Unworthy Dead MTG Card

Urza's Saga (USG)
1998-10-12 - Number 163

Urza's Saga (USG)
1998-10-12 - Number 163s

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Phyrexian Skeleton
Power	1
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Unworthy Dead offers enduring board presence, aiding strategies that capitalize on creature recursion.
It challenges opponents with its instant-speed defensive capabilities and resilience against removal.
Multicolored decks might face mana alignment issues, impacting the card’s versatility.

Text of card

oo B Regenerate Unworthy Dead.

"Great Yawgmoth moves across the seas of shard and bone and rust. We exalt him in life, in death, and in between." —*Phyrexian Scriptures*

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Unworthy Dead enables a subtle form of card advantage by recurring creatures from the graveyard. This repetitive action allows players to make use of their creatures more than once, effectively squeezing out more value from each individual card.

Resource Acceleration: Although Unworthy Dead itself doesn’t directly generate additional mana or resources, its ability to return creatures to the battlefield can accelerate your board presence. This allows you to apply pressure or ramp up to more powerful spells sooner than you would be able to otherwise.

Instant Speed: The capability to trigger Unworthy Dead’s effect at instant speed gives you flexibility during gameplay. It means you can wait until the end of an opponent’s turn to bring a creature back, keeping your mana available for counterspells or removal during their turn and then re-establishing your board state just before your turn begins.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unworthy Dead necessitates ditching another card from your hand to exploit its full potential. This could deplete your options and diminish your hand advantage, leaving you vulnerable to your opponent’s strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Unworthy Dead includes black mana. This specificity means players running a multicolored deck might sometimes struggle to muster the necessary mana, thus affecting the card’s versatility and playability across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that may be deemed hefty for its limited impact on the game, it becomes less appealing when contrasted with alternative creatures or spells that provide better value or utility for the same, or lower, mana investment.

Reasons to Include Unworthy Dead in Your Collection

Versatility: Unworthy Dead can seamlessly fit into multiple black deck archetypes, particularly ones that capitalize on creature recursion and sacrifice mechanics. Its ability to return to your hand makes it a reliable blocker and a recurring presence on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card thrives when paired with effects that care about creature death or entering the graveyard. It can be a cog in a machine that generates card draw, mana, or any other benefit each time a creature dies, thanks to its ability to consistently come back to your hand for another use.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where control decks and attrition battles are common, Unworthy Dead proves to be a tenacious asset that can outlive single removal spells and discourage opponents from attacking, preserving your life total while setting up for late-game dominance.

How to beat

The Unworthy Dead card presents a unique challenge for players in the realm of Magic: The Gathering. This can often be a sticky point for those unprepared. Understanding the nature of Unworthy Dead’s mechanics is crucial to defeating it effectively. The card thrives in decks focused on graveyard management, generally operating as a resourceful blocker given its regeneration ability. To combat this, removal spells that exile rather than destroy are particularly effective. This prevents the creature from returning to the battlefield and sidesteps the regeneration quirk.

Another strategy is to use spells that force the opponent to sacrifice their creatures. Since Unworthy Dead’s regeneration cannot save it from a sacrifice effect, these spells can remove it from the field without triggering its defensive ability. Additionally, players can also opt to focus on winning through alternative conditions, like accumulating enough damage through spell casting or employing a flying creature heavy deck to bypass the blocker altogether.

Overall, facing down Unworthy Dead requires a degree of planning and preparedness. Players must critically assess their deck’s capabilities, favoring exile and sacrifice effects or evasion tactics to triumph over this pesky zombie card.

Cards like Unworthy Dead

Unworthy Dead stands as an intriguing creature in the realm of Magic: The Gathering. In terms of comparison, it shares common ground with recurring zombie cards such as Reassembling Skeleton or Bloodsoaked Champion. Each of these creatures can return from the graveyard to the battlefield, offering persistent board presence. Specifically, Reassembling Skeleton also demands a mana payment to return to the battlefield, much like Unworthy Dead but with the flexibility of performing the action at the end of an opponent’s turn for surprise blocking.

Delving further, Tenacious Dead offers a similar mechanic to Unworthy Dead, with a notable difference being its return to the battlefield happening immediately upon death, provided the mana cost is met. This provides slightly more immediate redundancy. Additionally, Dutiful Attendant could be mentioned due to its role in recurring other creatures from the graveyard to your hand, though it lacks the self-revival capability of Unworthy Dead.

In seeking creatures that defy death, MTG players may find Unworthy Dead to be a modest but reliable option. Its ability to return for blocking can be especially valuable in games focused on attrition, making it a solid choice for decks revolving around graveyard synergy and defensive strategies.

Reassembling Skeleton - MTG Card versions

Bloodsoaked Champion - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Unworthy Dead by color, type and mana cost

Order of the Ebon Hand - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Unworthy Dead MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and Urza's Saga, 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 Unworthy Dead and other MTG cards: