Danse Macabre is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Each player sacrifices a nontoken creature of their choice. Roll a d20 and add the toughness of the creature you sacrificed this way. 1—14 | Return a creature card put into a graveyard this way to the battlefield under your control. 15+ | Return up to two creature cards put into graveyards this way to the battlefield under your control.
Complete guide
Danse Macabre is a high-stakes black sorcery that forces a global sacrifice and potential resurrection through a game of chance. By combining death and reanimation based on a d20 roll, it can turn the strongest creatures against their owners. This card rewards you for sacrificing bulky creatures to ensure you get the best pool of options from the graveyard.
What It Does
Danse Macabre forces every player to sacrifice exactly one nontoken creature. Once the creatures are in the graveyard, you roll a d20 and add the toughness of the creature you personally sacrificed. Depending on that total, you get to return either one or two of those specific creatures to the battlefield under your control.
Step-by-Step Resolution
First, starting with you and moving in turn order, each player chooses a nontoken creature they control. Then, all chosen creatures are sacrificed simultaneously. Next, you roll a d20 and add the toughness of your sacrificed creature (as it last existed on the battlefield). If the total is 14 or lower, you choose one creature card that was just put into a graveyard to return to the battlefield. If the total is 15 or higher, you may choose up to two creatures that were sacrificed during this resolution to bring back.
Common Pitfalls
A common mistake is thinking you can choose a creature that was already in the graveyard before the spell was cast; you must choose from the creatures sacrificed specifically to Danse Macabre. Additionally, you cannot see your d20 roll before choosing which creature to sacrifice. If you do not control a nontoken creature to sacrifice, you still roll the die, but you add zero to the result.
Strategic Timing
This spell is best played when your opponents control powerful legendary creatures or high-toughness threats you want to steal. Because the sacrifice happens simultaneously, it bypasses protection and hexproof. It is particularly effective if you sacrifice a high-toughness creature yourself, as that bonus acts as a floor for your roll, making the '15+' result much more likely.
Interaction examples
You control a creature with 6 toughness, and your opponent controls a powerful threat. You cast Danse Macabre. Both players sacrifice their creatures. You roll a d20 and result in a 10. You add 6 (your creature's toughness) for a total of 16. Because you hit the '15+' threshold, you return both your creature and your opponent's creature to the battlefield under your control.
DamnationUnlike Damnation, which destroys all creatures, Danse Macabre only targets one nontoken creature per player and prevents regeneration because it is a sacrifice. While Damnation clears a crowded board, Danse Macabre is used to pivot the game state by replacing your creature with your opponent's best asset.
Living DeathLiving Death swaps the entire board with the entire graveyard. In contrast, Danse Macabre acts as a scalpel. If you have already used Living Death to resolve a board state, Danse Macabre can be used afterward to cherry-pick the most dangerous creature that was just played, using the toughness of your smallest nontoken creature to boost your roll and ensure the steal.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Danse Macabre
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Starting with you and continuing in turn order, each player will choose which creature they will sacrifice. They will know the choices made by players before them in this order when they make that choice. The creatures are all sacrificed at the same time.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
All creatures are chosen and sacrificed before the die is rolled. You don't get to see what the result of the die roll is before choosing which creature to sacrifice.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
You add only the toughness of the creature you sacrificed this way, not the toughness of any creatures your opponent sacrificed. If you didn't sacrifice a creature this way, you will still roll a d20, but you will not add anything to the roll.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If a player sacrifices their commander this way, they won't be able to choose whether to put it into the command zone until after Danse Macabre has finished resolving. Notably, this means that the sacrificed commander is a legal choice for the spell's controller to return to the battlefield. If they choose it this way, it will stay on the battlefield under their control.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Danse Macabre
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