Animate Dead MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 21 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card advantage by turning the graveyard into a resource, enhancing strategic depth and versatility.
  2. Enables the casting of high-cost creatures early, significantly shifting game momentum in your favor.
  3. Effective in various MTG formats due to its power to resurrect formidable creatures, impacting the meta.

Text of card

Any creature in either player's graveyard comes into play on your side with -1 to its original power. If this enchantment is removed, or at end of game, target creature is returned to its owner's graveyard. Target creature may be killed as normal.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Animate Dead shines in delivering card advantage by bringing back creatures from the graveyard directly onto the battlefield. This ability not only swells your ranks but also turns your graveyard into an extension of your hand, giving you tactical options that can catch opponents off guard.

Resource Acceleration: By reanimating a powerful creature early in the game, Animate Dead acts as a form of resource acceleration. This bypasses the normal mana cost of the creature, letting you utilize high-cost creatures far earlier than normal and potentially swinging the momentum in your favor.

Instant Speed: Although Animate Dead is an enchantment with sorcery speed, its enduring effect on the battlefield can be as pivotal as an instant. The return of a creature can be immediate during your main phase, enabling combos or interfering with your opponent’s graveyard before they can capitalize on it, simulating the disruption usually associated with instant speed plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Animate Dead requires a creature in your graveyard to be effective. Without a creature to target, it’s essentially a dead card in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes both black mana and generic mana, Animate Dead can be a less flexible inclusion in multi-color decks that may struggle with mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At two mana, while not exorbitant, Animate Dead may compete with other two-drops in your deck, compelling tough decisions about board development versus reanimation.


Reasons to Include Animate Dead in Your Collection

Versatility: Animate Dead is a card that transcends the boundaries of casual play and competitive formats. It can reanimate powerhouses from your graveyard, providing a significant advantage in games where massive creatures can dominate the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes with various strategies that involve sacrificing creatures for profit, then bringing them back for repeated use. It can be a linchpin in combos that are designed to create infinite loops or to generate overwhelming board presence.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where graveyard strategies are prevalent, Animate Dead becomes an even more crucial asset. It allows players to counteract opponents’ graveyard hate by bringing back key creatures, or it can serve as a recovery tool when your own threats have been dealt with.


How to beat

Animate Dead is an iconic and influential card in the MTG landscape, renowned for bringing creatures back from the graveyard to the battlefield. Like many reanimation spells, Animate Dead’s strength lies in its ability to cheat powerful monsters into play early on, bypassing their mana costs. To effectively counter Animate Dead, it’s crucial to disrupt the graveyard, the fuel for this spell’s engine.

Cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void are formidable tools in this strategy, as they remove graveyard cards from play, turning Animate Dead into a dead draw. Additionally, instant-speed removal like Krosan Grip targeting Animate Dead itself can be effective; since Animate Dead is also an aura, removing it will send the reanimated creature back to the graveyard. Tormod’s Crypt, a zero-cost artifact, can be activated in response to Animate Dead’s casting to exile the target creature, undermining the reanimation effort altogether.

Maintaining a strategy to manage the graveyard, exercising timely removal, and understanding the potential threats that could come back to haunt you from your opponent’s graveyard are the keys to overcoming the powerful effect of Animate Dead. Always be prepared for the unexpected, and keep those graveyards clean to ensure your opponent can’t leverage their full potential.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding Animate Dead’s potential in MTG decks means appreciating the depth of graveyard mechanics and strategic reanimation. This card holds its own against newer spells by offering valuable creature returns at a manageable cost. Whether used to reclaim a lost titan or engineer a surprise comeback, mastering this enchantment can give you a significant edge. If you’re eager to sharpen your understanding of reanimation tactics or want to explore more graveyard synergy within MTG, we’re here to guide you. Expand your arsenal and outmaneuver your opponents with smart card choices and savvy plays. For more insights on leveraging Animate Dead and similar strategies, come learn with us.


Cards like Animate Dead

Animate Dead is a classic reanimation spell that brings creatures back from the graveyard to the battlefield. Its parallels to other resurrection spells such as Reanimate and Necromancy are clear, yet each has its nuances. Reanimate stands out for its speed, allowing players to reanimate a creature at the cost of life points equal to its converted mana cost, without additional continuous cost. Animate Dead, in contrast, adds a tether in the form of a slight power reduction to the creature it brings back, along with a nominal upkeep.

Comparatively, Necromancy offers versatility, functioning as either an instant or sorcery. This adaptability can be crucial in different game scenarios. It enables a player to immediately react to graveyard interactions or plan for a strategic play during their own turn. Unlike Animate Dead, Necromancy doesn’t diminish the creature’s power but it has a higher mana cost and the creature returns to the graveyard if Necromancy leaves the battlefield.

Each card gives players a unique approach to leveraging their graveyard, with Animate Dead standing as a cost-effective option for ongoing creature recursion, an aspect that keeps it a competitive choice among MTG enthusiasts.

Reanimate - MTG Card versions
Necromancy - MTG Card versions
Reanimate - Tempest (TMP)
Necromancy - Visions (VIS)

Cards similar to Animate Dead by color, type and mana cost

Bad Moon - MTG Card versions
Fear - MTG Card versions
Warp Artifact - MTG Card versions
Deathgrip - MTG Card versions
Blight - MTG Card versions
Seizures - MTG Card versions
Leshrac's Sigil - MTG Card versions
Lim-Dûl's Hex - MTG Card versions
Dance of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Dark Privilege - MTG Card versions
Enfeeblement - MTG Card versions
Oath of Ghouls - MTG Card versions
Despondency - MTG Card versions
Yawgmoth's Edict - MTG Card versions
Dying Wail - MTG Card versions
Insubordination - MTG Card versions
Mourning - MTG Card versions
Chains of Mephistopheles - MTG Card versions
Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - MTG Card versions
Brain Maggot - MTG Card versions
Bad Moon - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Fear - Tenth Edition (10E)
Warp Artifact - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Deathgrip - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Blight - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Seizures - Ice Age (ICE)
Leshrac's Sigil - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Lim-Dûl's Hex - Ice Age (ICE)
Dance of the Dead - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Dark Privilege - Multiverse Gift Box (MGB)
Enfeeblement - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Oath of Ghouls - Exodus (EXO)
Despondency - Urza's Saga (USG)
Yawgmoth's Edict - Urza's Saga (USG)
Dying Wail - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Insubordination - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Mourning - Invasion (INV)
Chains of Mephistopheles - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Brain Maggot - Historic Anthology 2 (HA2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Animate 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 Animate Dead and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Animate Dead Magic the Gathering card was released in 20 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 921993normalblackAnson Maddocks
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 931993normalblackAnson Maddocks
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 931993normalwhiteAnson Maddocks
41993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 931993normalblackAnson Maddocks
51993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 931993normalblackAnson Maddocks
61994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 931993normalwhiteAnson Maddocks
71994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 931993normalblackAnson Maddocks
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 931993normalwhiteAnson Maddocks
91995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 1181993normalblackAnson Maddocks
101995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 1181993normalwhiteAnson Maddocks
111997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 1401997normalwhiteAnson Maddocks
122007-09-10Masters EditionME1 571997normalblackAnson Maddocks
132010-11-08Magic Online Theme DecksTD0 A361997normalblackAnson Maddocks
142011-11-18Premium Deck Series: GravebornPD3 162003normalblackAnthony Jones
152014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1042015normalblackAnthony Jones
162016-06-10Eternal MastersEMA 782015normalblackBastien L. Deharme
172019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 5662015normalblackBastien L. Deharme
182020-09-26The ListPLST EMA-782015normalblackBastien L. Deharme
192022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 922015normalblackAnson Maddocks
202022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 3891997normalblackAnson Maddocks
212024-02-09Murders at Karlov Manor CommanderMKC 1252015normalblackAnthony Jones

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Animate Dead has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-06-08 Abilities such as shroud and protection function only on the battlefield unless otherwise specified. A creature card with shroud may be targeted by Animate Dead, and Animate Dead will become attached to the creature that enters the battlefield.
2016-06-08 Animate Dead is an Aura, albeit with an unusual enchant ability. You target a creature card in a graveyard when you cast it. It enters the battlefield attached to that card. Then it returns that card to the battlefield, and attaches itself to the card again (since the card is a new object on the battlefield). Animate Dead itself never moves into a graveyard during this process.
2016-06-08 If Animate Dead isn’t on the battlefield as its triggered ability resolves, none of its effects happen. The creature card won’t be returned to the battlefield.
2016-06-08 If the creature put onto the battlefield has protection from black—or if the creature can’t legally be enchanted by Animate Dead for another reason—Animate Dead won’t be able to attach to it. It will be put into the graveyard as a state-based action, causing its delayed triggered ability to trigger. When the trigger resolves, if the creature’s still on the battlefield, its controller will sacrifice it.
2016-06-08 Once the creature is returned to the battlefield, Animate Dead can’t be attached to anything other than it (unless Animate Dead somehow manages to put a different creature onto the battlefield). Attempting to move Animate Dead to another creature won’t work.

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