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Grim Initiate

Creature — Zombie Warrior

First strike
When this creature dies, amass Zombies 1. (Put a +1/+1 counter on an Army you control. It's also a Zombie. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Zombie Army creature token first.)

CMC
1
Mana cost
{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
common
Set
War of the Spark
Price
$0.14
EDHREC rank
#15879
Buy on TCGplayer
Grim Initiate card art
Grim Initiate enters swinging as a 1/1 first striker for one red mana, then replaces itself with a 1/1 Zombie token on death — two bodies for a single card slot. In Koll, the Forgemaster builds and anywhere tokens-on-death matter, that's a clean two-for-one at the lowest possible cost.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Grim Initiate is a bulk role-player, and the formats where it sees any action are token-payoff Commander builds and Pauper, where common-legal aristocrats lists can squeeze value from the afterlife trigger. In Modern and Pioneer the bar for one-drops is too high — first strike on a 1/1 doesn't threaten anything, and better afterlife creatures exist at similar cost. Legacy and Vintage don't want it at all. Commander is the real home: Grim Initiate slots cleanly into red-black aristocrats and equipment decks where each death trigger compounds, and the token it leaves behind keeps sacrifice outlets fed.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.14 bulk tier

At $0.14, Grim Initiate is deep bulk — grab a playset out of a common box and don't think twice about the cost. Bulk one-drops with narrow roles don't appreciate, so buy it for the deck, not the binder.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.