Zombie Scavengers MTG Card


It offers graveyard synergy, consistently reviving threats and providing steady pressure against opponents. Instant speed allows reactive play, fitting well into control strategies for MTG enthusiasts. Requires careful management of hand resources and specific mana, influencing deck construction.
Zombie Scavengers - Weatherlight
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Zombie
Released1997-06-09
Set symbol
Set nameWeatherlight
Set codeWTH
Power 3
Toughness 1
Number87
Frame1997
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byPatrick Kochakji

Text of card

Remove the top creature card in your graveyard from the game: Regenerate

"Pick a shell upon my shore and put it to your ear. That sound isn't the sea, but the whispers of the fallen." —Crovax


Cards like Zombie Scavengers

Zombie Scavengers slots seamlessly into the undead tribe’s toolkit within Magic: The Gathering, echoing the functionality found in Zombie tokens and other graveyard-centric cards. For those who appreciate the relentless aggression and resilience of Zombie decks, Sultai Emissary offers a kindred mechanics. Sultai Emissary also grants a 2/2 Zombie creature when it dies, much like the Scavengers’ potential to exhume creatures from the graveyard. Yet, unlike our titular card, it doesn’t offer the flexibility of selecting from the top cards of your library.

Shambling Ghoul and Doomed Dissenter are additional parallels in the zombie archetype. Both cards reinforce the battlefield with Zombie tokens upon death, albeit without the ability to sift through the deck as the Scavengers do. However, the Scavengers’ ability to dig through the top of the deck potentially gather specifically needed creatures sets it apart as a more strategic option in certain gameplay scenarios.

Zombie Scavengers stand out in the realm of dark, shuffled horrors because of their particular blend of graveyard interaction and the tactical advantage they bring to the overcrowded tomb of zombie-themed cards. Their strategic contribution can be pivotal for players looking to optimize their death-trigger synergies.

Sultai Emissary - MTG Card versions
Shambling Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Doomed Dissenter - MTG Card versions
Sultai Emissary - MTG Card versions
Shambling Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Doomed Dissenter - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Zombie Scavengers by color, type and mana cost

Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
Royal Assassin - MTG Card versions
El-Hajjâj - MTG Card versions
Plague Rats - MTG Card versions
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Lord of the Undead - MTG Card versions
Deepwood Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Dross Prowler - MTG Card versions
Nim Lasher - MTG Card versions
Nim Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vesper Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
Royal Assassin - MTG Card versions
El-Hajjâj - MTG Card versions
Plague Rats - MTG Card versions
Frozen Shade - MTG Card versions
Scathe Zombies - MTG Card versions
Sorceress Queen - MTG Card versions
Wall of Bone - MTG Card versions
Lost Soul - MTG Card versions
Mindstab Thrull - MTG Card versions
Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions
Strongarm Thug - MTG Card versions
Razortooth Rats - MTG Card versions
Ghastly Remains - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Undead - MTG Card versions
Deepwood Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Dross Prowler - MTG Card versions
Nim Lasher - MTG Card versions
Nim Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vesper Ghoul - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Zombie Scavengers can be a boon for decks seeking to increase their hand resources. When this card is utilized effectively, it can repeatedly bring creatures back from the graveyard to your hand, ensuring a steady influx of options and maintaining pressure on the opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This card excels in decks focused on graveyard strategies. By enabling the return of zombie creatures to the battlefield, it effectively accelerates your resource deployment, allowing you to leverage more of your deck’s potential with each turn. This consistent revival of threat can be overwhelming for opponents, giving you the upper hand.

Instant Speed: The capacity to operate at instant speed gives the player a significant tactical advantage. Being able to react during an opponent’s turn or at the end of their turn means keeping mana open for other crucial spells or abilities, thus optimizing the timing and surprise element of your plays. Zombie Scavengers offers this flexibility, fitting well into a reactive or control-oriented strategy.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Zombie Scavengers’ ability comes with a caveat – you must discard a card to activate its potential, which could backfire when you’re running low on hand options.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Zombie Scavengers requires a fixed black mana, which could restrict it primarily to mono-black or black-centric decks, potentially limiting its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Given that Zombie Scavengers has a designated mana cost that’s a shade higher than some other creatures in its class, players might ponder if the investment matches the payoff, especially when alternatives are available that might provide a better balance of cost-efficiency and utility.


Reasons to Include Zombie Scavengers in Your Collection

Versatility: Zombie Scavengers thrives in various deck themes, particularly those emphasizing graveyard interaction or requiring a steady flow of creatures for sacrifice and ability triggers.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with strategies that utilize the graveyard, such as recurring creatures or benefiting from self-mill tactics, to achieve powerful on-board advantages.

Meta-Relevance: With its resilience and capacity to leverage the graveyard, Zombie Scavengers is particularly adept at holding its own in metas where resource management is critical, and the battlefield is constantly in flux.


How to beat

Confronting Zombie Scavengers on the battleground requires strategic insight and resource management. These card-crafting undead often overwhelm with their ability to consistently exploit the graveyard, providing a steady flow of pressure on the adversary. To effectively neutralize the threat posed by Zombie Scavengers, one should consider incorporating graveyard hate in their strategy. Cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can disrupt the delicate ecosystem Zombie Scavengers rely upon, effectively nullifying their advantage. Moreover, timely removal spells can prevent these creatures from amassing and turning the tide against you. Cards like Wrath of God or Bile Blight can sweep the board clean, halting the scavenger’s relentless advance and putting you back in control. Lastly, enhancing your deck with strong defensive options can dampen the impact of recurring zombie hordes, ensuring that their scavenging efforts yield minimal gains. By anticipating the cadaverous onslaught and adapting your play accordingly, the menace of the Zombie Scavengers can be mitigated, securing your path to victory.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Zombie Scavengers MTG card by a specific set like Weatherlight, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Zombie Scavengers and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Zombie Scavengers has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Zombie Scavengers card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2008-04-01 If an effect or rule puts two or more cards into the same graveyard at the same time, the owner of those cards may arrange them in any order.
2008-04-01 Players may not rearrange the cards in their graveyards. This is a little-known rule because new cards that care about graveyard order haven’t been printed in years.
2008-04-01 Say you’re the owner of both a permanent and an Aura that’s attached to it. If both the permanent and the Aura are destroyed at the same time (by Akroma’s Vengeance, for example), you decide the order they’re put into your graveyard. If just the enchanted permanent is destroyed, it’s put into your graveyard first. Then, after state-based actions are checked, the Aura (which is no longer attached to anything) is put into your graveyard on top of it.
2008-04-01 The last thing that happens to a resolving instant or sorcery spell is that it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. —Example: You cast Wrath of God. All creatures on the battlefield are destroyed. You arrange all the cards put into your graveyard this way in any order you want. The other players in the game do the same to the cards that are put into their graveyards. Then you put Wrath of God into your graveyard, on top of the other cards.
2008-04-01 The “top” card of your graveyard is the card that was put there most recently.