MTG >Cards > Grave Studies

About Grave Studies

Grave Studies, Instant, designed by Abz J Harding first released in May, 2026 in the set Alchemy: Secrets of Strixhaven.

**Grave Studies** would fit best in a B/G “Aristocrats” or sacrifice-focused deck that benefits from creatures dying—especially ones that profit from death triggers (e.g., *Blood Artist*, *Zulaport Cutthroat*, *Bastion of Remembrance*) or that want expendable bodies like Pest tokens for life gain and sacrifice fodder. Because it conjures a *Teacher’s Pest* (a 1/1 Pest with “when this dies, you gain 1 life”) before each player sacrifices a creature, it helps you break the symmetry if you’re built to exploit death triggers while forcing your opponent to lose something more valuable. That said, it’s generally underpowered compared to stronger sacrifice or removal options like *Plumb the Forbidden*, *Deadly Dispute*, *Village Rites*, or even classic edict effects like *Diabolic Edict* or *Sheoldred’s Edict*, which are more efficient or impactful. In most competitive formats, this card is too low-impact to see serious play, but it could be reasonable in casual or synergy-heavy sacrifice dec