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Champion of the Perished

Creature — Zombie

Whenever another Zombie you control enters, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.

CMC
1
Mana cost
{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Secret Lair Drop
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#2698
Buy on TCGplayer
Champion of the Perished card art
Champion of the Perished is a one-mana lord that snowballs fast — every Zombie that enters the battlefield after it adds a permanent +1/+1 counter, turning a token-flood commander like Ghoulcaller Gisa into a legitimate pressure engine by turn four. It doesn't generate value on its own, but in any deck making Zombies consistently, it becomes a must-answer threat that scales harder than almost any other one-drop in the archetype — including Ghave, Guru of Spores shells that splash black for counter synergies.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Ghoulcaller Gisa

Ghoulcaller Gisa

71.5% of decks · synergy 0.68

Ghoulcaller Gisa taps to create X 2/2 Zombie tokens in one burst, and every one of those tokens triggers Champion of the Perished simultaneously — a single activation can put five or more counters on Champion in a single turn, making it an immediate threat that demands an answer before Gisa untaps again.

02
Gisa and Geralf

Gisa and Geralf

69.0% of decks · synergy 0.62

Gisa and Geralf fuels the graveyard and replays Zombies from it, meaning Champion of the Perished sees triggers not just from cast spells but from graveyard recursion — the steady stream of Zombies entering throughout the game keeps Champion growing even through board wipes.

03
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

63.2% of decks · synergy 0.59

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord creates Zombie tokens as a direct consequence of its draw engine, so Champion of the Perished gets counters passively while the deck is doing what it already wants to do — drawing cards and flooding the board.

04
Gisa, the Hellraiser

Gisa, the Hellraiser

50.9% of decks · synergy 0.47

Gisa, the Hellraiser dumps a wave of Zombie tokens into combat each turn cycle, and every one of those triggers Champion of the Perished — the result is a champion that can realistically reach double digits in power by the midgame without any additional investment.

05
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

52.4% of decks · synergy 0.45

Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver replaces Zombie deaths with decayed tokens, creating a self-replenishing loop of enters-the-battlefield triggers that keeps stacking counters on Champion of the Perished even when opponents are trading off blockers.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Champion of the Perished is a staple in any mono-black or Dimir Zombie deck — the multiplayer environment means more total Zombies entering across more turns, and the counters accumulate fast enough that opponents are forced to spend removal on a one-drop. In Modern and Pioneer, it slots into Zombie tribal as a direct analogue to Champion of the Parish, and the comparison holds up: the decks that want it are doing the same thing, just with Zombies instead of Humans. Legacy has enough efficient hate that the tribal shell rarely competes at the top tables, but Champion of the Perished is still the right card for the archetype if you're playing it. Oathbreaker gives it another home wherever the signature spell keeps generating Zombie tokens.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data isn't available in the current feed for Champion of the Perished, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number before buying. Given its status as a staple in one of the most popular tribal archetypes in Commander, expect to pay a small premium over bulk — it's not a casual throw-in at this point.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.