Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Tributes to Early MTG History Through Varina, Lich Queen
If you’ve ever felt the pull of those early, mysterious days of Magic: The Gathering—when the color pie was a map of unknown dangers and every graveyard felt like it might spit out a new legend—Varina, Lich Queen is a modern nod to that mood. The Zombie Wizard from Double Masters 2022 channels classic gothic fantasy while leaning into multi-color complexity that newer sets celebrate. In many ways, she stands as a bridge between the oldest corners of the Multiverse and today’s sprawling, highly interactive gameplay. 🧙♂️🔥💎
What makes Varina feel so emblematic of early MTG history isn’t just the trio of colors she embodies—Black, Blue, and White—but the way her abilities riff on graveyard themes that have always underscored the undead and the strategic draw-go dance of old formats. As fans, we can sense those echoes in the aura around her: a 4/4 body that can swing hard, a cost that whispers “play nicely with your resources,” and a flavor text that reads like a page torn from a necromancer’s diary. This card doesn’t just exist in a vacuum; it speaks to the long-running conversation about what it means to fight with something more than raw power. ⚔️🎨
Card in Focus: stats, cost, and identity
Varina’s mana cost is a crisp {1}{W}{U}{B}, a compact trio that signals cross-color vigilance: thoughtful sequencing, adversarial tempo, and graveyard discipline. With a base stat block of 4/4, she’s sturdy enough to hold the line while her true strength lies in her attack-triggered card draw and life gain—on every attack with one or more Zombies, you draw that many cards, then discard that many cards. It’s a rhythm that rewards careful deck-building and invites you to lean into the graveyard as a resource, not just a dumping ground. The exile-and-token mechanic—{2}, Exile two cards from your graveyard: Create a tapped 2/2 black Zombie creature token—adds a late-game engine of recursion and pressure. The card’s color identity (B/U/W) makes it a natural fit for Commander shrines, midrange Zombie shells, and graveyard-centric control decks. 🧙♂️🪄
“Whenever you attack with one or more Zombies, draw that many cards, then discard that many cards. You gain that much life.” The loop is not just a mechanical flourish; it’s a nod to those early games where card advantage and life management were the boss battles you kept returning to, again and again.
Flavor, Art, and the design ethos
Igor Kieryluk’s artwork for Varina captures that archaic, haunted elegance that defined much of the early undead archetypes while carrying a modern polish. The three-color composition mirrors the triple-threat identity of Black, Blue, and White, which in turn mirrors the old-school triads that shaped formats like Extended and Legends-era design spaces. The flavor text and the aura of necromantic strategy slot Varina into a lineage of undead rulers who command both fear and fascination—think of ancient lich lords sipping from the same well as those first multi-color legends that challenged players to think beyond mono-black terror. The art doesn’t shout; it whispers, inviting you to lean closer and read the subtle tells in each stroke. 🎨
From a design perspective, Varina embodies a deliberate blend of aggression, resource management, and graveyard-focused tempo. Her first ability rewards you for building a cohesive Zombie tribe or for leveraging a sparse graveyard into a windfall of cards and life. The second ability gives you an engine that scales with game state, letting you convert graveyard fodder into a loyal, tapping 2/2 Zombie squad. It’s a reminder that, in MTG, the best newer cards often echo older philosophies—value, resilience, and board presence—while weaving in the sort of interactivity that makes multiplayer formats feel like a grand spellbook come to life. 🧟♀️⚔️
Play patterns and Commander potential
In a Commander context, Varina shines as both a commander and a reliable engine—your Zombie subtheme shines brightest when you build around death-and-draw synergy, with the exile-to-token line giving you consistent beatdown options and a way to pressure opponents late in the game. Her ability to drain the graveyard for a 2/2 token taps into classic graveyard shenanigans while offering a robust late-game plan for reanimation or re-curation strategies. The card’s color trio invites you to weave control elements, counterplay, and resurrective plays into one cohesive arc. For players who enjoy sequencing, Varina rewards careful planning—attack timing, when to exile, and how to maximize card draw while staying ahead on resources. It’s a thoughtful dance rather than a simple sprint, and that’s a familiar heartbeat for those who cherished the early days of MTG’s more deliberate, puzzle-like games. 🧩🔥
Collector culture will also appreciate Varina’s place in Double Masters 2022: a rare that rewards both playability and display value. The set itself celebrated reprints and cross-pollination of some of the game’s beloved mechanics, and Varina fits neatly into that philosophy—an archetypal ruler whose shadow stretches across graveyard strategies and Zombie tribal dreams. If you’re chasing price memory, you’ll note that non-foil Varina sits around the modest zone for a rare, with foil versions offering a bit more sparkle for collectors. The card’s EDH rec potential sits comfortably in the mid-to-high spectrum, a testament to its enduring utility and flavor resonance. 🧠💎
Cross-promotional note: a thoughtful addition to your drafting life
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