets up strategic plays against opponents.
  2. While ramping up mana, it demands precise mana colors and may disrupt your hand composition.
  3. It’s adaptable, meta-relevant, and excels with graveyard strategies, despite its higher casting cost.

Text of card

When Corpse Appraiser enters the battlefield, exile up to one target creature card from a graveyard. If a card is put into exile this way, look at the top three cards of your library, then put one of those cards into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.

"Scarcely a mark. A true work of art!"


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Corpse Appraiser provides a significant edge by allowing you to explore the top three cards of a player’s library upon entering the battlefield, effectively setting the stage for strategic planning. This filtering capability ensures that you remain steps ahead by knowing upcoming threats or key cards.

Resource Acceleration: By exiling a creature card from a graveyard and creating a treasure token, Corpse Appraiser not only disrupts your opponent’s graveyard strategies but also ramps up your mana resources. This acceleration can be pivotal, particularly when aiming to outpace opponents in longer, grindier matches.

Instant Speed: With the versatility of instant speed, Corpse Appraiser can offer strategic surprises during your play. You can maximize this potential by waiting for the optimal moment to play it, ensuring that your response is always timely and impactful within the ever-evolving game state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Corpse Appraiser’s activation necessitates the discard of another creature card, which might not always be advantageous. In scenarios where your hand is already depleted or you’re holding crucial non-creature cards, this requirement can backfire, leaving you in a less favorable position on the battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise blend of mana, one black and one blue, to be cast. The necessity for dual colors can sometimes complicate your mana base, especially in multi-colored decks that might not always have the right mana available at the right time.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total casting cost of three mana, Corpse Appraiser might come into play later than some would prefer. In the fast-paced environment of competitive play, where efficiency is key, there are alternatives that could be played earlier or provide more immediate impact to the board state for a similar investment.


Reasons to Include Corpse Appraiser in Your Collection

Versatility: Corpse Appraiser excels in decks that utilize the graveyard, allowing for efficient utilization of resources. Its ability to draw cards while affecting the battlefield makes it a valuable addition to various strategic builds.

Combo Potential: This card has the capacity to synergize with graveyard-centric combos, amplifying strategies focused on reanimation or graveyard manipulation, turning once dormant graveyard cards into pivotal game changers.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of graveyard-based strategies in many metagames, Corpse Appraiser finds its place by disrupting opponents’ plans while bolstering your card advantage, making it a relevant play in diverse competitive scenes.


How to Beat Corpse Appraiser

Corpse Appraiser is an intriguing card that holds its ground in the intricate world of Magic: The Gathering. Boasting the ability to sift through graveyards and potentially draw cards, it poses a unique challenge to opponents. When aiming to counteract this card’s effects, understanding its mechanics is crucial. It excels in formats rich in creatures like Commander, where graveyards often overflow with potential targets.

To tackle this, focus on graveyard hate strategies. Cards that exile entire graveyards, like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, can nullify the benefits provided by Corpse Appraiser. Timing is also key. Playing these hate cards before Corpse Appraiser hits the table leaves it a mere body with no added value. Similarly, using instant speed removal on the Appraiser before its triggered ability resolves means your opponent won’t reap any benefits.

Ultimately, prevailing over Corpse Appraiser requires strategic foresight and a readiness to disrupt graveyard-focused strategies. By keeping graveyards clean or being prompt with removal, you can diminish the card’s impact, maintaining an edge in your MTG matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Corpse Appraiser offers MTG enthusiasts a clever way to gain insights into an opponent’s strategy while simultaneously ramping up your own game. Its skill in analyzing and acting upon the contents of any graveyard could be a game-changer in your matches. As you explore the synergies and contexts in which Corpse Appraiser shines, consider the balance between its advantages and the precision required to maximize its potential. For those ready to deepen their understanding of the game and refine their deck-building strategies, our platform is the perfect place. We encourage you to join our community, enrich your MTG knowledge, and find the best ways to incorporate Corpse Appraiser into your collection.


Cards like Corpse Appraiser

In the realm of creature-centric strategies in Magic: The Gathering, Corpse Appraiser emerges as a unique card that offers both graveyard interaction and advantage. It’s akin to cards like Ravenous Chupacabra, which also allows you to deal with opposing threats directly. However, Corpse Appraiser is distinct with its added ability that explores the opponent’s graveyard, offering strategic information and potentially exiling key cards your opponent might recur later.

Another card worth mentioning is Sower of Temptation, which involves taking control of an opponent’s creature. While it doesn’t provide the same type of graveyard disruption, it does impact the board significantly. Corpse Appraiser offers a different angle of focus, leaning towards long-term tactical gains rather than immediate board presence. Then there’s the Nezumi Graverobber, which flips into a creature that can resurrect creatures from any graveyard, sharing graveyard interaction traits but focusing more on benefiting the controller directly.

Examining various options in this category shows Corpse Appraiser’s strengths, specifically in decks that can leverage the knowledge and disrupt opponents’ graveyard plans while developing their own board state.

Ravenous Chupacabra - MTG Card versions
Sower of Temptation - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Chupacabra - MTG Card versions
Sower of Temptation - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Corpse Appraiser MTG card by a specific set like Streets of New Capenna and Streets of New Capenna, 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 Corpse Appraiser and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Corpse Appraiser Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-04-29 and 2022-04-29. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12022-04-29Streets of New CapennaSNC 1782015NormalBlackJosh Hass
22022-04-29Streets of New CapennaSNC 3022015NormalBlackJustin Hernandez & Alexis Hernandez
32022-04-29Streets of New CapennaSNC 3672015NormalBlackJustin Hernandez & Alexis Hernandez

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Corpse Appraiser has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal