What it does
Embalm is an activated ability you use from your graveyard, not the battlefield. By paying its cost (and only at a time you could cast a sorcery), you exile the creature card from your graveyard and create a token copy of it. The catch: the token is a white Zombie in addition to its other types and colors, and it has no mana cost (so its mana value is 0).
The most common mistake is forgetting that embalm exiles the card—you can't get it back later, and you only get one token, not a repeatable engine. Also, since it's an ability, it can't be countered by spell counters like Counterspell.
In Commander, embalm gives graveyard value and dodges sorcery-speed removal timing windows. It synergizes with Zombie tribal and any "token created" or copy-matters effects, and the 0 mana value matters for cost-based interactions.
Iconic cards with Embalm
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