Obzedat's Aid MTG Card


Obzedat's Aid - Dragon's Maze
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Released2013-05-03
Set symbol
Set nameDragon's Maze
Set codeDGM
Number89
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDan Scott

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card advantage by directly returning graveyard permanents to the battlefield.
  2. Accelerates resource use without paying high permanent mana costs.
  3. Instant-speed reanimation potential broadens strategic play possibilities.

Text of card

Return target permanent card from your graveyard to the battlefield.

"The Obzedat have revived you with purpose. Don't squander their blessing." —Teysa Karlov, Grand Envoy of Orzhov


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Obzedat’s Aid offers a unique way to recover key pieces directly from your graveyard to the battlefield, bypassing the need for drawing and casting them again, which in essence translates to a distinct form of card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: With this spell, you can immediately utilize high-value permanents from your graveyard without paying their high mana costs, essentially accelerating your resources and potentially leading to a turning point in the game.

Instant Speed: While Obzedat’s Aid operates at sorcery speed, its capability to reanimate any type of permanent means that returned instant-speed cards can immediately be impactful, providing flexibility and dynamic responses in upcoming turns.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Obzedat’s Aid allows you to return a permanent from your graveyard to the battlefield, it doesn’t change the fact that you must first have a viable target in your graveyard. This prerequisite necessitates a prior discard or a card being sent there in another way, which isn’t always a given and can result in a dead card in your hand without proper setup.

Specific Mana Cost: Obzedat’s Aid requires one white, one black, and three colorless mana, making it a color-specific card that fits primarily into Orzhov color schemes or multicolor decks. Players running monocolored or decks without access to both white and black mana will find this card incompatible with their strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Five mana is quite steep for the effect that it provides, especially in quicker formats where speed is of the essence. In the same cost range, there are alternatives that might provide more immediate impact or additional value, potentially relegating Obzedat’s Aid to a lower priority in deck building if mana efficiency is a key consideration.


Reasons to Include Obzedat’s Aid in Your Collection

Versatility: Obzedat’s Aid provides players with the flexibility to return any permanent card from their graveyard to the battlefield. This ability is not restricted by card type, which means it’s a valuable addition to decks that rely on key artifacts, enchantments, creatures, or planeswalkers.

Combo Potential: With the right setup, Obzedat’s Aid can reanimate powerful combinations that can swing the game in your favor. It enables various strategies, such as bringing back a game-winning enchantment or a creature that complements your board state seamlessly.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where graveyard interaction is crucial, having access to a card that can directly retrieve high-value permanents is of significant advantage. Its capacity to turn the tides by recovering a pivotal piece of your strategy makes it a worthy contender in various metagames.


How to beat

Obzedat’s Aid is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering that defies the typical rhythm of gameplay with its ability to return any permanent card from your graveyard to the battlefield. This can swing the momentum significantly, often bringing back high-value creatures or game-changing enchantments. It’s a distinct capability that traditional removal spells can struggle to contend with, given its broad reanimation target range.

To successfully tackle Obzedat’s Aid, it’s essential to employ strategies such as graveyard hate. Cards like Scavenging Ooze or Rest in Peace can interfere with your opponent’s graveyard, making it challenging to utilize Obzedat’s Aid effectively. Additionally, counterspells like Negate or Dovin’s Veto are paramount in blue-based control decks, offering a direct and preemptive measure against this powerful sorcery. Keeping the graveyard under control or countering Obzedat’s Aid outright can turn the tides, ensuring that the lost treasures of the graveyard remain out of reach.

In conclusion, while Obzedat’s Aid can be a formidable card, incorporating graveyard management and counter strategies into your deck enhances your ability to mitigate its impact and secure victory in your MTG matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

As you refine your MTG plays, considering the strategic use of Obzedat’s Aid could bring a transformative edge to your deck. This card’s capacity to recover key permanents is an asset, offering unparalleled versatility and the chance to turn the tide in your favor. Understanding its strengths and limitations is crucial, and incorporating suitable support cards will maximize its effectiveness. If you’re looking to harness the full potential of your graveyard and surprise your opponents with unexpected comebacks, add Obzedat’s Aid to your collection and explore the breadth of its power. Dive deeper with us and unlock new dimensions of your MTG strategy.


Cards like Obzedat's Aid

Obzedat’s Aid is an intriguing card within the realm of Magic the Gathering, offering players a unique effect of returning a permanent card from the graveyard to the battlefield. This utility is reminiscent of the powerful capabilities seen in cards like Zombify, poised to resurrect only creature cards. Nevertheless, Obzedat’s Aid broadens the horizon with its potential to recover any permanent type, be it artifact, creature, enchantment, or land, making its flexibility its strength.

Comparably, there’s the versatility of Beacon of Unrest. While sharing the reanimation theme, Beacon of Unrest is capable of targeting both artifacts and creatures, though not enchantments or lands. Additionally, it includes the advantage of being shuffled back into one’s library, offering recurring value. Conversely, the specificity of Resurrection and Animate Dead cannot be overlooked, as they strictly focus on creatures, potentially at a lower mana cost, but without the adaptability Obzedat’s Aid provides.

In essence, Obzedat’s Aid positions itself as a valuable tool in MTG for players who seek a wide-ranging recovery option in their decks, surpassing the limitations of similar spells in terms of card type eligibility and expanding strategic opportunities on the battlefield.

Zombify - MTG Card versions
Beacon of Unrest - MTG Card versions
Resurrection - MTG Card versions
Animate Dead - MTG Card versions
Zombify - Odyssey (ODY)
Beacon of Unrest - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Resurrection - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Animate Dead - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)

Cards similar to Obzedat's Aid by color, type and mana cost

Culling Sun - MTG Card versions
Unburial Rites - MTG Card versions
March from the Tomb - MTG Card versions
Rise to Glory - MTG Card versions
Graceful Restoration - MTG Card versions
Culling Sun - Guildpact (GPT)
Unburial Rites - Shadows of the Past (SIS)
March from the Tomb - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)
Rise to Glory - Theros Beyond Death (THB)
Graceful Restoration - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Obzedat's Aid MTG card by a specific set like Dragon's Maze, 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 Obzedat's Aid and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Obzedat's Aid has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-04-15 A permanent card is an artifact card, a creature card, an enchantment card, a land card, or a planeswalker card.
2013-04-15 If the target is an Aura card, you choose what it will enchant as Obzedat’s Aid resolves. If there’s nothing legal for it to enchant, it stays in the graveyard.

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