Crypt Champion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Zombie
Abilities Double strike
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Crypt Champion grants creature revival without additional card draw, enhancing board presence.
  2. Hybrid mana cost limits it to multi-color decks, but enables color-specific strategies.
  3. Its unique position in MTG blends reanimation with tactical color commitments in gameplay.

Text of card

Double strike When Crypt Champion comes into play, each player puts a creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less from his or her graveyard into play. When Crypt Champion comes into play, sacrifice it unless was spent to play it.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crypt Champion presents an opportunity to bring a creature back from the graveyard, effectively giving you access to additional creatures without drawing extra cards. This makes it a valuable tool for decks that thrive on reusing creature abilities or simply need more board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While Crypt Champion itself doesn’t provide direct resource acceleration, it synergizes well with decks that do. By recovering key creatures that facilitate mana generation, it supports your overarching strategy of ramping up resources quickly.

Instant Speed: Although Crypt Champion is not an instant, its double strike ability compensates by offering the potential for immediate impact on the game. In a well-set battlefield, deploying Crypt Champion can mean a sudden change in board dynamics, pressuring your opponent before they have time to react on their next turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Crypt Champion comes with a distinct drawback that asks the player to sacrifice a creature when it enters the battlefield. This can place a strain on your playing field, especially if your strategy hinges on maintaining a robust presence with multiple creatures to leverage.

Specific Mana Cost: Crypt Champion has a hybrid mana cost that requires both red and black mana. This hybrid cost can be restrictive, pigeonholing it into mostly multicolor decks that can consistently produce both types of mana, potentially limiting its overall versatility in various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sporting a mana value of four, Crypt Champion may seem steep for its 2/2 stats. There are other creatures or spells at a similar mana range that offer more substantial immediate impact or longer-term value, making the cost-to-benefit ratio of Crypt Champion less advantageous when deck building or in the midst of combat.


Reasons to Include Crypt Champion in Your Collection

Versatility: Crypt Champion is a flexible addition to any deck looking to leverage its double casting color mechanism. It can seamlessly integrate into multicolor decks and benefits any strategy emphasizing creature revival or sacrifice.

Combo Potential: When paired with cards that have enter-the-battlefield effects or those that gain value from creatures dying, Crypt Champion can become a recurring combo piece, offering continuous advantages throughout the game.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where graveyard manipulation and creature-based strategies are prevalent, Crypt Champion shines by providing a reliable way to recur valuable creatures, all the while keeping pressure on your opponents with its respectable combat stats.


How to beat Crypt Champion

Crypt Champion is a card that could pose a unique challenge in the right deck, with its double red and double black mana cost and resurrection ability upon entering the battlefield. Defeating Crypt Champion requires understanding its strengths and effectively mitigating them. Cards that exile creatures from the graveyard become crucial tools. For example, using Tormod’s Crypt can effectively nullify Crypt Champion’s resurrection ability by removing potential targets from the game before it can bring them back. Alternatively, Rest in Peace is a solid choice, as it exiles all cards from all graveyards, preventing any creature recursion tricks that Crypt Champion tries to pull off.

Control strategies can be potent as well. Counterspells like Counterspell or Mana Leak can prevent Crypt Champion from ever hitting the board, leaving your opponent’s plans thwarted. Overall, by staying one step ahead and disabling the interactions with the graveyard or preventing Crypt Champion from resolving, one can maintain the upper hand.


Cards like Crypt Champion

Crypt Champion is a distinct presence among dual color creatures in Magic: The Gathering. When evaluating Crypt Champion against kindred cards, its kinship with a creature like Pit Keeper is evident. Both share the ability to resurrect creatures from the graveyard, yet Crypt Champion’s double mana symbols give it an edge in multicolor decks geared towards casting spells with heavy color commitments.

Contrasting another doppelganger, Havengul Lich offers a semblance of Crypt Champion’s reanimation ability but extends it beyond self-limitations. Though Havengul Lich requires more investment, its flexibility to target creatures from any graveyard places it in a different strategic niche. Embodiment of Agonies enters this fray as well, differing not in reanimation but by rewarding diverse mana costs among graveyard-residing creatures to swell its own power and toughness.

Stitching these comparisons together unveils Crypt Champion’s unique position within MTG. It balances reanimation potential with color-specific deck designs, and while it may not provide the expansive utility of its successors, its symbiotic relationship with a well-cultivated graveyard ensures its place in the hearts of players seeking a judicious revival of their fallen creatures.

Pit Keeper - MTG Card versions
Havengul Lich - MTG Card versions
Embodiment of Agonies - MTG Card versions
Pit Keeper - Time Spiral (TSP)
Havengul Lich - Dark Ascension (DKA)
Embodiment of Agonies - Core Set 2020 Promos (PM20)

Cards similar to Crypt Champion by color, type and mana cost

Lim-Dûl's Paladin - MTG Card versions
Balduvian Dead - MTG Card versions
Discordant Spirit - MTG Card versions
Volcano Imp - MTG Card versions
Possessed Barbarian - MTG Card versions
Pardic Collaborator - MTG Card versions
Prosper, Tome-Bound - MTG Card versions
Orcus, Prince of Undeath - MTG Card versions
Blim, Comedic Genius - MTG Card versions
Rakdos Firewheeler - MTG Card versions
Rakdos, Lord of Riots - MTG Card versions
Immersturm Predator - MTG Card versions
Murderous Redcap - MTG Card versions
Hellhole Rats - MTG Card versions
Wort, Boggart Auntie - MTG Card versions
Sootwalkers - MTG Card versions
Viashino Skeleton - MTG Card versions
Singe-Mind Ogre - MTG Card versions
Olivia Voldaren - MTG Card versions
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch - MTG Card versions
Lim-Dûl's Paladin - Alliances (ALL)
Balduvian Dead - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Discordant Spirit - Mirage (MIR)
Volcano Imp - Planeshift (PLS)
Possessed Barbarian - Torment (TOR)
Pardic Collaborator - Torment (TOR)
Prosper, Tome-Bound - Forgotten Realms Commander Display Commanders (OAFC)
Orcus, Prince of Undeath - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Promos (PAFR)
Blim, Comedic Genius - Commander Legends (CMR)
Rakdos Firewheeler - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Rakdos, Lord of Riots - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Immersturm Predator - Kaldheim (KHM)
Murderous Redcap - The List (PLST)
Hellhole Rats - Dissension (DIS)
Wort, Boggart Auntie - Lorwyn (LRW)
Sootwalkers - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Viashino Skeleton - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Singe-Mind Ogre - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Olivia Voldaren - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch - Dragon's Maze (DGM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crypt Champion MTG card by a specific set like Dissension and RNA Guild Kit, 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 Crypt Champion and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Crypt Champion Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2006-05-05 and 2019-02-15. Illustrated by Pete Venters.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12006-05-05DissensionDIS 402003normalblackPete Venters
22019-02-15RNA Guild KitGK2 532015normalblackPete Venters

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crypt Champion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2006-05-01 If this enters the battlefield in a way other than announcing it as a spell, then the appropriate mana can’t have been paid, and you’ll have to sacrifice it.
2006-05-01 The first triggered ability isn’t targeted, so the creature cards aren’t chosen until the ability resolves. Each player chooses which creature card from their own graveyard to return. If a player doesn’t have an applicable creature card, that player does nothing. If a player does have any applicable cards, that player must return one to the battlefield.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks