Geralf’s Messenger is a rare black Zombie featured in Magic: The Gathering’s Dark Ascension. Mike Flores previewed this triple black throwback to the popular persister Kitchen Finks today on the official Magic: The Gathering site. Given a decidedly dark slant compared to its inspiration along with a restrictive casting cost, this tribally relevant undying technology may find a home with its fellow Zombies or mono-black midrange aggro.
Geralf’s Messenger
BBB
Creature – Zombie Rare
Geralf's Messenger enters the battlefield tapped.
Geralf’s Messenger enters the battlefield, target opponent loses 2 life.
Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)
3/2
Grab your Gravecrawlers and your Zombie Apocalypses because this Dark Ascension Zombie push may result in a legit deck after all, featuring plenty of our new friend here. Geralf’s Messenger likes to take advantage of all kinds of blink and come into battlefield effects, with the easiest way to continue death-blasting your foe built right in with the undying mechanic.
Could Hex Parasite become a dangerous addition to decks featuring Gerfalf’s Messanger? A good sacrifice outlet will turn your combo on; allowing you to chain sacrifice Geralf’s Messanger, popping the counter off with the Parasite – A yummy combination resulting in life loss until expiration for your unlucky opponent. It’s a three card combo, making it a little sketchy, but if you’re able to find other uses for your parasite and perhaps take advantage of the sacrifice outlet with reusable goods like Gravecrawler, this deck starts to look a whole lot more real.
The only issue with the Messenger’s undeniable power is that you’re facing a triple black mana cost in the face, meaning you’re going to be mono-black or very close to it in order to take advantage of this recurring scourge. This means Geralf’s Messenger will likely only have 1 or 2 potential templates to fit into, but will be a critical piece in them.
Investing into a triple color card like Geralf’s Messenger is typically ill-advised for your drafting and Limited purposes, as he’s not the kind of guy you can just slip into a deck. Cards like Army of the Damned are easier to run in dual color templates because you’re still going to need a wealth of mana to play them and you’ll probably have the swamps you need by the time you are ready to cast it. For Geralf to hit the sweet spot on the curve you’re going to need to reliably play it on three or four, which could be quite tricky.
Get your hands on Geralf’s Messenger at Dark Ascension prerelease events, running January 28-29.
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