Zombify MTG Card
Card sets | Released in 11 setsSee all |
Mana cost | |
Converted mana cost | 4 |
Rarity | Uncommon |
Type | Sorcery |
Key Takeaways
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Text of card
Return target creature card from your graveyard to play.
"The first birth celebrates life. The second birth mocks it." —Mystic elder
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Zombify provides a significant boost in presence on the battlefield by returning a powerful creature card directly from your graveyard to play. This turnaround can shift the game in your favor as it bypasses casting costs and creature summoning delays.
Resource Acceleration: By reanimating a creature, you essentially cheat its mana cost, offering a way to accelerate your resource efficiency. High-cost creatures become more accessible, enhancing your board state sooner than expected.
Instant Speed: Though Zombify operates at sorcery speed, its strategic placement in your turn can catch opponents off guard, particularly post-boardwipe or when their defences are low, leading to sudden shifts in game dynamics.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Zombify necessitates the removal of a creature card from your graveyard, which can deplete a valuable resource, especially if your strategy relies on a well-stocked graveyard.
Specific Mana Cost: Binding players to a specific mana requirement, Zombify demands both black mana and generic mana, which can hinder its inclusion in multi-colored decks not heavily focused on black.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Zombify comes with a mana value of four, which can be quite steep for reanimation effects, considering other cards in MTG may offer lower-cost alternatives or additional benefits along with the resurrection.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Zombify allows players to bring back powerful creatures from their graveyard directly to the battlefield. Its flexibility makes it a valuable tool in any deck aimed at utilizing the graveyard as a resource.
Combo Potential: This card shines in combos, particularly in decks built around creature recursion and sacrifice strategies. With Zombify, you can reanimate key creatures to repeatedly take advantage of their powerful enter-the-battlefield or death-triggered abilities.
Meta-Relevance: Reanimation tactics remain a consistent threat in various MTG metas. Deploying Zombify can tilt the scales in your favor by unexpectedly returning a critical creature to play, often turning the tide of the game.
How to beat
Confronting Zombify in your Magic: The Gathering matches requires a strategic approach to prevent opponents from exploiting its resurrecting capabilities. Zombify’s power lies in its ability to bring back a creature from the graveyard directly onto the battlefield. Key to thwarting this move is maintaining graveyard control. Consider using cards that exile creatures from graveyards like Scavenging Ooze, which can preemptively remove key targets for Zombify before your opponent gets the chance to cast it.
Another method is to employ counterspells such as Negate or Dispel, which can disrupt the casting of Zombify itself. Remember that hindering your opponent’s graveyard strategy can be as effective as targeting the spell. Tormod’s Crypt is a versatile card, offering a low-cost opportunity to exile all cards from a player’s graveyard at a moment’s notice, thus undercutting the potential value of Zombify.
By keeping these tactics in mind, players can effectively neutralize the threat posed by Zombify, ensuring that their opponent’s creatures stay in the graveyard, and maintain a stronger position on the battlefield. As with any MTG card, understanding and anticipating your opponent’s strategy is key to victory.
Cards like Zombify
Zombify is a compelling choice in the realm of creature reanimation in Magic: The Gathering, standing alongside spells like Animate Dead. While Zombify straightaway returns a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, Animate Dead also resurrects creatures but with a slight drawback – it attaches to the creature as an Aura and gives the creature -1/-0.
In comparison, we find the card Unearth, which brings back smaller creatures at a significantly lower cost and at instant speed, offering an element of surprise. However, Unearth limits its resurrection to creatures with a converted mana cost of 3 or less, an important factor to consider for decks with larger, game-changing creatures. Then there’s the iconic Reanimate, which does a similar job for any size of creature but at the cost of life points equivalent to that creature’s mana value. This can turn into a double-edged sword, particularly in high-stakes situations where life totals are critical.
Ultimately, when evaluating Zombify among its counterparts, it has a stable position for those looking to bring back powerful allies without the associated life cost, making it a desirable inclusion for graveyard-centric decks looking for reliable reanimation options.
Cards similar to Zombify by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Zombify MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey and Odyssey, 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 Zombify 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
Printings
The Zombify Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2001-10-01 and 2018-03-16. Illustrated by 3 different artists.
# | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2001-10-01 | Odyssey | ODY | 171 | 1997 | normal | black | Mark Romanoski | |
2 | 2001-10-01 | Odyssey | ODY | 171† | 2015 | normal | black | Mark Romanoski | |
3 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 35170 | 2003 | normal | black | Alan Pollack | ||
4 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 174 | 2003 | normal | white | Mark Romanoski | |
5 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 174★ | 2003 | normal | black | Mark Romanoski | |
6 | 2003-08-07 | World Championship Decks 2003 | WC03 | pk174 | 2003 | normal | gold | Mark Romanoski | |
7 | 2005-07-29 | Ninth Edition | 9ED | 171★ | 2003 | normal | black | Mark Romanoski | |
8 | 2005-07-29 | Ninth Edition | 9ED | 171 | 2003 | normal | white | Mark Romanoski | |
9 | Magic Player Rewards 2006 | P06 | 6 | 2003 | normal | black | Alan Pollack | ||
10 | 2010-06-18 | Archenemy | ARC | 29 | 2003 | normal | black | Mark Romanoski | |
11 | 2018-03-16 | Masters 25 | A25 | 116 | 2015 | normal | black | Jason A. Engle |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Zombify has restrictions
Format | Legality |
---|---|
Commander | Legal |
Legacy | Legal |
Modern | Legal |
Oathbreaker | Legal |
Premodern | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Duel | Legal |
Predh | Legal |
Penny | Legal |