Zombie Master
Creature — Zombie
Other Zombie creatures have swampwalk. (They can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a Swamp.)
Other Zombies have "
: Regenerate this permanent."
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Masters Edition IV
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #2756
Zombie Master hands every Zombie you control swampwalk and regeneration, turning a board of tokens into a nearly unkillable strike force the moment an opponent has Swamps — which most black decks guarantee. The cost is running a three-mana do-nothing-alone enchantment creature, so Zombie Master earns its slot only if the tribal payoff is real.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Temmet, Naktamun's Will
Temmet, Naktamun's Will runs Zombie Master at an 87% clip because the combination of unblockability effects and swampwalk creates redundant evasion for the token-heavy go-wide strategies Temmet demands, ensuring something always gets through.
Varina, Lich Queen
Varina, Lich Queen builds wide Zombie boards that need evasion to actually close games, and Zombie Master delivers swampwalk against the black-heavy tables where Varina naturally ends up.
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord
Zul Ashur, Lich Lord cares deeply about Zombie tribal density, and Zombie Master pulls double duty as both a tribal member and a lord-style enabler that makes the rest of the board harder to block and nearly impossible to kill through combat.
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born wants Zombies that survive long enough to be sacrificed repeatedly, and the regeneration Zombie Master grants means your fodder persists through damage-based removal and combat trades before feeding Grimgrin's counters.
The Scarab God
The Scarab God floods the board with Zombie tokens that need a way past blockers, and Zombie Master's swampwalk converts those tokens from a soft threat into a consistent damage source in any game where opponents are in black.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Zombie Master actually does work — Zombie tribal is a deep and popular archetype in black, tables are frequently packed with Swamp-using opponents, and the regeneration matters in a format where single-target removal is everywhere. In Legacy and Vintage, Zombie Master is legal but irrelevant; three mana for a 2/3 that requires tribal context and opponent cooperation on land types is nowhere near competitive enough for those formats. Oathbreaker gives it the same tribal home it finds in Commander, scaled down, with the same caveat that the card does nothing without Zombies alongside it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Price data for Zombie Master isn't available in the current index, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer directly for the latest figures — it's an older card with multiple printings, which typically keeps cost accessible. Given its narrow tribal application, it's not a card you need to chase; pick it up whenever you're ready to build the Zombie deck.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.