Animate Dead, but cooler?

[Inconsequenti-AL]

REACH SPELL [METAMAGIC]
Benefit: You may cast a spell that normally has a range of touch at any distance up to 30 feet. The spell effectively becomes a ray, so you must succeed at a ranged touch attack to bestow the spell upon the recipient. A reach spell uses up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell’s actual level.

Might work?

Not quite sure about multiple target ray effects? Guess you just get a lot of rays?

You'd have to be able to see some part of each of the corspes - perhaps a finger or two poking above ground... although that'd make for a bit of a trick shot with the rays.

If this makes for too high a level spell, perhaps a limited metamagic rod - 3/day but only works with necromantic effects, possibly only animate dead?

Or a Staff of Reach Raise Dead. Only level 5 if created by a cleric - so IIRC 337.5 GP per charge, if you're counting the pennies?