Visualizing Golgari Death Swarm Rarity Across Sets

In TCG ·

Golgari Death Swarm card art by Ovidio Cartagena

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Set-level Rarity Visualization for Golgari Death Swarm

In the world of MTG, rarity isn’t just a sticker on a card—it’s a design constraint and a storytelling tool. When we map rarity across prints, especially for a card like Golgari Death Swarm, we get a window into how Wizards balances power, flavor, and collectibility across eras. The bat fungus horror first appeared as a reprint in Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021, a set-type labeled “funny” but serious about the card’s presence in the casual play scene 🧙‍♂️. The card’s mana cost is {3}{B}{G} (CMC 5), a color identity that screams Golgari: black for attrition and green for resilience, with a body that flies and guards your board with vigilance ⚔️.

Card Profile

  • Name: Golgari Death Swarm
  • Mana Cost: {3}{B}{G} (CMC 5)
  • Colors: Black, Green
  • Rarity: Rare
  • Type: Creature — Bat Fungus Horror
  • Power/Toughness: 4/4
  • Abilities: Flying, Vigilance
  • Artist: Ovidio Cartagena
  • Set: Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 (CMB2)
  • Print Status: Reprint, Nonfoil

Rarity can be a moving target when a card shows up in a handful of different print runs. This particular print is part of a playful experiment—the "funny" Mystery Booster Playtest set—yet it retains classic Golgari flavor in a way that collectors notice: a 5-mana 4/4 flyer with vigilance and a touch of green resilience. The rarity label helps define draft choices and deck-building expectations, especially in casual formats where the lore and look of a card matter as much as the math 🧠🔥.

Gameplay and Design Notes

Your Golgari shell thrives on value in the long game, and a 4/4 flyer with vigilance at 5 mana gives you a reliable clock that also blocks without tapping out entirely. In builds that embrace black's removal and green's ramp or multicolor synergies, Death Swarm can present a persistent aerial threat that’s not easily ignored. The flying keyword ensures you pressure opponents who rely on ground-based defense, while vigilance keeps your defenses sharp on your turns—no tired taps after attacking, just clean, punishing advantage ⚔️🎯.

The card’s silhouette in art and in mechanics reflects Golgari’s theme: growth from decay, swarm dynamics, and the idea that a hidden horde can become unstoppable with the right tempo. Even as a rare in a quirky set, its power-to-cost ratio remains respectable, making it a fetch-worthy pick for collectors and players chasing nostalgia and tactical upside 🧙‍♀️💎. If you’re curating a Golgari lineup, consider pairing Death Swarm with swarm enablers or recursion engines that maximize your late-game inevitability—because a single swing can flip the board when your graveyard economy stacks up value 📦🎲.

Rarity Visualization: A Quick Lens

Imagine a chart where each set is a row and rarity is color-coded. For Golgari Death Swarm, you’d see a single, bold blip in Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 marked Rare, with a small secondary note that this is a reprint that preserves its nonfoil status. The set’s playful nature doesn’t erase the gravity of a rare card arriving from the shadows of a testing draft—the moment you pull it, you’re holding a piece of MTG history that crosses the line between casual play and collector’s pride 🧩🎲.

For fans tracking set-level rarity balance, Golgari Death Swarm is a neat case study: a rare with a strong stat line and two evergreen keywords in a print run designed to feel fun and unpredictable. Across the years, the card’s identity—Black-Green, a 4/4 flyer with vigilance—remains constant even as the print context shifts. That stability is what makes a well-balanced rarity curve feel so satisfying, whether you’re building a modern Golgari deck or just admiring the art and design work that went into the card 🎨🧩.

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