Tattered Mummy MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Zombie Jackal
Power 1
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Creates indirect card advantage through death-trigger, pressuring opponents and enabling graveyard-based strategies.
  2. Excels in decks that capitalize on creature sacrifice and recursion, fitting into aggressive and synergistic strategies.
  3. While having limitations in immediate impact and specific mana needs, it shines in attrition-based metagames.

Text of card

When Tattered Mummy dies, each opponent loses 2 life.

The dead who wander beyond the safety of the city crave only to spread their curse.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Tattered Mummy doesn’t offer direct card draw or deck manipulation, it can create card advantage through its death-triggered ability, forcing opponents to lose life whenever it dies. This indirect advantage can apply pressure and turn cards in the graveyard into a resource of sorts, by necessitating opponent responses or enabling graveyard strategies.

Resource Acceleration: Tattered Mummy itself may not provide mana or treasure tokens, but in decks designed around sacrifice and recursion, it accelerates the strategy by consistently returning to play or feeding into engine cards that benefit from creature deaths. Its low casting cost also makes it easily deployable, fitting smoothly into the curve and ensuring resources are used efficiently early on.

Instant Speed: While Tattered Mummy doesn’t operate at instant speed, its presence provides psychological advantage, threatening life loss if removed on an opponent’s turn. It encourages careful play and can lead opponents to make less optimal plays to avoid triggering its effect. Additionally, the Mummy can be an asset in strategies using flash-enabled reanimation spells, which reintroduce it to the battlefield at unexpected times to surprise an opponent.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Despite its death trigger, Tattered Mummy’s impact is lessened due to not having an immediate effect upon entering the battlefield. This can be seen as a disadvantage when trying to maintain a board presence against more active threats.

Specific Mana Cost: Tattered Mummy can only be cast using black mana, which may not always be readily available depending on your deck’s mana base, potentially leading to casting delays.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of two for a 1/2 creature, Tattered Mummy’s cost-effectiveness is questionable. There are other two-mana creatures that bring more to the table either in terms of power and toughness or additional abilities.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tattered Mummy boasts adaptability, fitting into various decks that capitalize on death-trigger abilities. Its low mana cost means it can easily slot into aggressive strategies or serve as fodder for sacrifice synergies.

Combo Potential: With the ability to damage opponents upon its demise, Tattered Mummy pairs well with cards that necessitate creature death, amplifying strategies that revolve around recurring creatures from the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where attrition and control are prevalent, Tattered Mummy punishes opponents’ removal spells and provides consistent pressure without a significant investment, potentially tipping the scales in your favor.


How to beat

Tattered Mummy may not be the most formidable creature you’ll encounter in Magic: The Gathering, but it possesses an ability that can chip away at an opponent’s life total. The key to overcoming this two-mana cost creature lies in mitigating its death-triggered effect. One of the most straightforward strategies to do this is by utilizing exile effects that remove Tattered Mummy from the game rather than sending it to the graveyard. Cards like Path to Exile or a host of flicker effects that can temporarily remove creatures from play will ensure that its ability never gets a chance to activate.

Another tactic involves countering the life loss through life gain. Incorporating cards that offer you life for spells cast or creatures entering the battlefield can offset the damage dealt by Tattered Mummy’s ability. Focus on maintaining control of the board and consider the timing of when you choose to deal with this undead creature. By having a plan to bypass its last gasp of damage, you ensure that Tattered Mummy’s impact is as negligible as a gentle breeze in an otherwise tumultuous game of strategy and wit.


Cards like Tattered Mummy

Tattered Mummy nestles into the rich landscape of two-mana creatures within Magic: The Gathering, much like Walking Corpse and Festering Goblin. Like Tattered Mummy, these are low-cost creatures with a proclivity to integrate seamlessly into zombie tribal decks. However, Tattered Mummy offers a unique death-trigger effect, dealing two damage to each opponent upon its demise.

Differences emerge when pitted against Festering Goblin, which can lower a single creature’s power by one upon death—a minor but tactical advantage. Unlike Walking Corpse, Tattered Mummy doesn’t just serve as an early creature play; its death-trigger can strategically knock out an opponent or chip away at their life in the late game. Barrier of Bones is another analogous card with a surveil mechanic that provides deck manipulation, yet doesn’t offer the direct damage push that Tattered Mummy does.

In summation, Tattered Mummy occupies a unique space among its peers. Its capacity to dish out damage post-mortem gives it a niche role in decks that can exploit creature death for incremental advantage, or for setting up potential game-winning plays combining such effects in MTG.

Walking Corpse - Innistrad (ISD)
Festering Goblin - Onslaught (ONS)
Barrier of Bones - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tattered Mummy MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Core Set 2019, 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 Tattered Mummy and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tattered Mummy Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2019-11-15. Illustrated by Slawomir Maniak.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-04-28AmonkhetAKH 2782015normalblackSlawomir Maniak
22018-07-13Core Set 2019M19 2952015normalblackSlawomir Maniak
32018-11-16Game NightGNT 342015normalblackSlawomir Maniak
42019-11-15Game Night 2019GN2 342015normalblackSlawomir Maniak

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tattered Mummy has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-07-13 If your life total is brought to 0 or less at the same time that Tattered Mummy is dealt lethal damage, you lose the game before its triggered ability goes on the stack.
2018-07-13 In a Two-Headed Giant game, the triggered ability of Tattered Mummy causes the opposing team to lose 4 life.

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