Necrosavant MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Zombie Giant
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Necrosavant ensures continued board presence, returning from the graveyard to maintain card advantage.
  2. The demand for creature card discards as its resurrection cost impacts strategic hand management.
  3. Its hefty mana cost may hinder early-game plays, but provides a persistent late-game threat.

Text of card

, Sacrifice a creature: Return Necrosavant from your graveyard to the battlefield. Activate only during your upkeep.

"Ah, I remember my first death." —Zarkuu, necrosavant


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Necrosavant offers a strategic edge in deck management. With its ability to return from the graveyard to the battlefield, it effectively bypasses the need to draw and play another creature, maintaining card advantage even after it’s initially dealt with.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting mana resources, Necrosavant’s ability to resurrect itself from the graveyard can be viewed as a form of resource acceleration. It allows you to reutilize resources you’ve already invested, ensuring that your graveyard becomes an asset rather than a repository.

Instant Speed: Although Necrosavant operates at sorcery speed, its significance to gameplay lies in its recursive ability which can be activated at any time you could play a sorcery. This ensures that your mana is never idle, as you can plan the reanimation of Necrosavant during your turn, setting the stage for your next strategic move.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Necrosavant is the requirement to discard another creature card as part of its resurrection mechanic. This cost forces players to potentially forfeit future plays or part with valuable creatures in their hand, which might compromise their board state and strategic plans.

Specific Mana Cost: Necrosavant’s casting cost is stringent, demanding three black mana in its total cost. This can be particularly taxing in multi-colored decks where black mana isn’t as readily available, possibly restricting this card’s inclusion to mono-black or heavily black-focused deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, including three black, Necrosavant places a significant strain on your mana resources. While its ability to return from the graveyard is advantageous, the steep mana cost could delay other plays or leave players vulnerable while they save up the necessary mana to summon or resurrect the creature.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Necrosavant’s ability to return to the battlefield from the graveyard gives it a level of resilience that can be advantageous in a variety of deck builds, from aggressive strategies that capitalize on its 5/5 stats to more controlling decks that value recurring threats.

Combo Potential: As a creature that can self-reanimate, Necrosavant holds potential in combos with sacrifice effects, facilitating powerful interactions for significant game impact. Its synergy with cards that manipulate the graveyard can turn it into a formidable recurring asset.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where games tend to drag out or where graveyard strategies are prevalent, Necrosavant can serve as a key component, consistently returning to the fray and demanding an answer from opponents each time. Its persistent presence on the board makes it a valuable card in certain matchups.


How to beat

Necrosavant is an intriguing creature card that can recur from the graveyard directly to the battlefield. This ability makes it a persistent threat that demands a different approach. To effectively incapacitate Necrosavant, consider nullifying its resurrection ability. Graveyard exile effects are particularly potent – cards such as Rest in Peace from your sideboard can ensure Necrosavant stays buried for good. Another strategic move is to utilize instant-speed exile spells or abilities that can target it as it tries to return, such as Swords to Plowshares.

Controlling the pace of the match is another key. Because Necrosavant comes with a steep revival cost, keeping the opponent’s resource production in check can be vital. Strategies that focus on land destruction or taxing the opponent’s mana can impede their ability to pay the resurrection cost. Lastly, actions such as pacifying effects, which render the creature unable to attack or block, can help manage Necrosavant without having to deal with its self-reanimating nature. Employing these tactics will place you in a good position to counter this formidable threat.


Cards like Necrosavant

Necrosavant sets its place in the realm of reanimation creatures within the Magic: The Gathering universe. Known for its fundamental mechanic that allows players to bring it back from the graveyard, this creature closely associates with cards like Reassembling Skeleton and Bloodghast. Reassembling Skeleton offers a cheaper initial and returning cost, making it a persistent threat albeit with less power and toughness. On the other hand, Bloodghast boasts the advantage of haste and the landfall ability, automatically returning to play when a land enters on your side, though it does not give the player control over the timing as Necrosavant does.

Gravecrawler resembles Necrosavant in that it can be continuously played from the graveyard, provided you control a Zombie. Yet, unlike Necrosavant, Gravecrawler can’t return to play on its own without the said condition being met. This makes Necrosavant a more self-reliant option for decks that don’t focus on Zombie synergy. Moreover, the substantial 5/5 body of Necrosavant often means it can outmatch other creatures on the battlefield in terms of raw power.

Analyzing the characteristics and strategies associated with these cards clarifies the unique position of Necrosavant. Its ability to self-reanimate, balanced against its mana cost and sizable presence, makes it a formidable card for players looking for recurring threats in their deck.

Reassembling Skeleton - MTG Card versions
Bloodghast - MTG Card versions
Gravecrawler - MTG Card versions
Reassembling Skeleton - MTG Card versions
Bloodghast - MTG Card versions
Gravecrawler - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Necrosavant MTG card by a specific set like Multiverse Gift Box and Visions, 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 Necrosavant and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Necrosavant Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1996-11-01 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11996-11-01Multiverse Gift BoxMGB 41997NormalBlackJohn Coulthart
21997-02-03VisionsVIS 651997NormalBlackJohn Coulthart
31999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 1451997NormalWhiteJohn Coulthart
42023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 3071997NormalBlackAlexander Mokhov
52023-01-13Dominaria RemasteredDMR 932015NormalBlackAlexander Mokhov

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Necrosavant has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2004-10-04 The ability is activated while this card is in the graveyard.

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