Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire MTG Card


Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire - Zendikar Rising
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant
Released2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set nameZendikar Rising
Set codeZNR
Number111
Frame2015
Layoutmodal_dfc
Borderblack
Illustred byMarta Nael

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides instant creature protection and negates opponent removal, maintaining board presence and card advantage.
  2. Dual nature as a land or spell offers flexibility, aiding mana resources without compromising on instant utility.
  3. Functions best in black mana-based decks, where it supports critical gameplay strategies and enables combos.

Text of card

Choose target creature. You lose 2 life. Until end of turn, that creature gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control."

"Those who fail to escape Malakir become part of the city's defense." —Doros, expedition guide


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Malakir Rebirth provides a unique edge by allowing you to protect a key creature while it’s on the battlefield. Not only does it save your creature from potential removal, it also returns it to the field, effectively negating your opponent’s attempt to diminish your board presence—this can be critical in maintaining card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although it doesn’t directly accelerate resources, the dual nature of Malakir Rebirth as a modal double-faced card, with Malakir Mire on its reverse, offers flexibility. You’ll have the choice of an instant speed spell or a land drop, ensuring that your mana resources aren’t hindered by drawing the card in situations where a land is more beneficial.

Instant Speed: The strength of instant speed can’t be overstated with this card. It allows you to respond to threats or removal on your turn or just before your turn begins, keeping your opponents guessing and preserving crucial elements of your board strategy. This versatility at instant speed makes Malakir Rebirth a powerful tool for reaction and interaction in a match.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Malakir Rebirth doesn’t compel a discard directly, the card it brings back could have been utilized in other ways if not in the graveyard, reflecting a resource management concern similar to discard effects.

Specific Mana Cost: Malakir Rebirth demands black mana, which narrows its inclusion to decks with a black mana base or those that can reliably produce black mana, potentially sidelining it in multicolored decks without sufficient mana-fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite being a versatile instant, the true cost of Malakir Rebirth is not just its low one black mana but also the sacrifice of a land due to its dual-faced nature. This can setback your mana development, a significant consideration compared to other protection or revival spells.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Malakir Rebirth offers flexibility in gameplay, fitting seamlessly into multiple deck archetypes. As a modal double-faced card, it allows you to choose between a land for mana stability or an instant for protection and board advantage.

Combo Potential: With its ability to protect key creatures at the right moment, Malakir Rebirth enables and safeguards potentially game-winning combos. It’s a perfect fit for decks that revolve around synergistic creature interactions or require safeguarding critical combo pieces.

Meta-Relevance: In a rapidly shifting environment, Malakir Rebirth remains a relevant choice. Its dual nature as both a land and a spell ensures that it can adapt to various meta scenarios, either saving essential creatures from removal or smoothing out land draws.


How to beat

Malakir Rebirth offers an intriguing layer of resilience to creatures in MTG. By paying 2 life, you can ensure that a key creature dodges removal, essentially a second chance in the same turn. Its utility becomes apparent when faced with decks heavy on removal or during critical turns where the loss of a creature could spell defeat.

Countering this card relies on timing and strategy. Graveyard hate is an efficient method; by exiling creatures from the graveyard, you make Malakir Rebirth futile. Additionally, running instant-speed removal allows you to wait out the Rebirth’s effect, then eliminate the creature once it has returned to the battlefield. It’s worth mentioning cards like Scavenging Ooze, which can exile creatures from the graveyard in response to Malakir Rebirth, or Leyline of the Void that prevents creatures from hitting the graveyard in the first place.

Bearing in mind the double-faced nature of Malakir Rebirth as a modal land, it’s also susceptible to nonbasic land destruction, though this approach is less common. So when planning your moves, remember that with precise timing and an understanding of when to deploy your hate cards, you can effectively nullify the advantage that Malakir Rebirth provides.


BurnMana Recommendations

Delving into the depth of MTG deck strategy is an ongoing journey, and Malakir Rebirth is a card that stands out as a flexible, strategic asset. Given its capability to save crucial creatures and double as a land, this card can become a lynchpin in black-centric decks or any build that values creature preservation. As we’ve unpacked the pros and cons, the potential combos, and its place in the meta, it becomes clear that Malakir Rebirth belongs in the collection of players who prioritize adaptability and surprise in their gameplay. Ready to optimize your deck and guard your critical pieces with finesse? Learn more about how Malakir Rebirth can bolster your strategy.


Cards like Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire

Malakir Rebirth fits snugly into the array of black instant spells in Magic: The Gathering that aim to protect and recur creatures from peril. It holds a mirror up to Supernatural Stamina, which also provides a brief window of revival for a creature facing destruction. Where Malakir Rebirth stands out is in its versatility, doubling as a land in a pinch, lending a layer of strategic depth Supernatural Stamina lacks.

Other close relatives include Unearth, allowing for the return of a small creature from the graveyard to the battlefield, albeit without the handy land feature. On the more expensive side, we have Brought Back. It can resurrect two creatures or planeswalkers from the dead, but its requirement for white mana and a higher casting cost sets it apart from the quick and efficient elegance of Malakir Rebirth.

Assessing its company, Malakir Rebirth offers a unique cost-effective solution to creature demise while providing that extra value as a land, showcasing its dual utility and making it a fitting choice for decks looking to optimize every card slot.

Supernatural Stamina - MTG Card versions
Unearth - MTG Card versions
Brought Back - MTG Card versions
Supernatural Stamina - Amonkhet (AKH)
Unearth - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Brought Back - Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20)

Cards similar to Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire by color, type and mana cost

Howl from Beyond - MTG Card versions
Dark Ritual - MTG Card versions
Sacrifice - MTG Card versions
Darkness - MTG Card versions
Touch of Darkness - MTG Card versions
Marsh Gas - MTG Card versions
Deathlace - MTG Card versions
Gravebind - MTG Card versions
Songs of the Damned - MTG Card versions
Misinformation - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Tutor - MTG Card versions
Dredge - MTG Card versions
Vendetta - MTG Card versions
Coffin Purge - MTG Card versions
Defile - MTG Card versions
March of Wretched Sorrow - MTG Card versions
Fatal Push - MTG Card versions
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions
Surgical Extraction - MTG Card versions
Fade from Memory - MTG Card versions
Howl from Beyond - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Dark Ritual - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Sacrifice - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Darkness - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Touch of Darkness - Legends (LEG)
Marsh Gas - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Deathlace - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Gravebind - Ice Age (ICE)
Songs of the Damned - Ice Age (ICE)
Misinformation - Alliances (ALL)
Vampiric Tutor - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Dredge - Invasion (INV)
Vendetta - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Coffin Purge - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
Defile - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
March of Wretched Sorrow - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Fatal Push - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Surgical Extraction - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Fade from Memory - Onslaught (ONS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-09-25 A modal double-faced card can’t be transformed or be put onto the battlefield transformed. Ignore any instruction to transform a modal double-faced card or to put one onto the battlefield transformed.
2020-09-25 If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect.
2020-09-25 If an effect allows you to play a specific modal double-faced card, you may cast it as a spell or play it as a land, as determined by which face you choose to play. If an effect allows you to cast (rather than “play”) a specific modal double-faced card, you can’t play it as a land.
2020-09-25 If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the name of either face may be chosen. If that effect or a linked ability refers to a spell with the chosen name being cast and/or a land with the chosen name being played, it considers only the chosen name, not the other face’s name.
2020-09-25 If an effect puts a double-faced card onto the battlefield, it enters with its front face up. If that front face can’t be put onto the battlefield, it doesn’t enter the battlefield.
2020-09-25 If the target creature is an illegal target by the time Malakir Rebirth tries to resolve, the spell doesn’t resolve. You don’t lose 2 life.
2020-09-25 In the Commander variant, a double-faced card’s color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered.
2020-09-25 Malakir Rebirth’s effect works only once. If the targeted creature dies and is then returned to the battlefield, it’s considered to be a new creature. If that new creature dies, it won’t come back.
2020-09-25 The converted mana cost of a modal double-faced card is based on the characteristics of the face that’s being considered. On the stack and battlefield, consider whichever face is up. In all other zones, consider only the front face. This is different than how the converted mana cost of a transforming double-faced card is determined.
2020-09-25 There is a single triangle icon in the top left corner of the front face. There is a double triangle icon in the top left corner of the back face.
2020-09-25 To determine whether it is legal to play a modal double-faced card, consider only the characteristics of the face you’re playing and ignore the other face’s characteristics.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks