Since the hazy days of original Innistrad Standard, Aristocrats has been one of the most popular archetypes in Magic: The Gathering. Combining fodder creatures with death payoffs and sacrifice outlets, Aristocrats decks are intricate machines that slowly wear opponents down over time. They got a huge boost in Final Fantasy with the addition of Sephiroth, and Edge of Eternities has another treat in store. In Umbral Collar Zealot, we may just have one of the best MTG sacrifice outlets of all time.
This is a crowded arena, full of old Magic powerhouses like Phyrexian Altar and Viscera Seer. Zealot is interesting enough for consideration among them. It’s rare to see a no-limits sacrifice outlet in a Standard set, never mind one with actual eternal format potential. If you’re an Aristocrats aficionado, be it in Commander or Standard, this is an uncommon you’ll want on your radar for sure.
Umbral Collar Zealot In MTG Commander
- Mana Value: 1B
- Type: Creature – Human Cleric
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Card Text: Sacrifice another creature or artifact: Surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.)
- Stats: 3/2
Umbral Collar Zealot is an MTG card with big implications. First off, sacrificing for free at instant speed is massive. Outlets like Altar of Dementia and Spawning Pit are often run in Commander purely for the sacrifice option, with the upside not really being relevant. Zealot offers the same, and even lets you sacrifice artifacts, too. In the age of Treasure and Food, this is far from insignificant.
The upside here is excellent, too. Surveil 1 lets you sculpt your draws as well as load your graveyard, both of which Aristocrats decks love to do. Most run a few recursion effects, so the cards you dump are really just resources for later. Sifting through your deck also lets you hit the trifecta of ‘fodder, sacrifice outlet, payoff’ quicker, and thus get your death engine online.
While it sounds hyperbolic when referring to a brand-new card, I genuinely think Umbral Collar Zealot is one of the best sacrifice outlets we’ve ever seen. While Viscera Seer still gets the edge in decks that really need to be tight with their mana, Zealot outmatches it pretty much everywhere else. Surveil is infinitely better than Scry, and actually allows you to mill out your whole deck via an infinite loop, then win with Thassa’s Oracle. 3/2 Stats make the card relevant on board, too, where Seer is just a 1/1.
The artifact outlets are probably still better for Commander overall due to their resilience, but if you want a cheap creature outlet from now on then Zealot is your man. It may even outpace some of the Altars in time, given how creature-centric modern Magic is.
A New Standard
It’s pretty much a given that Umbral Collar Zealot will be a banger in MTG Commander. The card looks strong enough to see play far beyond that, however, potentially even in current Standard. Sacrifice decks have been getting a ton of juice in the format lately. Sephiroth alone is like a one-card engine for the archetype, and the new Timeline Culler is one of the best recursive creatures we’ve seen in a while.
Throw in the classics like Snarling Gorehound, Vengeful Bloodwitch, and Bartolomé del Presidio, and you’ve got a sweet sacrifice stew going. Most sacrifice decks we’ve seen in Standard recently have been pseudo-Combo decks, relying on big Raise the Past plays to end the game. Zealot makes this strategy much more consistent by offering you an easy way to dump more of your key pieces into the graveyard. It’s also a Raise the Past target itself, which opens up more lines even if your opponent removes it.
If you’re feeling a bit more nontraditional, players have already discovered another OTK combo with the card in Standard. With Zealot and Biotech Specialist out, you can sacrifice Ancient Adamantoise to generate 14 Treasures. Zealot can then sacrifice all 14, dealing 28 damage via Specialist triggers. This combo requires you to either hard cast Adamantoise for eight or reanimate it via Zombify. Either way, it’s probably too clunky to see real play, but the fact that it exists is hilarious.
Overall, Umbral Collar Zealot is one of the best sacrifice outlets Magic: The Gathering has seen, and a very exciting prospect for multiple formats.
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