TCG Playability
Legendary Creature — Troll Shaman
Domain — When Bortuk Bonerattle enters, if you cast it, choose target creature card in your graveyard. Return that card to the battlefield if its mana value is less than or equal to the number of basic land types among lands you control. Otherwise, put it into your hand.
Bortuk Bonerattle is a powerhouse mid-range creature from Dominaria United that rewards players for building mana-diverse decks while simultaneously filling the critical role of graveyard recursion. This legendary Troll Shaman costs four generic, one black, and one green mana, making it a reasonable investment for a 4/4 body with an exceptional enter-the-battlefield effect. The Domain mechanic encourages deck construction around multiple basic land types, and when Bortuk enters the battlefield, you get to target a creature from your graveyard and either return it to play for free if its mana value doesn't exceed your basic land type count, or put it into your hand otherwise. This flexibility is what makes the card so compelling: in the early-to-mid game, it functions as creature recursion, while in the late game with a full mana base, it essentially cheats out multiple creatures for the cost of one. Players interested in Sultai or four-color midrange strategies in Pioneer and Modern will find Bortuk particularly valuable, as these decks naturally run diverse mana bases and benefit tremendously from creature recursion. The card also slots excellently into Commander and Brawl formats, where reanimation strategies and Domain synergies are well-established. Whether you're looking to recur your premium creatures or simply add a versatile legendary creature to your collection, Bortuk Bonerattle offers both immediate value and strategic depth that appeals to competitive and casual players alike.
Illustrated by Wayne Reynolds