Endless Ranks of the Dead – MTG Throwback Thursday (2011)

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

I like cards like this, which deliver exactly what they promise. Sure, you need a noticeable number of Zombies already in play to get it started, but . . . well, it’s a black card. Zombies are almost taken for granted. If you start from as few as two innocuous tokens, your opponents will soon be so far behind they’ll need a spell as efficient as Day of Judgment or better (is there better?) to come back – and this is before you add other tribal cards. I didn’t really think Shepherd of Rot ever needed much help, but I also don’t think he’ll turn it down.

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5

Endless Ranks of the Dead is a good way to overrun your opponents with undead abominations, so long as you have some to start the mayhem. If you have two Zombies, you get at least one more each turn, and this effect can snowball pretty hard if you have more Zombies to fuel it. The issue is, of course, that this effect requires time and is stymied by board wipes, and enchantments that need time to fire usually need to be cheap to be usable (think Bitterblossom). The endgame of a Zombie army playing demolition derby is certainly appealing, but it’s definitely more a card for casual tables, as the time you need is rarely going to be freely afforded to you.

Constructed: 1.75
Casual: 4
Limited: 4 (lots of Zombies in Innistrad, and while this had to contend with Spirits as a deck, it’s not too hard to use this to great effect)
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.5