Price$7.39 – $18.73

Reanimate

Sorcery

LegalEDHREC #57

Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. You lose life equal to that card's mana value.

Why is this card good?

Reanimate is one of the best reanimation spells ever printed and a staple in nearly any black deck looking to cheat big creatures into play. For a single mana, you turn a fatty in any graveyard into a battlefield threat — that's an enormous rate, easily netting you 8+ mana of value on turn one or two. The life loss is real but mostly irrelevant in a 40-life format. Reanimator decks built around discard/self-mill (Liliana, Chainer, Sheoldred, Meren, etc.) love it, but it's also splashable in any black deck running a few bombs as backup. Don't sleep on stealing opponents' creatures — graveyards aren't yours alone. When NOT to play it: low-curve aggro or token/aristocrats lists with no big targets get little payoff, and in fast cEDH pods the life loss off a turn-one Griselbrand can genuinely matter. You also want graveyard enablers — without a way to fill yards, it's a do-nothing in your opening hand.

Related cards

Animate Dead

Cheap reanimation enchantment with similar role.

Necromancy

Flexible reanimation at instant speed option.

Exhume

Two-mana symmetric reanimation spell.

Persist

One-black mana reanimation, sacrifice the creature later.

Dance of the Dead

Cheap aura reanimation similar to Animate Dead.

Victimize

Reanimate multiple creatures by sacrificing one.

Unburial Rites

Reanimation with flashback for value.

Stitch Together

Cheap reanimation with threshold.

Printings (16)

marMarvel Universe · #20M$18.73Buy

ficFinal Fantasy Commander · #282R$7.39Buy

dscDuskmourn: House of Horror Commander · #155R$8.55Buy

plstThe List · #TMP-151U$9.55Buy

otpBreaking News · #18R$8.92Buy

mkcMurders at Karlov Manor Commander · #137R$8.52Buy

ltcTales of Middle-earth Commander · #206R$9.22Buy

cc2Commander Collection: Black · #5R$12.84Buy

Show all 16 printings

jmpJumpstart · #270R$8.13Buy

umaUltimate Masters · #110R$9.24Buy

pumaUltimate Box Topper · #U12M$79.44Buy

pd3Premium Deck Series: Graveborn · #15U$23.20Buy

arcArchenemy · #21U$11.33Buy

f04Friday Night Magic 2004 · #10R$91.64Buy

brbBattle Royale Box Set · #57U$13.80Buy

tmpTempest · #151U$16.62Buy

Played by these commanders

Mirko, Obsessive Theorist100% of 1

Terra, Herald of Hope100% of 2

Winter, Cynical Opportunist100% of 1

Sauron, Lord of the Rings100% of 1

Rulings (5)

2025-09-19
If a card in a graveyard has in its mana cost, X is 0.
2025-09-19
The amount of life you lose is determined by the mana value of the card in your graveyard, not the creature once it's on the battlefield.
2025-09-19
You lose life after the creature is already on the battlefield. Any abilities it has that interact with loss of life, such as that of Platinum Emperion, apply to that loss of life.
2025-09-19
If any abilities trigger on the creature entering the battlefield, those abilities resolve after you lose life. If losing life results in you losing the game, those abilities won't resolve.
2025-09-19
In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If you leave the game, the creature you control from Reanimate is exiled.