Grave Endeavor MTG Card


Grave Endeavor enhances card advantage by drawing cards when bringing back creatures. Instant-speed reanimation of creatures adds surprise and flexibility to gameplay. Demands strategic hand and mana management due to its casting requirements.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeInstant

Text of card

Roll two d10 and choose one result. Return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to that result. Then each opponent loses X life and you gain X life, where X is the other result.


Cards like Grave Endeavor

Grave Endeavor stands out among black spells for its unique twist on bringing creatures back from the graveyard. It has some kinship with the card Zombify, which straightforwardly brings a creature from the graveyard to the field. However, Grave Endeavor introduces a strategic layer with its dice rolling mechanism, adding unpredictability and potential for massive gains depending on the roll’s outcome.

Comparing it to Ever After, we see yet another resurrection spell, but this one reanimates two creatures and gives them additional ties. The differences highlight player preference—whether they value the direct approach of Ever After or the gamble of Grave Endeavor’s variable outcomes. Rise from the Grave is also relevant in this comparison, being similar in resurrecting any creature from any graveyard, and converting it into a Zombie, offering more control over the board state as opposed to Grave Endeavor’s chance-based resurgence.

Examining these spells together, Grave Endeavor’s place is cemented for players who enjoy a blend of strategy and randomness, presenting a unique choice in the vast array of resurrection magic within the game. Its potential for high returns makes it a notable option, especially for those willing to embrace the risks and rewards of its design.

Zombify - MTG Card versions
Ever After - MTG Card versions
Rise from the Grave - MTG Card versions
Zombify - MTG Card versions
Ever After - MTG Card versions
Rise from the Grave - MTG Card versions

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

Soul Spike - MTG Card versions
Needlebite Trap - MTG Card versions
Fated Return - MTG Card versions
Hezrou // Demonic Stench - MTG Card versions
Soul Spike - MTG Card versions
Needlebite Trap - MTG Card versions
Fated Return - MTG Card versions
Hezrou // Demonic Stench - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Grave Endeavor ensures you refill your hand by drawing cards equal to the power of the creature returned from the graveyard. This significantly boosts your card advantage, allowing you to keep pressure on your opponents with a wealth of options.

Resource Acceleration: Bringing a creature directly onto the battlefield from the graveyard can greatly accelerate your resources, bypassing casting costs and potentially bringing back a mighty creature that can turn the tide of the game.

Instant Speed: Grave Endeavor can be cast at instant speed, offering the flexibility to react to an opponent’s play or end step. This allows for strategic surprise reanimation, making it a versatile and unexpected play that can catch opponents off guard.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For Grave Endeavor to make an impact, the pilot must first handle the discard cost. Launching this spell means losing another potentially valuable card from your hand, a trade-off that requires strategic consideration, especially if you’re already playing with a reduced hand size.

Specific Mana Cost: Grave Endeavor calls for both black and generic mana, demanding a commitment to black mana sources within your deck build. This requirement can restrict the flexibility of your deck and force a heavier focus on ensuring mana availability, which may not synergize well with multicolor deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a substantial cost to get Grave Endeavor onto the battlefield, it’s essential to weigh its late-game potential against other cards in the same mana range. There are alternatives that provide more immediate or guaranteed effects for a similar investment, which might offer better utility depending on the deck’s overall strategy and the pace of play.


Reasons to Include Grave Endeavor in Your Collection

Versatility: Grave Endeavor offers unique flexibility as it serves multiple purposes in a game. It’s a spell that not only returns a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield but also rolls a number of dice equal to that creature’s power, allowing for a variety of outcomes that can significantly shift the board state in your favor.

Combo Potential: For those who love intricate playstyles, Grave Endeavor can be a cornerstone in combos, particularly in decks that manipulate or benefit from dice rolls, or in strategies that include creatures with power-related triggers upon entering the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: Due to its ability to reanimate key creatures while potentially altering combat dynamics or providing additional benefits, Grave Endeavor can be a relevant inclusion in metagames where graveyard play and high-impact spells define the pace of the match.


How to beat

Grave Endeavor is a formidable spell in the Magic: The Gathering arsenal, often swingy due to its ability to return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield with additional power counters. To diminish its impact, timing graveyard disruption is key. Using cards like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt can stymie Grave Endeavor’s effectiveness by exiling the graveyard contents outright before the spell resolves.

Additionally, counterspells like Negate or Dispel are particularly efficient against this particular black spell, allowing you to thwart the endeavor outright. When playing against a deck that features Grave Endeavor, remain vigilant and keep mana open for these reactive measures, as the threat can develop swiftly from the graveyard.

Strategically speaking, forcing the Grave Endeavor player to overextend in the graveyard can set them up for a downfall. Encouraging them to pitch high-value creatures, only to wipe their graveyard, neutralizes the advantage they hoped to gain from such a high-cost investment. Remember, the key to undermining Grave Endeavor lies within preemptive action and strategic graveyard control.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the vast world of MTG offers an exhilarating journey into strategic deck building and gameplay. Cards like Grave Endeavor present opportunities to tip the scales in your favor, offering a blend of reanimation and chance that can yield impressive results during your matches. Whether it’s understanding the pros of instant speed resurrection, or mitigating the cons like the higher mana costs, each card holds the power to revolutionize your playstyle. We encourage you to delve deeper into the synergies and tactics that make each card a unique asset. Join BurnMana as we uncover more strategies and guide you through mastering the art of the game with cards like Grave Endeavor. Discover with us, build wisely, and command the battlefield!


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Grave Endeavor MTG card by a specific set like Forgotten Realms Commander and Forgotten Realms Commander, 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 Endeavor and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Grave Endeavor Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2021-07-23 and 2021-07-23. Illustrated by YW Tang.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 2932015NormalBlackYW Tang
22021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 242015NormalBlackYW Tang

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Grave Endeavor has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2021-07-23 An ability that tells you to roll a die will also specify what to do with the result of that roll. Most often, this is in the form of a “results table” in the card text.
2021-07-23 An effect that says “choose a target, then roll a d20” or similar still uses the normal process of putting an ability on the stack and resolving it. Choosing targets is part of putting the ability on the stack and rolling the d20 happens later, as the ability resolves.
2021-07-23 Dice are identified by the number of faces each one has. For example, a d20 is a twenty-sided die.
2021-07-23 Dice used must have equally likely outcomes and the roll must be fair. Although physical dice are recommended, digital substitutes are allowed, provided they have the same number of equally likely outcomes as specified in the original roll instruction.
2021-07-23 Some abilities, like that of Pixie Guide and Barbarian Class, replace rolling a die with rolling extra dice and ignoring the lowest roll. The ignored rolls are not considered for the effect that instructed you to roll a die, and do not cause abilities to trigger. For all intents and purposes, once you determine which dice count, any extra dice were never rolled.
2021-07-23 Some effects instruct you to roll again. This uses the same number and type of dice as the original roll, and that roll will use the same set of possible outcomes.
2021-07-23 Some effects may modify the result of a die roll. This may be part of the instruction to roll a die or it may come from other cards. Anything that references the “result” of a die roll is looking for the result after these modifications. Anything that is looking for the “natural result” is looking for the number shown on the face of the die before these modifications.
2021-07-23 The instruction to roll a die and the effect that occurs because of the result are all part of the same ability. Players do not get the chance to respond to the ability after knowing the result of the roll.
2021-07-23 Tournament events have more specific rules regarding dice and die-rolling. For more information, please see the most recent version of the Magic Tournament Rules at https://wpn.wizards.com/en/document/magic-gathering-tournament-rules.
2021-07-23 While playing Planechase, rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result will ignore the rolling of the planar die.