Gravedig Synergy: Best Commanders for Graveyard Strategies

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Gravedig card art from Modern Horizons 3

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Gravedig and Graveyard Synergy: Commanders that Love the Return

Gravedig is a lean, two-mana black sorcery from Modern Horizons 3 that wears its flexibility like a badge of honor 🧙‍♂️. For a mere {1}{B}, you get to choose between two potent options, or pay entwine {2} to unleash both fields of value at once. On the battlefield, that means you can either summon a fresh 2/2 black Zombie creature token for your board, or pull a creature card from your graveyard back to your hand for another go-round. In Commander circles, where the graveyard is often a second hand of cards, Gravedig fits like a perfect underdeck reset or a mid-game recast that keeps pressure on opponents 🔥.

In practical terms, Gravedig rewards a thoughtful approach to deckbuilding. The first mode — creating a token — gives you a reliable fodder engine for sacrifice outlets, political blocking with bodies, or simply pressuring life totals. The second mode — returning a card from the graveyard to your hand — can rescue key creatures… or set up a robust engine with other graveyard-reliant pieces. Entwine escalates the impact, letting you cling to two crucial lines of play even when the game has multiple swinging boards. It’s the kind of spell that feels tailor-made for a table where every graveyard can hide a plan waiting to happen 🗝️.

Choose one — • Target player creates a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. • Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. Entwine {2} (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

When you lean into graveyard strategies in Commander, Gravedig serves as a versatile accelerant for several popular archetypes. You’ll see it shine in Golgari-focused shells that savor recursion and value from sacrificing creatures, and it also plays nicely with reanimator leanings where the graveyard is a resource to be exploited rather than a menace to be avoided 🧙‍♂️. The card’s common rarity makes it an approachable include for budget-conscious tables while still delivering meaningful leverage in tight games. It’s the kind of spell that earns its keep when you’re staring down lenient graveyard synergy in your command zone, and it plays well with a broad spectrum of strategies that love to lean on the graveyard as a resource 💎.

Commanders that pair well with Gravedig

Gravedig tightens the curve for several commanders known for graveyard-centric playstyles. Here are a few widely admired archetypes you’ll often see at the table — each benefiting from the two-pronged value Gravedig provides:

  • Meren of Clan Nel Toth — A classic Golgari general who thrives on sacrificing creatures to generate value and bring things back from the grave. Gravedig’s token option adds bodies for sacrifice, while its graveyard-to-hand recursion can help you refill your hand with fuel for those unstoppable reanimation loops 💀⚔️.
  • Karador, Ghost Chieftain — A commander built around using the graveyard as a permanent resource. Gravedig’s entropy-to-life cycle fits Karador’s rhythm, giving you cheap zombie bodies or a way to fetch back the best creatures you’ve already buried for maximum impact 🎭.
  • The Gitrog Monster — A fan-favorite for graveyard and land-based play, The Gitrog Monster rewards frequent graveyard interactions and value generation from sacrifices and recursions. Gravedig complements this by providing a quick way to refill your hand or push another round of beats with a zombie front line while you lay land after land 🪨🎲.

Beyond these three, Gravedig has generous applications in other black-dominant commanders that lean into reanimation, sac outlets, or subtle graveyard hate-turned-value. The entwine option, in particular, invites you to craft a dual-purpose turn where you both strengthen your board and unlock graveyard velocity — a combination that can tilt the game in your favor just when opponents think they’ve stabilized 🔥.

Deckbuilding tips to maximize Gravedig’s value

  • Pair Gravedig with strong sacrifice outlets and recursion engines. The token generation can become fuel for sacrifice triggers, and the graveyard-to-hand line keeps you rolling even after your board is picked apart.
  • Don’t sleep on graveyard hate interactions. If your metagame features heavy graveyard hate, Entwine lets you go wide with a backup plan: reanimate a key critter and refill your hand at the same time — you’ll still be contributing pressure even when the table fights back against your graveyard shenanigans.
  • Balance removal and resilience. A resilient graveyard strategy benefits from Gravedig when you can fetch back a resilient threat or a crucial answers piece. Consider including tutors or fetches that help you protect or recast your most important targets.
  • Welcome a zombie token swarm. The 2/2 Zombie bodies aren’t just filler; they can be fodder for sacrifice, attack elements, or a bridge to reach a bigger play. With the right support, those tokens become a surprising recurring engine 🧟‍♂️🎯.

The art, design, and value angle

Gravedig’s art captures that quintessential necromancer vibe—the hush of a graveyard, the glimmer of memory, and the quick spark of return. The creature token is more than flavor; it’s a mechanic that invites a tempo game built around reusing fallen resources. The card sits comfortably in the common slot in Modern Horizons 3, making it accessible for players as they begin to assemble graveyard-forward strategies, while still delivering meaningful choices at the table. Modern Horizons 3 as a set leans into draft-innovation, but Gravedig feels at home in EDH circles where graveyard play is a familiar rhythm 🎨.

From a collector’s perspective, Gravedig remains affordable in physical and digital formats, a practical value card that doubles as a core piece in graveyard-theme decks. For players who enjoy the ritual of returning a creature from the graveyard and the more aggressive option of dropping a 2/2 Zombie on a crowded board, Gravedig offers a satisfying blend of immediacy and long-term utility. The entwine option, in particular, can be the single move that weathered a turn-heavy counterplay and opened a path to late-game advantage — a small spell that punches above its weight class 🧭💎.

As you integrate Gravedig into your list, think of Neon Gaming’s neon-inspired mouse pad as a playful reminder that control in this game often lies in the details—timing, tempo, and the right two-for-one at the right moment. If you’re crafting a night-sky graveyard deck, that mouse pad will keep your focus sharp as you plan your next entwined swing. And for those who love to mix casual joy with competitive edge, the two-for-one flexibility feels like a breath of fresh air in a world of overbearing, single-purpose spells ⚔️.

Ready to explore the tactile side of your play space? Check out Neon Gaming’s Neon Gaming Non-Slip Mouse Pad, a fitting companion for long sessions spent plotting your next Gravedig-powered move. It’s a small touch that makes a big difference as you navigate graveyard grit and board-slinging glory 🧙‍♂️🎲.

Neon Gaming Non-Slip Mouse Pad

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Gravedig

Gravedig

{1}{B}
Sorcery

Choose one —

• Target player creates a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

• Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.

Entwine {2} (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

ID: e2b054a9-7565-4fdd-b6a5-2786c5bb5b7e

Oracle ID: c77c3618-bc12-46a8-a4ef-073e359ff3f9

Multiverse IDs: 662248

TCGPlayer ID: 552851

Cardmarket ID: 772218

Colors: B

Color Identity: B

Keywords: Entwine

Rarity: Common

Released: 2024-06-14

Artist: Drew Baker

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 12034

Set: Modern Horizons 3 (mh3)

Collector #: 96

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — legal
  • Timeless — legal
  • Gladiator — legal
  • Pioneer — not_legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.05
  • USD_FOIL: 0.11
  • EUR: 0.06
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.11
  • TIX: 0.03
Last updated: 2025-11-14