EDH Optimizer
Tombstone, Career Criminal
Legendary Creature — Human Villain · 2B
Color identity: Black
Tombstone, Career Criminal is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
When Tombstone enters, return target Villain card from your graveyard to your hand.
Villain spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Reference price of the card: €0.09
Comes in the precon Doom Prevails
Average lands in decks for Tombstone, Career Criminal: 37
ReanimatorVillainsDredgeFlashbackGraveyardHistoricHumansLegends
Build your Tombstone, Career Criminal deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Tombstone, Career Criminal 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Tombstone, Career Criminal deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: D (47/100)
- Consistency27
- Speed64
- Interaction22
- Resilience67
- Closing50
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 37 lands (5 nonbasic, 32 Swamp)
Black Cat, Cunning Thief · Scorpion, Seething Striker · Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary · Common Crook · Venomized Cat · Sol Ring · Venom, Evil Unleashed · Swarm, Being of Bees · Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord · Elektra, Daughter of the Hand · Grendel, Spawn of Knull · M.O.D.O.K. · The Masters of Evil · Merciless Enforcers · Symbiote Spawn · Undead Hand Ninja · Venom, Eddie Brock · Mechanical Mobster · Morlun, Devourer of Spiders · Grim Reaper, Lethal Legionnaire · Citizen V, Helmut Zemo · Doombot Harbinger · Green Goblin, Back for More · Thanos, Death's Consort · Arcane Signet · Changeling Outcast · Venomous Changeling · Baron Helmut Zemo · Doctor Doom · Feed the Swarm · Metallic Mimic · Construct a Cosmic Cube · Inner Demons Gangsters · Eerie Gravestone · Jet Medallion · Risky Research · Village Rites · Doom Reigns Supreme · Cairn Wanderer · Deadly Dispute · Ghostly Changeling · Go for the Throat · Graveshifter · Night's Whisper · Scorpion's Sting · Sign in Blood · Venom's Hunger · Arnim Zola, Bio-Fanatic · Crimson Cowl, Master of Evil · Iron Monger, Sadistic Tycoon · Madame Masque · Minotaur, Roxxon CEO · Red Room Recruit · Swordsman, Sharp Scoundrel · Visions of Villainy · Yellowjacket, Heartless Marauder · The Spot's Portal · Bloodline Pretender · Charcoal Diamond · Corrupted Conviction · Dark Ritual · Maskwood Nexus · Bojuka Bog · Rogue's Passage · Villainous Hideout · Turtle Lair · Cabal Coffers
🃏 Recommended cards for Tombstone, Career Criminal
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Tombstone, Career Criminal, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Black Cat, Cunning Thief | 83% | +82% |
| Scorpion, Seething Striker | 81% | +81% |
| Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary | 80% | +79% |
| Common Crook | 79% | +78% |
| Venomized Cat | 75% | +75% |
| Venom, Evil Unleashed | 74% | +74% |
| Swarm, Being of Bees | 71% | +71% |
| Grendel, Spawn of Knull | 70% | +70% |
| Elektra, Daughter of the Hand | 70% | +69% |
| The Masters of Evil | 70% | +69% |
| Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord | 70% | +69% |
| M.O.D.O.K. | 70% | +67% |
| Symbiote Spawn | 67% | +66% |
| Venom, Eddie Brock | 67% | +66% |
| Merciless Enforcers | 67% | +66% |
| Undead Hand Ninja | 67% | +66% |
| Mechanical Mobster | 63% | +63% |
| Morlun, Devourer of Spiders | 63% | +61% |
| Grim Reaper, Lethal Legionnaire | 60% | +60% |
| Green Goblin, Back for More | 57% | +57% |
| Citizen V, Helmut Zemo | 57% | +57% |
| Thanos, Death's Consort | 57% | +56% |
| Venomous Changeling | 56% | +55% |
| Doombot Harbinger | 57% | +55% |
💰 The best cards for your Tombstone, Career Criminal deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Black Cat, Cunning Thief
- Scorpion, Seething Striker
- Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary
- Common Crook
- Venomized Cat
- Venom, Evil Unleashed
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- M.O.D.O.K.
- Venom, Eddie Brock
- Thanos, Death's Consort
- Doctor Doom
- Minotaur, Roxxon CEO
- M.O.D.O.K., Evil Intellect
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Tombstone, Career Criminal
- Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar + Reassembling Skeleton → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- Ashnod's Altar + Metallic Mimic → Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- Viscera Seer + Metallic Mimic → Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite scry 1
- Metallic Mimic + Carrion Feeder → Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- Umbral Collar Zealot + Metallic Mimic → Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite surveil
- Metallic Mimic + Hammerhead, Maggia Boss → Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Tombstone, Career Criminal's color identity?
Tombstone, Career Criminal is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Tombstone, Career Criminal come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Tombstone, Career Criminal deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 37 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 3.0 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 100 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 36 % of the time and floods 26 %. Deck health: D (47/100).
How many lands should a Tombstone, Career Criminal deck run?
Real Tombstone, Career Criminal decks run 37 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Tombstone, Career Criminal?
The three highest-synergy cards are Black Cat, Cunning Thief, Scorpion, Seething Striker, Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Tombstone, Career Criminal decks.
What combos does Tombstone, Career Criminal have?
Tombstone, Career Criminal has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar + Reassembling Skeleton. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Tombstone, Career Criminal deck cost?
You can start cheap: Black Cat, Cunning Thief, Scorpion, Seething Striker, Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.