Reanimation

Named after the card Reanimate from Tempest, reanimation effects return cards from a graveyard directly unto the battlefield.

Description

Black and, secondarily, White are the primary "reanimation" colors. Both Black and White have cards enabling the mass Reanimation of creatures.

Despite some cards having some limitations (Claim/Fame, Unearth, Persist), Black has no real restrictions on what creatures it can bring back. It is also the color with the best Graveyard Tutors: Entomb and Unmarked Grave.

White tended to reanimate smaller creatures, usually with a converted mana cost of 2 or less, but R&D has started letting white bring back larger creatures on occasion. It also will occasionally reanimate a creature type that is mostly white (things like Angels or Humans).

Red has Phoenixes, as well as efficient Artifact Reanimation cards with the example of Trash for Treasure, Goblin Welder, Goblin Engineer, Daretti, Scrap Savant.

Green has creatures that can bring themselves back from the graveyard (like Vengevine). And has other Graveyard synergies like Dredge.

Blue has one of the best Graveyard Tutors: Gifts Ungiven. So much so that, in Modern, UR Storm uses it to place Past in Flames directly into the Graveyard and Gifts Reanimator decks use it to place a creature along with Unburial Rites into the Graveyard. The key to the tutoring is that the opponent has to send 2 of the chosen cards to the Graveyard. And, While the card lets the caster choose up to 4 cards, should they choose only 2, both would automaticly go to the Graveyard.

Blue used to have reanimation as a tertiary mechanic. On rare occasion, it could make a copy of a creature out of the graveyard, but this mechanic isn't used anymore.

Reanimate permanent

Black can Reanimate creatures as well as planeswalkers.

Red can Reanimate artifacts efficiently.

Green has the mass Reanimation of lands with Splendid Reclamation.

White is the one color that can reanimate any permanent type, so it gets to reanimate "target permanent." It can also reanimate "target artifact," "target enchantment," or "target planeswalker." It doesn't specifically get "target land," but can do so when it's "target permanent".

Reanimator

Reanimator is an archetype of deck that make use of reanimation effects to put (usually) expensive creatures into play by relatively small amounts of mana.

List of reanimation instants and sorceries

Instants

• Betrayal of Flesh — bi-modal spell
• Cauldron Dance — cast only during combat, removes
• Corpse Dance — top creature card, removes - Buyback
• Faith's Reward — all permanent cards you own that were put there from the battlefield this turn
• Fated Return — target creature from a graveyard, indestructible
• Goryo's Vengeance — target legendary creature, removes - Splice onto Arcane
• Makeshift Mannequin — with a mannequin counter on it, "When this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it."
• Miraculous Recovery — with a +1/+1 counter
• Second Sunrise — all permanent cards that were put there from the battlefield this turn
• Shallow Grave — top creature card, removes
• Wake the Dead - During combat on opponent's turn, X target creatures, sacrifice at the end.

Sorceries

• All Hallow's Eve — each player, all creatures
• Ashen Powder — from an opponent's graveyard under your control
• Beacon of Unrest — target artifact or creature
• Breath of Life —
• Crime — target creature or enchantment card from an opponent's graveyard under your control
• Death — lose life equal to its converted mana cost
• Death or Glory — Divvy - all creatures
• Defy Death — if it's an Angel, put two +1/+1 counters on it
• Dread Return — Flashback — Sacrifice three creatures
• Edgar's Awakening —
• Ever After — two target creatures from your graveyard, shuffle Ever After back into your library
• Exhume — each player, a creature card
• False Defeat —
• Footsteps of the Goryo — removes
• Gruesome Encore — from an opponent's graveyard under your control, removes
• Hymn of Rebirth —
• Late to Dinner — also creates a Food token
• Living Death — each player exiles all creature cards from his or her graveyard, then sacrifices all creatures he or she controls, then puts all cards he or she exiled this way onto the battlefield
• Living End — Suspend 3 — each player exiles all creature cards from his or her graveyard, then sacrifices all creatures he or she controls, then puts all cards he or she exiled this way onto the battlefield
• Patriarch's Bidding — each player chooses a creature type, all creature cards of a type chosen
• Pyrrhic Revival — each player, each creature with an additional -1/-1 counter
• Postmortem Lunge — with converted mana cost X, removes
• Proclamation of Rebirth — up to three creatures with converted mana cost 1 or less - Forecast
• Profane Command — with converted mana cost X or less, bi-modal spell
• Reanimate — lose life equal to its converted mana cost
• Resurrection —
• Return of the Nightstalkers — all Nightstalker permanent cards, then destroy all Swamps you control
• Rise from the Grave — that creature is a black Zombie in addition to its other colors and types
• Search for Survivors — reorder your graveyard at random, then an opponent chooses a card at random in your graveyard. If it's a creature card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, exile it.
• Soul Exchange — as an additional cost to cast this, exile a creature you control. Put a +2/+2 counter on "reanimated" creature if the exiled creature was a Thrull
• Stir the Grave — with converted mana cost X or less
• Stitch Together — Threshold — otherwise return to your hand
• Torrent of Souls — if was spent to cast this
• Twilight's Call — each player, all creatures
• Unburial Rites — - Flashback
• Unearth — with converted mana cost 3 or less - Cycling
• Victimize — two creatures, if sacrifice a creature already in play
• Vigor Mortis — if was spent to cast this, target creature enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it
• Zombie Apocalypse — all Zombie, then destroy all Humans
• Zombify —
• Call of the Death-Dweller — Return up to two creatures with combined mana cost 3 or less and distribute a deathtouch counter and a menace counter between them.

Enchantments that cause reanimation

• Dawn of the Dead — at the beginning of your upkeep, lose 1 life, removes
• Debtors' Knell — at the beginning of your upkeep
• Diabolic Servitude — when this enters the battlefield, target creature
• Dreams of the Dead — - : target white or black creature and gains "Cumulative upkeep ."
• Marshal's Anthem — - Multikicker when this enters the battlefield, X creature(s), where X is the number of times Marshal's Anthem was kicked.
• Necromancy — when this enters the battlefield, becomes an Aura with "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Necromancy." and attach to target creature
• Recurring Nightmare — - Sacrifice a creature, Return this to its owner's hand: target creature
• Strands of Night — - , Pay 2 life, Sacrifice a Swamp: target creature

Aura

• Animate Dead —
• Dance of the Dead —

Planeswalkers that cause reanimation

• Liliana Vess — - -8 loyalty counters, all creatures from all graveyards under your control
• Liliana, Death's Majesty — - -3 loyalty counters, target creature in your graveyard, is a Black Zombie.
• Liliana, Death Wielder — - -10 loyalty, return all creature cards from your graveyard to the battlefield.

Creatures that cause reanimation

• Agadeem Occultist — 0/2 - : from an opponent's graveyard onto the under your control if its converted mana cost is less than or equal to the number of Allies you control
• Angel of Glory's Rise — 4/6 - when this enters the battlefield, exile all Zombies, "reanimate" all Human creature cards
• Apprentice Necromancer — 1/1 - , , Sacrifice this: target creature, removes
• Artisan of Kozilek — 10/9 - when you cast this, target creature - Annihilator 2
• Balthor the Defiled — 2/2 - , Exile thisled: each player, all black and all red creatures
• Bladewing the Risen — 4/4 - when this enters the battlefield, target Dragon permanent card
• Body Snatcher — 2/2 - when this dies, exile this, target creature
• Bone Dancer — 2/2 whenever this er attacks and isn't blocked, top creature card of defending player's graveyard under your control
• Celestial Gatekeeper — 2/2 - when this dies, exile it, two target Bird and/or Cleric permanent cards
• Chainer, Dementia Master — 3/3 - , Pay 3 life: target creature, that creature is black and is a Nightmare in addition to its other creature types
• Coffin Queen — 1/1 - , : target creature
• Crypt Champion — 2/2 - when thisn enters the battlefield, each player, creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less - Double strike
• Doomed Necromancer — 2/2 - , , Sacrifice this: target creature
• Driver of the Dead — 3/2 - when this dies, target creature with converted mana cost 2 or less
• Geth, Lord of the Vault — 5/5 - : target artifact or creature with converted mana cost X from an opponent's graveyard under your control tapped, then that player mills X cards - Intimidate
• Gravespawn Sovereign — 3/3 - Tap five untapped Zombies you control: target creature
• Hell's Caretaker — 1/1 - , Sacrifice a creature: target creature
• Nighteyes the Desecrator 2/1 - : target creature
• Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni — 5/4 - whenever this deals combat damage to a player, target creature from that player's graveyard under your control - Ninjutsu
• Karmic Guide — 2/2 - when this enters the battlefield, target creature - Echo
• Loyal Retainers — 1/1 - Sacrifice this: target legendary creature
• Mistmoon Griffin — 2/2 - when this dies, exile this, top creature card
• Moldgraf Monstrosity — 8/8 - when this dies, exile it, two creature cards at random
• Phyrexian Delver — 3/2 - when this enters the battlefield, target creature, lose life equal to that card's converted mana cost
• Puppeteer Clique — 3/2 - when this enters the battlefield, target creature card from an opponent's graveyard under your control, removes - Persist
• Pulsemage Advocate — 1/3 - : target creature, also return three target cards from an opponent's graveyard to his or her hand
• Ramosian Revivalist — 2/2 - , : target Rebel permanent card with converted mana cost 5 or less
• Reya Dawnbringer — 4/6 - at the beginning of your upkeep, target creature
• Scion of Darkness — 6/6 - whenever this deals combat damage to a player, target creature card from that player's graveyard under your control - Cycling
• Sheoldred, Whispering One — 6/6 - at the beginning of your upkeep, target creature - Swampwalk
• Sun Titan — 6/6 - whenever this enters the battlefield or attacks, target permanent card with converted mana cost 3 or less - Vigilance
• Tariel, Reckoner of Souls — 4/7 - : a creature card at random from target opponent's graveyard under your control
• Teneb, the Harvester — 6/6 - whenever this deals combat damage to a player, you may pay . If you do, target creature
• Yore-Tiller Nephilim — 2/2 - whenever this attacks, target creature tapped and attacking

Artifacts that cause reanimation

• Triassic Egg — - Sacrifice this: target creature, bi-modal spell
• Grimoire of the Dead — - , Remove three study counters from this and sacrifice it: all creature cards from all graveyards under your control, they're black Zombies in addition to their other colors and types

Lands that cause reanimation

• Emeria, the Sky Ruin - at the beginning of your upkeep, if you control seven or more Plains, target creature

See also

• Reanimator
• Legacy Reanimator deck
• Legacy
• Modern
• Vintage
• Historic
• Pioneer

Notes and references

• In the above list; "removes" means the reanimated creature(s) may gain haste, then are exiled/bounced/sacrificed at the beginning of the next end step.