Many were aghast when it was revealed that Duskmourn would incorporate modern technology like televisions. Even more so when ’80s pop culture elements like sneakers were mixed in later. As the story unfolded and justifications were given, however, players warmed to the new plane. That said, it’s still pretty bizarre to see some of this stuff portrayed in a mainline Magic set.
Ask a player even two years ago if we’d ever see the’zombie jock’ horror trope in serious Magic, and they’d have laughed in your face. But that’s exactly what Undead Sprinter brings to MTG. The weirdest part? It’s actually a very good card to boot.
Undead Sprinter MTG
- Mana Value: BR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- Card Text: Trample, Haste. You may cast Undead Sprinter from your graveyard if a non-Zombie creature died this turn. If you do, Undead Sprinter enters with a +1/+1 counter on it.
Once you get past the darkly humorous art and the fact that an MTG card is unironically referencing ‘track teams,’ Undead Sprinter actually starts to look pretty attractive. We’ve seen plenty of cheap, recursive creatures before, and this is better than most. It’s a 2/2 Trample Haste when played normally, which is honestly a fair rate in Aggro. Most recursive creatures pay some kind of tax in stats or abilities, but Sprinter does not.
Another thing Sprinter has over the competition is the ability to block. Even the very best in this genre of creature, Gravecrawler, suffers from an inability to block opposing creatures. This makes them great on offense, but terrible when you’re behind in a race. Sprinter, appropriately enough, can race very well. In either direction.
It’s also worth noting that the condition for recurring Sprinter isn’t difficult to fulfill at all. It counts any non-Zombie creature, be it yours or your opponent’s. In an Aristocrats deck, this will pretty much always be online. In a standard combat-based matchup, any trades will allow Sprinter to bounce back in the second main. Bigger than ever, too, thanks to the extra counter. Alternatively, you can start the turn by removing a blocker, recast Sprinter from the yard, and then swing in for an extra three in combat. Either way, it’s excellent value.
The closest recent Standard comparison we have for this card is Tenacious Underdog. That was a card that excelled in Midrange matchups, thanks to the grindy value it could generate. Sprinter is a very different kind of card, better suited for Aggro and Combo lists. It’s more efficient, but it also can’t draw you out of a dead spot. Whether it succeeds in Standard or not, then, will come down to how the format pans out.
Greatness From Beyond The Grave
As things stand right now, it could go either way. Decks running Sunfall and Temporary Lockdown are still very popular, both of which make Farley here look a lot worse than the glowing praise above suggests. On the other hand, Midrange is also very prevalent, and this card plays really well both in and against such decks.
While Standard play is uncertain at present, I actually think Undead Sprinter has legs in some of the older MTG formats, too. Modern Vengevine decks, be they Psychic Frog or Hollow One variants, are always lurking on the fringes, waiting for a new key piece to propel them to the top. Could Sprinter be such a piece? I think it’s possible.
These decks rely a lot on Gravecrawler to trigger their Vengevines consistently, and Sprinter is another Zombie to help with recurring that. It also plays extremely well with Insolent Neonate, a once-staple pick in Vengevine lists, since it both pitches Sprinter to the graveyard and fulfills its recast condition in one fell swoop. Having more quality recursive creatures can only be a good thing for Vengevine decks, though time will tell if that two mana cost pushes it out of contention.
Even if Modern is a no-go, Sprinter will definitely have a place at the Commander table. Rakdos Aristocrats decks love a recursive body like this. Despite the design seemingly encouraging use in a non-Zombie deck, it will probably see play in Zombies too. Your opponents’ creatures can always be relied upon to die, after all. Overall, while the bizarre gothic Riverdale vibes on this one are strange, I’m very happy with the power level on Undead Sprinter. I reckon this season will be his best one yet.
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