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Open the Graves

Enchantment

Whenever a nontoken creature you control dies, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Core Set 2019 Promos
Price
$0.93
EDHREC rank
#3651
Buy on TCGplayer
Open the Graves card art
Open the Graves turns every non-token creature death into a 2/2 black Zombie token — play it in any black deck that kills its own creatures and the board fills fast. The five-mana cost is real, but recursive engines like Nether Traitor and Gisa and Geralf commanders make it worth every pip.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Gisa and Geralf

Gisa and Geralf

46.2% of decks · synergy 0.42

Gisa and Geralf mills zombies and replays them from the graveyard, and Open the Graves means each zombie that dies on the way out or gets sacrificed leaves behind a fresh token to fuel the next loop.

02
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

33.8% of decks · synergy 0.29

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver already creates Decayed Zombies that self-sacrifice at end of combat, so Open the Graves converts each of those free sac triggers into a permanent 2/2 that doesn't vanish at the end step.

03
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

32.0% of decks · synergy 0.29

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord rewards you for having Zombies die on your turn, and Open the Graves guarantees that every non-token creature you lose translates directly into more death triggers and more Zombie count.

04
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born

Grimgrin, Corpse-Born

30.5% of decks · synergy 0.26

Grimgrin, Corpse-Born needs a steady supply of sacrifice fodder to untap and grow, and Open the Graves replenishes that supply automatically — sacrifice a zombie, get a zombie, repeat.

05
The Scarab God

The Scarab God

24.7% of decks · synergy 0.20

The Scarab God pings opponents for each Zombie you control at upkeep, so Open the Graves widening the board by one token every time a non-token dies is a consistent, low-effort way to increase that drain.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Open the Graves is a Commander card through and through — the five-mana enchantment operates on a timescale that multiplayer games accommodate, and the payoff compounds over a full table's worth of combat and interaction. In competitive 1v1 formats like Modern, Legacy, or Pioneer it's far too slow; dedicated token and aristocrats strategies there have cheaper, more explosive options. Oathbreaker can support it in the right zombie shell, but the 20-life format puts pressure on that curve. Stick to Commander, where a single turn of open board activity can generate three or four tokens off one sweeper.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.93 bulk tier

At $0.93, Open the Graves sits firmly in bulk territory, which makes it an easy inclusion to test and just as easy to cut if the meta demands speed. Bulk rares at this price don't tend to spike unless a new zombie commander warps demand, so buy it for the effect, not the speculation.

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Sources

Mentioned

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