Dawn of the Dead
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. That creature gains haste until end of turn. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Torment
- Price
- $2.13
- EDHREC rank
- #16141
Dawn of the Dead gives you a free creature from your graveyard at the start of each upkeep — exile at end of turn is the catch, but that creature still triggers enters-the-battlefield and dies effects before it goes. Obeka, Brute Chronologist can skip that end step entirely, turning a loaner into a permanent resident.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Obeka, Brute Chronologist
Obeka, Brute Chronologist ends the turn before the exile trigger resolves, which means Dawn of the Dead hands you a creature that never leaves — repeat that every upkeep and the graveyard becomes a permanent resource.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Dawn of the Dead is a Commander card through and through — the graveyard recursion payoff compounds over a long game, and multiplayer tables give you the time to exploit every upkeep trigger. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but competes against faster, lower-to-the-ground reanimation that doesn't wait for an upkeep and doesn't exile the creature afterward. Commander and Oathbreaker are where Dawn of the Dead actually earns its slot, specifically in decks that want repeated creature access rather than a single reanimation event.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$2.13 cheap tier
At $2.13, Dawn of the Dead sits in the cheap tier — low enough that the cost-of-entry question is really about deck fit, not budget. Niche graveyard enchantments at this price point tend to stay flat unless a high-profile commander pushes demand, so pick it up when you need it and don't overthink it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.