Decent in Limited, as it can block and
conceivably kill a creature with its 2/2 Zombie
body, plus getting a previously dead creature
back for another go-round. It's good in a deck
with cards that require the discarding of cards
or the sacrificing of creatures, but being a 2/2
with no combat-relevant abilities for four mana
makes its Zombie body unimpressive. Maybe next
core set we'll get Cadaver Imp instead.
I've always liked cards like Gravedigger. They
sit right in the middle of the Magic continuum
between the super-simple and the super-complex,
and do interesting and sometimes exploitable
things. Gravedigger, for example, lets you
transmute Dimir Infiltrator twice, burn down two
things with Flametongue Kavu's breath weapon,
and draw twice from Mulldrifter . . . er . . .
twice. An elegant card with more applications
than it might seem on first glance.
Today's card of the day is Gravedigger which is
a four mana 2/2 that returns a target creature
card from your graveyard to your hand. The
cost is a bit high for the effect, especially
compared to the newer Cadaver Imp at three mana
as a 1/1 with Flying, but still a bit of card
advantage. It can be used to return a
sacrificial creature like Fleshbag Marauder for
additional removal and shares the useful zombie
type which is an advantage the Imp doe not
share. While not the best card it is
playable and has some support, so it could
appear in a few recursion or Zombie themed decks
depending on the design.
For Limited this is a nice shot at card
advantage especially later in the game as you
get a creature back and a 2/2 on the field off
of a single draw. The single Black in the
cost is quite reasonable and makes it playable
even in a deck with more than two colors.
For Sealed this is an automatic inclusion
alongside any Black removal and in Booster this
can be drafted fairly early as card advantage
and another shot at a destroyed bomb.
