Diregraf Colossus MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Zombie Giant
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card advantage by token generation from graveyard zombie cards, enhancing board presence.
  2. Enables resource acceleration without extra mana, crucial for strategic plays and creature development.
  3. Despite its mana specificity and setup prerequisite, it remains a versatile and impactful card.

Text of card

Diregraf Colossus enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each Zombie card in your graveyard. Whenever you cast a Zombie spell, create a tapped 2/2 black Zombie creature token.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Diregraf Colossus stands out in your deck as a remarkable source of card advantage. When it enters the battlefield, you receive a 2/2 black Zombie creature token for each zombie card in your graveyard, potentially multiplying your on-board presence and giving you an immediate upper hand in creature numbers.

Resource Acceleration: Every time you cast a zombie spell, Diregraf Colossus lets you put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield. This ability accelerates your resource development, allowing you to expand your army without spending additional mana on creature spells, thereby enabling you to deploy other strategic plays more effectively.

Instant Speed: While Diregraf Colossus itself isn’t an instant-speed card, it can create an instant impact on the game state. The tokens it generates come into play immediately upon casting your zombie spells, allowing you to bolster your defenses or apply pressure at critical moments during your turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Diregraf Colossus places an emphasis on having creature cards in your graveyard to generate value. For players, this can be a drawback, as it requires setup and potentially discarding creatures that could be useful on the board.

Specific Mana Cost: This zombie giant comes with a specialized mana cost that demands black mana. For multi-colored decks or those that have a strained mana base, consistently casting Diregraf Colossus on curve can be challenging.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Diregraf Colossus competes with other key three-drops in the zombie archetype. This cost requires a significant early game investment, and when mana could be allocated to developing the board in other ways, the Colossus might not always be the optimal play.


Reasons to Include Diregraf Colossus in Your Collection

Versatility: Diregraf Colossus is a dynamic card capable of fitting seamlessly into various zombie-themed decks. Its ability to create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token whenever you cast a zombie spell makes it a continuous source of board presence in both aggressive and midrange strategies.

Combo Potential: This powerful creature thrives in combo setups, particularly in pairings with cards that bring creatures back from the graveyard. Given its synergy with self-mill and reanimation mechanics, Diregraf Colossus can rapidly bolster your horde and overrun opponents.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Diregraf Colossus’s incremental creature production can be a game-changer. As it grows in power with each zombie in your graveyard, it remains a strong play against many of the popular deck archetypes you might face.


How to beat

Diregraf Colossus, a potent force in zombie decks within the realm of Magic: The Gathering, operates as both a creature generator and a sizeable threat. Commonly, the Colossus grows in strength with each zombie in your graveyard, while also making zombie tokens when you play zombie spells. Acknowledging this continuous growth, a viable strategy to counter it would involve graveyard disruption to minimize the zombie synergy. Cards that exile cards from graveyards, like Tormod’s Crypt or Relic of Progenitus, can prevent the colossus from leveraging the graveyard to become an overwhelming force.

Using instant-speed removal like Paths to Exile or Fatal Push before the colossus’ size becomes unmanageable is equally critical. These enable you to keep the board clear and hold Diregraf Colossus in check before it can generate too much value. Removal, in tandem with graveyard management, can efficiently contain the threat this undead giant poses, allowing you to focus on executing your game plan. Hence, to best a Diregraf Colossus, disrupt its growth and capitalize on precise removals before the board state tips beyond recovery.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding Diregraf Colossus’s strengths and limitations is essential for any MTG player looking to bolster their zombie deck or counter undead hordes. By exploring strategic plays, optimizing your mana base, and considering complementary cards that maximize its potential, you can turn the tide of battle in your favor. As you refine your approach to MTG’s dynamic tactical environment, incorporating Diregraf Colossus can be a high-value move for your collection. Want to further investigate this powerhouse and other zombie synergies? Dive deeper with us, enhance your gameplay knowledge, and discover robust strategies to bring victory within your grasp.


Cards like Diregraf Colossus

Diregraf Colossus stands out in the category of zombie tribal cards in Magic: The Gathering. This mighty creature thrives in decks swarming with the undead, rewarding players with a new 2/2 zombie each time another zombie is cast from their hand. A card to compare is Cemetery Reaper, which also bolsters your zombie horde. Though it doesn’t generate zombies passively with each cast, it offers the ability to exile creatures from graveyards to create new zombie tokens and pumps your undead army, increasing their threat level.

Another peer in this realm is Death Baron, who provides all zombies with deathtouch, instilling fear into opposing defenders, despite not adding additional zombies to the field. The value of these zombie lords lies in their synergistic boost to your graveyard-focused strategies. Lord of the Accursed serves a similar purpose, not only granting your zombies a power boost but also giving them menace, making them harder to block and escalating your offensive capabilities. Conversely, Diregraf Colossus helps expand your ranks and has the potential to overwhelm your opponent as your graveyard fills up.

To sum up, Diregraf Colossus is an excellent choice for a zombie-themed deck due to its unique capacity to build an army while also benefiting from an already packed graveyard, ensuring that each zombie cast has an impact on the battlefield.

Cemetery Reaper - MTG Card versions
Death Baron - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Accursed - MTG Card versions
Cemetery Reaper - Magic 2010 (M10)
Death Baron - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Lord of the Accursed - Amonkhet (AKH)

Cards similar to Diregraf Colossus by color, type and mana cost

Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
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Nettling Imp - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Royal Assassin - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
El-Hajjâj - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Plague Rats - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Frozen Shade - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Scathe Zombies - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Sorceress Queen - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)
Wall of Bone - Duel Decks: Garruk vs. Liliana (DDD)
Lost Soul - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Mindstab Thrull - Masters Edition (ME1)
Hypnotic Specter - Magic Player Rewards 2006 (P06)
Mischievous Poltergeist - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Strongarm Thug - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Razortooth Rats - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Spined Basher - Onslaught (ONS)
Ghastly Remains - Legions (LGN)
Lord of the Undead - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Deepwood Ghoul - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Dross Prowler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Nim Lasher - Mirrodin (MRD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Diregraf Colossus MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad Promos and Shadows over Innistrad, 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 Diregraf Colossus and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Diregraf Colossus Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Vincent Proce.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-04-08Shadows over Innistrad PromosPSOI 107s2015normalblackVincent Proce
22016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 1072015normalblackVincent Proce
32021-08-26Jumpstart: Historic HorizonsJ21 3162015normalblackVincent Proce
42021-09-24Midnight Hunt CommanderMIC 1122015normalblackVincent Proce
52023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1082015normalblackVincent Proce

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Diregraf Colossus has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-04-08 Diregraf Colossus's last ability won't trigger when you cast it because it's not on the battlefield yet.
2016-04-08 If Diregraf Colossus enters the battlefield from your graveyard, its first ability will count itself among the Zombie cards in your graveyard. Similarly, if it enters the battlefield at the same time as another Zombie card enters the battlefield from your graveyard, the ability will count that other Zombie.

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