Caged Zombie
Creature — Zombie
, 
: Each opponent loses 2 life. Activate only if a creature died this turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Core Set 2021
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #23416
Caged Zombie drains each opponent for 1 and gains you 1 life every time you sacrifice a creature — on a 2/2 body for three mana that replaces itself with a 2/2 Zombie token when it dies. The rate is unspectacular in isolation, but in any black deck that plans to sacrifice creatures repeatedly, it stacks up fast.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Caged Zombie earns its slot in any black aristocrats build — three opponents means each trigger drains for 3 total life while gaining you 1, and the self-replacing death trigger means it never fully disappears from the board. In Pauper it's legal and the drain-on-sacrifice effect is genuinely powerful at common, though the format's aggressive and control shells rarely have room for a three-mana 2/2 that needs a sacrifice engine to shine. In Modern and Pioneer, Caged Zombie is too slow and too conditional to compete with purpose-built sacrifice payoffs at the same cost. Legacy and Vintage simply have better options at every point on the curve.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Caged Zombie is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a dollar box or grabbing a playset for less than a pack of sleeves. Bulk rares with narrow synergy requirements rarely climb, so don't expect the price to move unless a future set makes sacrifice-based drain a competitive mechanic.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.