Magic Deck Vortex: Top Zombies

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(OLD) MDV Creature Feature - Ahead of the Rest: Top 30 Zombies. - by Streetz - posted 10/5/04 - discuss here

6/5/04. One of the winners from a previous deck building contest on MDV submitted a request for the Top 30 Zombies article. Now.. several months later you have it. I started this a while back but never was able to complete it until just recently. However, I am pleased to bring this to you now as it is packed with good information about the cards. So are you wondering who placed #1? Is it Carnophage or Wretched Anurid or even Scathe Zombies? Maybe... maybe not. You'll have to keep reading. Haunted Cadaver, the art pictured to the right, is from the Onslaught Block. This guy has some cool art by Randy Gallegos, but the card itself doesn't make the cut.

Did you know that the first ever printed zombie in Magic: the Gathering is the Scathe Zombies? It is. It's a vanilla 2/2 but it has some flavor and a lot of history. And did you also know that the second ever printed zombie wasn't even black! It was blue and printed in the dark as The Drowned. If you want to know who the third or next zombie to be printed was, perhaps you should read Mark Rosewater's article from Zombie Week. In it he posts letters from Ga'aark, a zombie who writes to him about zombie representation in MTG. It's funny and entertaining and worth the read.

Please realize that Zombies after Mirrodin will not appear in this list since I rated the cards several months ago. However, I feel that none of the zombies in Fifth Dawn or in Darksteel are up to par on the list. The only zombie that comes close is the Nim Abomination which is a 3/4 for only 2B. That is good but it's drawback is expensive. The rest are all so so zombies that really do not impact any gaming group anywhere.

One of the cool things about zombies is that they are everywhere. They are found mainly in black but they bleed into blue in a few instances and have several gold cards too. I will, however, be honest to say that not one non-black Zombie made the top thirty. Did I just use a double negative? Yes.. oh well. Anyway, I did include a few non-black zombies in the honorable mention. Below you will find the top thirty zombies, in my opinion, of all time in descending order. Below that you will find some honorable mention zombies.

Each zombie on the list shows a thumbnail of the card and a short description with my comments and some facts about the card. Almost all of the cards have decks for your to link to.. so you can see them in action. If there's a deck on MDV with it.. it will be linked. Also, you will see some tourney decks that used them as well. I will mention again that this list is completely based on my opinions of the cards and my view of each in the world of magic including tournament play and casual play. I'll be honest again to say that I prefer not to play Zombies as I am a blue/white kind of guy. But... without further ado... here is the list.

By the way, I welcome your comments so please email me if you have any thoughts, comments and objections to this list! If you just want to chat about it on a message board, I have this thread started on the Wizard's message board. Go there to rant and rave about this list. ~John Streetz~

Zombie-rific... the top zombies in descending order:

#30 - Grave Defiler
If your playing style doesn't like risky cards like Graveborn Muse in your zombie tribal deck, try this guy. Know he didn't really gain any popularity until the tribal themes of Onslaught, but this guy is great in any casual deck. He regenerates and he pulls the zombies cards from the top of your library into your hand. Card advantage, baby. True he can foil your plans to get that Corrupt from your deck, but he is fun and overall a good card. Forsythe's Zombies V2.0 is a good example of deck he is good in. Note: Grave Defiler was in a cycle of cards from Apocalypse including Enlistment Officer, Tidal Courier, Grave Defiler, Goblin Ringleader, Sylvan Messenger.

#29 - Zombie Boa
Before Skinthinner in the Legions block there weren't too many zombie executioner cards out there. This is one, conditional at that, but one. Because of his unique 'thicket basilisk'-like ability he made the cut. And it's a zombie snake. You have to love zombie creatures that aren't just zombie. Most creature killers in black kill green and white. This snake is effective against any color. One deck using this slither-er is Constricted, a tribal snake deck. Note: other Zombie executioner cards include Plaguebearer and Zombie Assassin.

#28 - Sutured Ghoul
Not too many black creatures get trample but this is one of them. This is the cleaned up version of Frankenstein's Monster and I must say I like it a lot. Too bad he was abused in Angry Hermit decks running around Extended. He's still around but his friends aren't so you most likely won't see him at any Extended tourneys any time soon. Anyway, a few decks using him include Sutured Fight, Angry Hermit and Sutured. Here's an article on www.wizards.com about Angry Hermit Tech Part Two if you're interested.

#27 - Soulless One
The only Avatar from Onslaught that counts cards in play and in the graveyard. Cool. For this alone does he make the list. Originally in design he had regeneration but didn't count cards in play and in graveyards. However, who needs regeneration when you can just add a few Boneknitters to your deck. Much like several other cards on this list, he would only be good in a tribal deck (which is why he isn't higher on the list). Here's a deck.

#26 - Carnophage
This zombie is best known for his appearance in the suicide tempest block days. He's a 2/2 for one black mana which is why he's so valued. Speed in most games is just as important as card advantage. True he has a price, and an expensive one, but in a quick game of black suicide, it doesn't matter. In his tournament days, he was best teamed up with cards like Dauthi Horror, Sacromancy and Hatred. Two decks on this site which he is featured include Hate You and New Jersey Sucks. If you want to know a little more about Black Suicide decks, check out this article by Brian David-Marshall.

#25 - Cabal Interrogator
He's quick (as he can come out on turn two), he's customizable (because you can pay X), he's a wizard and he, most importantly, can equal a discard each turn for 1B and a tap. And he's even quicker if you slap a lightning greaves on him. Cabal Interrogator makes the list at #25 mainly for his ability to discard every turn. Out of Ideas is one deck that uses him effectively.

#24 - Boneknitter
Boneknitter made #24 on this list only because of it's funny and gruesome art. The zombie's missing art is holding the stitching in place as he fixed his leg. Okay, not really. The fact that you can regenerate any zombie for mana is amazing. No tapping involved. This is why he is #24. He's great also because he can come out as early as turn two without mana acceleration. Unfortunately, his only place is in a tribal zombie deck. Two decks using him include Dead man's Party and Undoubtable Clerics.

#23 - Putrid Raptor
The fact that you can get a 4/4 Zombie Beast in play on turn three is amazing. True it costs 3 mana and a discard of a specific card type.. but it is still good. Did you know that Zombie Raptor” was the initial name for Putrid Raptor, which actually started out as a 6/6 that required you to discard two zombie cards if you wanted to un-morph it. This was abandoned because it got out a big creature way too fast. I think this guy would have jumped up 5 places on the list if that original design wasn't abandoned. Overall, nice card but not worth hard casting. Here is one deck using the Raptor.

#22 - Zombie Trailblazer
He is extremely useful in any monoblack zombie deck. This means you can give any beefy zombie or even the Zombie Avatar swampwalk and then make your opponent's land a swamp.. All by tapping just two creatures (and the Trailblazer could be one of them too!) This was created in a cycle of cards for the Odyssey block including Master Apothecary; Patron Wizard; Seton, Krosan Protector; Zombie Trailblazer, and Dwarven Bloodboiler. A few decks include

#21 - Nefashu
This guy is just plain interesting and definitely in need of some anatomy lessons. Is that suppose to go there? Anyway, this guy is expensive but worth it. I would say he does great against weenie decks but I would imagine he would be out a little late to get you ahead of a weenie deck. It's because of his extremely unique ability that he lands spot #21. No decks for this guy. Sorry.

#20 - Gravespawn Sovereign
Here's a deck using this big bad evil looking grotesque Zombie Lord. Also, I'm going to quote Anthony Alongi from Magic the Gathering dot com to sum up my feelings for this card:

"Like most centers on a basketball team, the role of the Sovereign is simple. I can sum up this card's value in two sentences:

Five Zombies in play sounds like a lot, but it's not.
Once you hit this number, protection from black means nothing."

#19 - Nim Devourer
This ugly thing is extremely useful in the MIRRODIN block as it's recursion ability isn't half bad. If it had one more toughness and one less casting cost it would be perfect. But, for it's recursion ability, it lands this spot in my top thirty list for zombies. Unfortunately, there are no decks using him yet on MDV.. but fear not. You might one day see a few. I hope. But hey, I bet you didn't know that when you line up the art from Nim Lasher, Nim Shrieker, Nim Devourer, and Nim Shambler, you can see that they form one large mural. Wait, I just found a deck on www.playordraw.com using this guy. It's called Gravepact Devourer.

#18 - Carrion Feeder
This guy has been labeled as an extremely tricky counter-happy creature. It can't block but who cares. It has lots of combo potential. Combine him with Scythe of the Wretched and a Triskelion and your in infinity land (damage that is). This is a good one drop and an excellent combo enabler. This is why is on the top thirty list. Some decks include Silent Fountain, This Mortal Coils, Undead Warchief and Scorpion Foundry.

#17 - Plaguebearer
In today's TOKEN world, this card would rock house. Soul Foundry? I'll Plaguebearer all your tokens.. for one black each since they cost zero. HA HA HA HA. Anyway, this is a great card for it's casting cost and should be reprinted if you ask me. Maybe it will!!! Here's a deck called Plague V1.0 using this terror. Here's another deck on the dojo using the Plaguebearer in combination with Nature's Revolt.

#16 - Pyre Zombie
It's like the Swiss army knife in the zombie family capable of recursion, combat damage and direct damage. It's like the really expensive cousin to the Hammer of Bogardan. A creature like the Pyre Zombie can be classed as a utility creature because it can do damage but overall it simply a great and fun card. It found home in many a Machinehead deck. And, who doesn't like a gold zombie. I longed for them since The Dark. Decks he can be found in on MDV include Balanced Machinehead, Machinehead Aggro and The Void.

#15 - Bone Dancer
Combine this old guy with a Millstone and a Whispersilk Cloak and you are in business. You get your opponent's dead creatures and swing eventually for a kill. This dancing fool has a unique ability that is similar to the Woebearer as it's an ability that can be used over and over again. It gets you board advantage and more importantly card advantage. Here's a deck using one copy of him on another site - the deck is called Anger Management.

#14 - Gempalm Polluter
The polluted isn't really good as a creature... but it is extremely useful as a cycled spell. In a zombie deck this could annihilate your opponent for just two black mana. Some decks that use him include Comer's Zombies, Dead man's Party, Forsythe's Zombies, Rise Up and Beatdown and Undead Warchief.

#13 - Gravedigger
He's been a while for a long time and is very useful in recursion decks as it is basically two cards in one. Ultimately, it is all about card advantage and the digger provides it.. giving you back your best lost creature. Decks using the digger include 8TFK, Bad Breath, Mystery Machine, Penumbra, Play, and The Summoner.

#12 - Woebearer
Gravedigger V2.0. In my opinion, this guy is much better and worth the extra mana. Why? Because you can return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand anytime you deal combat damage to a player. Did I mention it has fear? At this time, I don't have any decks using the Bearer of Woes. It feel it was just too slow for the environment so no one built a deck using it. It is still better than Gravedigger (again I say in my opinion) because it's ability can be used more than just "when it comes into play". However, I even searched the net for a deck that ran even 3 of this guy.. and I couldn't find one. Can I say, try Jet Medallion if you are worried about it's high mana cost.

#11 - Withered Wretch
Holy flashback - recursion hoser! This is a powerhouse just for being a BB 2/2 drop. This works well is EVERY deck (with black that is). Top notch, well costed and highly popular to tourney players. According to Wizard's website, Withered Wretch, a Zombie Cleric with a strong dislike for Wonder, originally gained fear when it removed a card. That ability was deemed unnecessary in development and thus removed. Also, “Morph Graveyard Hoser” was it's original name... but the morph ability was removed. Decks include Catino's Black Control, Clerical Error, Comer's Zombies, Dead man's Party, Forsythe's Zombies, Greavdigger, Shallow Grave, Undead Warchief, Undoubtable Clerics, Wollport's Utility and Viva la Budget.

#10 - Ghastly Remains
Recursion and Amplify. What's not to like about that. The three black in it's casting cost is tough, but it's not that bad since it would only be played in a mono-black deck. This is a good card overall with recursion as it's big effect. Decks include Comer's Zombies, Death to Tokens and This Mortal Coils.

#9 - Phyrexian Scuta
I never really found this guy all too good but based on his tournament appearance.. it has to be, right? I mean it's kicker cost is good but to pay 3B and three life for a 5/5 Zombie without regeneration isn't all too good in my book. But, because of it's kicker and it's appearance in the tournament scene.. it landed this spot on this list. Unfortunately, I don't have many decks that use the Scuta, but here is one.

#8 - Festering Goblin
GREAT one drop. Extremely useful in its block and tournament play. Festering Goblin is the first Goblin is the history of Magic that doesn’t cost red mana… and it was written that R&D argued about it quite a bit. Note: The only blue Goblin that ever saw print is the one on the card Browse. Decks with this guy include Accursed Theft, Chain of Fools, Comer's Zombies, Dead man's Party, Rise Up and Beatdown, Symbiotic Husk, and This Mortal Coils.

#7 - Balthor the Defiled
Aside from being a nice minion lord, this guy should can change the fate of the game quickly into your favor.. assuming you have a graveyard full of red and black creature goodies. It's for that reason alone that he makes number seven. It's too bad that he doesn't cost 1BB for his 2/2 shell. A few decks with him include Def Burn, Defiled and Gravestorm.

#6 - Graveborn Muse
This lady is great, well costed and well combo'd with Words of Worship. In the right scenario this could be a better Necropotence or even a better Tutor. Not really. But great card overall. If anything, in a non zombie deck this card gives you one card for one life each turn. Some decks using her include Catino's Black Control, Forsythe's Zombies, Greed is Good, in Good Spirits, Pitcher's Duel, . Any card that gives you at least one card a turn without tapping is a good card. Thus she lands spot number six.

#5 - Nantuko Husk / Phyrexian Ghoul
Well costed and its ability is excellent. When combo'd with the Rotlung Reanimator, this card is lethal. Too bad it's predecessor, the Phyrexian Ghoul, didn't have access to the Husk's card pool. Check out this deck listing: Accursed Theft, Apple Jacks v2, Bug Zappers, Oatmeal, Reap What You Sow More Cheaply, Rise Up and Beatdown, Shade of Nantuko, Swampwalkers, Symbiotic Husk and The Snatch and Sac Trick.

#4 - Undead Warchief
IT'S THE NEW ZOMBIE LORD... and one that's better than ever. Zombies cost one less to play is nice, but the fact that it gives all zombies (like the drowned, putrid imp, or temp of the damned) +2/+1 is amazing. Originally this card was designed to cost 1BB.. But it proved way too powerful so they toned it down a bit. Decks? Here you go: Tombstone Pizza, Zombie Love V3.0 and Undead Warchief.

#3 - Twisted Abomination
Twisted Abomination is great… it is a beefy zombie that has regeneration for only one black mana (when it is in play) or you can cycle it to find a swamp. Have I mentioned I really like the basic land cycling from Scourge? T.A. is definitely ahead of its time for a zombie. Here's a few decks: Cycle My Fate, Elvish Fate, Greavdigger, Orm Harm, Reap What You Sow More Cheaply, Suture Fight, The Bigger They Are and This Mortal Coils.

#2 - Undead Gladiator
Cycling, Recursion and a good casting cost not to mention a 3/1 power/toughness. This is a rock star all the way.. and a dead one at that. The Grateful Dead should have written a song about this guy. B/G Madness, Corrupter, Dreambox U/B, Forsythe's Zombies, and Reap What You Sow are all decks that feature or use this bad boy. Originally I had this guy for number one over the Rotlung but after several months of thought... I realized that the Gladiator just doesn't have as much potential as the current number one...

#1 - Rotlung Reanimator
This guy is amazing and not just because it has a combolicious ability which can be abused, but because it’s a 2/2 for 2B. How often do you get a nice black creature for the right mana without some drawback. In addition, I believe Wizards was insane for making it bring a 2/2 instead of a 1/1 zombie into play for each cleric put into the graveyard. Just a few decks featuring this guy include Clerical Error, Clericon 2002, Comer's Zombies, The Naive and the Corrupt, This Mortal Coils, Undead Warchief, Viva la Budget and Zombo Combo. Note: This card originally had flavor text, but it was cut for space reasons. It was: "It works for the highest bidder. In other words, it works for the Cabal."

Honorable Mention.

#31 - Llanowar Dead
This thing has a nice 2/2 body for two mana and can generate mana. It is a great accelerator even if you’re not playing a zombie or elf deck and it fits perfectly in any black-green deck. Did I mention it is an undead elf. I had to add it to the honorable mention section for that reason alone. Here's a few decks for those interested: Alur-a-decking, Penumbra and Sap Attack.

#32 - Bladewing's Thrall
It has recursion. It has flying. Both only if you are playing a dragon deck. Still, his is a nice 3/3 for four mana that has a few tricks. Combined with Legend Dragon from Scourge and you have a fun deck to play. Here's a couple decks: Rorix Redux (by Mark Gottlieb found here) and Reap what you Sow.

#33 - Coffin Puppets
It has recursion. It has to be on the honorable mention list at least. Anyway, this guy is nice but could be so much better. Perhaps as a 3/3 for 2BB. Perhaps for recurring after only sacking a land. Anyway, one deck using this guy is found here. Another, if you like Battle of Wits, can be found here. It's the last deck in Jay's article.

#34 - Entrails Feaster
It's a zombie cat that's like the newer version of Vebuild.. and it stays around! The only catch is the removing a creature card. It could be better but it's an interestingly fun card to build a deck around. This card originally had flavor text, but it had to be cut for space considerations. It was: "Fortunately, Aphetto is full of zombie rats." Smelly Cat is an example of deck using the Entrails Feaster.

#35 - Nightscape Familiar
To be honest, I originally had this guy so much higher on this list. He helps you play other colors, has regeneration and can be used outside of a tribal zombie deck. However, there are so many other Zombies that are better that he got bumped down slowly as I kept re-evaluating the lists. Flame Dance, Guilty as Charged, Machinehead Aggro and Psych Out are all examples of decks using the familiar.

#39 - Zombie Cutthroat
This has a much better alternate morph cost than the putrid raptor. However, you are paying five life.. which is expensive. This is, in plain terms, a 3/4 for 3 mana on turn three without a dark ritual. If you have a dark ritual, its a 3/4 first turn! Ringing the Bell is a good example of a deck using the Assassin. Well, it's not a assassin but it sure looks like one.

#40 - Vengeful Dead
Vengeful Dead is not a bad card by itself. However, when combined with cards like Tombstone Stairwell and weapons on mass destruction, this zombie is well worth its 3B casting cost. But, note that it is not overcosted either... AND it only affects your opponents. Vengeance is a nasty deck using this guy well. Then there's a Zombie Bidding deck found on www.magictutorial.com linked here.

#44 - Grotesque Hybrid
It's expensive, but extremely useful (mainly against a green or white deck). Personally, I think it is well costed for it's versatility and ability. Even Aaron Forsythe used it in Forsythe's Zombies V2.0. According to www.wizards.com, early in Torment development, there was a creature called Zombie Aven, and another called Zombie Centaur. R&D decided to combine their abilities into one card, so they just mashed the concepts together. This hideous thing is how it turned out.

#54 - Drowned / Metathran Zombie
Did you know that the Drowned was the second Zombie ever created? The first was Scathe Zombie. Anyway, these two cards are identical, names and flavor text aside. Who doesn't like a regenerating blue creature. This is blue's Drudge Skeletons without the blue activation cost. The Panic Button and Skip's Control are two decks using either of these guys.

#60 - Deadhead
Just a funny card. "Hey Joe, can you grab me a soda?" works fine... then when they stop holding their cards to get you a drink... recur the Deadhead from your graveyard to play. I don't personally play Unglued cards but I am sure there are many who do and who have used this card for fun and giggles. Here's a headhunting theme deck by Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar called Headhunter. It's towards the bottom of the page.

#63 - Putrid Warrior
White and black are well mixed in this card and it is well costed too. You still get a 2/2 for two mana and it's chosen ability affect all players so it is a nice multiplayer card. That and it's not too often you see a white-black zombie. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this might be the only one. Life Gain Down Your Throat is a deck using these warriors.

#64 - Rotting Giant
It's a variation of Barrow ghoul with a slightly better draw back but less power and toughness. It didn't see much play during it's prime time but I'm sure it is useful in a Zombie-Giant theme deck.. should anyone EVER chose to put one together. Mono Black Braids is the only deck on MDV using the card. However, I found a deck using four copies of him on www.brainburst.com called Red and Black Beatings.

#66 - Balduvian Dead
Turning the dead into temporary life is cool in my book and this guy does it. For the cost of 2R you get a 3/1 Graveborn token creature that's red and black that lasts until the end of turn. It's a bit expensive but you can play it at any time... as an attacker (since it gets haste) or as a blocker. It's old and outdated, but still deserving or honorable mention. Heck.. I even have a deck using him!

#71 - Walking Desecration
I was always a big fan of the Nettling Imp. This zombie is a variation of the imp's ability. What's nice is that it affects all creatures of a chosen type.. but it's still limited. I can't say I'll see him played in my casual group anytime soon.. but it's still an interested card... overcosted to start.. but interesting. Here's a deck.

#72 - Barrow Ghoul
Rotting Giant's predecessor with a difficult drawback. But... it's a 4/4 for two mana. This is why he deserved a little attention here. Did you know that Barrow Ghoul is only one of three zombies in the Weatherlight set? Or that it is one of six total zombies in that entire block? Two decks: Black Ice and Lepi/Re Move It. Ooh, and you are familiar with the Pauper's Magic Variant, you can check out this deck too. It's called Bonfire and can be found on Beebleboy's Magic Variants web pages.

#77 - Lim-Dul's Cohort
This guy is the only creature I know with the ability to prevent regeneration. There might be others, but he is the only zombie that does it. That and he's a nice 2/3 for only three mana. In black.. that's perty good. I suprisingly have one deck using him. And then I found another here titled Fallen- Brains- Can'tGetUp- Brains.deq by Anthony Alongi on www.wizards.com. Ooh.. ooh.. just found another deck on classicdojo.org called the "The Infernalator".

#82 - Nim Replica
I just don't get it. How does a zombie which is an artifact exist? Same with the Wizard Replica.. Both from Mirrodin. Oh well. It's the only artifact zombie so it had to be listed here. It's a 3/1 for three mana with an expensive ability. Not bad, but I was to choose any of the Replicas I would choose the Wizard Replica. It has flying. Anyway, Fling your partner is an interesting deck using this guy.

#69 - Noxious Ghoul
Expensive to cast but unique in ability. He's a great combo catalyst but aside from that.. not worth the space in any tourney level zombie deck. However, I do have a zombie deck using him called Recycled Zombies. And Aaron Forsythe raved that his guy is crazy good as it can kill just about anything. History note: this was originally called "Swarm Zombie" in playtest.

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