#graveyard order

[magicjudge]

Let's talk Death Spark!

To pay the 1 and get DS back, does it matter what else is in your GY as long as you have Spark below a Creature? Like would this setup be legal for me to return DS at my upkeep:

Instant

Artifact

Sorcery

Goblin Rock Sled

Death Spark

6 other cards

Old designs that use the physical position of a card are so bizarre lol.

Death Spark only cares that the card immediately on top of it is a creature. It doesn't care where it and that card are in the greater graveyard order, though. So yes, you could return Death Spark to your hand in the scenario you describe.

[magicjudge]

Hey! If I control a Barrow Ghoul, in order to meet its triggered ability requirement, does the top card of my graveyard HAVE to be a creature, or do I exile the the topmost creature in my graveyard? Thank you very much.

The “top creature card in your graveyard” is the topmost creature card of all creature cards in your graveyard, ignoring cards of other types.

Note that if you’re playing with cards like Barrow Ghoul that care about graveyard order, you won’t be able to reorder your graveyard at all unless a card instructs you to do so.

[magicjudge]

when a card refers to the top card of my graveyard, which card does it refer to? and does this mean i can't rearrange my graveyard in certain formats?

It means the card that most recently entered your graveyard. In older formats that include these cards, you’re not allowed to rearrange your graveyard unless a card specifically instructs you to do so. (Those formats are legacy, vintage, commander, pauper, etc.)

[magicjudge]

Graveyard ordering is mostly a thing of the past but sometimes it comes up so I was wondering, when does a spell go to the graveyard? If part of the resolution puts cards into your graveyard, do they go in before or after the spell?

A spell goes to the graveyard as the very last step of its resolution, so it will be on top of your graveyard.

For example, if you Thought Scour yourself, the two cards you mill from Thought Scour will go to your graveyard, then you’ll draw a card, then you’ll put Thought Scour in your graveyard.

[magicjudge]

Is graveyard order important in commander ?

Yes.

Commander uses cards from the whole span of Magic’s history and there are at least 20 cards in Magic’s history that care about the order of cards in your graveyard or another player’s graveyard.

Maintain graveyard order as best you can when playing Commander, kids! :)