I saw wtwlf's list running this card and was amazed that I hadn't remembered this card existed. (both for some commander decks I have built and my own cube) Obviously this card is not replacing Reanimate or Animate Dead anytime soon but realistically what size is it playable at?
In my current update-in-progress I'm attempting to push ramp and reanimator to get more interesting decks than just "swing for 2. and again. and again." or "counter, counter, board wipe, counter, 6 drop, kill you." As such I added Diabolic Servitude back in the cube as another reanimator spell with repeatability. Would Dance of the Dead be the better choice for another reanimator spell?
Does Dance of the Dead's early playability make it a good reanimate spell or is the drawback holding it back?
Dance of the Dead is much better than Diabolic Servitude in my opinion. Pseudo vigilance at the cost of 1B is great. I have never played with the card, I always thought it was "pay 1B or sac". Very cool card, I would like to find room for it.
It's been a good spell for me so far. If you push reanimator as a theme, I think it's playable at 450. As a utility spell, I probably wouldn't play it until 630 or 720. But 2cc reanimation is really good. Even if you're only snagging an ETB trigger, it can often be worth the two mana. The drawback sucks, but it's worth it if you grab something big. If you grab a huge fatty in the early game, do you really care if you're paying to untap it? I haven't yet. And the +1/+1 is a nice side bonus.
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Pseudo vigilance at the cost of 1B is great.
You can't do that. You can only pay to untap it during your upkeep.
Dance of the dead is pretty cool and I'd say it's a bit better than Diabolic Servitude. I mean sure, you're paying 1B to untap the creature, but if you're playing this on turn two, do you really need to cast other threats seeing as you've probably got something big and made it bigger thanks to the +1/+1. Granted it makes keeping counter mana up harder, and can't block the turn you do it, but it's still fine the way it is.
Also, have you considered Necromancy? It's another reanimator spell that can also serve as a trick.
Obviously this is no necromancy, but honestly this card is pretty sweet. You get the ETB effect right away if that's what you're going for, and the +1/+1 is nothing to scoff at. I think wtwlf123's analysis is spot on: supported at 450 seems totally fine, and I could see it coming in as a value reanimation spell as early as 500-540.
I'm not entirely sure why this is compared to Diabolic Servetude, as I see that card as more of a Back from the Brink variant than a reanimation spell.
I totatally disagree that this is unplayable outside of a ''real'' reanimator deck. Paying two mana to get back nekrataal, mulldrifter, or any sweet value guy tapped is still fine, it just makes the card worse, which is why it isn't a staple. Unplayable seems like really strong language to me.
I'm really on the fence about this card. On the one hand I really like being able to target any player's graveyard, and would happily pay 1B to untap a 7/7 Wurmcoil Engine, or Grave Titan. But my cube doesn't strongly support the reanimator deck, and I think Beacon of Unrest would probably be a better option if I were to hypothetically be looking for a generalized mana-demanding reanimation effect. I dunno.
+1/+1 makes quite a few creatures more intimidating. The only reason I don't have it in my cube is the fact that the text doesn't fit very easily on a proxy. I think the oracle text is actually longer than the original text lol.
The first paragraph of the oracle text is awful. Enchant dead creature, targets both 'yards, doesn't untap, +1/+1, and 1B to untap during your upkeep is all it needs. Enchant dead creature is plenty intuitive and the clarification text only makes it harder to understand.
It's not a clarification text, it's a text actualy working with Magic rules, which is the original text isn't.
Enchant dead creature is intuitive, but as soon as the creature is onto the battlefield, it isn't dead anymore, so the aura is now attached to an illegal object, and state-based actions put it backs into graveyard. It's the same thing when you animate dead an Akroma, Angel of Wrath. The Oracle texts avoid that mess.
I get that. But it was far easier to understand before and less convoluted. To the average Joe Magic player, the oracle text makes it far more difficult to grasp.
I do like that for some of the older cards the rules text just tells you what they do, rather than tie themselves in syntactic knots to adhere to the grammar of Magic.
On the other hand, there are plenty of old wordings that are unnecessary. The whole thing about "if you don't have enough cards in hand, entire hand is discarded" seems a waste of space.
I'm looking to add Dance to my black section. If you want to support reanimator, the fact that it is something of a niche card is an advantage, as you can pick it up later.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Ya I didn't even know this card existed until I was list stalking wtwlf's cube. Good find! Slightly worse animate dead is still slightly better than the other tier 2 options.
I saw wtwlf's list running this card and was amazed that I hadn't remembered this card existed. (both for some commander decks I have built and my own cube) Obviously this card is not replacing Reanimate or Animate Dead anytime soon but realistically what size is it playable at?
In my current update-in-progress I'm attempting to push ramp and reanimator to get more interesting decks than just "swing for 2. and again. and again." or "counter, counter, board wipe, counter, 6 drop, kill you." As such I added Diabolic Servitude back in the cube as another reanimator spell with repeatability. Would Dance of the Dead be the better choice for another reanimator spell?
Does Dance of the Dead's early playability make it a good reanimate spell or is the drawback holding it back?
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Dance of the Dead is much better than Diabolic Servitude in my opinion. Pseudo vigilance at the cost of 1B is great. I have never played with the card, I always thought it was "pay 1B or sac". Very cool card, I would like to find room for it.
You can't do that. You can only pay to untap it during your upkeep.
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Also, have you considered Necromancy? It's another reanimator spell that can also serve as a trick.
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/3pq
I'm not entirely sure why this is compared to Diabolic Servetude, as I see that card as more of a Back from the Brink variant than a reanimation spell.
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I get that. But it was far easier to understand before and less convoluted. To the average Joe Magic player, the oracle text makes it far more difficult to grasp.
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On the other hand, there are plenty of old wordings that are unnecessary. The whole thing about "if you don't have enough cards in hand, entire hand is discarded" seems a waste of space.
I'm looking to add Dance to my black section. If you want to support reanimator, the fact that it is something of a niche card is an advantage, as you can pick it up later.
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