Premodern Reanimator Deck Guide (2026)
Premodern Reanimator is a black combo deck that discards a huge creature and returns it with Reanimate or Exhume, as early as turn one. Most lists add blue for Careful Study and play City of Brass and Gemstone Mine for green sideboard cards such as Oath of Druids, and about a quarter of the lists since April are mono-black. Because Entomb and Worldgorger Dragon are banned in Premodern, it relies on redundant discard outlets and reanimation spells instead of tutors. Since September it holds about 1 percent of the MTGTop8 lists (23 of 1,914, lists up to October 20, 2026), 18th among the decks with a guide here. Jhony Breener De Oliveira reached the top eight of the 225-player Brazil Nationals on August 23, Max Riopel the top eight of the 64-player Bay Area Eternal 3K Open on the same day, and a mono-black list took first place in the online 2026 Nantuko League (74 players) on August 31.
How the deck wins
- The engine has two parts: a discard outlet (Putrid Imp, Careful Study, Sickening Dreams, or Cabal Therapy naming your own creature) puts a big creature into your graveyard, then Reanimate, Exhume, Death or Animate Dead returns it. Mono-black lists replace Careful Study with Unmask, which works as an outlet when you cast it on yourself. Animate Dead is no use on Akroma, though: a black Aura cannot stay on a creature with protection from black, so she is sacrificed at once. With Dark Ritual or Lotus Petal the fastest draws put a creature onto the battlefield on turn one, for example Swamp, Dark Ritual, Putrid Imp, discard Akroma, Reanimate.
- Akroma, Angel of Wrath flies, has haste and has protection from black and from red, so red and black spells cannot target it and red and black creatures cannot block it. Swords to Plowshares, Wrath of God, Anarchy and black cards that do not target, such as Diabolic Edict, Innocent Blood and Dystopia, still remove it. Phantom Nishoba gains you life whenever it deals damage, and each time damage would be dealt to it, the damage is prevented and it loses one +1/+1 counter, so a burn spell costs it only one counter. Since September Verdant Force is the third target in more than half the lists, followed by Petradon (which exiles two lands) in about two in five and by Multani, Maro-Sorcerer, Symbiotic Wurm, Reya Dawnbringer and Visara the Dreadful; Rorix Bladewing (a hasty 6/5 flier) is down to one list in eight.
- Cabal Therapy does two jobs: cast on yourself, naming the creature you want in the graveyard, it is an outlet, and cast at the opponent or flashed back by sacrificing Putrid Imp, it takes Swords to Plowshares or a counterspell from their hand the turn you reanimate. Tormod's Crypt and Phyrexian Furnace are artifacts they can only cast in their own turn, so a Therapy that names them has to come a turn earlier. After boarding, Oath of Druids gets around graveyard hate, but it only triggers in your upkeep while the opponent controls more creatures than you.
- Most lists are five-color, with City of Brass, Gemstone Mine, Underground River and Undiscovered Paradise for Careful Study and the sideboard. About a quarter of the lists since April, half of them on MTGO, are mono-black: fourteen Swamps and no Careful Study or Lotus Petal, four Life // Death and Unmask, Verdant Force in almost every list and Phantom Nishoba often in the sideboard. It is the cheaper way in.
Core cards
- 4 Reanimate
- 4 Exhume
- 4 Putrid Imp
- 4 Cabal Therapy
- 4 Dark Ritual
- 4 Careful Study
- 4 Lotus Petal
- 4 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
- 4 Phantom Nishoba
- 2 Life // Death
- 2 Animate Dead
- 2 Sickening Dreams
- 4 City of Brass
- 4 Gemstone Mine
- 4 Underground River
Key cards
- Putrid Imp: A one-mana 1/1 and the only free, repeatable discard outlet: its ability costs no mana and needs no tap, so it works the turn it comes down and at instant speed. It also blocks an early attacker and is the creature you sacrifice to flash back Cabal Therapy.
- Careful Study: One blue mana to draw two cards, then discard two: it finds a creature and puts it into the graveyard with a single card. Four of five lists since September play four, and it is the main reason most lists run blue sources.
- Cabal Therapy: A discard outlet and a disruption spell in one: target yourself and name your creature to discard every copy of it, then flash it back by sacrificing a creature, usually Putrid Imp, to take an answer from the opponent's hand.
- Exhume: Two mana and no life, but each player returns a creature card from their own graveyard, and both creatures enter at the same time: a Man-o'-War in their graveyard returns yours to your hand, and a Gilded Drake takes it. If they exile your only creature card in response, you get nothing and they still get theirs. Check their graveyard first and cast Exhume when it is empty or your creature is clearly better.
- Reanimate: One mana to put a creature card from any graveyard, the opponent's included, onto the battlefield under your control, and you lose life equal to its mana value: eight for Akroma, seven for Phantom Nishoba. At eight life or less, Reanimate on Akroma kills you; against aggro, Nishoba wins that life back when it deals damage.
- Life // Death: In about four of five lists since September: Death returns a creature card from your own graveyard to the battlefield for two mana, and you lose life equal to its mana value, just as with Reanimate. It costs one more mana than Reanimate and only reaches your own graveyard, so it is simply one more reanimation spell. The Life half is almost never cast.
- Akroma, Angel of Wrath: In almost every list: flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste and protection from black and from red. Burn cannot damage it, red and black creatures cannot block it, and it attacks for six the turn it arrives.
- Phantom Nishoba: Main deck in almost nine of ten lists since September: it enters with seven +1/+1 counters, tramples, and gains you life whenever it deals damage, which pays back the life Reanimate costs and makes it hard for Goblins and Sligh to race unless Sulfuric Vortex is out. It is green and white, so Swords to Plowshares, Snuff Out and Anarchy still kill it.
- Oath of Druids: In seven of ten sideboards since September, and in more than four of five of the five-color lists; the mono-black lists have no green mana for it. In each of your upkeeps in which the opponent controls more creatures than you, you may reveal cards until you reveal a creature card and put it onto the battlefield, so Tormod's Crypt and Phyrexian Furnace have nothing to exile. The first creature card can also be a Putrid Imp, and the other revealed cards go to your graveyard. Oath works for the opponent too: once you control more creatures, they get the trigger in their upkeep.
Mulligan guide
Keep
- Any hand with a discard outlet or a Cabal Therapy to cast on yourself, a big creature, a reanimation spell and a land. Without a land the hand needs Lotus Petal and Dark Ritual, since Putrid Imp and Reanimate together cost two mana.
- Land plus Dark Ritual, Putrid Imp, a big creature and Exhume: this hand puts the creature onto the battlefield on turn one.
- After boarding against graveyard hate, prefer hands that also hold Duress, Unmask or Cabal Therapy for the opponent, or Crumble or Naturalize for a Tormod's Crypt already on the battlefield.
Ship
- Big creatures and reanimation spells but no outlet: the creature stays in your hand.
- Outlets and reanimation spells but no big creature, unless you hold two Careful Study to dig for one.
- Four or more lands, or no land without both Lotus Petal and Dark Ritual.
Mulligan any hand that cannot put a creature onto the battlefield by turn two or three; a smaller hand with all three pieces is better.
Play tips and sequencing
- Cast Putrid Imp first when you already hold a big creature: its ability costs nothing, so you can discard right before the reanimation spell, and if they exile the creature card before you cast it, or in response to Exhume, which does not target, you can discard another one. Cast Careful Study first only when you still need to find the creature.
- Cabal Therapy on yourself is the outlet when you have no Putrid Imp or Careful Study: name the creature you hold, then reanimate it. With Putrid Imp out, let the Imp discard instead and point Therapy and its flashback at the opponent: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Putrid Imp discarding Akroma, Reanimate, Cabal Therapy, then sacrifice the Imp to flash it back.
- After boarding, a Cabal Therapy cast a turn or more before your reanimation turn is often best spent on Phyrexian Furnace or Tormod's Crypt, which they can only cast in their own turn. On the reanimation turn itself name Swords to Plowshares or a counterspell, since an artifact still in their hand cannot stop you that turn, and a Crypt or Furnace already on the battlefield needs Crumble or Naturalize.
- Bait Tormod's Crypt with the first creature card, then discard a second one after they have used it. Phyrexian Furnace exiles only the bottom card of your graveyard for free, so discard a spare card first to keep the creature off the bottom; for {1} and sacrificing the Furnace they can exile any one card.
- Before Exhume, check their graveyard. If a big creature is already there, cast Reanimate or Death instead; Reanimate can even return their creature for you.
- Against burn, count your life before you reanimate, since City of Brass and Underground River cost life too. Against Sligh, take Nishoba and gain the life back rather than Akroma, or cast Exhume, which costs no life.
Matchups
- Stiflenought (unfavorable): Both decks race to land a threat early, and you are often faster, but they hold Stifle, Daze and counters. Bait with an early outlet, and bring in Naturalize for the Dreadnought after boarding. MTGDecks: 37 percent over 51 matches.
- Goblins (favorable): Your turn-one or turn-two reanimation comes long before their clock. Akroma, Angel of Wrath has protection from red, so no Goblin can block or damage it, Phantom Nishoba loses only one +1/+1 counter each time it would be dealt damage, and Sickening Dreams sweeps the go-wide start. After boarding expect Tormod's Crypt, which is in almost every Goblins sideboard. Limited data: 65 percent over 34 matches.
- Sligh (favorable): Akroma, Angel of Wrath is protected from red and Phantom Nishoba gains the life back unless Sulfuric Vortex is out, though Anarchy, in about half their sideboards, destroys both, since both are white. The real danger is your own life loss from Reanimate plus painlands, so take Nishoba when burn is live. Limited data: 66 percent over 29 matches.
- Enchantress (slightly unfavorable): A resolved fatty is fast, but Solitary Confinement prevents all its damage, and they hold Swords to Plowshares and Parallax Wave for it. Race before Confinement lands, bring Naturalize or Tranquil Domain for it, and Duress. Limited data: 39 percent over 23 matches.
- Landstill (unfavorable): Landstill has counterspells for your reanimation spells, four Swords to Plowshares for what comes back, Phyrexian Furnace in most main decks for the creature card in your graveyard, and Tormod's Crypt after boarding. Multani, Maro-Sorcerer with shroud and Iridescent Angel with protection from each color come in after boarding and dodge their Swords, though Wrath of God and Humility still deal with them, and your Oath of Druids finds a creature in each of your upkeeps once they control more creatures than you, for example Exalted Angel or Soldier tokens. Limited data: 41 percent over 22 matches.
- Elves (favorable): You outspeed them, and an early Akroma or Phantom Nishoba outclasses their board. Their answer is Tormod's Crypt, in three of four of their sideboards, so take it with Cabal Therapy or make them use it before you commit. Exhume also lets them return a creature card from their graveyard, and Survival of the Fittest puts Deranged Hermit or Masticore there. Each Masticore shot removes a +1/+1 counter from Phantom Nishoba, and Nantuko Vigilante can destroy Animate Dead, which takes its creature with it. Your Sickening Dreams kills their mana Elves and discards a reanimation target. Limited data: 100 percent over 7 matches.
- Mono Black (even): Their spot removal bounces off Akroma, Angel of Wrath, which has protection from black, but Diabolic Edict takes it when it is your only creature, so keep Putrid Imp around. Snuff Out kills Phantom Nishoba and Verdant Force. Their Duress, Cabal Therapy and Withered Wretch fight every step, Exhume also gives them back a creature from their graveyard, and your Sickening Dreams kills their small creatures. Limited data: 52 percent over 23 matches.
- UG Madness (even): Their Circular Logic and Daze counter Reanimate, Exhume or Animate Dead, so name Circular Logic with Cabal Therapy first; after boarding, Tormod's Crypt exiles your graveyard in response. A resolved Akroma or Phantom Nishoba outclasses their board, but Waterfront Bouncer, main deck in most of their lists, returns it to your hand, and Gilded Drake, in their Survival lists, takes it. Limited data: 33 percent over 15 matches.
- The Rock (even): Duress and Cabal Therapy take the reanimation spell, Pernicious Deed for two destroys Animate Dead along with its creature, and Exhume returns a creature for them too, often a cycled Krosan Tusker. Lean on Reanimate and Death over Exhume. Limited data: 70 percent over 10 matches.
- Tron (slightly favorable): You are far faster than a deck that needs all three Urza lands, but most Tron lists hold two-mana counterspells: Prohibit counters any of your reanimation spells, Mana Leak and Miscalculation unless you pay three or two more. Reanimate before they have two lands or while they are tapped out. Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God answer what resolves, and after boarding expect Tormod's Crypt and Meddling Mage. No match data.
- Deadguy Ale (slightly unfavorable): Their game one is full of interaction: Duress, Withered Wretch in most lists, Swords to Plowshares and Vindicate, which destroys Animate Dead or Phantom Nishoba but cannot target Akroma, and Disenchant in about half the main decks. Their Gerrard's Verdict and Hypnotic Specter make you discard, and since you choose the Verdict discards, it can put a creature into your graveyard. Exhume also returns a dead Exalted Angel for them. A turn-one or turn-two reanimation still beats a slow Deadguy hand; after boarding expect Tormod's Crypt and Perish, which kills Nishoba and Verdant Force. No match data.
- Aluren (unfavorable): They are fast and hold answers to a single big creature: Man-o'-War and Chain of Vapor return it to your hand, where you cannot cast it, and their combo ignores combat. A turn-one or turn-two reanimation can still win before Aluren comes online, Cabal Therapy or Duress can take Aluren first, and Putrid Imp can discard the returned creature again. When they Chain of Vapor your creature, you may sacrifice a land to copy it onto Aluren. Do not cast Exhume with a Man-o'-War in their graveyard: it enters with your creature and returns it. After boarding expect Gilded Drake, which takes your creature, and in some lists Tormod's Crypt. Very limited data.
- Terrageddon (even): Reanimate and Exhume cost one and two mana, so their Armageddon arrives too late. They hold Swords to Plowshares for Akroma and Phantom Nishoba and Wasteland for City of Brass or Underground River, and Tormod's Crypt is their key sideboard card. Limited data: 47 percent over 17 matches.
- MUD (unfavorable): Reanimate and Exhume are cheap enough to cast under Winter Orb, even with Sphere of Resistance adding one to each, but Tangle Wire makes you tap an artifact, creature or land per counter, under Winter Orb often your fatty, and Phyrexian Furnace comes in after boarding to exile it from the graveyard first. Aura Flux answers a sideboard Oath of Druids. Very limited data.
- Full English Breakfast (even): Two fast graveyard decks: speed and a timely Duress or Cabal Therapy decide it. Exhume returns a creature card for them too, and their graveyard is full of them after a Survival chain or a Hermit Druid activation, so prefer Reanimate and Animate Dead; Reanimate can also take their Akroma, for 8 life. Sickening Dreams kills Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid. After boarding, Tormod's Crypt, in about a third of your sideboards since September, exiles their graveyard after a Hermit Druid activation, and Null Rod stops the Phyrexian Devourer and Triskelion forms of Volrath's Shapeshifter; expect Duress and Swords to Plowshares from them. Very limited data.
- Stasis (favorable): Your engine barely needs untapped lands: Reanimate costs one mana, Lotus Petal and Dark Ritual don't need to untap, and Akroma, Angel of Wrath has vigilance, so it attacks every turn under Stasis. Watch for Chain of Vapor on Akroma: you can't pay eight mana to cast it again. You may sacrifice a land to copy it onto Stasis, which helps most when they cast it in their own turn: unless they still have two mana to cast Stasis again, you untap next. MTGDecks: 88 percent over 8 matches, very limited data.
- Replenish (even): You are faster, but Swords to Plowshares and Parallax Wave answer a single reanimated creature, Akroma included, and Meddling Mage naming Exhume or Reanimate comes in after boarding. In game one Exhume gives them nothing back, since they play no creatures; after boarding a dead Exalted Angel or Meddling Mage can return with it. Limited data: 40 percent over 20 matches.
- Oath of Druids (even): You are a turn faster than their best draw, but Sphere of Resistance taxes Reanimate, Exhume and Lotus Petal, Wasteland hits City of Brass and Gemstone Mine, and your reanimated creature hands them an Oath trigger in each of their upkeeps while you control more creatures. It works for you too: once their Terravore is out and you have no creature, their Oath can put the first creature card of your library onto the battlefield in your upkeep. Akroma flies over Terravore; Swords to Plowshares is their answer. Limited data: 33 percent over 15 matches.
- Psychatog (unfavorable): Their Duress takes Reanimate and Exhume and their counterspells stop them, and Tormod's Crypt comes in after boarding. Resolve Cabal Therapy or Duress first, and go off when they tap out; Foil costs them no mana, only an Island card and another card from their hand, so count their cards. Akroma's protection from black means their Smother cannot target her and their Psychatog cannot block her, and your Sickening Dreams for two or more kills Psychatog unless they pump it in response. Exhume gives them a creature card from their graveyard too, so check it for Psychatog or Wonder first. No match data.
- Clerics (unfavorable): Their main-deck Withered Wretch, Duress and Cabal Therapy attack both parts of your plan, so reanimate before Wretch has a mana open, or name Wretch with your own Cabal Therapy first. Akroma, Angel of Wrath has protection from black: their creatures cannot block it and Smother and Snuff Out cannot target it, so their answers are Diabolic Edict, in some main decks and about half the sideboards, and Dystopia after boarding. Snuff Out still kills Phantom Nishoba and Verdant Force. Be careful with Exhume, since their graveyard fills with Clerics and a cycled Scion of Darkness comes back for them as a 6/6 trampler. No match data.
- The Solution (unfavorable): Tormod's Crypt, counters on the reanimation spell and Swords to Plowshares on the creature are their answers, and Meddling Mage stops only the one spell it names. Akroma's protection from red keeps it safe from Lightning Bolt and Fire and stops Lightning Angel from blocking it, and Exhume also gives them back a creature from their graveyard. After boarding Iridescent Angel and Ihsan's Shade cannot be targeted by Swords, and Oath of Druids gets around their graveyard hate. No match data.
- Dromar Control (unfavorable): Duress, Meddling Mage naming Reanimate or Exhume, Mana Leak and four Swords to Plowshares stop either the spell or the creature, and Tormod's Crypt comes in after boarding. Vindicate and Dromar's Charm cannot target Akroma, which has protection from black, though the Charm can counter the reanimation spell, and Diabolic Edict, in about half their lists, still takes Akroma when it is your only creature. Exhume also returns a dead Exalted Angel for them. After boarding Iridescent Angel, with protection from every color, is the best creature to reanimate here. No match data.
- White Weenie (slightly unfavorable): A turn-one or turn-two reanimation beats them; a slower start loses to their clock and to Swords to Plowshares, which exiles Akroma or Phantom Nishoba. Expect Tormod's Crypt after boarding. Very limited data: 20 percent over 5 matches.
- BW Control (slightly unfavorable): Their Duress, and Cabal Therapy in about one list in five, take your reanimation spells, while Gerrard's Verdict lets you choose the discards and can even put a big creature into your graveyard, Phyrexian Furnace sits in their main deck, and Tormod's Crypt and Haunting Echoes come in after boarding. Vindicate cannot target Akroma, which has protection from black, but Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God still answer it, and so do Akroma's Vengeance and Diabolic Edict in the lists that play them. Exhume is symmetrical: a plainscycled Eternal Dragon in their graveyard comes back for them. A fast Dark Ritual start before their discard is your best chance. Very limited data: 20 percent over 5 matches.
- Gro-a-Tog (unfavorable): Counterspell, Daze, Foil and Meddling Mage naming Reanimate or Exhume stop most of your lines, and Swords to Plowshares exiles a reanimated Akroma; Fire cannot target it, but Ice can tap it. Cast Cabal Therapy naming Counterspell first and keep an extra mana for Daze. Daze and Foil cost them no mana, so waiting until they tap out only helps against Counterspell. Exhume also returns a dead Psychatog or Quirion Dryad for them. Very limited data: 29 percent over 7 matches.
- Pit Rack (favorable): Their discard helps you: Funeral Charm and Ravenous Rats let you discard Akroma for free, Chain of Smog lets you choose two discards, and Hypnotic Specter and Bottomless Pit may hit a creature at random. Akroma has protection from black, so their creatures cannot block it and Smother and Snuff Out cannot target it, but Diabolic Edict, Innocent Blood in about a third of their lists and Dystopia, in almost every sideboard, still take it: Dystopia makes you sacrifice a green or white permanent in each of your upkeeps, Akroma once nothing else is left. Keep Putrid Imp around against the edicts. Watch for Duress and Cabal Therapy on Reanimate and Exhume, Withered Wretch in two of five main decks, and Tormod's Crypt and Planar Void after boarding. Very limited data: 62 percent over 8 matches.
- Rebels (slightly unfavorable): Their counters and Meddling Mage are the problem, so strip them with Cabal Therapy first or reanimate on a turn after they tapped out for creatures. Swords to Plowshares answers Akroma and Phantom Nishoba, Whipcorder can tap them, and Exhume gives them a creature back too. After boarding expect Tormod's Crypt, Phyrexian Furnace and Aura of Silence, which makes Lotus Petal, Animate Dead and Oath of Druids cost two more and can destroy one of them. No match data.
- Contamination (slightly favorable): Contamination barely matters to you: Reanimate, Exhume, Animate Dead, Putrid Imp and Dark Ritual are black, and under it only Careful Study, and after boarding Oath of Druids and Naturalize, need Lotus Petal for their color. Their Duress, Cabal Therapy and Phyrexian Furnace are the problem: the Furnace exiles the creature you discarded in response to Reanimate. Innocent Blood, in almost every main deck, takes Akroma when it is your only creature, and Wasteland hits City of Brass, Gemstone Mine and Underground River. After boarding expect Haunting Echoes, Tormod's Crypt and Dystopia, which makes you sacrifice a green or white permanent in each of your upkeeps, Akroma once nothing else is left. Very limited data.
- Turbo Lands (unfavorable): Glacial Chasm prevents all damage to them, Akroma's included. Petradon, in about two in five lists since September, can exile it until Petradon leaves the battlefield; otherwise you have no way to remove a land, so reanimate before it lands and race. Cabal Therapy naming Exploration or Seismic Assault slows their engine, and Akroma's protection from red keeps it safe from Seismic Assault. Expect Tormod's Crypt after boarding. No match data.
- Fluctuator (favorable): Akroma, Angel of Wrath on turn one or two needs four attacks, so the game is a race against their kill on turn three or four, and Reanimate's 8 life brings their kill closer. Cabal Therapy naming Fluctuator or Songs of the Damned slows them down, and their Expunge cannot kill Akroma, which has protection from black. Exhume gives them a creature from their graveyard too, so prefer Reanimate or Death once they have cycled. After boarding, Misdirection, in every Fluctuator sideboard on record, can move Reanimate or Animate Dead onto a creature card in their graveyard, so you get one of their creatures instead; Death only reaches your own graveyard and is the safest then. No match data.
- RG Zoo (slightly favorable): You are faster, and Akroma, Angel of Wrath has flying and protection from red: Zoo has no flier and no way to remove it. The danger is your life total: Reanimate costs 8 life for Akroma, and burn plus your painlands race you, so Phantom Nishoba is often the better target. Sickening Dreams, main deck in most of your lists, discards a reanimation target and kills Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer. Their one-damage burn kills Putrid Imp. After boarding they bring Tormod's Crypt; Oath of Druids, which doesn't need your graveyard, is strong against a deck full of creatures, though their main-deck Naturalize destroys it, and Animate Dead too, which takes the reanimated creature with it. Limited data: 60 percent over 10 matches.
- Zombies (even): Their main-deck Withered Wretch exiles your fatty in response to Reanimate, Exhume or Animate Dead, and Duress and Cabal Therapy go after the reanimation spells, so go off before Wretch arrives, while they are tapped out, or after naming Wretch with Cabal Therapy. Akroma, Angel of Wrath is the best target, because protection from black means their creatures cannot block it and Snuff Out cannot target it. Exhume gives them a creature from their graveyard too, often a cycled Gempalm Polluter, and Sickening Dreams sweeps their 2/2s. After boarding, Oath of Druids is live against a creature deck. No match data.
Sideboard guide
- vs Graveyard hate: Tormod's Crypt, Phyrexian Furnace and Withered Wretch: Oath of Druids. In seven of ten sideboards since September. Oath does not use your graveyard, so Tormod's Crypt and Phyrexian Furnace have nothing to exile, but it only triggers in your upkeep while the opponent controls more creatures than you, and your own Putrid Imp counts. There is no Forbidden Orchard in Premodern, so it is a card for matchups against creature decks.
- vs Swords to Plowshares and control decks: Multani, Maro-Sorcerer, Iridescent Angel, Ihsan's Shade. Swords to Plowshares cannot target any of them: Multani has shroud, Iridescent Angel has protection from every color and Ihsan's Shade from white. Wrath of God and Diabolic Edict still kill all three, Humility makes them 1/1, and Multani is only as big as the number of cards in all hands.
- vs Artifact hate: Crumble, Naturalize. Crumble and Naturalize destroy Phyrexian Furnace and Tormod's Crypt, but the Crypt can be used in response, so destroy it before you discard a creature.
- vs Enchantress and Solitary Confinement: Naturalize, Tranquil Domain. Solitary Confinement prevents all damage your creature would deal to them. Tranquil Domain destroys it together with Opalescence and Parallax Wave, whose exiled creatures come back, but also your own Oath of Druids; Animate Dead is an Aura and stays.
- vs Goblins, Elves and Sligh: Sickening Dreams. Sickening Dreams is in the main deck of nine of ten lists since September, and some lists add more after boarding. It discards cards as its additional cost, so it puts a reanimation target into your graveyard, and with X = 1 it already kills the one-toughness creatures of Goblins, Elves and Sligh.
- vs Combo and control: Duress. In six of ten sideboards since September, besides a few main-deck copies: it takes a counterspell, Tormod's Crypt or Phyrexian Furnace from their hand before you cast the reanimation spell, but not Withered Wretch, which is a creature; Unmask, in the mono-black lists, can.
- vs Anything with graveyard hate: Show and Tell. Puts Akroma straight from hand to battlefield with no graveyard involved, at the risk of giving them a free permanent too.
Budget and upgrades
Typical cost: $450–$1,090. The reference list (Elias Neirynck, first of 11 at an FNM in Ghent, Belgium, on September 18) costs about $1,090 with its sideboard at the Premodern-era printings tracked here. Four Lotus Petal (about $165), four City of Brass (about $130) and four Oath of Druids in the sideboard (about $125) are the biggest items; the creatures cost $2 to $21 each.
- The cheap way in is mono-black: fourteen Swamps, four Life // Death and no blue. J.P. Lamp reached the top eight of 20 at the Pastimes Showdown in Niles, Indiana, on September 5 with it.
- Skip Recurring Nightmare (about $82 each) and Powder Keg (about $70 each) from that list, and it costs about $450 with sideboard before you fill those six slots.
- Keep the engine: Reanimate about $17, Cabal Therapy about $20, Akroma, Angel of Wrath about $21, Phantom Nishoba about $8.
- For the five-color build add Careful Study, Lotus Petal, Underground River, City of Brass and Gemstone Mine first, then Undiscovered Paradise, and Oath of Druids for the sideboard.
Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.
