Sedris, the Traitor King 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 creature card in your graveyard has unearth. (
Complete guide
Sedris, the Traitor King is a powerhouse commander that turns your graveyard into a second hand. By granting every creature in your yard the unearth keyword, Sedris ensures that death is merely a temporary setback for your army.
How Unearth Works
While Sedris is on the battlefield, every creature card in your graveyard gains an activated ability: Unearth {2}{B}. This ability can only be activated during your main phase when the stack is empty. When it resolves, the creature returns to the battlefield and gains haste. However, this return is fleeting; the creature must be exiled at the beginning of the next end step, or immediately if it would leave the battlefield for any other reason.
The Resurrection Process
Step 1: Pay {2}{B} to activate the unearth ability of a creature in your graveyard. Step 2: The ability goes on the stack. If the card is removed from the graveyard before this resolves, the ability does nothing. Step 3: Upon resolution, the creature enters the battlefield with haste. Step 4: A delayed triggered ability is created. At the start of the next end step, this trigger goes on the stack to exile the creature.
The Exile Clause
Unearth comes with a strict replacement effect. If the unearthed creature would leave the battlefield for any reason (destruction, bouncing to hand, or tucking into the library), it is exiled instead. There is one exception: if an effect is already trying to exile the creature (like a flicker effect), it succeeds, and if that effect returns the card to the battlefield, it returns as a brand-new object no longer bound by the unearth restrictions.
Strategic Timing
Since unearth grants haste and requires the creature to be exiled at the end step, you should typically activate it during your pre-combat main phase. This allows you to utilize 'enters the battlefield' triggers and get an attack in. Remember that if Sedris leaves the battlefield, creatures in your graveyard lose unearth, but any creatures already unearthed will still be exiled as planned.
Interaction examples
Gray Merchant of AsphodelWith Sedris on the battlefield, you pay {2}{B} to unearth Gray Merchant of Asphodel. It enters the battlefield, triggering its ability to drain opponents based on your devotion to black. Because it has haste, you can attack for 2. At the beginning of the next end step, the unearth delayed trigger exiles it.
Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim triggers whenever a creature card leaves your graveyard. When you activate an unearth ability granted by Sedris, the creature moves from the graveyard to the battlefield, causing Syr Konrad to deal 1 damage to each opponent. Later, when the creature is exiled by the unearth effect, it does not 'die' (go to the graveyard), so Konrad will not trigger a second time for that movement.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Sedris, the Traitor King
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you activate a card's unearth ability but that card is removed from your graveyard before the ability resolves, that unearth ability will resolve and do nothing.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Activating a creature card's unearth ability isn't the same as casting the creature card. The unearth ability is put on the stack, but the creature card is not. Spells and abilities that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle) will interact with unearth, but spells and abilities that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul) will not.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
At the beginning of the end step, a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth is exiled. This is a delayed triggered ability, and it can be countered by effects such as Stifle or Voidslime that counter triggered abilities. If the ability is countered, the creature will stay on the battlefield and the delayed trigger won't trigger again. However, the replacement effect will still exile the creature when it eventually leaves the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Unearth grants haste to the creature that's returned to the battlefield. However, neither of the "exile" abilities is granted to that creature. If that creature loses all its abilities, it will still be exiled at the beginning of the end step, and if it would leave the battlefield, it is still exiled instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth would leave the battlefield for any reason, it's exiled instead — unless the spell or ability that's causing the creature to leave the battlefield is actually trying to exile it! In that case, it succeeds at exiling it. If it later returns the creature card to the battlefield (as Oblivion Ring or Flickerwisp might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The unearth effect will no longer apply to it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
Despite the appearance of the reminder text, the unearth abilities that Sedris grants are activated abilities of each individual creature card in your graveyard. They're not activated abilities of Sedris.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
Sedris may cause a creature card in your graveyard to have multiple unearth abilities. (For example, a Fatestitcher in your graveyard would have unearth
and unearth 
.) You may activate either of those abilities.No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Sedris, the Traitor King + Void Maw + Altar of Dementia + Priest of Gix
- 1Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Priest of Gix, causing target player to mill cards equal to Priest of Gix's power.
- 2Activate Priest of Gix's unearth ability by paying , returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield, giving it haste and exiling it at end of turn or when it leaves the battlefield.
- 3Priest of Gix enters the battlefield, adding .
- 4Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Priest of Gix.
- 5Both Priest of Gix's undying ability and Void Maw attempt to exile Priest of Gix when it would be put into your graveyard.
- 6Choose to apply the Void Maw replacement effect, exiling Priest of Gix.
- 7Resolve the Altar of Dementia ability, causing target player to mill cards equal to Priest of Gix's power.
- 8Activate Void Maw by putting Priest of Gix from exile into your graveyard, giving Void Maw +2/+2 until end of turn.
Sedris, the Traitor King + Void Maw + Altar of Dementia + Witch Engine
- 1Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Witch Engine, causing target player to mill cards equal to Witch Engine's power.
- 2Activate Witch Engine's unearth ability by paying , returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield, giving it haste and exiling it at end of turn or when it leaves the battlefield.
- 3Activate Witch Engine by tapping it.
- 4Holding priority, activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Witch Engine.
- 5Both Witch Engine's undying ability and Void Maw attempt to exile Witch Engine when it would be put into your graveyard.
- 6Choose to apply the Void Maw replacement effect, exiling Witch Engine.
- 7Resolve the Witch Engine ability from step 3, adding .
- 8Resolve the Altar of Dementia ability, causing target player to mill cards equal to Witch Engine's power.
Sedris, the Traitor King + Void Maw + Ashnod's Altar + Magus of the Coffers
- 1Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Magus of the Coffers, adding
. - 2Activate Magus of the Coffers' unearth ability by paying , returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield, giving it haste and exiling it at end of turn or when it leaves the battlefield.
- 3Activate Magus of the Coffers by paying and tapping it, adding at least six .
- 4Activate Ashnod's Altar by sacrificing Magus of the Coffers, adding .
- 5Both Magus of the Coffers's undying ability and Void Maw attempt to exile Magus of the Coffers when it would be put into your graveyard.
- 6Choose to apply the Void Maw replacement effect, exiling Magus of the Coffers.
- 7Activate Void Maw by putting Magus of the Coffers from exile into your graveyard, giving Void Maw +2/+2 until end of turn.
- 8Repeat from step 2.
Sedris, the Traitor King + Void Maw + Phyrexian Altar + Palladium Myr
- 1Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Palladium Myr, adding .
- 2Activate Palladium Myr's unearth ability by paying , returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield, giving it haste and exiling it at end of turn or when it leaves the battlefield.
- 3Activate Palladium Myr by tapping it, adding .
- 4Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Palladium Myr, adding .
- 5Both Palladium Myr's undying ability and Void Maw attempt to exile Palladium Myr when it would be put into your graveyard.
- 6Choose to apply the Void Maw replacement effect, exiling Palladium Myr.
- 7Activate Void Maw by putting Palladium Myr from exile into your graveyard, giving Void Maw +2/+2 until end of turn.
- 8Repeat from step 2.
Sedris, the Traitor King + Void Maw + Altar of Dementia + Dockside Extortionist
- 1Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Dockside Extortionist, causing target player to mill cards equal to Dockside Extortionist's power.
- 2Activate Dockside Extortionist's unearth ability by paying , returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield, giving it haste and exiling it at end of turn or when it leaves the battlefield.
- 3Dockside Extortionist enters the battlefield, creating at least four Treasure tokens.
- 4Activate three of the Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding .
- 5Activate Altar of Dementia by sacrificing Dockside Extortionist.
- 6Both Dockside Extortionist's undying ability and Void Maw attempt to exile Dockside Extortionist when it would be put into your graveyard.
- 7Choose to apply the Void Maw replacement effect, exiling Dockside Extortionist.
- 8Resolve the Altar of Dementia ability, causing target player to mill cards equal to Dockside Extortionist's power.
Legal formats
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