Acererak the Archlich wants a deck that explores dungeons for a reward in every room. It also suits a deck that gives up its own cards on purpose to get something back.
Mana cost
Black ()
Power / toughness5 / 5
RarityMythic
When Acererak enters, if you haven't completed Tomb of Annihilation, return Acererak to its owner's hand and venture into the dungeon.
Whenever Acererak attacks, for each opponent, you create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token unless that player sacrifices a creature of their choice.
Picked for what they do in Acererak the Archlich's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Acererak the Archlich's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Acererak the Archlich works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast23 Jul 2021
Acererak the Archlich has an intervening if clause in its first triggered ability. If you have completed Tomb of Annihilation, the ability won't trigger at all. If it does trigger, but you somehow complete Tomb of Annihilation while the ability is on the stack, then the ability won't do anything. You won't return Acererak to its owner's hand and you won't venture into the dungeon.
Wizards of the Coast23 Jul 2021
If Acererak is no longer on the battlefield as its first ability resolves and you haven't completed Tomb of Annihilation, you will still venture into the dungeon.
Wizards of the Coast23 Jul 2021
In a multiplayer game, each opponent decides in turn order whether or not they will sacrifice a creature and which one they will sacrifice. Each opponent knows the choices made before they make their own choice. Then, once all opponents have chosen, creatures are sacrificed and tokens are created simultaneously.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.Dungeon/InitiativeDungeon decks explore dungeons, special cards kept outside your deck, and get a reward in each room they move into. The initiative sends you into one called the Undercity, and an opponent takes it from you by dealing combat damage to you.Open the Dungeon/Initiative pageDungeon / VentureVenturing moves you one room through a dungeon, a special card kept outside your deck, and each room gives you its reward. Finish the last room and you can start a new dungeon. Dungeons are not permanents and never enter the battlefield. Sefris of the Hidden WaysOpen the Dungeon / Venture pageToken EngineMakes tokens again and again rather than once. A token is a creature or other permanent created by a card, with no card of its own. Something that makes one token gives you a body; something that makes them every turn gives you a board you can keep rebuilding after it is cleared. Grave Titan, Bitterblossom, OphiomancerOpen the Token Engine pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value pageSacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageForced SacrificeMakes opponents sacrifice their own permanents. Because they choose what to lose, it gets around protection and hexproof that ordinary removal cannot touch. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Living DeathOpen the Forced Sacrifice pageGame ChangerCards that warp the game disproportionately around themselves, requiring immediate answers.What the brackets meanGroup Slug / PunisherDeals damage or drains life from every opponent at once, or forces a choice where each option hurts. It usually sits on a permanent and fires over and over rather than doing it a single time. ManabarbsOpen the Group Slug / Punisher pageGroup SlugGroup Slug decks hurt every player at the table at once, then make sure they can survive the pain better than anyone else. Typical cards make each player take damage or lose life whenever they draw, cast a spell or tap a land for mana.Open the Group Slug pageDungeons / InitiativeCards that send you into a dungeon, a special card kept outside your deck, one room at a time for a reward in each room. Taking the initiative does this too.Open the Dungeons / Initiative page
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