Table of Contents
What if your graveyard was the most dangerous zone on the battlefield?
Revival Trance isn’t your typical reanimator deck. It doesn’t cheat out Eldrazi or Titans. It wins with small bodies and relentless recursion. This is low-power reanimation with high-impact value, built to grind, loop, and outlast.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to supercharge the Revival Trance precon with 10 upgrades all for under £10 total. It’s efficient, brutal, and budget-friendly.
If you're ready to turn the dead into your deadliest threat, read on.
The Commanders
The face commander is [[Terra, Herald of Hope]]:
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/4/terra-herald-of-hope
She’s the first playable character in FFVI, and fittingly, Terra’s all about recursion. With her Mardu color identity (White, Black, Red), she self-mills and reanimates creatures with 3 power or less. Think [[Alesha, Who Smiles at Death]], but with more flexibility.
The alternate commander is [[Celes, Rune Knight]]:
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/201/celes-rune-knight
She plays perfectly alongside Terra. Celes lets you discard creatures for value and buffs your whole board when they come back. I could see her leading a zombie kindred build with cards like [[Gravecrawler]].
Upgrade 1
IN: Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate
https://scryfall.com/card/fdn/115/alesha-who-laughs-at-fate
This new version of Alesha is basically tailor-made for Terra. You’re already swinging with your commander. Now you get a free reanimation spell every turn. And if Alesha herself attacks? You’re bringing back even more 3-power creatures. Scale her power up and suddenly your graveyard becomes a revolving door of value.
OUT: Combustible Gearhulk
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/292/combustible-gearhulk
A solid card in the wrong shell. The 6 power knocks it out of Terra’s reanimation range, and this deck isn’t built to abuse blink or high-impact ETBs. Great in a big-mana reanimator build, but not here.
Upgrade 2
IN: Aurelia, the Warleader
https://scryfall.com/card/gtc/143/aurelia-the-warleader
Aurelia brings the heat. An extra combat phase means double Terra triggers and a potential alpha strike. Plus, she has haste. Yes, 6 mana is steep, but if she survives a turn, you can bring back a full board.
Bonus points if you blink her at instant speed after combat to reset the trigger.
OUT: Cyan, Vengeful Samurai
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/16/cyan-vengeful-samurai
Double strike and a personal buff are cool, but Cyan only buffs himself. He’s a mono-white beater in a synergy-driven deck. Save him for a Voltron brew.
Upgrade 3
IN: Chaos Terminator Lord
https://scryfall.com/card/40k/74/chaos-terminator-lord
Double strike on demand. Target Terra, and you get two triggers per combat. Or juice up any big attacker to turn up the pressure. The best part? He’s 3 power — perfect for Terra’s recursion.
OUT: Edgar, Master Machinist
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/80/edgar-master-machinist
Cool card. Wrong deck. Edgar cares about artifacts; Terra doesn’t. This belongs in Limit Break or a Voltron shell, not a creature-based recursion deck.
Upgrade 4/5
IN: Karmic Guide + Reveillark
https://scryfall.com/card/ema/17/karmic-guide
https://scryfall.com/card/mma/26/reveillark
A classic reanimator combo. Karmic Guide brings back Reveillark. Reveillark brings back Karmic Guide and another low-power creature. Toss in a sac outlet like [[Viscera Seer]] and you’re off to the races with infinite loops. Even without the combo, both cards add incredible value to any graveyard strategy.
OUT: Interceptor, Shadow's Hound + Sun Titan
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/47/interceptor-shadows-hound
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/254/sun-titan
Interceptor is flavourful but unsupported here. Sun Titan is strong but too big for Terra to recur, and we’re not running enough impactful permanents to justify hard-casting him.
Upgrade 6
IN: Beamtown Beatstick
https://scryfall.com/card/mom/131/beamtown-beatstick
Menace makes Terra harder to block. Connecting means a free Treasure, effectively refunding Terra’s reanimation cost. A budget powerhouse that helps enable your plan.
OUT: Kefka, Dancing Mad
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/84/kefka-dancing-mad
Love the character. Love the flavour. Hate the fit. At 7 mana, without protection or synergy, Kefka feels shoehorned in. Save him for his own chaotic control deck.
Upgrade 7
IN: Lost Jitte
https://scryfall.com/card/big/53/lost-jitte
A flexible Equipment with three solid modes: ramp, unblockable, or pump. Untapping a land can effectively make Terra’s ability cost {1}. The versatility here is absurd for the price.
OUT: Phoenix Down
https://scryfall.com/card/fin/29/phoenix-down
A neat white reanimation spell, but too limited. It exiles itself, so there’s no recursion. Great flavour, underwhelming function.
Upgrade 8
IN: Selfless Spirit
https://scryfall.com/card/emn/40/selfless-spirit
Cheap protection that can be reanimated by Terra. Wrath insurance is always a welcome addition, especially when it synergizes so well.
OUT: Ruin Grinder
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/297/ruin-grinder
A huge body that Terra can’t recur. The optional wheel effect benefits your opponents as much as you. Sometimes more. Too risky, too inconsistent.
Upgrade 9/10
IN: Buried Alive + Vile Entomber
https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/273/buried-alive
https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/108/vile-entomber
Graveyard setup is key. Buried Alive is the gold standard: three targets straight into the yard. Vile Entomber is slower but synergistic: it’s a creature, it has deathtouch, and it can be reanimated.
OUT: Snort + Stitch Together
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/58/snort
https://scryfall.com/card/fic/286/stitch-together
Snort gives your opponents too much agency. Stitch Together is great with Threshold, but without consistent graveyard filling, it’s often just a worse [[Raise Dead]].
Final Thoughts
Revival Trance is a fresh twist on reanimator decks. One that rewards low-power creatures with high-impact effects.
These ten upgrades lean into what Terra does best: fill the graveyard, recur efficiently, and apply constant pressure. With a few smart swaps, this deck comfortably lands in mid-power territory. And if you wanted to take it further, there’s plenty of room to grow.
P.S. All cards were under budget at time of writing. Dynamic prices may vary. But value? That’s eternal.
Non-budget Upgrades
Looking for even more upgrades? Try these 10 cards that didn't meet our budget requirement, but synergise with this deck:
https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/8/the-reaver-cleaver
https://scryfall.com/card/snc/116/professional-face-breaker
https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/71/loran-of-the-third-path
https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/82/entomb
https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/296/sword-of-feast-and-famine
https://scryfall.com/card/fdn/721/boros-charm
https://scryfall.com/card/40k/141/sister-hospitaller
https://scryfall.com/card/tdc/198/victimize
https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/107/ripples-of-undeath
https://scryfall.com/card/dsk/136/fear-of-missing-out
Thanks for reading, and if you're picking up any Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy products, booster boxes, commander decks or anything Magic: The Gathering we’ve got you covered here at Gathering Games.
