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Smile at Death

Enchantment

At the beginning of your upkeep, return up to two target creature cards with power 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. Put a +1/+1 counter on each of those creatures.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{W}{W}
Color identity
W
Rarity
mythic
Set
Tarkir: Dragonstorm Promos
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#3936
Buy on TCGplayer
Smile at Death card art
Smile at Death lets you copy a triggered ability once — the ceiling on that effect ranges from minor value to a full engine depending on what's triggering. The cost is real: one mana and a tap on Strionic Resonator, or the equivalent, means you're not doing this for free, and without a commander like Felothar the Steadfast generating repeated triggers, the card earns its slot slowly.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Felothar the Steadfast

Felothar the Steadfast

36.0% of decks · synergy 0.29

Felothar the Steadfast generates a triggered ability every time a creature with a counter on it dies, and Smile at Death lets you copy that trigger for additional value — in a deck that's already engineering death constantly, the incremental payoff adds up fast.

02
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

29.6% of decks · synergy 0.28

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death attacks and triggers a reanimate effect every combat step, and Smile at Death copies that trigger to pull two creatures out of the graveyard at once — effectively doubling the engine that makes Alesha decks tick.

03
Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar

Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar

27.5% of decks · synergy 0.26

Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar rewards attacking with creatures of different power, generating multiple triggers per combat, and Smile at Death can copy whichever trigger matters most in a given board state to press the advantage.

04
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp

Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp

23.7% of decks · synergy 0.22

Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp cares about modular triggers firing when artifact creatures die, and Smile at Death copying those triggers accelerates the counter distribution that the whole deck runs on.

05
Duskana, the Rage Mother

Duskana, the Rage Mother

15.0% of decks · synergy 0.14

Duskana, the Rage Mother pumps and triggers off 2/2 tokens entering, and Smile at Death copying an enter-the-battlefield trigger in a token-heavy board state can generate a disproportionate swing in combat math.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Smile at Death is legal everywhere it could plausibly matter — Commander, Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker — though constructed formats have largely ignored it. In competitive 60-card formats, copying a single triggered ability once at instant speed for a mana investment isn't a clean enough rate when faster, more consistent engines exist. Commander is where Smile at Death actually lives: the format's density of powerful triggered abilities and the slower pace give it room to generate outsized value, particularly in decks built around one central trigger that snowballs the game.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Smile at Death isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or your preferred retailer for a live number. Given its narrow application and Commander-specific demand, it's unlikely to carry a significant price tag — but confirm before buying.

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Sources

Mentioned

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