The Fallen MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Zombie
Power 2
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers strategic grave manipulation for incremental control and disruption of opponent’s plays.
  2. Demands specific mana and may necessitate card discard, potentially impacting your strategy.
  3. Despite high mana cost, The Fallen’s versatility and combo potential can enhance various decks.

Text of card

During its controller's upkeep, The Fallen does 1 damage to each opponent it has previously damaged.

Magic often masters those who cannot master it.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When discussing The Fallen, it’s evident the card provides a unique edge in card economy. Extracting multiple cards from an opponent’s graveyard can incrementally tilt the match in your favor, setting up for strategic plays while disrupting their game plan.

Resource Acceleration: The Fallen isn’t typically known for direct resource acceleration. However, by effectively negating potential threats or key pieces from an opponent’s resources, it can give you indirect acceleration by limiting their options and possibly delaying their strategy.

Instant Speed: Although The Fallen operates at sorcery speed, its impact on the game makes it a formidable card to include in your arsenal. The ability to selectively target cards in your opponent’s graveyard at a critical moment can substantially alter the momentum of a game, making every cast of The Fallen a power play.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Fallen demands players to discard another card to fully utilize its abilities. This can lead to a strategic setback, particularly when your hand is already depleted or each card you possess is vital for your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Deck construction can be constrained by The Fallen’s requirement for both black and blue mana. This can create a challenge for those wanting to integrate it into a multi-colored strategy, potentially limiting its compatibility and overall utility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that can be considered steep for its effects, players might find that The Fallen doesn’t offer the best value. Alternatives with lower casting costs or more impactful effects might be favored, especially in formats where mana efficiency is key to victory.


Reasons to Include The Fallen in Your Collection

Versatility: The Fallen offers a level of adaptability that can be an asset to multiple deck archetypes. Given its ability to deal damage over time, it seamlessly integrates into strategies that focus on incremental advantage.

Combo Potential: As a card that has direct interaction with an opponent’s life total, The Fallen has significant potential in combination with other cards that capitalize on life loss or damage-based triggers, thereby creating powerful synergy in the right deck.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games tend to extend into longer battles, The Fallen gains value. Its consistent damage output becomes increasingly relevant, taking advantage of stalled board states and pressuring opponents who are unprepared for sustained life total attacks.


How to beat

The Fallen is a unique card that can present a challenge on the battlefield, but with the right strategy, it can be managed effectively. This particular card requires specific conditions to truly shine, so preventing those conditions is key to mitigating its impact. An ideal tactic is to control the graveyard, as The Fallen’s strength increases with more creatures in the graveyards.

Running cards that exile creatures from graveyards, like Bojuka Bog or Relic of Progenitus, diminishes The Fallen’s potential power. Alternatively, playing a deck with fewer creatures and more non-creature spells could starve The Fallen of the resources it needs to thrive. If The Fallen makes it onto the board, direct removal spells or those that can return it back to the hand are effective ways to deal with it.

Ultimately, understanding the moment to disrupt your opponent’s strategy plays a crucial role in overcoming The Fallen’s capabilities. Keep graveyards clean, removal at the ready, and this card’s influence will surely wane, allowing you to maintain control of the game’s pace and progress towards victory.


Cards like The Fallen

The Fallen is an intriguing card from the world of Magic: The Gathering, reminiscent of other cards that capitalize on graveyard interaction. Analogous to The Fallen, Nighthowler benefits from the number of creature cards in all graveyards, granting it a power and toughness bonus. Unlike The Fallen, Nighthowler lacks the direct damage ability, focusing purely on combat strength.

Further comparison reveals Mortivore, which similarly grows stronger with graveyard stockpiles. Mortivore’s power and toughness are dynamically updated with the graveyard’s state, yet it also diverges from The Fallen, as it has the regenerate ability rather than dealing direct damage. Then there’s Bonehoard, an Equipment that boosts equipped creature’s power and toughness in proportion to all graveyards’ creature cards count. Though it’s flexible and can be attached to any creature, it does not have the inherent creature status or damage-dealing effect of The Fallen.

Assessing the distinctive aspects of these cards, The Fallen holds a unique position in Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to impact life totals outside of combat, The Fallen maintains its relevance and offers strategic depth for players keen on leveraging graveyard content beyond mere creature enhancement.

Nighthowler - MTG Card versions
Mortivore - MTG Card versions
Bonehoard - MTG Card versions
Nighthowler - Theros Promos (PTHS)
Mortivore - Odyssey (ODY)
Bonehoard - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

Cards similar to The Fallen by color, type and mana cost

Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Deathgazer - MTG Card versions
Dirty Wererat - MTG Card versions
Faceless Butcher - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - Chronicles (CHR)
Rag Man - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Phyrexian Debaser - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Slinking Skirge - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Gravedigger - The List (PLST)
Scandalmonger - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Urborg Shambler - Invasion (INV)
Whispering Shade - Odyssey (ODY)
Filth - Judgment (JUD)
Demon of Catastrophes - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Bold Plagiarist - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Toxin Sliver - Legions (LGN)
Vampiric Spirit - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Nim Shambler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Bad Ass - Unhinged (UNH)
Scourge of Numai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Deathgazer - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Dirty Wererat - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Faceless Butcher - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase The Fallen MTG card by a specific set like The Dark and Chronicles, 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 The Fallen and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The The Fallen Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1994-08-01 and 2007-09-10. Illustrated by Jesper Myrfors.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11994-08-01The DarkDRK 531993normalblackJesper Myrfors
21995-07-01ChroniclesCHR 381993normalwhiteJesper Myrfors
32007-09-10Masters EditionME1 691997normalblackJesper Myrfors

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where The Fallen has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 It stops damaging players and forgets which players it damaged when it leaves the battlefield.
2007-09-16 If The Fallen phases out and back in, it remembers which players it has dealt damage to this game.
2007-09-16 The Fallen’s ability causes it to deal damage only to opponents of its current controller. If The Fallen has dealt damage to you, and then you gain control of it, you won’t be damaged during your upkeep.
2007-09-16 The effect isn’t cumulative. When it resolves, The Fallen deals 1 damage to each opponent previously dealt damage by it, regardless of how many times The Fallen dealt damage to that opponent before.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks