Embalm – MTG Mechanics Explained

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Embalm is a creature keyword that works from the graveyard. When a creature with it is in your graveyard, you may pay that creature’s Embalm cost. When you do, you exile the creature from your graveyard and create a token copy of that creature, except that it’s white, has no mana cost, and is a zombie in addition to its other types.

So yeah, it’s a version of creature flashback that changes the creature in a couple specific ways. There’s not really a lot of notes here that aren’t spelled out in the basic rules. The token does enter the battlefield as usual and has the same text box as the copied creature, so any “enters the battlefield,” “as this enters the battlefield,” or “enters the battlefield with” abilities do trigger when the creature is embalmed.

Recycling mechanics like this that give you an extra use out of a card are always popular, but this version has a few things going against a return in the future. First, the mechanic is flavorfully tied very heavily to Amonkhet, which has gone through some changes since we last visited. Next, Embalm requires a lot of different tokens, which is a consideration in how a set gets printed and how many non-Embalm tokens can exist in the set. So Embalm specifically needs a lot to go right to see a return, but a tweaked version is a definite possibility.

Add Embalm to your repertoire today at cardkingdom.com!