Mono Black Reanimator Modern: Turn 3 Combo on a Budget — MakeProxyCard
Mono Black Reanimator Modern is one of the most underrated combo decks in the format. The deck’s core payoff is Griselbrand, a 7/7 demon with 7 mana that draws 7 cards when it enters the battlefield. Paired with Goryo’s Vengeance — an instant-speed reanimation spell — the deck can win on turn 3 with only two cards in play.
What makes this list especially attractive is its cost. The deck runs zero fetch lands, zero shock lands, and the bulk of its mana base is 22 Snow-Covered Swamps. After Modern Horizons 2 introduced Grief, the deck also picked up the best one-mana interactive creature in the format, which made the entire strategy both faster and more consistent.
After you proxy the cards that are expensive in paper but functionally identical to proxies — Griselbrand, Grief, and Goryo’s Vengeance — the entire deck costs under $250. That is cheaper than most Standard decks, and it competes in Modern. You can verify the cards and their printed frames on Scryfall before you commit to printing proxies.
Why Mono Black Reanimator Is Suddenly Affordable
Modern combo decks traditionally suffer from two costs: the mana base (4x Scalding Tarn, 4x Misty Rainforest, the fetch-shock pain) and the engine pieces (4x Force of Will, 4x Urza’s Saga). Mono Black Reanimator skips both.
You run zero fetches. You run zero shock lands. Your mana base is 22 Snow-Covered Swamps and 4 Field of the Dead if you want the late-game plan. That alone saves $400–$600 versus a typical blue combo deck. The engine pieces are Griselbrand, Goryo’s Vengeance, and the reanimator targets — cards that were expensive in 2015 but have softened dramatically since Modern Horizons 2 brought the format attention elsewhere.
The remaining costs are the discard suite (Thoughtseize is the priciest at ~$25) and the sideboard. Total paper cost, if you proxy the $40+ pieces (Griselbrand, Grief, some sideboard cards), lands well under $250.
The 2-Card Combo at the Heart of the Deck
The combo is straightforward: cast Goryo’s Vengeance targeting Griselbrand from your graveyard.
Goryo’s Vengeance gives Griselbrand haste, so when it enters the battlefield, it untaps with 7 mana (or 8 if you cast the Vengeance on 8+ lands). You activate Griselbrand’s draw-7 ability immediately. That card draw refills your hand so completely that the opponent often has to answer the 7/7 demon on their turn 3 or lose.
The reanimation setup is what makes the deck consistent. You play a mix of discard spells, self-mill effects (Stitcher’s Supplier, Satyr Wayfinder), and traditional reanimator targets. Turn 1 discard, turn 2 self-mill, turn 3 reanimate. The opponent rarely has interaction for all three pieces.
How MH2 Changed the Deck Forever
Before Modern Horizons 2, this deck was tier 2 — playable but inconsistent. Grief changed that calculation completely.
Grief costs B and 1 life, and when it enters, you target a nonland permanent the opponent controls and exile it. Not destroy. Exile. The opponent does not get it back. That single-mode removal + discard on a 3/2 body for 1 mana was the missing piece the deck needed.
In the current build, you run 4x Grief in the maindeck. Turn 1 you play Grief and exile their Ragavan. Turn 2 you discard the Griselbrand. Turn 3 you reanimate. The opponent’s opening hand is gone, their turn 1 threat is exiled, and you have a 7/7 with 7 mana on board.
Grief also gives the deck a solid game plan against aggressive decks — exiling their turn 1 creature buys enough time to set up the reanimator turn.
The Budget Build (Under $250, Fully Proxied)
Here is the full 75-card list optimized for the budget proxy player:
Maindeck (60 cards):
Sideboard (15 cards):
Total cost breakdown:
If you proxy Griselbrand and Grief (the two cards over $40 each in paper), the deck drops to roughly $150 in real cards. That is cheaper than most Standard decks.
- 22 Snow-Covered Swamp
- 4 Field of the Dead
- 4 Stitcher’s Supplier
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 4 Thoughtseize
- 4 Grief
- 4 Goryo’s Vengeance
- 4 Griselbrand
- 4 Reanimate
- 4 Dark Ritual
- 2 Archon of Cruelty
- 4 Leyline of the Void
- 3 Necromentia
- 3 Pithing Needle
- 3 Fatal Push
- 2 Go Blank
- Mana base (~$50): 22 Snow-Covered Swamps + 4 Field of the Dead
- Engine (~$100 paper, $0 proxied): 4x Griselbrand + 4x Grief + 4x Goryo’s Vengeance
- Discard suite (~$75): 4x Thoughtseize + support
- Everything else (~$25)
Sideboard Guide for the Current Meta
vs UR Murktide / Izzet Tempo (Bring in: +3 Pithing Needle, +2 Go Blank | Cut: -2 Archon of Cruelty, -3 Dark Ritual) Murktide threats are big but vulnerable to Pithing Needle on their key planeswalker or MDFC. Go Blank strips their hand post-board.
vs Hammer Time (Bring in: +3 Fatal Push, +2 Go Blank | Cut: -4 Dark Ritual, -1 Goryo’s Vengeance) Hammer is fast but dies to a single well-timed Push. Their artifact threats are exiled by Grief turn 1 in game 1.
vs Tron (Bring in: +4 Leyline of the Void, +3 Necromentia | Cut: -4 Thoughtseize, -3 Dark Ritual) Tron is slow. Leyline kills their Plan A. Necromentia names their payoff (Karn, Ulamog).
vs Burn (Bring in: +3 Fatal Push, +2 Go Blank, +1 Pithing Needle | Cut: -4 Dark Ritual, -2 Reanimate) Burn wants to race. Push their early creatures, race with Griselbrand lifelink.
vs Yawgmoth (Bring in: +3 Pithing Needle, +2 Go Blank | Cut: -2 Archon of Cruelty, -3 Thoughtseize) Yawgmoth is combo but folds to a well-named Needle or stripped hand.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Casting Grief on curve without a target in mind. Grief exiles one permanent. If you cast it turn 1 and they have a fetch land + basic, you exiled a land. Hold it if you cannot find a real threat.
2. Reanimating into an open board. If they have 2 mana up and you suspect Path to Exile or Counterspell, wait. The Griselbrand in your graveyard is fine — they have to answer it twice.
3. Forcing the combo with no backup. If you mill Griselbrand and they have 3 cards in hand, you do not have to reanimate. Sometimes the threat of reanimation is better than the reanimation itself.
4. Playing too many reanimation spells. 4x Goryo’s Vengeance + 4x Reanimate is correct. Adding more dilutes the reanimator density and makes the deck slower.
5. Skipping sideboard for budget reasons. Even a $150 deck benefits from a $30 sideboard. The Leylines and Pushes are cheap and win games.
Why This Deck Is the Best Proxy Use Case in Modern
Reanimator is the single best argument for proxies in competitive Magic. The deck needs 4x Griselbrand (~$160 in paper), 4x Grief (~$120 in paper), and 4x Goryo’s Vengeance (~$40 in paper). That is $320 of cards that do literally the same thing whether they are paper or proxy.
The deck does not care about print quality. It does not care about foil vs non-foil. It cares about whether you have the cards. That is exactly what proxies solve.
If you have been on the fence about proxying, this is the deck to start with. Run the budget build above with proxy Griselbrand, Grief, and Vengeance, and you have a tier-1.5 Modern deck for the cost of a Standard challenger deck.
FAQ
Final Thoughts
Mono Black Reanimator is the kind of deck that rewards players who understand the format’s economics. You do not need to spend $2000 to win in Modern. You need 75 cards, a sideboard plan, and the willingness to proxy the pieces that do not have a budget equivalent.
If you are ready to build this deck, the next step is generating proxies for the expensive pieces — Griselbrand, Grief, and Goryo’s Vengeance. Use the MakeProxyCard builder to print these on demand, including custom backs and sleeves.
Related MakeProxyCard articles: