Necromancer's StockpileHow it works & interactions with other cards

Converting Cards to Value

The ability of Necromancer's Stockpile is an activated ability that costs two mana and the discard of a creature card. Regardless of what creature you discard, you will always draw a card upon resolution. This allows you to cycle through your deck effectively, turning high-cost creatures you can't cast yet into new opportunities.

The Zombie Bonus

While any creature card triggers the draw, discarding a card with the Zombie subtype provides an additional benefit. If the discarded card is a Zombie, you also create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token that enters the battlefield tapped. This means for two mana, you replace the card in your hand and gain a creature on the board.

Timing and Costs

Discarding the creature card is part of the activation cost, not the effect. This means the card is already in your graveyard by the time the ability is put onto the stack. Since it is an activated ability without a tap symbol, you can use it multiple times in a single turn as long as you have the mana and creature cards to discard.

Strategic Discarding

This card excels when you have ways to recover creatures from your graveyard or when you need to dig for specific answers. It is best played in the mid-game when you have excess mana to spend on transforming your hand into a more relevant board state or looking for win conditions.

Interaction examples

Building an Undead Army

Zombie

If you have Necromancer's Stockpile on the battlefield and discard a Zombie creature card to its ability, the ability resolves in two parts. First, you draw a card. Second, because the discarded card had the Zombie type, you create one 2/2 black Zombie creature token that enters the battlefield tapped.

Sifting for Solutions

Phyrexian Arena

When you have both enchantments in play, Phyrexian Arena provides an extra card at your upkeep to ensure you have 'fuel' for the Stockpile. If you draw a non-Zombie creature from the Arena, you can still discard it to the Stockpile to draw again, effectively digging three cards deep into your library each turn cycle.

The Shapeshifter Interaction

Black Market Connections

Black Market Connections can create a 3/2 Shapeshifter token with Changeling. While this token is a Zombie, remember that Necromancer's Stockpile requires you to discard a creature *card* from your hand. You cannot discard tokens to trigger the Stockpile. However, if you have an actual creature card with Changeling in your hand, discarding it will trigger the bonus Zombie token creation because that card is a Zombie in all zones.