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Hancock’s Place in the Timeline of Magic's History

Magic: The Gathering has always thrived on cross-pollination—whether by revisiting classic archetypes, remixing them with new mechanics, or slamming culture-laden icons into the Multiverse with a whisper of arcane delusion. Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor, released in a Fallout era commander set under the Pip identifier, embodies that ongoing conversation between nostalgia and novelty 🧙‍♂️🔥. With a base mana cost of {2}{B} and a Legendary Creature — Zombie Mutant Advisor frame, Hancock sits at a nostalgic crossroads: it nods to the zombie hordes of old while leaning into modern, counter-based scaling that rewards board presence and synergy with Zombie and Mutant tribes. The card’s rarity—rare—signals its status as a collectible moment in that timeline, a beacon for players who love both lore and laboratory-style deckbuilding ⚔️💎.

In linear terms, Hancock is a black pivot to a counter-centric, board-wide buff strategy. Its ability reads, in effect, “All your Zombie or Mutant friends grow bigger the more counters Hancock carries.” That X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Hancock, which creates a compelling game-of-chicken: you either protect Hancock to snowball buffs, or you risk its demise and watch it return with Undying if it had no counters on it at death. The Undying mechanic is a classic callback to the early eras of MTG that rewarded persistence and resilience; Hancock’s particular kicker—returning with a +1/+1 counter if it died with zero counters—reintroduces a semblance of risk-versus-reward that feels right at home in Commander’s longer game arcs 🧙‍♂️🎲.

Undying isn’t just flavor in Hancock’s text—it’s a strategic hinge. Each lifecycle a token of effort to place counters on the Mayor gives you a lasting tempo edge, and the card’s tribal trigger nudges you toward Zombie and Mutant synergy that players have chased since the days of Rakdos and Dimir labs.

The card’s color identity is single-mindedly Black, which historically has been MTG’s workshop for death, curses, and cadaverous politics. Hancock’s black frame echoes set narratives that position undead influence and cunning as the backbone of a well-run court—whether the “mayor” rules over a kip of crypts or a mutational metropolis. In the Fallout set’s Commander guise, Hancock sits alongside other universes-beyond experiments that test the boundaries of lore and legality, reminding us that MTG’s timeline is not a straight line but a living mosaic of imaginative crossovers 🧠💥.

Design, Lore, and the Mutant Zombie Aesthetic

From a lore perspective, the title “Ghoulish Mayor” conjures a political parasite—an undead administrator who can shepherd a board of zombies and mutants into a more formidable force. The art by Wonchun Choi captures that eerie charisma: a figure who presides over a creeping mass of undead and altered beings, with a smug sense of municipal mastery that’s equal parts charming and terrifying. That design ethos—fusing governance with ghoulhood—fits MTG’s long-running love for villains who aren’t merely threats but organizers of a fearsome social order. The set’s commander framework and the universes beyond concept push Hancock into the history books as a marker of how narrative flavor can influence gameplay mechanics in a tangible, strategic way 🧪🎨.

Mechanically, the “Zombie” and “Mutant” tags aren’t simply flavor terms here; they serve as a genuine path to incremental power. The more counters Hancock bears, the larger the boost to every other Zombie or Mutant you control. That means your table presence scales in a way that rewards multi-creature boards and careful sequencing—especially when Undying lets Hancock re-enter the battlefield with a single counter after death when it had none. The net effect? A late-game thump that can flip the board in your favor, turning a middling collection of creatures into a shared lumbering threat that bosses fights and forces opponents to answer before you swing for the win 🪙⚔️.

Timeline, Tactics, and The New Frontier

Where does Hancock sit on MTG’s historical map? It’s a clear signal of the early 2020s–2025 era where Universes Beyond cards began stitching together diverse universes with iconic mechanics—Undying being a nod to evergreen zombie themes, and the counter-scaling mechanic speaking to the century-old tradition of +1/+1 counter strategies. Hancock helps crystallize a moment when “new sets” and “new lore” could still feel technically anchored in persistent, evergreen design: you still want to ramp, you still want to protect your board, and you still want to maximize tribal synergies, but now you do so with a dash of post-apocalyptic whimsy and a dash of mutated political intrigue 🧙‍♂️🔥.

For players today, Hancock isn’t just a card to slot into a deck. It’s a reminder of how MTG history respects both the old guard and the brave new crossovers that push the game’s boundaries. The Rare designation ensures it remains a coveted piece for collectors who chase the aura of a transitional moment—where traditional zombie lore meets experimental mutation within a modern Commander framework. And as you plot your next tabletop saga, Hancock’s towering buff potential serves as a beacon: assemble a core of Zombies and Mutants, place counters on Hancock, and watch your squad swell with the kind of arithmetic that feels almost like magic itself 🧙‍♂️💎.

Speaking of drafting the future, the cross-promotional nature of such cards gives players a lot to talk about outside the game as well. The way Hancock threads through lore, game mechanics, and cross-promotion is exactly the kind of story MTG fans love to chase—from the table to forums to drop-in articles on the timeline of MTG history.

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