Raise Dead MTG Card
Card sets | Released in 31 setsSee all |
Mana cost | |
Converted mana cost | 1 |
Rarity | Common |
Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Return creature from your graveyard to your hand.
Cards like Raise Dead
In the realm of resource recovery in MTG, Raise Dead stands as a straightforward option for returning creatures from the graveyard to hand. Its simplicity is echoed in comparable cards like Disentomb, another spell with the exact same function but with a more recent print pedigree. Unlike Raise Dead, though, it comes from 2010’s Magic 2011 core set, a nod to the game’s evolutionary card design.
Gravepurge offers a twist to the Raise Dead functionality by enabling the player not only to retrieve creatures from the graveyard but also to stack their library with them, an advantage for setting up future draws. However, this comes at the cost of one additional mana. Then there’s Morbid Plunder, which takes the Raise Dead effect to the next level by allowing the player to recover two creature cards for a higher mana cost. The flexibility in these variations gives players options to tailor their strategy according to the game state.
While each of these cards share the core essence of Raise Dead in granting players another chance with their creature cards, they illustrate the breadth of choice within MTG, providing players with options to optimize their gameplay around graveyard interaction.
Cards similar to Raise Dead by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Raise Dead card is pivotal in reclaiming valuable creatures from your graveyard. This simple yet effective spell ensures you can bring back key cards that have been lost during the match, potentially turning the tide in your favor by keeping your hand stocked with important resources.
Resource Acceleration: While Raise Dead doesn’t directly accelerate resources in terms of mana, it strategically replenishes your creature lineup. The ability to recover a powerful creature can accelerate your board presence and pressure, thereby indirectly influencing your resource management and battlefield control.
Instant Speed: Raise Dead operates at sorcery speed, offering a precise timing to your strategic planning. While it can’t be used as a surprise during an opponent’s turn like an instant, its sorcery nature allows you to reclaim creatures right before your turn begins, ensuring a well-planned lineup for your phases ahead.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Raise Dead card doesn’t necessitate discarding, but it does require a savvy strategy to ensure you make the most of its single-target revival capability without cluttering your graveyard unnecessarily.
Specific Mana Cost: Raise Dead comes with the need for one black mana, so in multi-colored decks, this might cause slight hiccups if black mana sources aren’t readily available or if you’re stretching your mana base to accommodate a broader color palette.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Raise Dead’s mana cost is low, it’s imperative to consider that it takes up a whole turn’s worth of mana in the early game, which could be pivotal for developing your board presence, and in later stages, it might not be as impactful when larger, game-changing spells are in play.
Reasons to Include Raise Dead in Your Collection
Versatility: Raise Dead is a fundamental card that can be slotted into an array of black decks. It allows players to bring back crucial creatures from their graveyard, which can be vital in longer, grindier games.
Combo Potential: With the ability to recover combo pieces from the graveyard, Raise Dead has intrinsic value in decks constructed around specific creature-based combinations. This simple spell can be the difference between a failed combo attempt and a successful game-winning play.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where the graveyard is increasingly becoming an extension of a player’s hand, Raise Dead holds its weight in various meta environments. It shines particularly in games where creatures are frequently traded in combat or targeted for removal, ensuring you maintain a presence on the board.
How to beat
Raise Dead is a classic spell with straightforward mechanics that allow MTG players to return a creature from their graveyard to their hand. While seemingly simple, this card can be a subtle linchpin in a player’s strategy, particularly in decks that revolve around creature recycling and combo executions. Overcoming the advantage provided by Raise Dead requires a multifaceted approach. Control decks that can counter spells or exile cards directly from the graveyard effectively nullify Raise Dead’s impact. Strategic use of graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt can make Raise Dead obsolete, as no creatures would be available in the graveyard to return.
Timing is also key. Applying pressure early and forcing your opponent to use their mana inefficiently disrupts the opportunistic nature of Raise Dead. If you’re piloting an aggressive deck, maintain the offensive and minimize the potential targets for Raise Dead by targeting the creatures that would provide the most value if returned. Efficient removal spells or those that exile upon death, such as Path to Exile, prevent the most common follow-up plays after Raise Dead has been cast. By understanding these nuances, a well-prepared player can effectively mitigate the effects of Raise Dead on the game’s outcome.
BurnMana Recommendations
The allure of the MTG universe lies in its strategic depth, and Raise Dead exemplifies the strategic nuance of black magic, enabling you to reclaim powerful creatures lost in battle. This can be a gamechanger in close contests, subtly shifting the momentum in your favor. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the dark arts of MTG, Raise Dead offers valuable nuances that can be incorporated into various decks. Ready to unlock the full potential of your graveyard and craft winning strategies with Raise Dead? Join our community of champions and enhance your MTG journey with expertise on this timeless spell.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Raise Dead MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Raise Dead and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Raise Dead Magic the Gathering card was released in 24 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 7 different artists.
Show/hide all sets# | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1993-08-05 | Limited Edition Alpha | LEA | 122 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
2 | 1993-10-04 | Limited Edition Beta | LEB | 123 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
3 | 1993-12-01 | Unlimited Edition | 2ED | 123 | 1993 | Normal | White | Jeff A. Menges | |
4 | 1993-12-10 | Collectors' Edition | CED | 123 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
5 | 1993-12-10 | Intl. Collectors' Edition | CEI | 123 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
6 | 1994-04-01 | Revised Edition | 3ED | 124 | 1993 | Normal | White | Jeff A. Menges | |
7 | 1994-04-01 | Foreign Black Border | FBB | 124 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
8 | 1994-06-21 | Summer Magic / Edgar | SUM | 124 | 1993 | Normal | White | Jeff A. Menges | |
9 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition | 4ED | 156 | 1993 | Normal | White | Jeff A. Menges | |
10 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border | 4BB | 156 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
11 | 1996-07-01 | Rivals Quick Start Set | RQS | 21 | 1993 | Normal | White | Jeff A. Menges | |
12 | 1996-12-31 | Introductory Two-Player Set | ITP | 22 | 1993 | Normal | White | Jeff A. Menges | |
13 | 1997-03-24 | Fifth Edition | 5ED | 191 | 1997 | Normal | White | David Seeley | |
14 | 1997-05-01 | Portal | POR | 107 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Charles Gillespie | |
15 | 1997-05-01 | Portal | POR | 107s | 1997 | Normal | Black | 李尤松 | |
16 | 1998-06-24 | Portal Second Age | P02 | 86 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Anson Maddocks | |
17 | 1999-04-21 | Classic Sixth Edition | 6ED | 152 | 1997 | Normal | White | Charles Gillespie | |
18 | 1999-07-01 | Starter 1999 | S99 | 85 | 1997 | Normal | White | Charles Gillespie | |
19 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 157★ | 1997 | Normal | Black | Carl Critchlow | |
20 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 157s | 1997 | Normal | White | Douglas Shuler | |
21 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 157★s | 1997 | Normal | Black | Douglas Shuler | |
22 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 157 | 1997 | Normal | White | Carl Critchlow | |
23 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 157 | 2003 | Normal | White | Carl Critchlow | |
24 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 157★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Carl Critchlow | |
25 | 2005-07-29 | Ninth Edition | 9ED | 156 | 2003 | Normal | White | Carl Critchlow | |
26 | 2005-07-29 | Ninth Edition | 9ED | 156★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Carl Critchlow | |
27 | 2016-08-26 | Conspiracy: Take the Crown | CN2 | 146 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Carl Critchlow | |
28 | 2017-04-15 | Welcome Deck 2017 | W17 | 18 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Carl Critchlow | |
29 | 2020-08-13 | Arena Beginner Set | ANB | 56 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Carl Critchlow | |
30 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 119 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges | |
31 | 2022-11-28 | 30th Anniversary Edition | 30A | 416 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Jeff A. Menges |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Raise Dead has restrictions
Format | Legality |
---|---|
Oldschool | Legal |
Historicbrawl | Legal |
Historic | Legal |
Legacy | Legal |
Paupercommander | Legal |
Oathbreaker | Legal |
Gladiator | Legal |
Alchemy | Legal |
Pioneer | Legal |
Commander | Legal |
Modern | Legal |
Pauper | Legal |
Premodern | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Duel | Legal |
Explorer | Legal |
Predh | Legal |
Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Raise Dead 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 creature being brought back is chosen on announcement and not on resolution of the spell because it is targeted. |
2004-10-04 | You must show the card you bring out of the graveyard to your opponent. |