The 5 Best Reanimator Targets in Magic: The Gathering, Ranked

One of the easiest ways to steal a game of MTG is to cheat a huge haymaker into play ahead of schedule. There are a variety of ways to do this, but reanimating from the graveyard is usually the most efficient and backbreaking option.

Not all bombs are created equal, however, so if you’re looking to craft a Reanimator deck, it’s important to know your best options. Luckily for you, we’ve put together a list of the best Reanimator targets in MTG to give you a good starting point.

5 | MTG Etali, Primal Conqueror

Many of the best cards to Reanimate have obscene enter-the-battlefield effects, and it’s hard to do better than Etali’s. The upside of casting multiple other heavy hitters for free, on top of putting a huge Trampling Dino into play, is incredibly high.

While the cards you reveal from Etali’s trigger are admittedly random, in a four-player Commander pod, the odds are in your favor that you’ll hit something good. Plus, if you ever pair this monster with a deck-manipulation effect, like Worldly Tutor Worldly Tutor Search your library for a creature card, reveal it, then shuffle and put the card on top. , you can guarantee your money’s worth.

Then, if Etali doesn’t get removed immediately, you can threaten to start blinking it and burying your opponents in value. You even have the potential to transform Etali and threaten lethal poison damage in one hit.

This Dinosaur’s only major flaw is its Gruul color combination, which limits its use in a wider range of Reanimator EDH decks. Fortunately, Slimefoot and Squee Slimefoot and Squee Whenever Slimefoot and Squee enters or attacks, create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token.
{1}{B}{R}{G}, Sacrifice a Saproling: Return this card and up to one other target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Activate only as a sorcery. makes for a great home.

4 | MTG Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers

The newest premium Reanimator target, Raph & Mikey is a brutal build-around. So long as you fill your deck exclusively with other creatures, one attack from this duo will easily end the game.

With this in mind, Raph & Mikey has become a common inclusion in Legacy Rakdos Reanimator shells. Once you reanimate Raph & Mikey and attack, you’re guaranteed to put another behemoth, like Griselbrand Griselbrand Flying, lifelink
Pay 7 life: Draw seven cards. , into play tapped and attacking thanks to this deck’s construction.

This particular play pattern not only puts your opponent under a ton of pressure immediately, but it also helps you gain seven extra life from the Hasty Griselbrand. This life swing lets you draw an extra seven cards, increasing your chances of finding Unmask Unmask You may exile a black card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. or Thoughtseize Thoughtseize Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life. to disrupt the opponent.

Timeless Turbo Reanimator takes things a step further, using Raph & Mikey alongside Worldspine Wurm Worldspine Wurm Trample
When this creature dies, create three 5/5 green Wurm creature tokens with trample.
When Worldspine Wurm is put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner's library. as the only creatures in the deck. With the help of Entomb Entomb Search your library for a card, put that card into your graveyard, then shuffle. , Reanimate Reanimate Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. You lose life equal to that card's mana value. , and a bunch of tutors, you can consistently get the Turtle into play early and get a 22-damage attack in right away!

Raph & Mikey’s Constructed impact also extends to Pioneer Indomitable Creativity Indomitable Creativity Destroy X target artifacts and/or creatures. For each permanent destroyed this way, its controller reveals cards from the top of their library until an artifact or creature card is revealed and exiles that card. Those players put the exiled cards onto the battlefield, then shuffle. and Vintage Oath of Druids Oath of Druids At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player chooses target player who controls more creatures than they do and is their opponent. The first player may reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a creature card. If the first player does, that player puts that card onto the battlefield and all other cards revealed this way into their graveyard. shells, which do a good job cheating the creature into play in their own way. This card not being higher on the list speaks more to how broken the upcoming options are than to this threat’s lack of power.

3 | MTG Archon of Cruelty

Since its debut in Modern Horizons 2, Archon of Cruelty has become a Reanimator staple in a variety of different formats. The best way to use this tool is to pair it with a reanimation effect that grants Haste, so you can double up on its triggered ability.

In Legacy Reanimator, the easiest way to do this is to resurrect it with Shallow Grave Shallow Grave Return the top creature card of your graveyard to the battlefield. That creature gains haste until end of turn. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step. . While Archon doesn’t stick around long-term this way, you should end up ahead on cards and life in the exchange while obliterating the opponent’s board.

Modern Reanimator shells accomplish a similar task with Emperor of Bones Emperor of Bones At the beginning of combat on your turn, exile up to one target card from a graveyard.
{1}{B}: Adapt 2.
Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on this creature, put a creature card exiled with this creature onto the battlefield under your control with a finality counter on it. It gains haste. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step. , setting up a fast kill. These decks also benefit a lot from the fact that Archon isn’t legendary, making it a prime target for Persist.

There are even Duel Commander Reanimator decks that take advantage of Archon’s non-legendary status by tutoring for it with Unmarked Grave Unmarked Grave Search your library for a nonlegendary card, put that card into your graveyard, then shuffle. . Combined with Archon’s appearance in over 160,000 traditional Commander decks, according to EDHREC, it’s clear Archon is incredibly versatile.

2 | MTG Atraxa, Grand Unifier

Atraxa, Grand Unifier’s biggest selling point is that it provides a huge advantage no matter how the opponent reacts. Right off the bat, an enormous body with Lifelink and Vigilance is impossible to race, so it demands a removal spell. Yet, even if the opponent kills the Angel, they still have to contend with all the cards it gifts you.

In Legacy, digging 10 cards deep gives you a good chance of finding another reanimation spell, not to mention some free countermagic in the decks that play it. This way, you can just repeat the same song and dance, grinding through your opponent’s removal.

On a different axis, Esper Goryo’s Vengeance Goryo’s Vengeance Return target legendary creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. That creature gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
Splice onto Arcane {2}{B} (As you cast an Arcane spell, you may reveal this card from your hand and pay its splice cost. If you do, add this card's effects to that spell.) decks in Modern have the luxury of finding Ephemerate Ephemerate Exile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.
Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.) off Atraxa’s trigger and blinking it before it gets exiled forever from the namesake spell. With another fresh set of cards and an Ephemerate Ephemerate Exile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.
Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.) ready to be rebounded, winning the game is trivial.

Atraxa’s only real weakness is Stifle Stifle Counter target activated or triggered ability. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.) effects, but even then, the opponent still has to deal with the 7/7 body. There’s no doubt this card is the best Reanimator tool to come out of a Standard set in the last five years, but one card still beats it.

1 | MTG Griselbrand

Griselbrand is one of the most iconic creatures in MTG history, and boy, has it stood the test of time. As long as you have some life to play with, the card advantage this Demon provides will be insurmountable.

As such, Legacy Reanimator decks often incorporate a playset of this card for maximum consistency. After drawing seven or potentially fourteen extra cards, you’ll often find Lotus Petal Lotus Petal {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color. and Dark Ritual Dark Ritual Add {B}{B}{B}. , giving you the mana to reanimate another creature into play.

While Modern doesn’t have access to these fast mana sources, you’ll often still find Griselbrand in small numbers in Esper Goryo’s shells. With all the lifegain in this deck, Griselbrand can easily draw tons of cards while coming down early.

What really puts Griselbrand in its own category, however, is that it’s simply way too good for Commander. It didn’t take long for players to realize this card was obnoxious in a 40-life format, rightfully earning a likely permanent residence on the format’s ban list.

With these factors in mind, Grislebrand earns the title of best MTG Reanimator target.

Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast! MTGRocks’ editorial and corrections policy lets us create content you can trust.