If you're going to be discarding a card anyway (e.g. for a spellshaper or you have a lot of looting effects), this is a decent one to discard as adding some upside to the discard effect is always nice to have. Outside of that, it's pretty awful - you will very rarely want to cast it normally, and it's not worth running discard effects specifically to trigger the madness, as while it's OK, it's nothing spectacular.
If you're going to be discarding a card anyway (e.g. for a spellshaper or you have a lot of looting effects), this is a decent one to discard as adding some upside to the discard effect is always nice to have. Outside of that, it's pretty awful - you will very rarely want to cast it normally, and it's not worth running discard effects specifically to trigger the madness, as while it's OK, it's nothing spectacular.
Yeah, I run this in my Olivia, Mobilized for War deck. I get a discard for almost every creature that ETBs under my control, plus I've got wheels and Call the Bloodline.
As far as Red Auras go, this is a pretty powerful one. I don't normally play voltron but I'd imagine Uril at least gives it a look.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
One of the best red Auras ever and a card that defined its Limited environment. In 20-life Magic it's incredible. In EDH, the impact is a bit lessened, but hell yeah I play it in Uril, the Miststalker, and pretty much every part-red Voltron. Certainly makes Tajic, Blade of the Legion's stuff easier to do and sustain; truly high-larious in Gisela, Blade of Goldnight.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
How strong is Menace as an evasion mechanic in your playgroups? The decks I usually see would be able to block just fine, but maybe that's just my environment.
This card could be considered a 'gatekeeper' of sorts. If you're a worse revival spell than this one, you probably won't see play. If you're better than this, you get a good shot. I've seen it in some decks going all-in on reanimation but it's not particularly common even there.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
One of the most basic and fair reanimation spells. There are reasons for and against this or Diabolic Servitude, though the latter surely has a higher high point. Dread Return is almost a strict upgrade, with only the mana cost being a downside. You typically go for something cheaper in this format in Black, but I get good mileage out of the white versions of this (Breath of Life, Resurrection)so I don't see why this couldn't make your list in situations.
Animate Dead is probably overall still the best reanimation spell. Cheap mana cost, any graveyard, Sun Titan recursion, Kederekt Leviathan soft lock, it's a hard card to beat for reanimation with utility. Reanimate gets points for brutal mana efficiency and Necromancy is redundancy for all the things Animate is good at while providing Flash situations. Victimize is solid but deck-situational.
I think there are so many spells that do it faster (Animate dead, Reanimate, etc) and so many spells that go bigger, that Zombify ends up feeling bland. 4 mana seems like a lot for a one-off effect.
This card could be considered a 'gatekeeper' of sorts. If you're a worse revival spell than this one, you probably won't see play. If you're better than this, you get a good shot. I've seen it in some decks going all-in on reanimation but it's not particularly common even there.
Would be a late pick for me as well, but dat flavor text though..,
I think there are so many spells that do it faster (Animate dead, Reanimate, etc) and so many spells that go bigger, that Zombify ends up feeling bland. 4 mana seems like a lot for a one-off effect.
If I ranked all Reanimation effects that are 4CMC or less and mono-black available, this is definitely not top ten. The short list, in rough order, is:
There are specific decks where I would run Zombify over the bottom half of the list so I guess it is in 11th place, but generally speaking I think they are more powerful when they work and I wouldn't run a ton of this effect in all but the most dedicated Reanimator commanders. Additionally, the limit of "4 mana or less" is arbitrary - in a serious reanimator deck I'd be considering Phyrexian Delver, Bloodline Necromancer, Ever After, Beacon of Unrest, Liliana, Death's Majesty, and Rescue from the Underworld as my 6-12 copies of this effect. I'm usually also game for the flexibility of Profane Command and the power, albeit temporary, of Puppeteer Clique and Corpse Dance and Wake the Dead.
Describing this as a "Gatekeeper" is pretty fair - Rise from the Grave and Fearsome Awakening are bad because they cost more than Zombify. We have enough effectively better effects to keep this out of most normal, sane, non-budget lists though.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Honestly it's pretty unplayable. It's not unplayable because it is a bad card (not a great one either) but because black has so many reanimation effects with random upside depending on the deck. Reanimation cards don't even cost that much $$$ wise so there is no need to run Zombify because of budget reasons. As far as I know only Reanimate has any value. The rest are pretty much dollar rares.
Yeah, as others have said, Zombify is just outclassed by other reanimation spells. If it could hit any graveyard, it might make the cut for some decks, but as is, if you're running enough of this type of effect that you've resorted included this, you probably aren't going to have much room in your deck for things worth reanimating....
Queen ft. Adam Lambert. Very well recommended to any Queen fan.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
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Much like most of the Shadows Over Innistrad block, Avacyn's Judgement is all Hype with nothing good to back it up.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
It was a dark time for removal.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
As far as Red Auras go, this is a pretty powerful one. I don't normally play voltron but I'd imagine Uril at least gives it a look.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
It still pales next to Rancor, Gryff's Boon, Hyena Umbra/Felidar Umbra/Spider Umbra, Daybreak Coronet, One with the Wind/Spectral Flight, Ethereal Armor, Spirit Mantle, Armadillo Cloak, and (in select decks) Shield of the Oversoul, Scourge of the Noblis, and Runes of the Deus - I mention these cards because the most likely R/x Commanders who would be looking to jam auras are Anax and Cymede, Shu Yun, Silent Tempest, Uril, the Mist Stalker, Zurgo Helmsmasher, Tajic, Blade of the Legion, and Yasova Dragonclaw. Still shocking this is only played in less than a thousand decks on EDHRecs.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
On phasing:
Draft my Peasant Cube.
This card could be considered a 'gatekeeper' of sorts. If you're a worse revival spell than this one, you probably won't see play. If you're better than this, you get a good shot. I've seen it in some decks going all-in on reanimation but it's not particularly common even there.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Animate Dead is probably overall still the best reanimation spell. Cheap mana cost, any graveyard, Sun Titan recursion, Kederekt Leviathan soft lock, it's a hard card to beat for reanimation with utility. Reanimate gets points for brutal mana efficiency and Necromancy is redundancy for all the things Animate is good at while providing Flash situations. Victimize is solid but deck-situational.
Dread Return is definitely better. vigor Mortis is kinda better I guess. Unburial Rites costs more but is better for obvious reasons. What about Obzedat's Aid? Ever After? Beacon of unrest? Phyrexian Delver? Makeshift Mannequin is an instant.
I think there are so many spells that do it faster (Animate dead, Reanimate, etc) and so many spells that go bigger, that Zombify ends up feeling bland. 4 mana seems like a lot for a one-off effect.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Would be a late pick for me as well, but dat flavor text though..,
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
If I ranked all Reanimation effects that are 4CMC or less and mono-black available, this is definitely not top ten. The short list, in rough order, is:
2 Reanimate
3 Necromancy
4 Dread Return
5 Diabolic Servitude
6 Exhume
7 Victimize
8 Makeshift Mannequin
9 Stitch Together
10 Doomed Necromancer
There are specific decks where I would run Zombify over the bottom half of the list so I guess it is in 11th place, but generally speaking I think they are more powerful when they work and I wouldn't run a ton of this effect in all but the most dedicated Reanimator commanders. Additionally, the limit of "4 mana or less" is arbitrary - in a serious reanimator deck I'd be considering Phyrexian Delver, Bloodline Necromancer, Ever After, Beacon of Unrest, Liliana, Death's Majesty, and Rescue from the Underworld as my 6-12 copies of this effect. I'm usually also game for the flexibility of Profane Command and the power, albeit temporary, of Puppeteer Clique and Corpse Dance and Wake the Dead.
Describing this as a "Gatekeeper" is pretty fair - Rise from the Grave and Fearsome Awakening are bad because they cost more than Zombify. We have enough effectively better effects to keep this out of most normal, sane, non-budget lists though.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
On phasing:
amazingly epic sig courtesy of DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Planes.
Queen concert?!!
Queen ft. Adam Lambert. Very well recommended to any Queen fan.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.