From the Catacombs MTG Card
2022-06-10 - Number 671
2022-06-10 - Number 623
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Abilities | Escape |
Text of card
Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control with a corpse counter on it. If that creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else. You take the initiative. Escape—, Exile five other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.)
Cards like From the Catacombs
From the Catacombs is a thriller from the depths of your deck, particularly memorable for its potential in the right setting. Just like its shadowy counterparts, zombifying cards like Gravecrawler or Relentless Dead, From the Catacombs brings creatures back from the graveyard. However, From the Catacombs allows you to unearth any creature for a potentially game-swinging play. Gravecrawler, basking in simplicity, can only resurrect itself and requires a zombie on the board but does so for a mere single black mana. Conversely, Relentless Dead also returns only itself but offers a second chance to bring another zombie from graveyard to hand.
When side by side with the more versatile Zombify, which returns any creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, From the Catacombs also nudges ahead with its cheaper casting cost. Zombify does not rely on conditions beyond the four mana casting cost and the creature in the graveyard, but it doesn’t offer the sneak attack speed of From the Catacombs.
Ultimately, while each of these cards carry their own weight and utility, From the Catacombs stands out for its flexibility and strategic depth, giving players a chance to shift the tides in their favor quickly and unexpectedly.
Cards similar to From the Catacombs by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using From the Catacombs. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Reanimator | Legacy | Reanimator | Legacy Challenge 32 2024-02-17 |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The From the Catacombs card enables players to reclaim creatures from their graveyard, offering a significant boost in card advantage. This recurring ability ensures a consistent flow of threats back to the battlefield, keeping the opponent on the defensive.
Resource Acceleration: By returning creatures to play, From the Catacombs efficiently converts a static resource (the graveyard) into an active one (the battlefield), effectively speeding up the deployment of your strategies and overwhelming your adversaries with reanimated forces.
Instant Speed: From the Catacombs’ capability to act at instant speed gives players the leeway to end their turn without committing resources, retaining the element of surprise. This allows for tactical responses to the evolving game state, disrupting opponent’s plans by reviving key creatures at just the right moment.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The intricacies of gameplay extend to managing your hand effectively, and From the Catacombs requires you to discard a card to activate certain abilities. This can put you at a disadvantage, especially during late-game scenarios where every card in hand is crucial to securing victory.
Specific Mana Cost: Deck construction demands versatility and the liberty to splash various colors, however, From the Catacombs comes with a mana cost that is stringent and color-specific. This necessitates a commitment to that particular mana color, potentially constricting deck-building options and strategy agility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to competitive MTG play. While From the Catacombs may offer tantalizing abilities, the mana cost to unleash these powers is on the higher end. Savvy players often look for cards that provide similar effects or better synergy at a lower mana investment, making From the Catacombs a less desirable choice in a fast-paced metagame.
Reasons to Include From the Catacombs in Your Collection
Versatility: From the Catacombs stands out for its flexibility, seamlessly sliding into various deck archetypes. Its ability to impact the board immediately makes it a valuable asset for both aggressive and controlling strategies.
Combo Potential: This card opens doors to multiple synergies, with its graveyard interaction being a potent enabler for strategies that revolve around returning creatures or spells from the graveyard to the battlefield or hand.
Meta-Relevance: Considering the current metagame’s tilt towards graveyard-based strategies, From the Catacombs could play a pivotal role, granting you an edge by exploiting commonly filled graveyards and disrupting opponents’ plans.
How to beat
From the Catacombs is a card that can be a linchpin in graveyard-themed decks within the Magic: The Gathering realm. Notably, it functions by reanimating creatures directly into play, bypassing typical casting procedures. Though formidable, countering this card requires precise strategy. One effective technique is leveraging graveyard hate cards, such as Nihil Spellbomb or Bojuka Bog, to purge the graveyard of potential targets before they can be resurrected.
Furthermore, instant-speed removal spells are crucial when handling creatures brought back by From the Catacombs. Having a Path to Exile or a Murderous Rider handy when a creature is reanimated can neutralize immediate threats. It is also a valid strategy to use counter spells like Negate or Dovin’s Veto to preemptively stop From the Catacombs from hitting the field successfully.
Studying the subtleties of the card and its interplay with other MTG strategies reveals avenues to weaken its impact. By anticipating its execution and preparing with disruptive plays, players can undermine the advantages From the Catacombs offers, affirming the importance of adaptability and foresight in Magic: The Gathering.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase From the Catacombs MTG card by a specific set like Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate and Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, 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 From the Catacombs and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
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- MTG Mint Card
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Printings
The From the Catacombs Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-06-10 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by Ben Wootten.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022-06-10 | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | CLB | 671 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ben Wootten | |
| 2 | 2022-06-10 | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | CLB | 623 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ben Wootten |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where From the Catacombs has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering From the Catacombs card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-06-10 | A player who currently has the initiative may take the initiative again. This causes that player to venture into Undercity again, but does not cause them to have multiple initiative designations. |
| 2022-06-10 | After From the Catacombs resolves, it returns to your graveyard. From there, you can use the escape ability to cast it again. Of course, you'll need five more cards to exile. |
| 2022-06-10 | Escape's permission doesn't change when you may cast the spell from your graveyard. |
| 2022-06-10 | If a card has multiple abilities giving you permission to cast it, such as two escape abilities or an escape ability and a flashback ability, you choose which one to apply. The others have no effect. |
| 2022-06-10 | If a card with escape is put into your graveyard during your turn, you'll be able to cast it right away if it's legal to do so, before an opponent can take any actions. |
| 2022-06-10 | If the player with the initiative leaves the game, the active player takes the initiative at the same time that player leaves the game. If the active player is leaving the game or if there is no active player, the next player in turn order takes the initiative. |
| 2022-06-10 | If you aren’t in a dungeon when instructed to venture into Undercity, you will put Undercity into the command zone and move your venture marker to Secret Entrance (the first room). |
| 2022-06-10 | If you cast a spell with its escape permission, you can't choose to apply any other alternative costs or to cast it without paying its mana cost. If it has any additional costs, you must pay those. |
| 2022-06-10 | If you’re already in a dungeon when instructed to venture into Undercity, you move to the next room of that dungeon. If you are already in the last room, you will complete that dungeon and start Undercity. This is true whether you’re already in Undercity or any other dungeon. |
| 2022-06-10 | In a Two-Headed Giant game, if both players on a team deal combat damage to the player that has the initiative at the same time, the player with the initiative will choose the order of the triggered abilities. Then, as those abilities resolve, one team member takes the initiative (and ventures into Undercity) and then the other team member does the same. The last player to take the initiative keeps it until the initiative changes again. |
| 2022-06-10 | Once you begin casting a spell with escape, it immediately moves to the stack. Players can't take any other actions until you're done casting the spell. |
| 2022-06-10 | Only one player can have the initiative at a time. As one player takes the initiative, any other player that had the initiative ceases to have it. |
| 2022-06-10 | Similarly, when instructed to venture into Undercity, you can’t start a dungeon that isn’t Undercity. |
| 2022-06-10 | The corpse counter is only to help remind you which creatures will be exiled if they would leave the battlefield. If you somehow remove a corpse counter from a creature that was put onto the battlefield this way, the replacement effect that will exile it continues to apply. Similarly, moving the corpse counter onto another creature has no effect on that creature; the replacement effect will continue to apply to the original creature. |
| 2022-06-10 | The initiative is a designation a player can have. A player with the initiative designation is said to “have the initiative.” The initiative carries two inherent rules. First, whenever a player takes the initiative, and at the beginning of the upkeep of the player with the initiative, that player ventures into Undercity. Second, whenever one or more creatures a player controls deal combat damage to the player who has the initiative, the first player takes the initiative. Also, some abilities will refer to having the initiative and provide other benefits. |
| 2022-06-10 | There is no initiative in a game until an effect instructs a player to take the initiative. Once a player is instructed to do this, they have the initiative until another player takes the initiative. |
| 2022-06-10 | To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as an escape cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was and no matter whether an alternative cost was paid. |
| 2022-06-10 | You cannot venture into Undercity unless instructed to do so, either because you have the initiative at the beginning of your upkeep or because you take the initiative. Notably, if you aren’t in a dungeon and an effect instructs you to venture into the dungeon (not venture into Undercity), you can’t start Undercity. |