Lim-Dûl the Necromancer MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — Human Wizard |
| Released | 2006-10-06 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Time Spiral |
| Set code | TSP |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 114 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Matt Cavotta |
Key Takeaways
- Lim-Dûl excels in providing card advantage by reviving creatures from any graveyard during gameplay.
- Resource acceleration comes indirectly, as reanimating creatures saves mana for other strategic plays.
- While not at instant speed, Lim-Dûl’s ability can effectively disrupt enemy strategies and alter game flow.
Text of card
Whenever a creature an opponent controls is put into a graveyard from play, you may pay . If you do, return that card to play under your control. If it's a creature, it's a Zombie in addition to its other creature types. : Regenerate target Zombie.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lim-Dûl the Necromancer offers a unique way to maintain card superiority by reanimating creatures from any graveyard when a creature an opponent controls is put into a graveyard from the battlefield. This continual potential for reanimation ensures a steady stream of creatures, bolstering your forces and depleting your opponent’s resources.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting mana, Lim-Dûl the Necromancer can indirectly accelerate your resource availability. By regaining control of creatures from graveyards, you reduce the need to cast creatures from your hand, allowing you to allocate mana towards other spells and abilities that further your board position.
Instant Speed: Lim-Dûl’s ability to reanimate creatures does not happen at instant speed, but it does introduce a dynamic element to the game where opponents must be wary of losing creatures during their turn. This threat can effectively alter the pace of the game and influence how and when opponents play their spells, providing a subtle, yet valuable, form of control over the flow of the match.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Lim-Dûl the Necromancer comes with appealing abilities, players must sacrifice a creature to gain control of another that dies, which can be a strategic setback when your board presence is sparse.
Specific Mana Cost: Lim-Dûl’s cost requires both black and generic mana, necessitating a dedicated mana base that can make it challenging to incorporate into multicolored decks without consistent mana fixing.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of seven mana, which includes several black mana symbols, he sits at the higher end of the mana curve, potentially slowing down your game plan in fast-paced matches where lower-cost creatures or spells could be more impactful.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Lim-Dûl the Necromancer offers flexibility in deck-building, allowing you to reanimate creatures from any graveyard, which provides strategic advantage in games that involve milling or creature-heavy metas.
Combo Potential: With its unique ability to bring back creatures, this card opens up numerous combo possibilities, particularly in black-based control or reanimator decks, further allowing you to exploit your opponent’s resources.
Meta-Relevance: Considering the ever-evolving MTG meta, Lim-Dûl the Necromancer remains relevant in environments where creature destruction is prevalent, by turning your opponent’s losses into your gain and continuously affecting the board state.
How to Beat
Lim-Dûl the Necromancer presents a unique challenge in MTG with its ability to reanimate creatures. As a powerful graveyard-centric card, defeating it requires strategic play. Focus on graveyard hate cards, such as Tormod’s Crypt or Relic of Progenitus, to disrupt its reanimation strategy by exiling cards in the graveyard. Targeted removal spells like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile can effectively deal with Lim-Dûl before it gets out of hand.
Alternatively, consider implementing enchantment removal like Disenchant or enchantments that prevent creatures entering from the graveyard, like Grafdigger’s Cage. Cards like Rest in Peace also nullify Lim-Dûl’s reanimation by exiling creatures as soon as they hit the graveyard. Efficiently managing the board and keeping your graveyard clean can significantly reduce Lim-Dûl’s impact and turn the tide of battle in your favor.
Playing against Lim-Dûl the Necromancer can be daunting, but with the right tools and timely reactions, you can dismantle this formidable opponent’s strategy and maintain control of the game.
Cards like Lim-Dûl the Necromancer
Lim-Dûl the Necromancer is a unique creature card that stands out in Magic: The Gathering due to its ability to reanimate creatures. Drawing parallels with other cards, Endless Ranks of the Dead captures a similar necromantic essence, creating zombie tokens during each of your upkeeps. Although it doesn’t directly reanimate, it still populates the board with undead minions.
On the topic of resurrection, Gravewaker offers a kinship to Lim-Dûl in the form of returning creatures from your graveyard to the battlefield. While Gravewaker taps to invoke its effect, Lim-Dûl offers more resilience with a triggered ability upon a creature’s death, providing ongoing value for its controller. Additionally, Sheoldred, Whispering One, brings a formidable presence to the board by forcibly resurrecting creatures during your upkeep and making opponents sacrifice creatures each turn — a testament to the power of black’s control over life and death.
Scrutinizing these similar cards, Lim-Dûl the Necromancer harbors significant strategic advantages, coupling reanimation capabilities with creature spot removal. It sets Lim-Dûl as a pivotal card for players looking to manipulate the battlefield by turning opponents’ losses into their undead assets.
Cards similar to Lim-Dûl the Necromancer by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lim-Dûl the Necromancer MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral, 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 Lim-Dûl the Necromancer and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
See Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lim-Dûl the Necromancer has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
