Embalmer's Tools MTG Card

Embalmer’s Tools aids graveyard strategies, increasing gameplay options through self-mill mechanics. It boosts the efficiency of zombie abilities, allowing for quicker, more streamlined play. Despite its potential, it demands specific mana and could impose limitations in deck versatility.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact
Abilities	Mill
Released	2017-04-28
Set symbol
Set name	Amonkhet
Set code	AKH
Number	227
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Adrian Majkrzak

Text of card

Activated abilities of creature cards in your graveyard cost less to activate. Tap an untapped Zombie you control: Target player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

"They might be dead, but these mummies are masters of their trade." —Jace Beleren

Cards like Embalmer's Tools

As keen MTG deck builders explore the myriad of utility artifacts available, Embalmer’s Tools often catches their eye. It stands side by side with items like Altar of the Brood in the family of artifacts that impact graveyards. Each has its unique approach; Embalmer’s Tools focuses on offering utility to cards in the graveyard, allowing players to tap creature cards and make the opponent put the top card of their library into their graveyard. Altar of the Brood, conversely, is less specific and targets the opponent’s deck each time a permanent enters the battlefield under your control.

Another interesting comparison is Mesmeric Orb, a card that mills opponents as they untap. Unlike Embalmer’s Tools, which is a controlled tap ability, Mesmeric Orb works with every untap and affects each player, not just the opponent. This indiscriminate approach can either be a downside or an upside, depending on the strategy employed. Embalmer’s Tools is strategic in its singular focus and beneficial for decks with graveyard synergy. The utility Embalmer’s Tools provides can be a turning point in games, specifically when combined with self-mill strategies to reap advantages from one’s own graveyard.

When evaluating graveyard-interacting artifacts, Embalmer’s Tools is a robust selection for MTG aficionados crafting decks that benefit from and manipulate the graveyard directly. Its specialized nature gives it a distinct role, giving players who employ it cleverly a subtle edge in their gameplay.

Cards similar to Embalmer's Tools by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Embalmer’s Tools can be instrumental in utilizing your graveyard, effectively turning it into an extension of your hand. By enabling you to tap unused creatures to mill your library, you increase the potential to put more creature cards in your graveyard, thus broadening your resources and giving you more options for gameplay.

Resource Acceleration: In decks that focus on graveyard strategies, the Tools offer a unique type of resource acceleration. By reducing the mana cost of zombie creature abilities, you can activate these abilities more often and more efficiently, streamlining your strategy and paving the way for a swifter victory.

Instant Speed: While Embalmer’s Tools itself isn’t an instant, it allows you to utilize your creatures at instant speed. This way, you can wait until the most strategic moment during your opponent’s turn to tap your creatures, mill yourself, and enhance your graveyard for future moves, keeping your adversaries constantly on their toes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Embalmer’s Tools comes with a built-in specification that necessitates a discard action from the player to activate its full potential. This can deplete your hand quickly, leaving you at a disadvantage in the late game or when facing strategies that inhibit card draw.

Specific Mana Cost: Mana costs influence deck synergy and Embalmer’s Tools requires specific color alignment. With a cost that includes colorless and black mana, it naturally fits into black-based decks, but may not blend as seamlessly with multi-color decks that don’t heavily feature black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating artifacts that impact gameplay, the four total mana to cast Embalmer’s Tools can be a hindrance. Given other artifacts or cards in its mana range, a player might find greater versatility or immediate impact elsewhere, potentially relegating Embalmer’s Tools to a lesser priority in deck construction.

Reasons to Include Embalmer’s Tools in Your Collection

Versatility: Embalmer’s Tools offers a unique function by allowing you to tap your creatures to help you mill your opponent, an action usually reserved for tapping artifacts or lands. This dynamic can be adapted into various deck types that synergize with graveyard mechanics or strategies that aim to exhaust an opponent’s library.

Combo Potential: For decks revolving around graveyard strategies, this card shines by enabling your creatures to contribute to your overarching game plan even when they’re out of summoning sickness. It works exceptionally well with creature abilities that trigger upon entering the graveyard or when other creatures die.

Meta-Relevance: In game formats where graveyard interactions are key, such as Commander or Limited, Embalmer’s Tools can become a vital piece to outmaneuver your opponents. Its ability to subtly alter the battlefield dynamics makes it a nuanced addition that can prove beneficial against various decks in the meta.

How to beat

Embalmer’s Tools is an intriguing artifact that brings a unique dynamic to Magic: The Gathering matches, allowing players to strengthen their graveyard strategies. This advantage, however, can be countered effectively. Targeted removal such as Naturalize, which directly destroys artifacts, can dismantle an opponent’s setup dependent on Embalmer’s Tools. Similarly, other artifact removal spells like Abrade or Disenchant can be used efficiently to interrupt and suppress the Tools’ utility, ensuring that a player’s graveyard doesn’t become overly potent.

Another strategy is to focus on graveyard hate cards, such as Relic of Progenitus or Leyline of the Void, which can invalidate the benefits of Embalmer’s Tools by purging the graveyard itself. With these strategies in place, players can level the playing field, mitigating the potential for their opponent to gain advantage through creatures in the graveyard and making Embalmer’s Tools less of a threat in the game’s progression.

Conclusively, while Embalmer’s Tools can be a strong asset in the proper deck, there is a variety of strategies to ensure it doesn’t tip the scales too far in favor of those who would use it to exploit the synergy between the graveyard and the battlefield.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Embalmer's Tools MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet, 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 Embalmer's Tools and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Embalmer's Tools has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2017-04-18	Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “ -ost: -ffect].” Some keyword abilities (such as embalm) are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text.
2017-04-18	Any untapped Zombie you control can be tapped to pay the second ability’s activation cost, even one that just came under your control.
2017-04-18	You can’t normally activate abilities of cards in graveyards. Those that you can activate are those that instruct you to move the card out of a graveyard, or those that specifically say that you can activate them if the card is in your graveyard.