Lively Dirge
Sorcery
Spree (Choose one or more additional costs.)
+ 
— Search your library for a card, put it into your graveyard, then shuffle.
+ 
— Return up to two creature cards with total mana value 4 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction
- Price
- $1.11
- EDHREC rank
- #1728
Lively Dirge puts two creatures from your graveyard directly onto the battlefield — no casting, no mana cost on the targets — and the payoff is immediate enough that the three-mana price tag is worth it in any deck that regularly fills its graveyard. In Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver builds, it's essentially a ritual: drop two cheap artifacts or crew-fodder creatures, drop Dargo for free or near-free, and swing the same turn.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver
Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver runs Lively Dirge as a cost-reduction engine — replaying two sacrificed artifacts or creatures brings Dargo's commander tax down to nothing and sets up a same-turn attack for Tymna's card draw.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce uses Lively Dirge to rebuild a board of pirates after a sweep, letting Malcolm trigger on multiple attackers the same turn the board comes back.
Greasefang, Okiba Boss
Greasefang, Okiba Boss wants Lively Dirge as a redundant reanimation line — getting Greasefang and a crew body back simultaneously is faster than most dedicated reanimation spells in the format.
Celes, Rune Knight
Celes, Rune Knight benefits from Lively Dirge as a way to recover key equipment-bearers and attackers after interaction, keeping the rune-attaching engine running without spending a full turn recasting.
The Beamtown Bullies
The Beamtown Bullies uses Lively Dirge to recur sacrificed creatures before passing priority — putting two bodies back sets up another round of forced-attack chaos without burning extra card slots.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Lively Dirge is Commander's card first and foremost: three mana for two free creatures is a fine rate when your graveyard is stocked, and the instant speed makes it a genuine combat trick in a way most reanimation spells aren't. In 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer it's a harder sell — the targets need to be worth the setup cost, and dedicated reanimation shells already have cheaper or more powerful options. Legacy and Vintage have access to broken graveyard engines, but Lively Dirge doesn't cheat anything into play that those formats can't already do better at lower cost. Standard is the one format where it could see niche play if a graveyard-filling archetype lines up correctly with two impactful targets.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.11 cheap tier
At $1.11, Lively Dirge sits comfortably in the budget-include tier — cheap enough that there's no reason to hesitate in any deck that wants it. It's a narrow card with a defined home, so the price is unlikely to spike outside a breakout competitive showing, but it's also not going to rotate out of Commander relevance anytime soon.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Dargo, the Shipwrecker // Tymna the Weaver
- Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator // Vial Smasher the Fierce
- Greasefang, Okiba Boss
- Celes, Rune Knight
- The Beamtown Bullies
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.