Necrologia
Instant
Cast this spell only during your end step.
As an additional cost to cast this spell, pay X life.
Draw X cards.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Tempest Remastered
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #9268
Necrologia lets you draw up to X cards at instant speed by paying X life during your end step — the ceiling is enormous, the cost is your life total, and that's the whole gambit. In black decks that treat life as a resource and want a full grip heading into the next turn, Necrologia is the best mass-draw spell most players have never sleeved up; Toshiro Umezawa decks in particular can flash it back off a kill spell trigger to refuel for free.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Toshiro Umezawa
Toshiro Umezawa lets you cast instant-speed spells from the graveyard whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, which means Necrologia — an instant — can be recurred turn after turn as a repeatable draw engine without ever spending another card on it.
Queza, Augur of Agonies
Queza, Augur of Agonies drains opponents whenever you draw a card beyond the first each turn, so a single Necrologia activation that draws eight cards translates directly into eight drain triggers — often a kill at instant speed before anyone can respond.
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse converts every card drawn into two life gained, which dramatically softens the life payment Necrologia demands and lets you cash in a huge draw without the same mortality math other commanders face.
Bane, Lord of Darkness
Bane, Lord of Darkness cares about flooding the board with demons and buffing them en masse, and Necrologia solves the one problem that strategy has — running out of threats to deploy — by refilling an entire hand in a single end step.
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 |
Necrologia is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, and Commander is where it actually sees play. In Legacy and Vintage the competition for black card draw is steep — Demonic Tutor, Gush, and Rhystic Study adjacents crowd the space — and paying life in a non-rotating 60-card format with faster clocks is a harder sell. Oathbreaker is a reasonable home if your planeswalker and signature spell support a life-as-resource gameplan. Commander is the format where Necrologia earns its slot: 40 life gives you the runway to cash in 10 or more cards at instant speed, and the political cover of multiplayer means opponents are rarely in position to punish an end-step activation.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Necrologia isn't currently available in our index, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a current market figure before buying. It's an older card with limited print runs and niche but real demand, so supply can be inconsistent — if you need a copy, buy it when you see it at a reasonable price rather than waiting.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.