Magic: The Gathering's Grafted Butcher opens the door for Phyrexian Tribal decks in March of the Machine

Grafted Butcher
Grafted Butcher is an inexpensive but powerful Phyrexian Lord for Magic: The Gathering (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Thanks to Grafted Butcher, a new flavor of aggro might take over Magic: The Gathering. Making a quicker, more powerful deck is a constant goal in Magic the Gathering, and having a card with this kind of low cost and great value could help create a formidable Phyrexian Tribal deck. Phyrexian creatures are nothing new, but a lord will join the group in March of the Machine. With a commander like the Grafted Butcher at the helm, Magic: The Gathering is quite likely to see a fun new aggressive deck to dominate the meta. March of the Machine introduced several Phyrexians to the game.

Only time will tell if this will be the case, but it's an exciting possibility.


Phyrexian Tribal is getting significant support in Magic: The Gathering with Grafted Butcher

Magic: The Gathering will get very interesting when the March of the Machine expansion releases in April. If this card drops on turn two, it can lead to aggressive gameplay.

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Like all "lord" type cards, it grants all other creatures in its type (Phyrexians) +1/+1, so it doesn't buff itself. However, it's only a 2-cost creature and isn't legendary. This means you can have two in play with ease.

Grafted Butcher in Magic: The Gathering (Image via Wizards of the Coast)
Grafted Butcher in Magic: The Gathering (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Grafted Butcher

  • Mana Value: 1B
  • Type: Creature - Phyrexian Samurai
  • Rarity: Rare
  • Stats: 2 power, 2 toughness
  • First Ability: When Grafted Butcher enters the battlefield, Phyrexians you control gain menace until the end of turn.
  • Second Ability: Other Phyrexians you control get +1/+1.
  • Third Ability: 3B, Sacrifice an artifact or creature: Return Grafted Butcher from your graveyard to the battlefield. Activate only as a sorcery.

Whenever this card comes into play, it gives all your Phyrexians the menace ability, which means it has to be blocked by at least two creatures. This can mean some of your stronger creatures get through much easier. This ability doesn’t mean much if this creature comes into play early.

However, this Magic: The Gathering card can come back into play from the graveyard as a sorcery effect. As long as you have 4 mana and an artifact or creature to sacrifice, this card can come back over and over. This also means the menace trigger can be very disruptive.

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It increases the power of your other creatures, and if you're running Incubate, you can quickly start flooding the board with more powerful creatures. It's a two-drop creature, which will be home to virtually any aggressive Phyrexian deck.

Since there are Phyrexian creatures of several colors, there are plenty of possibilities, as long as you splash in some black for this card. This Magic: The Gathering card will likely be sought-after when March of the Machine launches on April 21.