Skullbriar, the Walking Grave MTG Card
2011-06-17 - Number 227
2011-06-17 - Number 227
2018-06-08 - Number 165
2022-07-08 - Number 277
2022-07-08 - Number 540
2020-09-26 - Number CMD-227
| Card sets | Released in 6 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — Zombie Elemental |
| Abilities | Haste |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Text of card
Haste Whenever Skullbriar, the Walking Grave deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on it. Counters remain on Skullbriar as it moves to any zone other than a player's hand or library.
Cards like Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, carves a unique niche in the ever-growing roster of MTG commanders. Similar in aggression to cards like Varolz, the Scar-Striped, Skullbriar’s key distinction lies in its ability to retain +1/+1 counters even after changing zones. Varolz doesn’t keep counters but boasts the capacity to scavenge them from the graveyard, offering a different pathway to strength.
Another card worth comparing is Reyhan, Last of the Abzan. Reyhan can similarly move counters upon death, but they must find a new home on another creature, contrasting with Skullbriar, who hoards his power. Additionally, Reyhan’s influence extends across the board, impacting how you strategize with your creature lineup.
Lastly, consider Vigor, which doesn’t keep counters after death, yet redirects harm into strength by adding counters before damage is dealt. This creates a buffer but lacks Skullbriar’s persistent accumulation of power through zones transitions. In the context of MTG commanders known for their resilience and strength, Skullbriar, the Walking Grave stands out for its persistent counter growth, opening dynamic gameplay strategies focused on sustained power increase.
Cards similar to Skullbriar, the Walking Grave by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave offers a distinctive form of card advantage by retaining its +1/+1 counters even after being moved to the command zone or your hand. This persistent power-up means that each subsequent cast from the command zone is potentially more threatening than the last, keeping pressure on your opponents without requiring additional card resources.
Resource Acceleration: As a low-cost commander with only two mana value, Skullbriar can hit the battlefield as early as your second turn. This speed enables you to ramp up your resources and start accruing value long before many other commanders can make an impact. This often forces opponents to react to your plays sooner, potentially diverting resources they would have used to develop their own board.
Instant Speed: While Skullbriar itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its inherent ability to swiftly return to play allows you to leverage your instant-speed spells and abilities more effectively. By potentially leaving mana open, you can choose to either cast Skullbriar post-wipe or deploy combat tricks and removals during an opponent’s turn, keeping them guessing and asserting strategic flexibility.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Because Skullbriar hinges on counter accumulation to thrive, any instance of discarding from your hand or other removals of counters can be detrimental to your strategy. It’s essential to maintain counter growth to leverage Skullbriar’s full potential, and discarding strategically is a must to avoid counterproductive plays.
Specific Mana Cost: Skullbriar’s casting cost requires both black and green mana, which may restrict its inclusion to only Golgari decks or decks capable of generating multiple mana types. This specific mana requirement reduces its versatility among various deck archetypes.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although two mana isn’t exorbitant, in relation to today’s MTG environment, where one-mana drop creatures can provide significant early game advantages, Skullbriar’s mana cost might seem comparatively high. Players often weigh the immediate impact against mana efficiency in lower curves when selecting creatures for their decks.
Reasons to Include Skullbriar, the Walking Grave in Your Collection
Versatility: Skullbriar is a highly adaptable card, excelling in Commander decks as a persistent threat that retains counters through zones, ensuring its impact lasts beyond mere battlefield presence.
Combo Potential: With its ability to accumulate and maintain various counters, Skullbriar works exceptionally well with strategies focused on +1/+1 counter synergies, ensuring an ever-growing threat that opponents must address.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta filled with graveyard strategies or even voltron-style decks, Skullbriar’s resilience and capability to scale in power as the game progresses make it a formidable addition to tailored metagame arsenals.
How to beat
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, presents a unique challenge on the battlefield. This agile commander thrives on accumulating counters and keeping them, becoming an increasingly menacing threat with each turn. To effectively combat Skullbriar, consider employing board control strategies. Targeted removal spells that exile, like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, are particularly effective against it, stripping away its accumulated power for good. Counterspells also play a vital role in hindering its initial casting, thus preventing its onslaught.
Utilizing cards with the ability to shuffle Skullbriar back into the library is a sound tactic as well. This does not allow the counters to remain and offers a temporary reprieve from its relentless attacks. Additionally, strategies that make use of -1/-1 counters, for instance, can mitigate Skullbriar’s growth and handle it without sending it to the graveyard where it can return with counters intact. In essence, countering its strategy by either removing Skullbriar from the game or manipulating its counters is key to victory against this persistent adversary.
Understanding the mechanics and having the right answers in your deck are crucial for overcoming the resilience of Skullbriar, the Walking Grave. Keeping these strategies in mind will prepare you for facing down this formidable foe from across the table.
BurnMana Recommendations
Grasping the nuances of Skullbriar, the Walking Grave is crucial for both harnessing its power and defending against it. With its unique ability to tote +1/+1 counters through various zones of the game, mastering Skullbriar can be a thrilling aspect of your MTG experience. Whether you’re looking to integrate this relentless creature into your Commander deck or seeking strategies to dismantle it, knowledge is your best ally. Dive into the depths of counter-centric gameplay and elevate your matches. Enhance your MTG skills and deck-building strategies with us and embrace the full potential of your collection. Learn more and become adept at navigating the battleground with Skullbriar as your spearhead or your target.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Skullbriar, the Walking Grave MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2011 Launch Party and Commander 2011, 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 Skullbriar, the Walking Grave and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Skullbriar, the Walking Grave Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2011-06-17 and 2022-07-08. Illustrated by Nils Hamm.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011-06-17 | Commander 2011 Launch Party | PCMD | 227 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Nils Hamm | |
| 2 | 2011-06-17 | Commander 2011 | CMD | 227 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Nils Hamm | |
| 3 | 2018-06-08 | Commander Anthology Volume II | CM2 | 165 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Nils Hamm | |
| 4 | The List | PLST | CMD-227 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Nils Hamm | ||
| 5 | 2022-07-08 | Double Masters 2022 | 2X2 | 277 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Nils Hamm | |
| 6 | 2022-07-08 | Double Masters 2022 | 2X2 | 540 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Nils Hamm |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Skullbriar, the Walking Grave card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2011-09-22 | Counters that adjust power and/or toughness affect Skullbriar’s power and/or toughness in zones other than the battlefield. For example, a Skullbriar in the command zone with a +1/+1 counter on it will be 2/2. |
| 2011-09-22 | Effects that last “for as long as that creature has a -ind of] counter on it,” such as Aven Mimeomancer’s, stop applying to Skullbriar once it leaves the battlefield. Even though Skullbriar retains the counters, it becomes a new object with no relation to its last existence in its previous zone. |
| 2011-09-22 | If a card becomes a copy of Skullbriar, counters will remain on that card when it leaves the battlefield (unless it goes to your hand or library). Once it does so, it stops being a copy of Skullbriar, so those counters will cease to exist when that card next changes zones. |
| 2011-09-22 | Skullbriar retains all counters, not just +1/+1 counters. |
| 2011-09-22 | Skullbriar will get one +1/+1 counter each time it deals combat damage to a player (including you if its combat damage gets redirected), regardless of how much damage is dealt. |
| 2011-09-22 | Skullbriar’s last ability only works if it has that ability in the zone it’s moving from. For example, with Yixlid Jailer (“Cards in graveyards lose all abilities”) on the battlefield, a Skullbriar with a counter on it in a graveyard loses that counter when it’s put onto the battlefield. Conversely, that Skullbriar moving from the graveyard to the battlefield would retain that counter if Humility (“All creatures lose all abilities and are 1/1”) were on the battlefield; if Skullbriar then left the battlefield with Humility still on the battlefield, it would lose the counter. |
| 2011-09-22 | The counters that remain on Skullbriar as it changes zones aren’t “placed” on Skullbriar. Effects like Doubling Season’s and Melira, Sylvok Outcast’s won’t affect those counters. |