This card borders on silver-bordered land. But can it work?

I think it's one of those things where, yeah, it could work, but it's easier to just go about things a different way without getting cute and extra-flavorful.

That is to say, this basically works the same as:

If a creature card would be put into your graveyard from anywhere, return it to the battlefield with a ghoul counter on it instead.
Whenever a creature with a ghoul counter on it would be destroyed, exile it instead.

I don't think my wording is totally correct, but I think you get the point.

The original card: "Creature cards in your graveyard may attack and block as if they were on the battlefield. If a creature card in your graveyard would be destroyed, exile it."

Now that wording definitely doesn't work. The "dies" ability is a trigger on going to the graveyard, but...nothing can go to the graveyard!

Would it work if he had retained the "would be destroyed" wording?

This is a lot like persist/undying, but obviously mote universal. It's also very dangerous. I would definitely build a deck around this if it were printed.

From anywhere? Yeeikes! Stinkweed Imp and friends just got a lot more terrifying. Let alone turning Putrid Imp into some terrifying Elvish Piper on crack. And yet, at 6 mana, this probably wouldn't break tournaments, and so may be just about printable.