Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Tymaret, the Murder King: Homages to Theros Fantasy Art Classics
When you open a Theros booster and glimpse Volkan Bağà’s ominous portrayal of Tymaret, you’re not just looking at a card—you’re stepping into a mythic moment where art, strategy, and storytelling collide. Tymaret, the Murder King is a rare two-color zombie warrior that wears its Theros-inspired flavor on its sleeve 🧙♂️🔥💎. With a lean mana cost of {B}{R} and a pair of sac-derived abilities, the card invites a play style that rewards crafty sacrifices, timely recurrences, and a little bit of Underworld swagger. It’s the flavorful heartbeat of Theros laid bare on a battlefield-ready body, and that makes it a favorite for players who love both the lore and the labors of building a deck around sacrifice and recursion 🎨⚔️.
A two-axe toolbox in one legendary frame
At first glance Tymaret looks like a compact beatstick: a 2/2 legendary creature for two mana in two colors, a reasonable body that can threaten with a couple of well-timed blows. But the real juice lies in its two activated abilities, each built around sacrificing a creature to fuel a different payoff. The first ability, {1}{R}, Sacrifice another creature: Tymaret deals 2 damage to target player or planeswalker. That’s not just burn in a cantrip’s clothing—it’s a tribal-style toolkit that scales with your sacrifice outlets. The second ability, {1}{B}, Sacrifice a creature: Return this card from your graveyard to your hand. That is the heartbeat of a classic zombie-reanimator arc, especially in a format where teeth like reanimation, attrition, and recurring threats define the best games.
What makes this duo sing is the symmetry. Splice in cheap sacrifice outlets—cards that let you burn one creature to power Tymaret’s strike, then recur Tymaret itself from the graveyard—and you’ve created a cycle that can press early pressure while slowly assembling inevitability. Tymaret’s mana cost ensures you’ll be dipping into black for mana acceleration and red for a surge of aggression, a combination that Theros often uses to mirror heroic myths where mortal cunning meets otherworldly consequence 🧙♂️. If you’re piloting a sacrifice-centric commander shell, Tymaret becomes a reliable value engine: you drain life or push damage, then reuse Tymaret again and again to keep the board under pressure.
Flavor, lore, and the art that sells the myth
The flavor text—“His memories remained in the Underworld, but his cruelty crossed the Rivers with him.”—drops you right into the river-strewn banks of the Styx and into a story where memory and malice travel as one. Tymaret’s narrative threads weave with the broader Theros mythos: chthonic dangers, stern guardians, and a culture that treats death as a place to bargain with, not merely a fate to endure. Volkan Bağà’s illustration captures the grim poise of a warlord who has walked through the Underworld and returned with a cold, tactical resolve. The art’s strong contrasts, shadowed textures, and a weapon that seems to drink in the light feel like a homage to the classic fantasy paintings that shaped early card art—yet it remains unmistakably Theros in its atmosphere and posture 🧭🎨.
Temper, terror, and tact—Tymaret embodies the Theros blend of myth and mischief, a zombie warrior who fights with both blade and bargain.
Art, design, and why Tymaret stands out among the Theros roster
Theros as a block leaned into a painterly, myth-inspired aesthetic, and Tymaret sits at a delightful intersection of art and function. Bağà’s character design feels classic yet distinct: the zombie-warrior look isn’t generic undead; it’s a warlord who could command a chorus of fallen soldiers and turn a graveyard into a battlefield. The card’s frame—late-2000s Black Border with the Theros treatment—preserves that sense of timeless legend while anchoring Tymaret in a mechanically modern space with two strong abilities that reward thoughtful play. For collectors and players who enjoy a narrative through-line in their decks, Tymaret offers a clear, thematic path from early aggression to late-game recursion, all while honoring the ritual feel of a plane that lives and breathes mythic drama 🧙♂️🔥.
Playability, deckbuilding, and commander culture
In terms of legality, Tymaret travels well through the eternal MTG metaverse: Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander are all in the mix, with a strong affinity for EDH players who lean into graveyard strategies. Its rarity—rare in Theros with a foil and nonfoil finish—means copies show up in a variety of price points, with foil variants typically carrying a small premium. The data hints at modest price stability, with nonfoil around a few dimes and foils holding a bit more value, reflecting both demand for the card in nostalgic formats and its utility in casual decks that love a good wallet-friendly reanimation plan. In practice, Tymaret shines in a deck that folds in sacrifice outlets (think creatures with “sacrifice” triggers or other cost-reducing sources), a few ways to recur Tymaret from the graveyard, and some board-control to keep the pressure on opponents while you refill your hand 🎲💎.
For players who relish the artful build, Tymaret pairs nicely with creatures that can be sac’d for meaningful effects, or with instant-speed disruption to ensure you’re the one dictating when Tymaret returns to hand. The land base should support both black and red, and you’ll want a few ways to generate value from your sacrifices—some of the most satisfying moments come when you sac a board-wide threat and immediately bring Tymaret back to hand to repeat the cycle. The card’s EDHREC ranking sits in a respectable, if not top-tier, lane—perfect for players who treasure flavor and consistency in equal measure 🧡🧡.
Collector’s mindshare and cross-promo vibes
Beyond the game table, Tymaret lives in the broader MTG culture as a quintessential Theros homage—the kind of card that invites collectors to admire the art, savor the lore, and test their recall of Greek-inspired mythic vibes. The Theros era was very much about legendary figures who walked between heroism and hubris, and Tymaret embodies that paradox with both mechanical punch and a memorable flavor hook. If you’re curating a Theros-inspired display or looking to pair your decks with a thematic desk companion, imagine a space where the bold lines of Tymaret’s art meet a thoughtfully designed work surface. Speaking of workspaces, fans who love the aesthetic can find a way to bring a bit of plane to their everyday setup with practical desk gear—a nod to the Theros vibe while keeping your battlestation battle-ready 🧙♂️💻.
If you’re exploring a nod to the mythic in your own life, consider picking up accessories that echo the style of your favorite planeswalker or legendary creature. The product listed below is a playful cross-promo that blends fantasy fandom with practical desk gear—a reminder that MTG culture isn’t only about the cards you play, but the space you play in. It’s all part of that larger fandom tapestry where art, strategy, and tabletop joy weave together in bright, memorable colors 🔮⚔️.