Mournful Zombie MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Zombie |
| Released | 2001-06-04 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Apocalypse |
| Set code | APC |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 43 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | John Matson |
Key Takeaways
- Recursive ability grants card advantage, enhancing value through repeated creature play from the graveyard.
- Instant speed activation allows strategic flexibility, surprising opponents and maximizing in-game tactics.
- Demands careful deck building to balance its discard cost and specific mana requirements.
Text of card
o W, oc T: Target player gains 1 life.
Treated with a powerful mix of herbs and potions, its wrappings have a remarkable preservative effect, even for the living.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Mournful Zombie’s ability to bring creatures back from the graveyard provides a steady stream of card advantage. This recursive potential can outvalue opponents over time by reusing powerful creatures from your graveyard.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly ramping your mana, the return of creatures to your hand by Mournful Zombie enables more plays per turn. Effectively, it accelerates your resources by expanding your available plays without spending additional cards from your hand.
Instant Speed: Mournful Zombie’s surprise factor can be a game-changer considering its ability might be activated at instant speed. This flexibility allows players to wait for the opportune moment during the game, such as at the end of an opponent’s turn or in response to a removal, to maximize strategic depth and tactical advantage.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Mournful Zombie presents a deck-building challenge with its discard mechanic. Players must factor in the loss of a card from their hand, which could potentially disrupt strategic plays or void valuable cards from being utilized later in the game.
Specific Mana Cost: Featuring a nonflexible mana cost that requires both black and generic mana, the Mournful Zombie demands a dedicated spot in mana bases, restricting it primarily to mono-black or two-color decks where black is a major component.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With other creatures and spells in the MTG universe offering similar or better abilities at a lower mana investment, the cost associated with summoning Mournful Zombie to the battlefield might be difficult to justify, especially in formats where mana efficiency is crucial.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Mournful Zombie offers a reliable option for decks seeking consistent graveyard interaction. Its ability to return to the battlefield enhances strategies centered around undead resilience and perseverance.
Combo Potential: With this zombie, players can orchestrate combos that exploit death-triggered abilities or aim to build up a powerful board state with reanimating tactics, making it a cog in a well-oiled undead machine.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where creature removal is rampant, the enduring nature of Mournful Zombie keeps it relevant as it repeatedly claws its way back into play, ensuring a persistent presence on the field.
How to beat
Mournful Zombie is a card that can present a unique challenge in the game of Magic: The Gathering. This creature often finds its way into decks that leverage its undead traits, typically in strategies focused on graveyard mechanics or as a deterrent for aggressive playstyles. However, overcoming the Mournful Zombie is not an impossible task.
Removal spells are your best friend against this pesky zombie. Casting a spell like Path to Exile or Murder can swiftly handle the Mournful Zombie regardless of its resilience. Cards that exile become even more valuable as they prevent any graveyard-related shenanigans. In addition, combat tricks that boost your creature’s power can help ensure that your creatures come out on top during battles, even if the Mournful Zombie tries to block and take them down with it.
Ultimately, the key to triumphing over the Mournful Zombie lies in having a flexible response plan. This ranges from direct removal to strategic combat plays, ensuring that this creature doesn’t get in the way of your path to victory.
Cards like Mournful Zombie
Mournful Zombie offers a unique presence in the realm of creature cards within Magic: The Gathering. It draws some comparison to the infamous Walking Corpse, both of which are two-drop zombies that furnish the battlefield with early undead aggression. Walking Corpse, devoid of abilities, serves as a straightforward 2/2 creature. Mournful Zombie, however, trades a point of toughness for its distinctive regeneration capability, promising a resilience that allows it to rise repeatedly from the graveyard’s clutches.
Delving deeper, Gutterbones also shares the theme of returnability, boasting the ability to bounce back to a player’s hand after an opponent’s loss of life. While not as directly reusable as Mournful Zombie, Gutterbones introduces a strategic variant in regaining board presence. Eternal Taskmaster is another relative, with its recurrence hinged on combat synergy — a darker parallel that recaptures creatures from the graveyard, albeit through a more engaged combat requirement than Mournful Zombie’s straightforward regenerative power.
Ultimately, assessing the impact and utilities of Mournful Zombie and its kin can be the difference between temporary setbacks and sustained board control for players of Magic: The Gathering. Its persistent threat showcases the strategic depth of zombie-themed decks anchored by such ever-rising creatures.
Cards similar to Mournful Zombie by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Mournful Zombie MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse, 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 Mournful Zombie and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Mournful Zombie has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
