Grim Captain's Call MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2017-09-29
Set symbol
Set name	Ixalan
Set code	XLN
Number	108
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Winona Nelson

Key Takeaways

Generates card advantage by retrieving multiple creature types from your graveyard to hand.
Enhances combo potential and versatile recovery in multi-tribal decks for tailored strategy.
Demands specific mana and preconditions, which could limit use in non-focused decks.

Text of card

Return a Pirate card from your graveyard to your hand, then do the same for Vampire, Dinosaur, and Merfolk.

When the battle is over, the bitterest foes at last find common ground.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Grim Captain’s Call can be a boon for decks that capitalize on varied creature types. By returning a Pirate, Vampire, Merfolk, and Dinosaur from your graveyard to your hand, this card can single-handedly replenish your resources and set you up for the stages ahead, effectively generating a card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting mana acceleration, Grim Captain’s Call accelerates your resource density by refilling your hand, providing a selection of creatures that could possibly translate into different types of on-board advantages—be it mana, attack power, or utility.

Instant Speed: Although Grim Captain’s Call operates at sorcery speed, the immediacy with which it replenishes your hand makes it an excellent recovery tool post-wrath or when setting up for a formidable next turn. The card’s timing allows players to recalibrate their strategy at a pivotal point in their game turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Grim Captain’s Call does not present a discard requirement, contributing positively to card advantage. However, the card requires certain creature types to be in the graveyard to fully benefit from its effect, which can be situational and inconsistent, especially if your deck isn’t tailored to support this diversity.

Specific Mana Cost: This spell’s mana cost demands both black and blue mana, which may not always be readily available in multicolored decks, potentially causing delays in its casting and reducing its versatility in decks not dedicated to a pirate or graveyard-focused strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of three for its effect, Grim Captain’s Call may be considered costly, considering it relies on a particular board state to be effective. As such, alternative cards may provide more immediate or flexible graveyard recovery options at a lower or similar cost.

Reasons to Include Grim Captain’s Call in Your Collection

Versatility: Grim Captain’s Call stands out due to its ability to return a variety of creature cards from your graveyard to your hand. This kind of flexibility lets you tailor your next moves regardless of the type of deck you’re up against or the strategy you’re employing.

Combo Potential: This card is particularly potent if your deck revolves around synergistic creature types, such as Pirates, Vampires, Merfolk, or Zombies. It sets up numerous combo possibilities, enabling you to bring back key components to your hand and re-establish your board presence.

Meta-Relevance: In a rapidly shifting MTG gameplay environment, having a card like Grim Captain’s Call can be a game-changer. It’s especially useful if your local or competitive meta is filled with removal-heavy decks, ensuring that your key creatures can make a comeback and sustain your momentum in the match.

How to beat

Grim Captain’s Call presents a unique recovery option within the MTG universe, providing players the ability to retrieve a variety of creature cards from their graveyard. It’s a multifaceted spell that can return Pirate, Vampire, Merfolk, and Dinosaur cards, effectively restocking the player’s hand and offering a strategic advantage. To counteract this spell, it’s essential to either have graveyard control strategies in place or to use card denial effects to prevent such an arsenal from returning to your opponent’s hand.

Consider incorporating cards that exile cards from graveyards, such as Tormod’s Crypt, or utilize counterspells like Cancel to stop Grim Captain’s Call from resolving. These strategies deprive your opponent of their graveyard as a resource. Additionally, hand disruption techniques, which force the opponent to discard cards, can also be highly effective. Tools such as Thoughtseize or Duress directly target the player’s hand, minimizing the impact of their retrieval spells before they can alter the game state. Managing these angles ensures that, while the call might be made, it will go unanswered.

Ultimately, winning against a deck featuring Grim Captain’s Call hinges on smart card selection and anticipating the opponent’s moves. By disrupting the flow of their resources, you’ll maintain control of the game and dampen the impact of their recovery plays, keeping you one step ahead on the battlefield.

Cards like Grim Captain's Call

Grim Captain’s Call stands out in the realm of creature revival spells in MTG. It’s akin to other cards that bring creatures back from the graveyard, like Zombify, which also targets a creature in the graveyard but brings back only one. Grim Captain’s Call, however, offers a unique advantage by retrieving up to four different creature types within one card, making it notably more versatile in multi-tribal decks.

Moving along the spectrum, we encounter cards like Aphetto Alchemist or Unearth. The latter allows for a cheap revival of a low-cost creature at the speed of an instant but lacks the multi-target capability of Grim Captain’s Call. Aphetto Alchemist offers a completely different angle, providing repeated untapping utility rather than direct graveyard interaction.

To sum up, while there are multiple options for creature recursion in the game, Grim Captain’s Call delivers a breadth of utility unmatched by many other single cards, positioning it as a unique spell in MTG, especially for decks capitalizing on various tribal synergies.

Cards similar to Grim Captain's Call by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Grim Captain's Call MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan, 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 Grim Captain's Call and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Grim Captain's Call has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2017-09-29	Grim Captain’s Call doesn’t target the cards to return. You choose them while it’s resolving. No players may take actions between the time you make each choice and the time you return each card to your hand.
2017-09-29	If a card in your graveyard has more than one of these types (such as a Dinosaur that’s a Vampire Dinosaur due to Arcane Adaptation’s effect), you may choose to return it for one of its types and return another card of the other type.
2017-09-29	If you don’t have a card in your graveyard of one of the listed creature types, you just continue to the next listed type.
2018-01-19	If an effect refers to a “ -ubtype] spell” or “ -ubtype] card,” it refers only to a spell or card that has that subtype. For example, March of the Drowned is a card that benefits Pirates and features Pirates in its illustration, but it isn’t a Pirate card.