Rise from the Grave MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 17 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Transforms the battlefield dynamics by reanimating creatures from any graveyard to your side.
  2. Demanding deck synergy and mana, it’s less flexible but potent in black-centered play.
  3. Key in graveyard manipulation, it can disrupt opponent strategies or strengthen yours.

Text of card

Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature is a black Zombie in addition to its other colors and types.

"Death is no excuse for disobedience." —Liliana Vess


Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Rise from the Grave, you can turn the tide by bringing a creature from any graveyard directly onto the battlefield under your control. This powerful reanimation not only adds to your board presence but effectively disrupts your opponent’s future plans if their creature is selected.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating your resources, this spell does bypass the standard mana costs of high-value creatures. Reanimating a heavy hitter for a fraction of its original cost can give you a substantial lead in both board state and tempo.

Instant Speed: Although Rise from the Grave is cast at sorcery speed, its strength lies in the element of surprise during your main phase. The absence of a need to preserve mana for a reactive play allows you to optimize your turns. It positions you to make decisive, impactful moves—bringing back a pivotal creature—right before your attack phase or setting up defenses for your opponent’s turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The act of reanimating a powerful creature from the graveyard can often be pivotal in shifting the tide of a match. However, ‘Rise from the Grave’ does not incorporate an inherent discard mechanic. Nevertheless, the setup for maximizing its potential could indirectly lead to resource depletion, as you’re potentially casting other spells to fill your graveyard with valuable targets.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of ‘Rise from the Grave’ requires both black and generic mana, demanding a commitment to black within your deck’s mana base. While this is typical for resurrection spells, it does mean that the card is less flexible and cannot be easily slotted into multicolored decks that aren’t focused on black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of five mana, ‘Rise from the Grave’ is on the upper end of the mana curve for reanimation spells. This can be a significant investment, especially when faster-paced decks or those with cheaper reanimation options might allow for quicker plays or multiple actions within a single turn.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Rise from the Grave offers a dynamic element to any deck, enabling players to reanimate any creature from any graveyard. This capability gives it a spot in a wide array of black-centric or multicolored decks that can utilize the strengths of opponents’ creatures as well.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combination with strategies focused on milling or self-mill, allowing you to pull key creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield. Its synergy with sacrifice decks is also notable, providing an avenue to reuse impactful creatures multiple times.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where controlling the board and graveyard manipulation are pivotal, Rise from the Grave proves its worth. It can disrupt opponents’ strategies by snatching their best creatures or turn the tides by bringing back a powerful ally to your side of the field.


How to beat

Rise from the Grave represents a potent mechanic in MTG, capable of altering the course of a game by reanimating any creature from a graveyard to join the battlefield under your control. To undercut the effectiveness of this move, strategic graveyard disruption is essential. One effective method is employing cards such as Scavenging Ooze, which allows players to target specific creatures in graveyards, removing them from the game and negating the potential for reanimation. Another potent tool is Rest in Peace, which removes all cards in graveyards from the game upon entering the battlefield, rendering Rise from the Grave unusable.

Moreover, instant speed removal spells like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile also serve as failsafes, removing the reanimated creature from play immediately after it’s brought back, thereby maintaining the balance. Counter spell strategies can also prove invaluable; by countering Rise from the Grave as it’s cast, the threat is nullified at its source. Utilizing these tactics can ensure that any advantage your opponent might gain from Rise from the Grave is kept firmly in check, preserving your path to victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Strengthening your MTG arsenal with Rise from the Grave can be a game-changer. Beyond its ability to reincarnate formidable creatures, its contribution to strategic depth can’t be overstated. As you explore this enchanting world, remember that the capacity to adapt and innovate with cards like Rise from the Grave accelerates not just your deck’s power but your skills as a player. Whether you enjoy disrupting graveyard strategies or simply want a dependable reanimation spell, embracing this card’s potential is crucial. Dive deeper into our compendium of knowledge to perfect your strategies and enhance your MTG journey. Join us to enrich your experience and embrace the thrills of magical conquest.


Cards like Rise from the Grave

Rise from the Grave is an intriguing card that adds strategic depth to resurrection spells in Magic: The Gathering. Its nearest cousins include the likes of Zombify, which similarly brings a creature card from the graveyard to the battlefield. However, Rise from the Grave has a unique twist: it also turns the revived creature into a black Zombie in addition to its other colors and types, potentially fitting perfectly within a zombie-themed deck.

Ancestral Recall is another spell to consider in the world of reanimation. This card also retrieves a creature from the graveyard but at a lower mana cost. While it lacks the zombification aspect, it’s efficient and provides a quick solution to return valuable creatures to the fray. Unburial Rites offers a different angle with its flashback ability, allowing you another opportunity to reanimate a creature. Though it’s more expensive mana-wise, it compensates with versatility and grants a second chance even if the spell ends up in the graveyard.

Evaluating these options, Rise from the Grave holds its ground being a versatile tool, especially for decks looking to exploit zombie synergies. Its ability to alter creature types adds a layer of strategy that can tip the scales in carefully constructed decks.

Zombify - Odyssey (ODY)
Ancestral Recall - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Unburial Rites - Innistrad (ISD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rise from the Grave MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and DCI Promos, 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 Rise from the Grave and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Rise from the Grave Magic the Gathering card was released in 17 different sets between 2006-01-02 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 363002003normalblackThomas M. Baxa
22006-01-02DCI PromosPDCI 312003normalblackThomas M. Baxa
32009-07-17Magic 2010M10 1092003normalblackVance Kovacs
42010-07-16Magic 2011M11 1142003normalblackVance Kovacs
52011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 962003normalblackVance Kovacs
62012-07-13Magic 2013M13 1072003normalblackVance Kovacs
72014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. LilianaGVL 562015normalblackVance Kovacs
82015-11-13Commander 2015C15 1342015normalblackVance Kovacs
92016-07-22Eldritch MoonEMN 1022015normalblackKieran Yanner
102017-06-09Commander AnthologyCMA 652015normalblackVance Kovacs
112018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 732015normalblackVance Kovacs
122018-07-13Core Set 2019M19 1172015normalblackKieran Yanner
132018-07-14Arena New Player Experience ExtrasXANA 342015normalblackKieran Yanner
142019-11-15Game Night 2019GN2 332015normalblackKieran Yanner
152020-08-13Arena Beginner SetANB 56b2015normalblackKieran Yanner
162020-09-25Zendikar Rising CommanderZNC 532015normalblackKieran Yanner
172023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1312015normalblackKieran Yanner

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Rise from the Grave has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-07-13 A later effect that changes the affected creature’s colors will overwrite that part of Rise from the Grave’s effect; the creature will be only the new color. The same is true about an effect that changes the affected creature’s types or subtypes.
2018-07-13 If the creature is normally colorless, it will simply become black. It can’t be both black and colorless.
2018-07-13 Rise from the Grave doesn’t overwrite any previous colors or types. Rather, it adds another color and another subtype.

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