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Songs of the Damned

Instant

Add {B} for each creature card in your graveyard.

CMC
1
Mana cost
{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
common
Set
Masters Edition II
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#3263
Buy on TCGplayer
Songs of the Damned card art
Songs of the Damned converts a stocked graveyard into a burst of black mana that can fund an entire turn's worth of reanimation or combo pieces in one shot. The cost is a single black mana and a full graveyard — Chthonian Nightmare and Anje Falkenrath both provide exactly that setup, making this an easy include in any deck that treats the graveyard as a resource.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Anje Falkenrath

Anje Falkenrath

29.8% of decks · synergy 0.28

Anje Falkenrath's discard-every-Madness-card engine fills the graveyard at combat speed, so Songs of the Damned routinely produces five or more black mana by turn four — enough to slam a reanimation target the same turn you cast it.

02
Syr Konrad, the Grim

Syr Konrad, the Grim

30.9% of decks · synergy 0.25

Syr Konrad, the Grim wants creatures cycling in and out of the graveyard constantly, and Songs of the Damned turns that creature count into the mana needed to keep the loop running.

03
Old Stickfingers

Old Stickfingers

25.2% of decks · synergy 0.24

Old Stickfingers mills a pile of creatures directly into the graveyard on entry, and Songs of the Damned immediately converts that pile into the mana to cast whatever reanimation spell you're holding.

04
Araumi of the Dead Tide

Araumi of the Dead Tide

23.3% of decks · synergy 0.22

Araumi of the Dead Tide builds a graveyard through normal play and then uses Songs of the Damned to generate the burst mana needed to Encore a high-value creature without waiting for land drops.

05

Emet-Selch, Unsundered

22.1% of decks · synergy 0.21

Emet-Selch, Unsundered accumulates Soul counters by putting creatures into the graveyard, and Songs of the Damned converts that same creature count into the mana required to actually cast the threats those counters unlock.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Commander is where Songs of the Damned does its best work — graveyards are larger, creature counts are higher, and the burst mana it produces is more likely to end a game than merely accelerate a turn. In Pauper it's a legitimate card in dedicated graveyard-combo shells, though the format's lower creature density makes the ceiling lower. Legacy and Vintage both allow it, but faster and more consistent mana engines make Songs of the Damned a fringe consideration outside of very specific reanimator lists. It's not legal in Modern, Pioneer, or Standard, so those formats are off the table entirely.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

26 decks
Songs of the DamnedChthonian NightmareSkullwinder

Songs of the DamnedChthonian NightmareSkullwinder

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite storm count; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite black mana; Target opponent returns all cards in their graveyard to their hand

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Songs of the Damned isn't currently available in this listing, so check Scryfall or your preferred vendor for a live number. Given its age and narrow application, it tends to be inexpensive — worth grabbing a copy whenever you see it at bulk rates.

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Sources

Mentioned

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