Cruel Revival

Description

Cruel Revival is a black instant card from the 2002 Magic: The Gathering Onslaught expansion, designated as card number 135. This foil print carries the ONS set code and was illustrated by Greg Staples, adding a distinct visual finish to the card's presentation. The card features a mana cost of four black mana and one generic mana, resulting in a mana value of five. In gameplay, Cruel Revival serves as a powerful removal tool. It allows the player to destroy a target non-Zombie creature, explicitly preventing that creature from being regenerated. This regeneration prevention is a key mechanical distinction that makes the spell effective against resilient threats. Following the destruction, the card’s secondary effect triggers, allowing the player to return up to one Zombie card from their graveyard to their hand. This graveyard interaction provides resource recovery, supporting strategies that rely on sacrificing creatures or cycling cards through the graveyard. The foil treatment of Cruel Revival offers a shimmering alternative to the common non-foil version, appealing to those who appreciate the aesthetic variation within standard set distributions. As a black card, it fits into decks focused on attrition and board control. The flavor text, "Few Cabal fighters fear death. They fear what follows it," reinforces the card's dark, necromantic theme.