Dusk Legion Zealot MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Vampire Soldier
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. The Zealot’s card draw upon entering balances hand size, despite the small life loss incurred.
  2. Its low cost aids in quick board development alongside flexibility for instant-speed plays.
  3. Despite the life cost, it stands strong for its low mana requirement and utility in black decks.

Text of card

When Dusk Legion Zealot enters the battlefield, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.

Once they reached Orazca, the Legion's explorers ransacked tombs and temples, hunting for the Immortal Sun.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dusk Legion Zealot’s ability to draw a card upon entering the battlefield helps maintain a healthy hand size, which is crucial for building up your presence on the board.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly accelerate your mana resources, its low casting cost facilitates a quick board setup, allowing you to use your mana efficiently in the early stages of the game.

Instant Speed: Though the card itself isn’t an instant, its low mana cost pairs well with instants, enabling you to develop your board and still hold mana open for immediate responses to your opponent’s moves.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the case of Dusk Legion Zealot, while there is no discard required, the mandatory life loss upon entering the battlefield can be a drawback, especially in tight games where health is a critical resource.

Specific Mana Cost: Dusk Legion Zealot requires both black mana and generic mana to cast, which can be restrictive for decks that aren’t focused on a black mana base or that value mana flexibility for multicolor strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing only two mana might seem efficient, when compared to other one-drop creatures that also draw a card without life loss, Dusk Legion Zealot can be considered less mana-efficient, impacting its inclusion in fast-paced or aggressive decks.


Reasons to Include Dusk Legion Zealot in Your Collection

Versatility: Dusk Legion Zealot is a solid addition to a variety of Black-aligned decks, thanks to its straightforward yet useful effect of drawing a card when it enters the battlefield. Though it may cause you to lose one life, the card advantage gained is often worth the minimal cost.

Combo Potential: In decks that thrive on sacrificing creatures for beneficial effects, Dusk Legion Zealot serves a dual purpose. It not only provides an extra card but also acts as a prime candidate for sacrifice without losing card advantage.

Meta-Relevance: As aggro and creature-based strategies frequently surface in various metas, having a cheap creature that replaces itself in your hand can be extremely valuable. It ensures you maintain pressure on the board while keeping your hand stocked with options.


How to Beat

Dusk Legion Zealot stands out in the world of utility creatures in Magic: The Gathering with its innate ability to offer card advantage upon entering the battlefield. Despite this value, beating this card involves understanding that it demands a life point from its controller in exchange for the drawn card. This self-inflicted damage, albeit minimal, can be leveraged in gameplay.

Counteracting Dusk Legion Zealot effectively requires strategies that capitalize on its downside or neutralize its benefit. Employing cards that restrict or punish card draw can mitigate the advantage gained by the opponent. Leveraging cards like Narset, Parter of Veils, which limits the number of cards an opponent can draw per turn, or Spirit of the Labyrinth, which prevents more than one card draw per turn, can disrupt the value gained from the Zealot’s ability.

Another approach is increasing the life loss incurred by using spells such as Sulfuric Vortex or employing creatures like Erebos, God of the Dead to amplify the drawback. By doing so, the diminished life total becomes a growing concern for the Zealot’s controller. Thus, while the Dusk Legion Zealot provides a quick card boost, it can be strategically outmaneuvered with the right tactics and cards.


BurnMana Recommendations

Optimizing your MTG gameplay involves fine-tuning your deck with cards like Dusk Legion Zealot—a card that grants an immediate advantage while demanding a delicate balance of health economy. Savvy players benefit from exploiting its card draw upon entering the field, yet remain cautious of the life loss incurred. Your deck’s synergy can be enhanced by incorporating cards that thrive on such trade-offs. Ready to cast Dusk Legion Zealot strategically and dominate your next duel? Join us for deep dives into efficient deck-building, advanced tactics, and maximizing your MTG experience with creatures like Dusk Legion Zealot.


Cards like Dusk Legion Zealot

Dusk Legion Zealot steps into the battlefield as a valuable creature within Magic: The Gathering’s wide array of options for card advantage. Situated alongside Elvish Visionary, another creature that offers the ability to draw a card upon entering the battlefield, it stands out due to its vampiric tribal synergy and its life loss trigger, a slight downside for triggering its card draw effect. Unlike Elvish Visionary, Dusk Legion Zealot demands a trade-off of one life, setting the stage for potential synergies in decks that benefit from life loss.

Further comparisons lead us to Baleful Strix, which also presents itself as a creature that draws you a card. Nevertheless, Baleful Strix brings additional utility with deathtouch and flying, albeit at a higher mana cost and a color restriction in blue and black. Dusk Legion Zealot, with its single black mana requirement, offers greater flexibility in deck-building, fitting seamlessly into various black-based strategies that may not accommodate the Strix’s specific mana alignment.

Evaluating Dusk Legion Zealot within the context of creatures that draw cards upon entering the battlefield illustrates its role as a staple in decks that favor early game presence and incremental advantages. Its subtle life loss can be a catalyst in strategies tailored around payment of life for stronger effects and synergies.

Elvish Visionary - MTG Card versions
Baleful Strix - MTG Card versions
Elvish Visionary - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Baleful Strix - Planechase 2012 (PC2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dusk Legion Zealot MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan and Masters 25, 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 Dusk Legion Zealot and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dusk Legion Zealot Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2018-01-19 and 2023-11-17. Illustrated by Winona Nelson.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-01-19Rivals of IxalanRIX 702015normalblackWinona Nelson
22018-03-16Masters 25A25 892015normalblackWinona Nelson
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 6442015normalblackWinona Nelson
42020-09-26The ListPLST RIX-702015normalblackWinona Nelson
52022-10-14Game Night: Free-for-AllGN3 492015normalblackWinona Nelson
62023-11-17The Lost Caverns of Ixalan CommanderLCC 1942015normalblackWinona Nelson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dusk Legion Zealot has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

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