Entomb in Premodern: the instant-speed library tutor that wins on turn one

What it does

Entomb is a one-mana black instant that searches your library for a card and puts it directly into your graveyard. Any card — not just creatures. In a format where Animate Dead, Reanimate, and Buried Alive create graveyard-based win conditions, Entomb is the instant-speed setup spell that assembles those win conditions on the first turn. A turn-one Swamp, Dark Ritual, Entomb (put a creature in graveyard), Animate Dead is the most explosive sequence available in Premodern’s legal card pool.

When it’s played

Entomb is the core setup spell of Reanimator and Cephalid Breakfast.

• Reanimator runs four copies of Entomb as the primary tutor. The deck is built around Entomb finding the correct creature for the game state — typically Sutured Ghoul, Verdant Force, or another large creature — then immediately reanimating it.
• Cephalid Breakfast uses Entomb to put Sutured Ghoul and its exiled creature package into the graveyard as part of the combo setup.
• BUG Survival sometimes includes Entomb as a singleton tutor for specific creatures that need to be in the graveyard for Recurring Nightmare targets.

The math / interaction worth knowing

Instant speed is Entomb’s defining advantage over Buried Alive. Buried Alive costs three mana and is a sorcery — you cannot use it in response to the opponent’s plays, and it’s three mana instead of one. Entomb costs one mana at instant speed — you can cast it on turn one with Dark Ritual, or on the opponent’s end step to respond to their play. The instant speed also means you can Entomb in response to knowing the opponent has passed with open mana, setting up a reanimation spell on your turn.

Entomb can put non-creature cards in the graveyard. This is occasionally relevant — Anger is a creature (and the primary non-creature Entomb target in red-splash Reanimator), but Lightning Bolt, instants, and other non-creatures can also be tutored to the graveyard. In practice, almost every Entomb activation targets a creature for reanimation.

The one-mana cost with Dark Ritual creates the format’s fastest combo. Turn one sequence: Swamp, Dark Ritual (one mana into three), Entomb (one mana, put creature in graveyard), Animate Dead (two mana, reanimate creature). Total mana: three (Dark Ritual provides three, minus one for Entomb, minus two for Animate Dead = zero remaining). This sequence deploys a game-winning creature on turn one before the opponent plays their first spell. The vulnerability is disruption on the Dark Ritual or Animate Dead — Force Spike on the Animate Dead prevents the reanimate. The Reanimator pilot must account for this with Cabal Therapy or Duress to clear the counter before going off.

Decklists worth studying

When deck data populates, look for Reanimator lists from MTGO Premodern Challenges. The Entomb count (usually four) plus the reanimation suite (Animate Dead, Reanimate) defines the deck’s speed tier.

Related cards

• Animate Dead — The primary reanimation spell that Entomb pairs with; together they form the two-card combo.
• Dark Ritual — Enables the turn-one Entomb-Animate Dead sequence.
• Cabal Therapy — Strips the opponent’s counter before the Entomb-Reanimate sequence.
• Buried Alive — The three-card sorcery-speed version; complementary to Entomb but used for different setups.
• Lotus Petal — Additional fast mana for the turn-one combo.
• Anger — The primary creature Entomb puts in the graveyard for haste; requires a Mountain in play.