Proper Burial MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2006-05-05
Set symbol
Set name	Dissension
Set code	DIS
Number	16
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Luca Zontini

Key Takeaways

Proper Burial offers dual benefits: life gain upon creature death and replenishing your hand for sustained play.
The card fits flexibly into various white-based decks, enhancing strategies that revolve around creature control.
Countering Proper Burial involves exile effects, counterspells, or alternative win conditions, bypassing its life-gain ability.

Text of card

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from play, you gain life equal to that creature's toughness.

Properly honored dead gain the peace of the grave and freedom from the call of the Ghost Quarter.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Proper Burial is a unique tool for maintaining momentum in gameplay. It turns creature losses into an advantage, allowing players to draw a card every time one of their creatures dies. This kind of ability ensures players can replenish their hands, compensating for the loss of board presence with new options from their deck.

Resource Acceleration: Though Proper Burial does not directly generate mana, it offers a subtle form of resource acceleration by making every creature loss a pathway to potential new resources. Each card drawn represents further opportunities to access spells and lands, indirectly speeding up the player’s ability to deploy threats and answers.

Instant Speed: While Proper Burial itself is an enchantment, the passive benefit it provides synergizes well with spells that can be played at instant speed. It allows players to maneuver in complex board states, knowing that even if their creatures are removed during the opponent’s turn, they will be compensated with new drawing power.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: This card doesn’t directly cause any discarding, but its potential is often maximized by having creatures to sacrifice. This could hinder deck performance if you’re facing any card shortage scenarios.

Specific Mana Cost: Proper Burial requires both white mana and generic mana to play, making it somewhat restrictive. Decks without a strong white mana base might struggle to leverage its abilities effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Proper Burial is a bit expensive. Given that the card doesn’t impact the board immediately after being played, other cards might offer faster or more immediate defensive benefits.

Reasons to Include Proper Burial in Your Collection

Versatility: Proper Burial is a flexible choice for decks that focus on creature control or life gain strategies. It can slot into various white-based Commander decks, giving you benefits every time your creatures are sent to the graveyard.

Combo Potential: This card opens up possibilities for combo play, especially in decks with self-sacrificing creatures or those that capitalize on death triggers, amplifying the value received from each creature’s demise.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta heavy with removal spells and board wipes, Proper Burial provides a cushion of life points, giving you an edge by turning potential setbacks into sources of life gain, assuring that your creature losses contribute to your fortification.

How to beat

Proper Burial is a unique white enchantment card that can be quite a stumbling block for opponents in Magic: The Gathering. This card rewards players for creature losses by gaining life equal to the deceased creature’s toughness. It shifts the balance by making it less damaging for creatures to be destroyed or sacrificed.

To effectively counter Proper Burial, it’s advisable to employ strategies that bypass the need to destroy creatures. One method is to utilize exile effects, which remove creatures from the game without triggering Proper Burial’s ability. Additionally, implementing counterspells to prevent Proper Burial from hitting the board is a proactive approach. If those options are not available, focusing on winning through alternative victory conditions like mill or direct damage can circumvent the life gain from creature deaths, ensuring that your strategy remains unaffected.

Overall, approaching the game with adaptability and strategic spell use can neutralize the impact of Proper Burial, enabling you to maintain an edge over the life-gaining tactics it promotes.

Cards like Proper Burial

Proper Burial is a unique piece within the array of creature support enchantments in MTG. It shares its life-gaining trait with cards like Suture Priest, which also offers life whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control. However, Proper Burial is distinct because it rewards you when your creatures are put to rest, granting you life points corresponding to the creature’s toughness.

Another akin card is Deathgreeter, which has a lighter mana cost and provides life whenever another creature dies, not limited to your own. While it offers a similar benefit, Proper Burial’s advantage lies in its ability to yield a larger amount of life due to its tie to creature toughness rather than a flat rate. Contrastingly, we have Angelic Chorus, an enchantment that synergizes with the birth of your creature army, providing life equal to their toughness upon their entrance to the battlefield.

In essence, Proper Burial carves out a niche for itself among MTG cards that turn demise into a source of vitality. It offers a strategic cushion, allowing for a life advantage that can be particularly beneficial in decks where creatures are often sacrificed or in matchups with frequent removal.

Cards similar to Proper Burial by color, type and mana cost

Divine Transformation - MTG Card versions

Diversionary Tactics - MTG Card versions

Teleportation Circle - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Proper Burial MTG card by a specific set like Dissension, 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 Proper Burial and other MTG cards: