Zev Al’Khul, Grave Keeper
Custom Cards forum
Posted on May 4, 2021, 6:53 a.m. by zAzen7977
What if there was a Zombie commander who could protect my zombies both in life and death, and also allowed me to cast Zombies from my graveyard?
Zev synergizes with the other Zombies I created recently, Bonegorger Colossus, Flesh Mimic, and Corpse Centipede. My goal is to eventually put together a Zombie-themed custom precon focusing on self-mill and graveyard manipulation.
(Edited: Increased casting cost by [1] and toughness by 1 to compensate)
Any comments or suggestions are welcome!
fatalzintomyum says... #3
I disagree. I think that this card has a pretty prohibitive mana cost, though in older formats that has proven not to be too much of an issue, so I think that it is very balanced as a fair card. Cool design against graveyard hate, though of course that seems more of an afterthought to the recasting ability. I think that protecting other lords could make this a pretty good tribal addition. Calls back to Gisa and Geralf
May 4, 2021 8:17 a.m.
Omniscience_is_life says... #4
fatalzintomyum pretty sure this guy was designed for commander--and with a Simic ramp package this guy is coming down T3=> every time there.
Gisa and Geralf cost 1 more and don't even protect your stuff. I would have to agree with I_Want_To_PlayAllTheDecks here: the cmc should be raised.
May 4, 2021 12:28 p.m.
I_Want_To_PlayAllTheDecks, fatalzintomyum, and Omniscience_is_life, thanks for commenting!
I think keeping Zev’s cost at UBG is fair considering Zev doesn’t actively provide me resources by himself - in other words, I have to already have cards in my graveyard to benefit from his abilities. He doesn’t mill, doesn’t draw me cards, generate mana, etc. Recasting is powerful, but I need stuff to recast. He protects my graveyard, but has no inherent evasion and is easily removed.
With that said, I considered everyone’s comments, and I can see how Zev can be considered under-costed. At UBG, He will most likely hit the board on turns 2-3, which is probably too fast. So I went ahead and upped Zev’s cost by 1, allowing me to increase his toughness to 4, making him slightly tougher and out of Bolt-range.
Does this seem more balanced now?
I_Want_To_PlayAllTheDecks says... #2
The cmc is way too little. Should be at least 4 or 5 mana imo. Recasting things is very powerful.
May 4, 2021 7:43 a.m.