Grave Strength MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Mill

Key Takeaways

  1. Grave Strength excels in self-mill or reanimator decks, enhancing creatures while milling your library.
  2. It demands strategic play, being sorcery speed, and provides unique graveyard synergies.
  3. Counter with graveyard disruption or instant-speed removal to neutralize its benefits.

Text of card

Choose target creature. Put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard, then put a +1/+1 counter on that creature for each creature card in your graveyard.

So long as death follows life, the supply lines of the Sultai will never be cut.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: By enhancing a creature with the top cards from your library, Grave Strength efficiently utilizes your graveyard as a resource. This can potentially turn a smaller threat into a game-ending monster, while also providing a form of deck thinning, which can improve the quality of your subsequent draws.

Resource Acceleration: Grave Strength offers a unique form of acceleration by quickly populating your graveyard. This not only buffs one of your creatures but can also enable delve or other graveyard synergies, allowing you to leverage those resources to gain an edge over your opponent.

Instant Speed: While Grave Strength is not an instant, its effect being at sorcery speed means it requires strategic planning to maximize its potential. The right timing can catch an opponent off-guard, turning a seemingly harmless creature into a significant threat before the combat phase or setting up defenses that are much tougher to bypass.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Grave Strength necessitates discarding a card, which can be particularly burdensome when your hand is dwindling and each card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding one black mana, Grave Strength restricts deck-building flexibility, being less accessible to multi-color decks not heavy in black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes two generic and one black mana, there are alternative spells available that might provide a more immediate board presence or impact. This cost can be a drawback in faster-paced games where conserving mana for other spells is critical.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Grave Strength finds its place in various decks, particularly those emphasizing graveyard synergy and creature strength. By buffing a creature while milling your own library, it supports strategies central to self-mill or reanimator archetypes.

Combo Potential: This spell has great synergy with decks that capitalize on large creature graveyards. It can significantly enhance creatures that grow with graveyard size, such as Nighthowler, or enable threshold and delve mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment rich with graveyard interaction, Grave Strength shines by both powering up creatures and fueling your graveyard for further plays. Its ability to quickly turn the tide of a game makes it a tactical choice against slower, control-oriented decks.


How to beat

Grave Strength is a spell that shines in Magic: The Gathering’s vast arsenal of creature enhancement cards. Its core mechanic allows a player to dig deep into their library, placing a number of cards into the graveyard equal to the power of the targeted creature. Each creature card tossed this way bolsters that creature further with additional +1/+1 counters. Overcoming this can be as simple as maintaining a deck with ample graveyard manipulation or disruption.

Rest in Peace and Scavenging Ooze stand out as excellent countermeasures, as they either remove graveyards from the game altogether or selectively exorcise key creatures before Grave Strength can leverage them. Timing is also crucial. By utilizing instant-speed removal spells like Path to Exile or Fatal Push before Grave Strength resolves, you can thwart your opponent’s attempt to build a juggernaut, leaving their strategy in tatters. Keeping these tips in mind, you’ll be prepared to dismantle the enhance-and-conquer tactic that Grave Strength embodies.


Cards like Grave Strength

Grave Strength stands out in the category of creature strengthening spells in Magic: The Gathering, much like its counterpart, Rankle, Master of Pranks. With Grave Strength, players can give one creature a power boost, stacking it with +1/+1 counters according to the number of creature cards in their graveyard. Here, the synergy with self-mill strategies becomes clear, enabling potentially massive buffs.

Another spell that echoes this graveyard interaction is Nighthowler, which bestows a creature with power and toughness equal to the number of creature cards in all graveyards. It differs slightly by also being a creature itself, giving it a dual purpose on the battlefield. Both Grave Strength and Nighthowler shine in decks that fill the graveyard quickly, whether through self-discard or sacrifice effects.

Comparatively, Briarbridge Patrol offers a more controlled approach, amassing clues and transforming them into creature tokens. Though it does not directly increase a creature’s strength, it creates additional board presence and potential for card draw, giving a different dimension to deckbuilding strategies centered on creature advantages.

Ultimately, Grave Strength provides MTG players with a unique advantage in decks that make use of the graveyard extensively, setting it apart as a specialized and strategically pivotal spell.

Rankle, Master of Pranks - MTG Card versions
Nighthowler - MTG Card versions
Briarbridge Patrol - MTG Card versions
Rankle, Master of Pranks - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Nighthowler - Theros Promos (PTHS)
Briarbridge Patrol - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)

Cards similar to Grave Strength by color, type and mana cost

Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Demonic Tutor - MTG Card versions
Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Word of Binding - MTG Card versions
Soul Exchange - MTG Card versions
Dry Spell - MTG Card versions
Hymn to Tourach - MTG Card versions
Mind Knives - MTG Card versions
Shattered Crypt - MTG Card versions
Disturbed Burial - MTG Card versions
Death Stroke - MTG Card versions
Exhume - MTG Card versions
Imperial Edict - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Intent - MTG Card versions
Decompose - MTG Card versions
Chainer's Edict - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions
Predators' Hour - MTG Card versions
Nausea - MTG Card versions
Distress - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Demonic Tutor - Commander Masters (CMM)
Sinkhole - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Word of Binding - Renaissance (REN)
Soul Exchange - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Dry Spell - Homelands (HML)
Hymn to Tourach - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Mind Knives - Portal (POR)
Shattered Crypt - Weatherlight (WTH)
Disturbed Burial - Tempest (TMP)
Death Stroke - Stronghold (STH)
Exhume - Jumpstart (JMP)
Imperial Edict - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Diabolic Intent - Planeshift (PLS)
Decompose - Odyssey (ODY)
Chainer's Edict - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Walk the Plank - The List (PLST)
Predators' Hour - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Nausea - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Distress - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Grave Strength MTG card by a specific set like Fate Reforged and Ultimate Masters, 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 Strength and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Grave Strength Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2018-12-07. Illustrated by Jeff Simpson.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-01-23Fate ReforgedFRF 712015normalblackJeff Simpson
22018-12-07Ultimate MastersUMA 1012015normalblackJeff Simpson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Grave Strength has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

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