Animate Dead Returns the Fallen
Animate Dead is a compact and efficient reanimation tool for any black commander deck. It targets a creature card in a graveyard and, on resolution, brings that creature back under your control while attaching the aura to it. The card imposes a small penalty to the returned body so it rarely breaks balance, but it converts graveyard resources into immediate board presence and tempo. Experienced players will appreciate the clean timing window that lets you target a creature and recover it without complex stack gymnastics.
In the Karlov Manor frame this printing retains the classic interaction where the aura stops being a graveyard enchantment once it resolves and instead becomes attached to the creature you returned. That change matters for trigger resolution and removal sequencing. Use Animate Dead to reclaim a key utility creature or to reset a recurring threat for value plays across multiplayer games. The card reads plainly but rewards precise timing and play sequencing.
Card Details:
- Mana Cost – {1}{B}
- Card Type – Enchantment — Aura
- Subtypes – Aura
- Card Text / Rules Text (Printed) – Enchant creature card in a graveyard
- When Animate Dead enters the battlefield, if it’s on the battlefield, it loses "enchant creature card in a graveyard" and gains "enchant creature put onto the battlefield with Animate Dead." Return enchanted creature card to the battlefield under your control and attach Animate Dead to it. When Animate Dead leaves the battlefield, that creature's controller sacrifices it.
- Enchanted creature gets -1/0.
- Power / Toughness – N A