Zombie Musher MTG Card


Zombie Musher - Coldsnap
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeSnow Creature — Zombie
Released2006-07-21
Set symbol
Set nameColdsnap
Set codeCSP
Power 2
Toughness 3
Number75
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byKev Walker

Key Takeaways

  1. Zombie Musher excels in snow decks, offering landwalk and synergy with snow lands for strategic advantage.
  2. Integrates with instant speed decks, allowing for reactive play and consistent board presence.
  3. Demanding specific mana types, it presents deck building challenges and potential hand depletion.

Text of card

Snow landwalk {S}: Regenerate Zombie Musher. ({S} can be paid with one mana from a snow permanent.)

The World Spell thawed their icy graves, promising rest in soft, quiet earth at last. But Heidar called them to duty for a twisted cause.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Zombie Musher’s snow landwalk ability sets it apart, creating an inherent advantage as it can often bypass your opponent’s defenses unhindered, paving the way to leverage onboard superiority.

Resource Acceleration: As a creature that benefits from snow-covered lands, Zombie Musher can be a robust part of a snow-centric deck, synergizing with mechanics that accelerate your resource development and ensure you’re effectively utilizing every mana.

Instant Speed: Though not an instant itself, Zombie Musher fits well in decks that operate at instant speed. Integrating easily with instant speed removal or tricks, it allows you to maintain pressure while keeping your options open, reacting nimbly to the evolving board state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Zombie Musher demands that you discard a card to fuel its abilities. This can complicate your game, particularly when your hand is already stretched thin and you need to maintain all available options to stay competitive on the battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Zombie Musher ties you to a specific mana combination, requiring both snow mana and black mana. This can restrict its integration into a diverse palette of decks and may pose a challenge in optimizing your mana base, especially in formats where snow-covered lands are less common.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Weighing the investment against the return, Zombie Musher might come up short. Given its mana cost, it competes with other cards in the four-mana slot which could potentially offer more impactful board presence or game-changing effects, potentially relegating the Musher to a lower tier when deck building.


Reasons to Include Zombie Musher in Your Collection

Versatility: Zombie Musher brings a robust utility to various deck strategies with its unique abilities. This card can easily find a home in decks that capitalize on snow permanents or graveyard synergy, offering both offensive and defensive advantages.

Combo Potential: Its snow-based landwalk ability, when paired with the right deck construction, can create combinations that allow you to bypass an opponent’s defenses. The regeneration ability also allows for continuous board presence, enabling synergistic plays with sacrifice and death-triggered mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: As metagames evolve, having resilient creatures becomes vital. Zombie Musher’s inherent resistance to being removed from the battlefield can become a key advantage, especially in environments where control decks are prevalent, allowing this card to stay a step ahead in the relentless and ever-shifting meta.


How to Beat

Zombie Musher is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering, offering a unique set of abilities that can challenge opponents on the battlefield. This snow creature boasts not only a decent power and toughness ratio but also comes equipped with snow landwalk, allowing it to be unblockable as long as the opponent controls a snow land. Moreover, the regenerative ability of Zombie Musher provides resilience, making it a recurring threat in the game.

Overcoming Zombie Musher requires a strategic approach. One effective tactic is to manage the snow lands in play, thereby negating its landwalk ability. Ensuring you don’t have snow lands can leave the Musher vulnerable to being blocked. Additionally, employing removal spells that don’t target or destroy but rather exile or change card types can be a game-changer. Utilizing cards with graveyard hate mechanics to prevent regeneration, such as Scavenging Ooze, can offer a permanent solution to the recurring menace of the Musher.

Hence, adjusting your deck to feature exile effects and graveyard interactions can significantly increase your chances of nullifying the Zombie Musher’s advantages. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the card in-depth can set you up for strategic victories against decks that leverage this persistent undead creature.


Cards like Zombie Musher

Zombie Musher slides into the realm of undead creatures with a frosty twist in Magic: The Gathering. It stands in line with the likes of Diregraf Ghoul, a fellow Zombie with a singular dedication to tactical early aggression. Zombie Musher distinguishes itself with snow landwalk, an ability that allows uninhibited attacks when up against decks utilizing snow lands.

Much like the ruthless Restless Dead, Zombie Musher shines in a deck focused on resilience and recovery, thanks to its regenerate ability, offering a layer of protection against destruction. However, Restless Dead requires mana investment for regeneration, while Zombie Musher leverages any available snow mana, offering a nuanced edge based on your mana base.

Another notable comparison is with Ghoulraiser, which brings recursion to the table, allowing for the return of additional Zombie creatures from your graveyard to your hand. While Zombie Musher does not directly support the reanimating mechanic, its ability to bypass certain blockers and regenerate can still be an essential play in a strategic Zombie deck build.

In analyzing the capabilities of Zombie-themed cards within Magic: The Gathering, Zombie Musher presents a unique set of abilities that can prove strategically advantageous, especially within a snow-covered battleground.

Diregraf Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Restless Dead - MTG Card versions
Ghoulraiser - MTG Card versions
Diregraf Ghoul - Innistrad Promos (PISD)
Restless Dead - Mirage (MIR)
Ghoulraiser - Innistrad (ISD)

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

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Filth - Judgment (JUD)
Demon of Catastrophes - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Bold Plagiarist - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Dirge Bat - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Gixian Puppeteer - 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)

Where to buy

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

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Zombie Musher has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2006-07-15 Zombie Musher can’t be blocked as long as defending player controls a snow land.

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