Yore-Tiller Nephilim: Side by Side with Similar Keywords

Yore-Tiller Nephilim, a four-color Nephilim figure from Guildpact with wormy flavor in the art by Jeremy Jarvis

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Yore-Tiller Nephilim: Side by Side with Similar Keywords

Four-color magic has always held a special place in the hallways of Magic: The Gathering—where you can stitch together white, blue, black, and red into a surprisingly cohesive engine. Yore-Tiller Nephilim, a rare from Guildpact, is a standout example from 2006 that still sparks conversations about how keyword-driven interactions can shape a command zone strategy. With a mana cost of {W}{U}{B}{R} and a modest 2/2 body, it’s far from a vanilla beater. But its true value lies in the attack-triggered graveyard recursion it unleashes each time it swings. When the Nephilim attacks, you get to return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped and attacking. That line reads like a spark that could ignite a whole combat plan 🧙‍♂️🔥.

In practice, this is less about pure card advantage in a vacuum and more about tempo, puzzle-box execution, and optimistic combat math. The ability is a shining example of attack-driven versatility—a mechanic family that rewards daring, sequencing, and a little bit of graveyard poetry. The four-color identity amplifies this with access to utilities from several colors, letting you tailor your graveyard the way a curator arranges a gallery. Think of it as a battle-world remix: your graveyard becomes a staging ground, and each attack reopens a doorway into the battlefield. The flavor text about earthworms hissing in response to awakening only thickens the lore that Yore-Tiller Nephilim inhabits a realm where life and death trade blows in the same breath ⚔️🎨.

Side-by-side: Attack triggers that feed graveyard recursion

Yore-Tiller Nephilim sits in the realm of attack-triggered effects, a playful and sometimes explosive corner of MTG design. The core idea is simple: you begin your attack, and the moment of impact becomes the trigger for something else to occur—often something that reshapes your board state more profoundly than a typical combat damage line. In this Nephilim’s case, the trigger is a graveyard-to-battlefield reanimation that arrives tapped and ready to swing alongside your other attackers. It’s a tempo engine with built-in control: you choose which creature resurges, you ensure it enters tapped (minimizing surprise blocks against you), and you press the offensive with a newly minted threat in tow.

To appreciate the design, compare it to ETB (enter-the-battlefield) reanimation engines. Cards that reanimate on ETB pull you into a different cadence—your best-laid plans hinge on what happens the moment a permanent hits the battlefield, not what happens when you commit to combat. Yore-Tiller Nephilim’s attack-trigger mechanic, by contrast, thrives on the predictability of combat as a rhythm: declare attackers, then resolve the graveyard return during that same combat step. In practice, that means you can chain multiple reanimations in a single combat phase if you’ve stacked things carefully, creating the illusion of a perpetual engine without needing a separate aura or enchantment to keep the flow alive 🧙‍♂️.

Of course, there are caveats. The returned creature enters tapped and attacking, which is a double-edged sword: you push into threats as soon as possible, but you also surrender some control over which opponent’s blockers will be present. Smart players build around this by selecting targets that either synergize with your board or create immediate pressure—think large threats in your graveyard that benefit from being in the fight quickly, or utility bodies that survive the tap and can help you stabilize the next turn. The four-color identity helps you lean into these choices, offering access to disruption, card draw, ramp, and—crucially—graveyard hate from rival players who may be wary of recurring threats in the late game 🧩💎.

Flavor, strategy, and value in a four-color puzzle

Beyond raw mechanics, Yore-Tiller Nephilim invites a deep dialogue about design space and collector value. As a Guildpact rare, its art by Jeremy Jarvis and its dark lore snippet—“When it awoke, the worms of the earth hissed in a chorus of beckoning”—make it a flavorful centerpiece for graveyard-focused decks. The card is foil-enabled and appears in both foil and non-foil, which matters for collectors who chase a complete four-color Nephilim motif or a commander table that leans into four-color chaos. In terms of format, the card’s history sits comfortably in Modern-legal triage with legacy and vintage play—though it’s a rare bird in scaled-down, pocket-friendly formats. Price-wise, you can see the spectrum: a few dollars in nonfoil form, with foils pulling into higher ranges as a reflection of both nostalgia and demand.

For players who love the momentum of a plan that evolves mid-combat, Yore-Tiller Nephilim is a talisman. It embodies the joy of keyword-driven recursion done with elegance rather than flash. And if you’re a Commander enthusiast who enjoys four-color builds, this Nephilim is a reminder that even a 2/2 creature can kick down doors with the right trigger and the right deck architecture 🧙‍♂️⚔️.

Crafting a deck that respects the pace

To maximize the potential of attack-triggered returns, you’ll want to couple the Nephilim with threats your graveyard would be happy to see again—and with ways to protect or re-protect those threats on subsequent turns. Keep in mind that tempo can swing heavily in your favor when you sequence attacks to draw extra value from your graveyard, but you’ll also need to manage opposing removal and graveyard hate. A well-tuned four-color build will balance removal, card advantage, and reliable ways to keep a steady stream of threats entering the battlefield, either through the Nephilim or through your other engines 🧙‍♂️🔥.

Sports fans of the card-lore world will appreciate how a single line of rules text can turn into a whole battlefield narrative. The art, the flavor, and the strategic ripple effects all combine to make Yore-Tiller Nephilim a memorable piece in any collection. If you want to carry your passion while browsing for MTG gear on the go, a sturdy travel companion can be essential—hence we note a handy accessory that keeps your gear safe and accessible while you plot your next big swing. And for real-world gear that travels with you to MTG events or casual nights, a slim, durable case makes sense as a companion piece for fans who want to protect their decks and their devices alike 🎲🎨.

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