Lifebane Zombie MTG Card


Lifebane Zombie - Magic 2014
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Zombie Warrior
Abilities Intimidate
Released2013-07-19
Set symbol
Set nameMagic 2014
Set codeM14
Power 3
Toughness 1
Number101
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byMin Yum

Key Takeaways

  1. Peeking at opponent’s hands grants strategic advantage by disrupting their plans and gaining information.
  2. Lifebane Zombie limits opponent’s resources by exiling green or white creatures, delaying their game development.
  3. Situational discard requirement can be less effective against low-creature decks and variable mana pools.

Text of card

Intimidate (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.) When Lifebane Zombie enters the battlefield, target opponent reveals his or her hand. You choose a green or white creature card from it and exile that card.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Lifebane Zombie offers a unique upper hand by allowing you to peek at an opponent’s hand and potentially pluck a creature card from it, effectively dampening your opponent’s strategy while padding your own hand with information and control over the game’s pace.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly boosting your mana, Lifebane Zombie disrupts an opponent’s resource planning. By exiling a green or white creature from their hand, you can delay their tactics, buying you precious time to develop your board and strategy.

Instant Speed: Lifebane Zombie itself doesn’t cast at instant speed, but its enter the battlefield ability can have an immediate impact on the game when timed right after your opponent draws, akin to instant speed effects, thus giving you a strategic edge by reacting to your opponent’s draws in real time.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The ability of Lifebane Zombie to force your opponent to reveal their hand and discard is powerful but situational. It requires the opponent to actually have a creature card in hand that can be targeted, which could be unreliable especially if they’re running low on cards or have a deck that doesn’t rely on creatures.

Specific Mana Cost: Lifebane Zombie comes with a color-intensive mana requirement, requiring two black mana in its casting cost. This restricts it primarily to mono-black or heavy black-based decks, limiting its versatility across multiple deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a conversion mana cost of three for its 3/1 body and effect, Lifebane Zombie can be seen as less mana-efficient when compared to other three-mana creatures with more impactful abilities or bigger stats. It may not always represent the best value for the mana invested when other options are considered.


Reasons to Include Lifebane Zombie in Your Collection

Versatility: Lifebane Zombie slides easily into various black or black-centered decks. Its ability to both intimidate and disrupt opponent’s hand grants it a secure place in aggressive and control strategies alike.

Combo Potential: As a creature with a targeted discard effect, Lifebane Zombie pairs well with reanimation tactics. It can serve a dual purpose in decks aimed at recurring threats, not just to remove creatures from your opponent’s grip but also to potentially target those creatures for your own graveyard-based plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where green and white creatures are prevalent, Lifebane Zombie’s ability to preemptively remove threats from your opponent’s hand can significantly tip the scales. It’s a strategic addition to decks looking to gain an edge over creature-heavy matchups.


How to Beat Lifebane Zombie

In the panorama of creature removals and evasive threats, Lifebane Zombie presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to exile a creature card from an opponent’s hand, this card excels against decks rich in green or white creatures. However, it is not without its weaknesses.

Firstly, to neutralize the threat of Lifebane Zombie, consider running cards devoid of the colors this zombie preys upon. Decks centered on red, blue, or black creatures can sidestep its targeted ability altogether. Additionally, using instant-speed removal spells before the Zombie’s enter-the-battlefield effect resolves is key. This prevents it from stripping a card from your hand, maintaining your advantage.

Lastly, employing cards that benefit from being in the graveyard can turn Lifebane Zombie’s ability into an unexpected boon for you. Strategies that incorporate graveyard recursion or that trigger abilities upon being discarded or exiled make Lifebane Zombie less of a hinderance and more of an inadvertent asset to your gameplay.

In summary, while Lifebane Zombie poses a certain degree of pressure, understanding its capabilities and crafting a game plan around its limitations can ensure that this undead adversary does not disrupt your path to victory.


Cards like Lifebane Zombie

Lifebane Zombie offers a unique twist among creatures in Magic: The Gathering. Its direct comparison could be drawn to creatures such as Kitesail Freebooter. Much like Lifebane Zombie, this pirate also disrupts the opponent by revealing their hand and temporarily exiling a card. However, Lifebane Zombie comes with an intimidation ability, allowing it to only be blocked by artifact creatures and those that share a color with it.

Another parallel can be seen with Brain Maggot, a card that also enters the battlefield and exiles a card from your opponent’s hand until it leaves the battlefield. Yet unlike the zombie, Brain Maggot doesn’t have the same pressing board presence due to the absence of the intimidation trait. Then there is the Tidehollow Sculler, operating similarly by exiling a card when it comes into play. It differs as it can affect any nonland card and doesn’t provide the evasion that Lifebane Zombie does.

Assessing the capabilities of Lifebane Zombie against its cousins, it stands out in creature-centric matchups thanks to the specialized hand disruption targeted at green and white creatures and its potential to be unblockable, making it a potent choice for players seeking both information and pressure on the battlefield.

Kitesail Freebooter - MTG Card versions
Brain Maggot - MTG Card versions
Tidehollow Sculler - MTG Card versions
Kitesail Freebooter - Ixalan (XLN)
Brain Maggot - Journey into Nyx (JOU)
Tidehollow Sculler - Shards of Alara (ALA)

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

Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
Royal Assassin - MTG Card versions
Plague Rats - MTG Card versions
El-Hajjâj - MTG Card versions
Frozen Shade - MTG Card versions
Scathe Zombies - MTG Card versions
Sorceress Queen - 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 Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vesper Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Specter - MTG Card versions
Dusk Imp - MTG Card versions
Nettling Imp - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Royal Assassin - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Plague Rats - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
El-Hajjâj - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Frozen Shade - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Scathe Zombies - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Sorceress Queen - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)
Lost Soul - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Mindstab Thrull - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Mischievous Poltergeist - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Strongarm Thug - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Razortooth Rats - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Ghastly Remains - Legions (LGN)
Lord of the Undead - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Deepwood Ghoul - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Dross Prowler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Nim Abomination - Darksteel (DST)
Vesper Ghoul - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Hypnotic Specter - Magic Player Rewards 2006 (P06)
Dusk Imp - Tenth Edition (10E)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lifebane Zombie MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2014, 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 Lifebane Zombie and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lifebane Zombie has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

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