Lazotep QuarryHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

Lazotep Quarry offers three distinct functions. First, it provides colorless mana to your pool. Second, it acts as a sacrifice outlet, allowing you to turn a creature into one mana of any color. Finally, its most potent ability allows you to exile a creature card from your graveyard to create a 4/4 black Zombie token copy of that creature. This final ability requires you to sacrifice a Desert as part of the cost, making it a powerful tool for Desert-themed strategies.

Step-by-Step Resolution

To activate the recursion ability, you must first ensure it is your main phase and the stack is empty. You pay X plus two mana, tap Lazotep Quarry, and sacrifice a Desert (which can be the Quarry itself). You then choose a target creature card in your graveyard with mana value equal to X. Upon resolution, the card is exiled, and a token enters the battlefield. This token is a copy of the exiled card, but its base power and toughness are 4/4, its color is black, and its type is Zombie, regardless of what was printed on the original card.

Common Mistakes

Players often forget that the token's attributes are set during creation. The token is only a black Zombie; it loses all its original creature types (like Elf or Soldier) and original colors. However, it retains all abilities, such as Flying or Trample. Another common error involves mana value: if you copy a creature with X in its mana cost, that X is treated as 0 for the token's properties. Additionally, remember that you can only activate this recursion ability at sorcery speed, meaning you cannot use it to surprise a blocker during combat.

When to Play It

Lazotep Quarry is best utilized in graveyard-centric decks or Desert-themed archetypes. Because it can sacrifice itself to its own ability, it is never a dead draw in the late game. It is particularly effective for retriggering 'Enters the Battlefield' abilities, as the token copy will trigger those effects just like the original card would. Use it when you have a high-impact creature in the graveyard that can swing the game in your favor as a 4/4 Zombie.

Interaction examples

Mana Filtering with a Friend

Exotic Orchard

If you need a specific color of mana that Exotic Orchard cannot provide because of your opponents' lands, you can tap Lazotep Quarry and sacrifice a small creature. This allows you to add one mana of any color you need to cast your spells, effectively using the Quarry as a filter.

Eternalizing a Utility Creature

Command Tower

Suppose you have a creature with a powerful 'enters the battlefield' ability in your graveyard with mana value 2. During your main phase, you use Command Tower and other lands to pay four mana (X=2 plus the 2 mana cost). You tap and sacrifice Lazotep Quarry itself (since it is a Desert). You exile the creature card and create a 4/4 black Zombie token copy. The token enters the battlefield, and its 'enters the battlefield' ability triggers immediately.

Creating a Token Army

Copy

When you resolve the final ability of Lazotep Quarry, you use a Copy token to represent the new creature. Even if the original creature was a 1/1, the Copy token will be a 4/4 black Zombie. If another effect later tries to copy this token, the new copy will also be a 4/4 black Zombie, as these changes are part of the token's copiable values.