The first zombie token on this list actually doesn't correspond to a specific card that creates zombie tokens. Instead, Christopher Rush's cartoony art in the oval-shaped frame in the top left is one of six promotional tokens from the silver-bordered parody set Unglued, released in 1998. This was more than two years after the release of the first card to create a zombie token: Feast or Famine, a "choose one" spell, whose token-creating half is the significantly less powerful mode of the two. For reference, the other five tokens in that Unglued group are the extremely common Red Goblin (29 sets, 14 unique art printings) and White Soldier (29 and 12), and the significantly less so Green Squirrel (4 and 4), White Pegasus (2 and 2), and Green Sheep (printed only the one time). Keep in mind, these numbers that I've been citing only refer to sets that include printed tokens as part of their promo materials, so they don't paint the full picture of how many Magic cards create these tokens. To paint said picture as far as zombie tokens are concerned: a whopping 69 unique cards generate them, which is actually just second-most in Magic's history, behind the 73 cards that produce 1/1 Green Saprolings.
The next wave of printed tokens weren't included in a particular Magic set, but were given out as part of the Magic Player Rewards program from 2001 through 2004. Despite this fact, these tokens - the only ones printed with the classic card frame, and the only ones with flavor text - did have expansion symbols in the "type" line. Dana Knutson's zombie token (top middle) features Odyssey expansion symbol, indicating that this particularly smelly token corresponds to the card Zombie Infestation, an enchantment that lets you convert spare cards in your hand into zombie tokens on the battlefield. Tenth Edition was the first set to include tokens in booster packs, which means that the token with Carl Critchlow's Viking-inspired illustration (top right) goes with the card Midnight Ritual, a reprint from Mercadian Masques. Magic 2010 was the first core set to feature new cards, including the combination lord and token-generator Cemetery Reaper, which got its own corresponding emaciated-looking token illustrated by Bud Cook (bottom middle).
Zombies are so integral to both the strategy and the aesthetic of the gothic horror-themed set Innistrad that three distinct zombie tokens were included in its booster packs, the first ever token type to receive multiple unique art printings in the same set. This makes sense, given that Innistrad earneda new record with five cards that make zombie tokens - plus three more in Dark Ascension and one more in Avacyn Restored, back when the three-sets-to-a-block paradigm was in effect. In fact, the art on the first of these tokens - the stringy-haired knock-kneed shrieker emerging from a bog (top left) - has the distinction of being not just the most-reprinted zombie, but the most-reprinted token in Magic's history. Lucas Graciano's iconic illustration has been printed in 14 different sets, including compilation sets (such as Modern Masters series) and re-releases (such as the Commander Anthology). The only other zombie arts to be printed more than twice overall are the above mentioned M10 Bud Cook token and Craig J Spearing's zombie from the second block to take place in Innistrad (more on that one later).
The chained-up bald dude on the Khans of Tarkir token (bottom left) was the first new art zombie to be printed on the updated card frame. However, since this new visual style was adopted for the Magic 2015 core set, the first ever zombie token to reflect this change had art by, you guessed it, Lucas Graciano. From top to bottom, some of the notable changes are: the bar with the name of the token extends across the entire width of the card, the art window is no longer rounded at the bottom, the designation "Token" has been added in front of "Creature" on the type line, and the collector's number, copyright information, and artist's name (in this case, Wayne Reynolds) are printed on a solid black background. Moving to the end of the above image, the floating hedrons in Kev Walker's art for the Oath of the Gatewatch zombie token (bottom right) distinctly set it in the plane of Zendikar.
The top half of this new image contains all the zombie tokens from Magic's second trip to Innistrad, the two-set block Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon. Although SOI actually had more zombie-creating cards than EMN (by a slim 7-to-6 margin), the second set in the block was the second such set to receive three distinct zombie tokens. This could be because the storyline of Eldritch Moon flips the usual script regarding zombies: instead of being depicted as a mindless horde seeking to devour as many brains as possible, they are allies of humanity, serving as tools for the necromantic planeswalker Liliana Vess to battle an otherworldly threat to the entire plane. It's nice to see the undead playing the part of protagonist, a tradition continued in the soon-to-be-console-bound Divinity: Original Sin II.
If you look closely at the bottom left of the picture, you'll see a fourth token with the Eldritch Moon expansion symbol. That's because I mistakenly included Daarken's token with variable power and toughness created by the artifact Soul Separator. I would go back and change it, but as I mentioned, that was a screenshot made using the website magiccards.info, which has been taken over by scryfall.com, which is superior in most ways, except I haven't figured out how to print proxies with quite as much versatility. If anybody can teach me the finer points of manipulating image_uris properties, please let me know in the comments. Finishing things off, Core Set 2019 is the third core set to boast a new art zombie token (bottom right), this one illustrated by Scott Canavan.
While the 2/2 Black Zombie token is by far the most numerous, it is not the only type of zombie token in Magic's history. Starting from the top left, there's a multicolored zombie, the blue and black zombie wizard created by Lich Lord of Unx from the Alara Reborn expansion. There's a giant zombie, created by Quest for the Gravelord from Zendikar (but reprinted twice after that). There's a zombie that's also an enchantment, courtesy of Forlorn Pseudamma from Born of the Gods. The first variable power/toughness zombie, made by Ritual of the Return from Journey into Nyx, showcases the Greek mythology-themed Theros block's take on the undead needing to forge golden masks if they wish to return to the world of the living.
The only blue zombie token also has variable power and toughness, this one created by Stitcher Geralf, one of the most popular characters on Innistrad - the plane, not the set, as this version of the character only appears in Commander 2014. As if zombies weren't scary enough on their own, there's a zombie that's also a horror, made by the evocatively-named Corpseweft from Dragons of Tarkir. It turns out Liliana is not the only member of the Vess family adept at making zombies, as her undead brother Josu creates zombie knights with menace (which are functionally equivalent to the pirates from Ixalan). And then there are the series of white-aligned zombie tokens from Amonkhet, the Egyptian mythology-themed set, whose Embalm mechanic reminds us that mummies are really just a cultural subset of zombies (except of course for the Unhinged joke card Working Stiff).
Wow, that certainly was a lot to say about zombies! And I didn't even get into George A. Romero, or debating fast vs. slow! Next time, we'll delve more into some high fantasy fare!
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