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For mostMagic: The Gatheringdecks, a card in the graveyard is as good as gone. Not so withModern Horizon 3’s Graveyard Overdrive Commander deck, which as the name implies, kicks your graveyard into overdrive. It’s an aggressive deck that looks to its graveyard to provide it with resources other strategies can’t access, surprising foes with unexpectedly explosive plays.
But players will need to be careful digging into their own graveyard for cards, lest they wind up digging their own grave. That’s why this guide is here to help you get the most out of Graveyard Overdrive.
Grapple with the Past
Altar of the Goyf
Viridescent Bog
Graveyard Overdrive Commander Deck Themes
The main theme to Graveyard Overdrive isgraveyard recursion mechanics, with creatures, sorceries, and enchantments all digging into your graveyard to bring back what might have been lost. There are cards to quickly fill your graveyard, such asStitcher’s SupplierandFaithless Looting, and then plenty of cards that bring milled cards back to either your hand (Graveshifter,Eternal Witness) or even directly into play (Deadbridge Chant,Liliana, Death’s Majesty).
On top of that, Graveyard Overdrive is full of aggressive cards that look to leap ahead of your opponents.Bloodbraid Elf’s cascade ability gives you a second spell for free, whileSawhorn Nemesiswill double the damage taken by a selected opponent. Graveyard Overdrive comes out swinging and then uses cards in its graveyard to keep the pressure on until it achieves victory.
Graveyard Overdrive also hasa secondary Lhurgoyf-typal theme, withDisa the Restlessmaking free Tarmogoyfs whenever anyone on the team manages to deal damage to a player. She can also resurrect any Lhurgoyf that manages to find its way into the graveyard from anywhere other than the battlefield.
It should be noted thatthere are very few Lhurgoyfs in Graveyard Overdrive, so this secondary theme plays a fairly minor role.
Besides Disa, there are two other potential commanders in Graveyard Overdrive. The first isCoram, the Undertaker, whomight be better suited as the deck’s commander. Coram gets larger as bigger creatures wind up in everyone’s graveyards, he mills decks for more recursion targets, and he provides access to a milled spell or land every turn–all things that synergize well with Graveyard Overdrive’s plans.
Thethird potential commanderisZiatora, the Incinerator. This Demon Dragon isn’t bad, but Ziatora ideally wants either a token generator or a high-power creature that further benefits from being sacrificed. Graveyard Overdrive has a few cards that like to be sacrificed, but they typically do it themselves for a beneficial effect.
We’re going to stick with Disa as the commanderfor Graveyard Overdrive, but Coram really is a great fit, so feel free to relegate Disa if you prefer Coram.
Graveyard Overdrive Commander Deck Analysis
Graveyard Overdrive is a solid offering out of the box. You’ve gotgood mana fixingwithIgnoble Hierarch,Rampant Growth, and the full set ofTalismans, you have adecent suite of answer cardslikeMaelstrom PulseandTerminate,card drawfrom things likeSyphon MindandDeathreap Ritual, andsignificant threatsin the form ofBroodmate TyrantandArchon of Cruelty.
But, it’s not without room for improvement.One of the biggest flaws of Graveyard Overdrive is its lack of Lhurgoyfs, limiting your commander’s potential. Disa the Restless can make plenty of Tarmogoyfs, but the odds of Grisly Salvage finding any Lhurgoyfs to bring into play with Disa’s help are very low indeed.
Disa could also use a bit of help making those Tarmogoyfs. While Graveyard Overdrive has quite a few hasty creatures, theygenerally lack any sort of evasionto ensure their ability to connect, which means Disa can have a hard time raising her Tarmogoyf army.
A final issue with Graveyard Overdrive isa somewhat curious mana base. It has a lot of cycling lands, although not much to do with them in the absence of Life from the Loam. It also has quite a lot of mana in general with 39 plus five mana rocks accounting for nearly half the deck, and that’s not counting mana-fetching spells like Sakura-Tribe Elder and Rampant Growth.
It’s never bad to have a lot of mana, but that sort is usually best paired with a slower control deck, and Graveyard Overdrive looks a little more aggressive. Graveyard Overdrive also hasa few cards that don’t seem to fit the deck, or could otherwise improve the deck by being replaced by something better. We’ll talk about how to improve things a bit in the next section.
Stitcher’s Supplier
Terramorphic Expanse
Selvala, Heart of the Wildsis great, but you’re not always going to have the most powerful creatures, and she doesn’t really provide much for the deck other than a bunch of mana.Exterminator Magmarchneeds more kill/burn spells to be effective.Sawhorn Nemesisis a great card, but one that’ll put a target on your head more than anything else.
I loveSiege-Gang Lieutenant, but every planeswalker in this deck already produces tokens, and this officer can only sacrifice his own Goblins, so he gets the axe.Infested Thrinaxalso produces tokens, but in a very specific and situational way that doesn’t seem worth the five-mana price tag.
Tempt with Mayhemis great fun, but doesn’t fit Graveyard Overdrive’s strategy at all.Bituminous Blast’s cascade keyword tries to attach removal to a tempo boost, but as with Infested Thrinax, five mana is a lot for something that’s not guaranteed to hit.
Stitcher’s Supplieris a one-time mill that can easily be replaced by something that provides an ongoing source of mill, andThe Reaver Cleavercould be replaced by something that gives Disa evasion rather than treasure tokens. The deck could also stand to lose land, and we’ll pickTerramorphic Expansesince the deck already has Evolving Wilds as well as several other crack lands.
Graveyard Overdrive Commander Deck Budget Upgrades
What are we going to replace those lands with?More mill,more Lhurgoyfs, andmore ways to make Disaamore effectivecommander.
Reason
Aftermath Analyst
Finally, a good reason for Graveyard Overdrive to have all those cycling lands. Playing this card gives you a three-card mill, and then sacrificing it brings all those lands from your graveyard into play. And with the deck’s various graveyard recursion mechanics, you might be able to do this more than once per game.
Buried Alive
Thankfully reprinted in Modern Horizons 3, Buried Alive allows you to search your deck for three Lhurgoyfs and then bring them into play so long as Disa is on the board. Which is a good thing since there are still not all that many Lhurgoyfs in the deck even after these tweaks.
Combustible Gearhulk
Either you get to mill three cards and deal damage, or you draw three cards. Either way, this card is doing work.
Golgari Grave-Troll
Life from the Loam is a little too expensive to consider a budget upgrade, but Golgari Grave-Troll provides an easy Dredge source with great longevity attached.
Terravore
It’s not the best Lhurgoyf, but it’s a Lhurgoyf, and you’ll likely have a lot of land in the graveyard thanks to all your mill effects.
Lively Dirge
You’ll only be able to search for one Lhurgoyf with this card, but you can also pay the spree cost to resurrect other things too. A great fit for Graveyard Overdrive.
Oversold Cemetery
With so much mill, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll eventually wind up with a graveyard that contains more than four creatures. Once you do, you get a freebie back to your hand every turn.
Skull Prophet
Either you get mana or you get mill, but either way, this card helps way more and way longer than Stitcher’s Supplier.
Taurean Mauler
Look! A Lhurgoyf! Okay, it’s not a Lhurgoyf, but itisa Changeling, which means it still counts as a Lhurgoyf for Disa. And it’s also a cheap escalating threat.
Whispersilk Cloak
Keep Disa alive and make her unblockable. A great way to win games with an army of Tarmogoyfs.
