Commander: 15 Incredible Reanimate Cards

Every Commander player has at least once seen a valuable piece of their strategy go straight to the graveyard. That's usually when you look forward, let out a deep sigh, and check your cards to see if you have a spell in hand to bring that creature back.

Today, we'll show you fifteen great cards to reanimate your creatures, but, before we do that, let's briefly discuss how we selected these cards. If you would like to see them right away, feel free to skip ahead.

Reanimate strategies are so common in MTG that there are many commanders centered entirely and exclusively around them, like Sefris of the Hidden Ways, Meren of Clan Nel Toth, and Muldrotha, the Gravetide. However, Reanimate cards have space in any Commander deck.

As usual, we selected these cards based on how much mana they cost, how versatile they are, and how popular they are.

This time, we didn't rank our cards from worst to best. Instead, we focused on cards that benefit different types of Commander lists so we can help anyone looking to upgrade their lists and beginners who are still exploring their options.

Are you ready for these cards?

1. Reanimate

Such a classic card obviously needed to be on this list.

This spell brings back a creature from any graveyard (including the opponents'). In exchange, you'll lose life equal to that card's mana value.

For instance, if you cast this spell on Hashaton, Scarab's Fist, you'll lose two life.

It is simple and quite versatile, as well as a real gem for anyone who plays black in their decks.

2. Victimize

Unlike Reanimate, which only brings back one creature, Victimize brings back two creatures from your graveyard. In exchange, you'll have to sacrifice one of the creatures on your board. Any creatures you bring back this way come back tapped.

Please note that the two creatures you want to bring back need to be in the graveyard to resolve this spell. Furthermore, as you'll target them before you sacrifice something, you can't return the creature you sacrifice with Victimize.

3. Animate Dead

Animate Dead is an aura that enchants a creature in any graveyard.

When you do, that creature returns to the board with the aura attached, has -1/-0, and, if this enchantment leaves play, you must sacrifice the creature you returned with it.

Just like Reanimate, this card can bring back cards in enemy graveyards. So, with it you can get valuable resources and use them against their original owners.

4. Finale of Devastation

Finale of Devastation is a powerful tutor that looks for a creature with a mana value of X or lower in your deck and/or your graveyard and brings it to the battlefield. Besides this Reanimate effect, if X is 10 or more, your creatures will get haste and a big buff until the end of the turn.

5. Living Death

Living Death cleans the board and Reanimates creatures. When you cast this spell, each player exiles all the creatures in their graveyard and then sacrifices all creatures they control and returns all creatures exiled this way to the board.

As all players have to do this, you must use it wisely. But we can't deny it is a great Reanimate spell.

6. Dread Return

Flashback Reanimate? Yes, please!

For four mana, Dread Return returns a creature from your graveyard to your board.

When this spell is in the graveyard, you can cast it by sacrificing three creatures.

Keep in mind you can cast a spell with Flashback even if it was put in your graveyard directly, without being cast first.

7. Rise of the Dark Realms

This is one of those spells that ends the game when you cast it.

Rise of the Dark Realms returns all creatures from all graveyards to your side of the board.

It is quite expensive, but that's the way it needs to be, considering it can be a win condition in many decks. Of course, that also depends on how you build the deck in question and the interactions you add to it.

In a deck with Ayara, First of Locthwain as the commander, this spell will be unforgettably destructive.

8. Sheoldred, Whispering One

Sheoldred, Whispering One is a Reanimate spell you can Reanimate.

This version of Sheoldred has Swampwalk and forces your opponents to sacrifice creatures at the beginning of their upkeeps.

As for you, you'll return a creature from your graveyard to the board for no cost at all at the beginning of your upkeep.

9. Karmic Guide

This is another Reanimate you can Reanimate!

Karmic Guide has evasion, protection, and also Reanimates, all in the same card.

Because of Echo, you can sacrifice this creature at your upkeep so you can return it to your graveyard later on and trigger its ETB again.

Furthermore, Karmic Guide is a white Reanimate with no restrictions. This means it can bring any creature back.

This Angel is quite powerful in blink lists and even more so in Reanimate lists!

10. Necromancy

Can we Reanimate something with Flash?

You can cast Necromancy as if it had Flash. However, if you do it this way, you'll have to sacrifice it in the next end step, and, as a result, you'll lose the creature you Reanimate.

If you cast it regularly, that is, at sorcery speed, you don't need to worry about this. You'll return a creature to the board, and you'll only have to sacrifice it if it dies or if this enchantment is destroyed somehow.

11. Agadeem's Awakening

Agadeem's Awakening can Reanimate several creatures in your graveyard. To do this, just pick creatures with different mana values that are the same or less than the X you spent on this spell.

For instance, if you spend 4 mana to cast this spell, you can return up to five creatures:

One 0-cost creature

One 1-cost creature

One 2-cost creature

One 3-cost creature

One 4-cost creature

Furthermore, its other side works as a land.

12. Portal to Phyrexia

Portal to Phyrexia can ruin the day of any opponent.

When it enters, this artifact forces each opponent to sacrifice three creatures. Afterward, at your upkeep, Portal to Phyrexia lets you Reanimate a creature and turns it into a Phyrexian in addition to all its other types.

Please note that it can Reanimate a creature in enemy graveyards as well.

13. Emeria, the Sky Ruin

Emeria, the Sky Ruin is ideal if you want to Reanimate creatures with a mono-white list.

For no extra cost, this land passively returns a creature in your graveyard to your board as long as you control seven or more Plains.

14. Virtue of Persistence

Each card in the Eldraine Virtue cycle is valuable in its own way. One of Virtue of Persistence's sides destroys a creature, and the other returns creatures in your graveyard to your board.

15. Meren of Clan Nel Toth

We almost included Meren of Clan Nel Toth as an honorable mention, but it earned a spot in our article because it is an excellent commander for Reanimate decks. It is also quite useful as one of the other 99 cards in Reanimate Golgari lists.

With this creature in play, when a creature you control dies, you'll gain an Experience counter. At your end step, it lets you return a creature with the same or less mana value as your Experience counters and return it to your board. If you don't do this, it goes to your hand. One of the hardest interactions to deal with involving this commander is with cards like Spore Frog, which slow down combat damage and give you lots of Experience counters.

Reanimate definitely has a place in Commander. Hundreds of cards interact with this mechanic and support it, and a hundred of fun Commanders center entirely around it.

If you're interested in exploring Reanimate in Commander, you won't regret it.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!