Cemetery Reaper
Creature — Zombie
Other Zombie creatures you control get +1/+1.
, 
: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. Create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Archenemy
- Price
- $1.18
- EDHREC rank
- #2074
Cemetery Reaper hits the board as a lord that also exiles graveyards — you get a 2/2 Zombie token every time you pay three mana and exile an opponent's creature from a graveyard, all while pumping your existing Zombies. Ghoulcaller Gisa and other mono-black Zombie lists want this effect, but Temmet, Naktamun's Will decks running blue-black Zombie tokens treat it as a near-staple because it generates tokens, enables tribal synergies, and denies reanimation targets simultaneously.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Temmet, Naktamun's Will
Temmet, Naktamun's Will runs Cemetery Reaper in nearly three-quarters of its lists because the deck wants a steady stream of tokens to embalm and exploit, and Cemetery Reaper delivers one every activation while taxing opposing graveyards.
Gisa, the Hellraiser
Gisa, the Hellraiser turns every end step into a zombie production line, and Cemetery Reaper's activated ability stacks cleanly with that engine — each new token is one more body Gisa can sacrifice or swing with.
Ghoulcaller Gisa
Ghoulcaller Gisa's ability scales with how many Zombies are already on the table, so Cemetery Reaper's lord effect directly inflates the power of every token Gisa creates.
Gisa and Geralf
Gisa and Geralf want density of Zombies in every zone, and Cemetery Reaper fills the board role — granting a persistent +1/+1 anthem while converting enemy graveyards into your own token fodder.
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver appears in over 21,000 decks and runs Cemetery Reaper in two-thirds of them because the token generation feeds Wilhelt's sacrifice payoffs and the lord effect makes the whole board more threatening.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Cemetery Reaper earns its keep — four-player games mean three graveyards to raid, so the activated ability is rarely idle, and the +1/+1 anthem scales with the wide boards Zombie tribal naturally produces. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but barely played, outcompeted by faster engines and more impactful three-drops in those formats. Modern is the same story: Cemetery Reaper is a legal but fringe option, as dedicated graveyard hate there tends toward more efficient one- or two-mana pieces. Oathbreaker is a natural home for the same reasons as Commander — multiplayer tables, graveyard-heavy metas, and Zombie synergies all reward what Cemetery Reaper does.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Ghoulcaller GisaThornbite StaffPhyrexian AltarCemetery Reaper
Infinite colored mana; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite death triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$1.18 cheap tier
At $1.18, Cemetery Reaper sits firmly in the cheap tier — a no-hesitation include for any Zombie tribal build. Prices at this level rarely spike dramatically, but demand from one of the most popular tribe archetypes in Commander keeps it from bottoming out.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.