Zilliax

Zilliax Card

Zilliax is a 5 Mana Cost Legendary Neutral Minion Mech card from the The Boomsday Project set!

Card Text

Magnetic Divine Shield, Taunt, Lifesteal, Rush

Flavor Text

Everything but the kitchen sink. Oh wait, there's one on his back.

Zilliax Card Review

Very hard to rate, but also incredibly interesting. It’s like a Chillblade Champion on steroids (you pay 1 mana for Taunt, Divine Shield and a Mech tag with Magnetize, but it has Rush instead of Charge – which honestly is not that big of a deal, since most of the time you want to trade because of the Divine Shield anyway), or a mini-Al'Akir the Windlord given how many keywords it does have.

I’ve mentioned before that both of the options (standalone card and Magnetize) need to be at least okay by themselves in order to see play in Constructed, thanks to the added flexibility. And this card seems to pass that test. By itself, it’s a 3/2 minion with Divine Shield, Lifesteal, Rush and Taunt. Which means that you can play it, clear some small minion (like a 2/3 or 3/3), get some healing and force an answer. It will often be a 2 for 1 which also heals you.

If Deathstalker Rexxar has taught me anything, then Lifesteal and Rush is a powerful combination in lots of matchups. Having the ability to immediately heal and still leave a minion that can heal you further on the board is massive. After the initial heal, your opponent still has to deal with it if he doesn’t want you to heal more. Silence is the best option, but not always available. Given that it has Taunt, it can’t just be ignored. It will often eat another removal, or possibly a minion trade and thus heal again. So I’d say that it’s okay card to drop by itself, even if you don’t Magnetize. It’s not amazing, but there are situations in which it will be a good T5 play even without a Mech on the board.

But the Magnetize part is the biggest selling point of this card. Imagine a 5 mana spell which would read “Give a minion +3/+2, Divine Shield, Lifesteal, Rush and Taunt”. It would be nuts. This one works only on Mechs, since it’s Magnetize, but if you play a Mech deck, then it’s not a big deal anyway. If you have even a mid-sized Mech body on the board already (and if you play a Mech deck, you should often have one), you can buff it, give it a free trade thanks to the Divine Shield, heal yourself up and then end up with a big Taunt on the board.

Thanks to the Rush part, it’s also perfectly viable to play a mid-range Mech and Magnetize Zilliax into it immediately, because it will gain Rush. Normally that kind of combo is too slow, because you can’t do anything immediately. But let’s even say that a 7 mana Upgradeable Framebot + this guy is a 4/7 minion with Lifesteal, Rush, Divine Shield and Taunt. It immediately heals for 4, takes no damage from the trade and then leaves a 4/7 Taunt with Lifesteal behind. That can be an immediate win in some aggressive matchups, and it’s not even that hard to pull off.

While Silence and single target removals would still be good against it, no matter what you buff, you can always guarantee some initial value. So even if the Magnetized buff gets Silenced after you already killed something, well, at least it wasn’t useless.

On top of everything, it’s a massive Corpsetaker activator if you’d want to play Corpsetakers in your Mech deck. Honestly, I don’t think that it would go into a non-Mech deck just to buff the Corpsetaker, but then again, people have played Stormwatcher just to give it Windfury, so that’s that. Still, the only deck running Corpsetaker right now is Even Shaman, and Even Shaman can’t run this one. But the synergy is there if you want to try it out. It also synergizes with Countess Ashmore for what it’s worth, a card that I suspect might see more play in the Boomsday or third expansion of the Standard year (because there will be more good cards to pull out with her).

So all in all, I think that this will be a great card in Midrange and slower Mech decks. Playable by itself (only okay, but that should be enough) and a great Magnetic buff. It has multiple synergies with other cards too. If Mechs will go full Aggro, though, I think that it will be too slow and clunky. Lifesteal is a big part of this card in slower decks, but not as useful in Aggro. Outside of Mech decks, it might also see some play in non-Even Corpsetaker deck, if that thing will exist. Oh, and maybe Rush Warrior? Even without Mechs, it might be okay thanks to the Rush synergies of the deck. But the deck would need some more support first.

Card rating: 8/10

P.S. In the Wild format, you can do some crazy combos with this card. Since it’s possible to play Glinda Crowskin + 5x Mechwarper on the same turn, you can make this card free, while giving it Echo. Then you can buff your Mechs as many times you can, which results in basically a full board clear (because you give all of them Rush and lots of stats) and a MASSIVE board. While Glinda + Mechwarpers was a combo already, there was really no way to abuse it to that extent, since you would run out of board space very quickly. But with buffs, you should be able to buff all of your Mechs twice or even three times before your turn timer runs out, creating a board that is impossible to clear without a massive AoE such as Twisting NetherPsychic Scream etc. Of course, you can do the same thing with other Magnetize mechs, but the fact that this will heal you to full and clear the board + put Divine Shield and Taunt on everything likely makes it the best candidate.

Zilliax Full Card Art

Zilliax Full Art

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37 Comments

  1. Takkke3
    November 23, 2021 at 9:16 am

    may be one of the best and most fun cards ever printed. Even though it was powerful it was not broken

  2. Pseudo
    April 4, 2020 at 1:47 am

    Lol was op, cya zilliax.

  3. OlafBiggles
    July 29, 2018 at 12:04 pm

    When played with magnetgmic with Sonya Shadowcaster on board, will this generate a 1/1 copy? It seems like it should.

    • SwoleLord
      August 2, 2018 at 11:32 am

      I’m going to say no since I don’t believe the interaction destroys the other mech

  4. LoneWolf
    July 25, 2018 at 8:27 am

    Pocket Al’Akir for all classes, and has crazy potential due to Magnetic. Why not?

  5. hah
    July 25, 2018 at 1:48 am

    OH, one more Warlock OTK haha

  6. Vociferous
    July 21, 2018 at 8:18 am

    Gonna be ubiquitous. Rush Warrior essential, but this crosses metas and classes.

    Solid tempo swing with magnetic builds, we’ll see a LOT of Zilliax.

  7. Kapy
    July 20, 2018 at 1:43 pm

    Comparing it to Paladins new card annoy-o-module this seems a bit worse but if you need heal it’s obviously great!

  8. Brian
    July 19, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    Good with corpsetaker, horrible stats, could be a good buff card…. a little costly. First card of this set so far that all I can think is that I don’t really know what to think. I’ll have to see it in actual viable play.

  9. BoooZee
    July 19, 2018 at 10:28 am

    Crap mechanic from what i can see, in wild in a world of mechwarpers sure, but standard we will have to see if they print something really broken but i doubt it.. if this was charge now we are talking some fun otk combo stuff in wild but standard aven if this had charge it would have little impact, chances are your minion is already on the board. I’m confused blizzard.

  10. Crapcrack
    July 19, 2018 at 1:23 am

    Wow, this card has tons of synergies

  11. Grenga23
    July 18, 2018 at 8:25 pm

    no one else going to mention this guy+ omega defender is 30 dmg otk…….. druid ramp mech deck could just deal 30 on turn 4 or even 3 with god hand……. biology project, biology project, wild growth…. pass turn, nourish…. pass turn, zill+omega defender! t3 kill

    • Grenga23
      July 18, 2018 at 8:27 pm

      wait, rush, not charge, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip

      • Grenga23
        July 18, 2018 at 8:27 pm

        “spoils 1 mana mech with charge”

      • CD001
        July 19, 2018 at 4:30 am

        … and Omega Defender isn’t a Mech but even if it was, this doesn’t have Windfury so you’re looking at 15 damage rather than 30.

        • Grenga23
          July 23, 2018 at 11:13 am

          Yeah i was half asleep so i failed completely on that comment, even though omega defender looks like a giant freaking robot

  12. Flosipoposi
    July 18, 2018 at 1:29 am

    Shadowboxer nerf incoming

  13. Motley Shao
    July 18, 2018 at 12:41 am

    Thaurissan+Crowskin+five Mechwarpers+Treachery on Wrathguard+ten Zilliaxs on a Mechwarper+hit Wrathguard=Victory

    • Blorp
      July 24, 2018 at 1:41 pm

      Glinda + Mechwarper + Treachery + Wrathguard = 6 + (2 + 1) + 3 + 2 = 14
      You need Thaurissan on each of those cards once, because the Mechwarper discount will only work on the first one.
      After Thaurissan:
      5 + (1 + 1) + 2 + 1 = 10
      If you have both Mechwarpers in hand, you can either do the combo at 9 mana or play Thaurissan with one piece of the combo missing.
      Zilliax doesn’t need any reduction.

  14. JanseBasse
    July 18, 2018 at 12:28 am

    If magnetic catches on, Spellbreaker will be just as popular as it was in the beginning of the Kobolds meta. Probably two of in half the decks.

  15. Jed
    July 17, 2018 at 5:38 pm

    Damn it I dusted my corspetakers after wickerflame rotated.

    Seems ok 3/5

  16. billius
    July 17, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    meet corpsetaker’s dad

  17. Mill shaman
    July 17, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    If you opponent froze your mech, and you apply this as a buff to that mech, does the rush overpower the freeze, or it it blocked from attacking minions

    • Soup And Salad
      July 17, 2018 at 4:39 pm

      Freeze makes it so the next time a minion would normally be able to attack, it will be unable to. You can see this by comparing what happens when you freeze your own minions with cards like Cryostasis before and after they attack.
      As such, applying Rush to a frozen minion wouldn’t get rid of the Freeze. However, it should allow a mech frozen as it is played (Let’s say it’s a secret’s effect that did it), to attack on your next turn rather than the turn after next as would normally happen.

  18. Nope
    July 17, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    I don’t like it. It’s slightly better than Ghostly Charger and should be playable but I can only think of this as a control card for now.

    • Soup And Salad
      July 17, 2018 at 4:44 pm

      If it were just the minion, I would largely agree with you. However, the magnetic aspect of the card makes it a very good midrange option seeing how playable midgame buffs like Blessing of Kings, Tinker’s Sharp Sword Oil, and Spikeridge Stead are or have been.

  19. sek
    July 17, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    Looks like the hearthstone version of an affinity-theme (MTG)

    • MaskedRiderJ
      July 17, 2018 at 9:08 pm

      How i miss the mirrodin days

  20. Umbreomancer
    July 17, 2018 at 3:07 pm

    Petition to change its name to “Al’Akir the Mini-Mech-lord”

    • RAGNAROS
      July 21, 2018 at 5:11 pm

      Al who like this idea say aye!
      aye aye aye

  21. DukeStarswisher
    July 17, 2018 at 1:00 pm

    This card alone is the reason Omega defender is not a mech. Good call.

  22. Soup And Salad
    July 17, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    I doubt there will be a mech deck that won’t play this. The effects on their own are almost worth the 5 mana and the +3/+2 stat buff pushes it over the edge from playable to must include.
    It’s not awful when played on five as a minion either since I think Chillblade Champion saw some play at some point and that card would be three times as playable if it had Divine Shield.

    I don’t want to say this card by itself will make Magnetic decks good in the coming format, but the mechanic is off to a good start given what we’ve seen thus far.

  23. MilesTegF
    July 17, 2018 at 11:50 am

    Seems like a good card to me, it’s like Corpsetaker but with rush instead of windfury and usable as a buff on mechs. (Also without the problem that corpsetaker sometimes doesn’t have all the attributes depending on which cards you already draw from your deck). I think this card will probably be VERY good in some mech decks but still is to early to say for sure.

  24. GlosuuLang
    July 17, 2018 at 11:16 am

    This… looks pretty powerful. Especially as a buff. Also, increases Countess Ashmore synergy. I’m giving it 4/5.

  25. sek
    July 17, 2018 at 11:02 am

    Looks like “The Dark Knight” will be in a lot of decklists next expansion.

  26. Malogro
    July 17, 2018 at 10:48 am

    This make Countess Ashmore look better.

  27. RDUNeil
    July 17, 2018 at 10:22 am

    Zilliax and Wargear in the same set, meaning that turn five is going to be a potential huge swing turn for the mech deck. If they stick a mech from turn four, it is likely to be, at a minium +5/+5 on attacking next turn… or everything above.

    Killing whatever they play from turn four onward becomes an essential tempo challenge, potentially way more swingy than Bonemare? hmmmm…