It was reprinted in Sorin vs Tibalt. Side products like this are known to sometimes portent standard printings (Grim Lavamancer in Fire and Lightning, Contagion Clasp in Elspeth vs Tezzeret).
I'm not sure of the slot distribution breakdown per guild beyond 1 champion each at mythic but I think Death Grasp would be an exiting and worthy reprint as a rare to open in limited (splashable) and also a X spell in the Sphinx's Revelation /Aurelia's Fury /Clan Defiance ballpark that would give a reason for Crypt Ghast to exist once Innistrad rotates.
Do the new art / flavor text give us any clues (That's not Teysa)?
What would you think of Death Grasp in the current standard environment? In Modern?
I have two old copies from Apocalyps that I'd love to dust off.
I hope they reprint something like death grasp in DGM, I was sad when we lost exsanguinate and consume spirit once scars and M12 cycled and we've been missing a life draining type spell in standard; not to mention in conjunction with liliana of the dark realms and crypt ghast it would be a good finisher for a control deck.
I will point out, Meddling Mage was reprinted in Alara Reborn, and the shocks are reprints, as much as we've begun to take them for granted. That withstanding, I see this being very, very unlikely. There've been almost a dozen duel decks, and Grim Lavamancer wasn't even in one- it was in a premium deck. That hardly implies a trend.
Favorite set: Arabian Nights Favorite planeswalker: Taysir, the One Made of Five Favorite book cycle: Ice Age Favorite creature type(s): Elephant (W), Minotaur (R), Shade (B), Spider (G), Cephalid (U) Myr (Artifact) Standard: Gruul Control Modern: American Human Tempo; Zombie Tribal EDH: Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor Cube: The Moons of Mirrodin
Selesnya's could involve putting X tokens onto the battlefield, and Golgari could make you reveal the top X cards of your library, with your opponent seperating those cards into two piles. Put the pile of your choice into your graveyard and the other pile into your hand.
Orzhov already got stuck with a crappy reprint in beckon apparition. But yes, they should pile on the garbage for Orzhov.
What exactly makes Death Grasp and Beckon Apparition crappy? DG hits creatures or players and has a very cheap color weight, furthermore it doesn't require you to pay mana of a specific color for X. The fact it heals you is considered white's influence in this case, and gives the designers an excuse to make the basic effect more effective.
BA is relevant to a format that has flashback and Snapcaster Mage as well as any format with a notable Reanimator deck, including Standard decks that run Unburial Rites . And it costs one hybrid mana. And nets you a free flying token. It's a good companion to Midnight Haunting and Lingering Souls . Plus its cheap cost plays well with Extort, which in the right deck puts Exsanguinate to shame.
But to concur with NZB2323, there seems to be a loose cycle of X cost spells going around and Orzhov has theirs, so DG for Orzhov in DGM is unlikely. The fact Orzhov had Extort this time around would also likely have screwed Grasp out of any chance it had of being printed in RTR. It would make a good reprint for them however, maybe in Ravnica 3. Of course, they'd be just as likely to create a different version tailored to Orzhov's mechanic in that block.
control deck.
