Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
Instant // Land
Choose target creature. You lose 2 life. Until end of turn, that creature gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control."
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Zendikar Rising
- Price
- $13.81
- EDHREC rank
- #251
Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire saves a creature from removal for one black mana — one of the most efficient protection spells in the format — and when you don't need insurance, it enters as a tapped land instead of rotting in hand. Commanders like Hidetsugu and Kairi, where a single death trigger is worth five or more cards, make the calculus obvious: this slot costs you almost nothing and covers your most important piece.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hidetsugu and Kairi
Hidetsugu and Kairi dies, you get a cascade of free spells off the top — Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire exists specifically to stop that death from happening, protecting the engine for one black mana while doubling as a land when the coast is clear.
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
Henzie "Toolbox" Torre blinks and blitzes expensive creatures for reduced cost, and losing one to a removal spell mid-combo is a tempo disaster — Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire keeps the toolbox piece on board long enough to matter.
Piru, the Volatile
Piru, the Volatile wants to die on your terms to trigger its own damage clause, and Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire lets you deny an opponent's removal while setting up a controlled sacrifice later.
Toshiro Umezawa
Toshiro Umezawa copies instants when creatures die, so stacking a protection spell that is itself an instant into the graveyard creates recursive value — Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire fits both the protection role and the instant-in-graveyard role simultaneously.
Ratadrabik of Urborg
Ratadrabik of Urborg generates token copies of legendary creatures when they die, and Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire gives the deck a way to selectively prevent a death when the token copy isn't worth the trade-off.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire earns its slot most reliably — the MDFC design means a 99-card deck effectively gets a protection spell that never clogs as a dead draw, since it can always come in as a land on a turn you don't need it. In Pioneer and Modern it sees fringe play in combo decks that need to protect a specific creature at minimal mana cost, though dedicated protection suites in those formats often prefer spells that also generate card advantage. Legacy and Vintage have access to harder countermagic and faster protection, so Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire rarely makes the cut there. It's legal in Oathbreaker as well, where the same Commander logic applies at a smaller table scale.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
There is no true budget replacement for Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire because the MDFC design — protection spell that doubles as a land — is mechanically unique and not reproducible at a lower price point. Rush of Vitality or Undying Evil cover the protection effect for pennies, but they're pure spells with no land upside, meaning they occupy a slot that will occasionally sit dead in hand; that's the real cost Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire eliminates.
Price Context
Current price
$13.81 mid tier
At $13.81, Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire sits in the mid tier — meaningful for a budget build but not unreasonable given that it functionally replaces both a protection spell and a land slot. The MDFC design keeps demand steady across multiple formats, so this price is unlikely to crater without a reprint.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Hidetsugu and Kairi
- Henzie "Toolbox" Torre
- Piru, the Volatile
- Toshiro Umezawa
- Ratadrabik of Urborg
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.