Battle for Zendikar is a Magic the Gathering set with lots of interesting common and uncommon cards. Many are often seen on local game store buy-lists for a nickel or dime, due to playability outside of competitive Magic, mostly in EDH. One of these “nickel and dime” cards is Mortuary Mire, which sees play in many popular EDH decks. Because of the card’s popularity in the format, the land enjoyed reprints in Commander 2018, Commander 2019, and Commander 2020.
Like many utility tap lands, Mortuary Mire enters the battlefield tapped. But, it has an enter the battlefield ability that mitigates this drawback. When you put it in play, you may put target creature card from your graveyard and put it on top of your library. In EDH / Commander, where you can only play one copy of a creature, Mortuary Mire gives you a quick and easy way to recycle key creatures.
Now, in Standard, letting your opponent know what your next draw will be isn’t always optimal. However, in Commander, a format in which you’ll be likely very able to draw that creature before your next turn, a card like Mortuary Mire is invaluable. In Commander, you only have one of each creature, so being able to get back a key creature and put it right back into your deck is a big deal.
Mortuary Mire sees a ton of play in EDH, according to top Commander resource EDHREC. The top Commanders that use this utility land include Otrimi, the Ever-Playful, Vaevictus Asmadi, the Dire, Patron of the Nezumi, Syr Konrad, the Grim, Anje Falkenrath, and Aminatou, the Fateshifter. None of these Commanders are particularly surprising to see, as Mortuary Mire helps get back key creatures in these decks.
When you’re building a new EDH deck, always look for utility lands with decent effects like this that provide one or more colors of mana. Many utility lands only provide colorless mana. While it would seem to limit their usefulness, utility lands that provide colored mana are usually pretty good, especially in Commander.
So, whenever you see a copy of Mortuary Mire lying around, make sure you keep it within reach. You never know when someone might need a copy for an EDH deck. Because it’s only common, people don’t really care so much about the card’s condition, so even moderately played or heavily played copies are acceptable as long as they aren’t obviously damaged being played in sleeves. It’s a card that’s in high demand for rounding out a wide variety of Commander deck lists.
Updated 7/7/21
