Pointed Discussion

The flavor is that after he kills something he chops it up for sustenance. So, if he kills them, not if he deals damage.

It's a shame that Butcher's Cleaver doesn't do more with this guy. :P

Nasty artwork.

Innistrad has pretty much the most disturbing and most awesome artwork of any set ever.

Interesting take on Lifelink flavorwise. Disturbing artwork is also a plus.

So excited for this set :)

"Abattoir" is a French word for a slaughterhouse. And now you know.

First Strike seals the deal

Combine it with Death Baron and Zombie Master

I was stomped by this card in one match of the prerelease tournament. My opponent had equipped him with an Inquisitor's Flail, and I simply couldn't draw my second blue mana for Claustrophobia. Skaab's were falling left and right, he was gaining life, it was a bad scene. I was eventually able to smite the ghoul with a Harvest Pyre, but by then it was too late.

"Fresh meat!"

NASTY ARTWORK & FRESH MEAT

Nice in limited, in constructed.. meh, for a zombie tribal he is ok but not awesome.

Abattoir, the Last Airbender

I'm so happy Wizards finally grew a couple and started accepting badass art again. It was the original thrulls that attracted me to magic so many years ago. I’m glad that they have begun to again explore the gruesome and disturbed side of fantasy.

Sheoldred, Whispering One attacks. Abattoir Ghoul blocks. Abattoir Ghoul deals first strike damage. Kill Sheoldred with Go for the Throat. This is an example of a scenario where Abattoir Ghoul's ability is better than lifegain.

Do mind that normally, lifegain is better because it works when the creature damages players and X/1 creatures. This card is good - and in the Zombie tribe - but he's no Knight of Meadowgrain.

A surprisingly good blocker.

This thing is monstrous in limited. He eats up all the early game creatures or smacks the opponent up side the head for 3 damage every turn. With all the ways to get back zombies from the graveyard in Innistrad, the nightmare could be a recurring one for your opponent.

Oh no its the butcher from Diablo!

He probably dropped Butcher's Cleaver when he 'died'

This guy shuts down the ground in sealed/limited for the early turns.

Very interesting (and creepy) card. I was going to comment on how creature-based lifegain in was becoming more common lately, but a Gatherer search proved me wrong - I was surprised about how much there actually is.

Flavourwise, with a vampire, say, you could argue that the life the player gains is because of some kind of link with your minion. With the Abbatoir Ghoul, though, it seems like the zombie is literally feeding his kill to the planeswalker! Shiverworthy, but undeniably cool. =)

YUMMY YUMY FROM THE SJIK SJIK GET IT HAHAHA GOO GOO

They forgot ": Play Dismember from your hand without paying its mana cost."

If there's anyone who could do that, it's this guy.

Perfect candidate for Deadly Allure.

I witnessed a game where two of these guys were attacking, and were both blocked by a 7/7 that could block an additional creature. So, there was going to be a total of 6 first strike damage against a 7 toughness. But before damage was assigned, the controller of the Abattoir Ghouls gave them +1/+1. The 7/7 died, each ghoul's ability triggered, and the player got 14 life. It was pretty cool. Glad it wasn't my game :)

Limited = above average.

Constructed = useless.

2/5

In limited, this would be a high pick. Creatures in general are welcome in that format, and something with a couple of useful abilities and isn't even overcosted would be great. However, In constructed, a zombie would generally go into a zombie deck, but this card makes no sense for a zombie deck. Its too slow, and first strike and life gain are not good for a zombie deck. Plus, although I generally don't complain about the color pie, does anyone else feel that this card is more white than black?

@Chamale, up above:

Sheoldred, the Whispering One attacks. You control an Abattoir Ghoul and you're preparing to play Go For the Throat. Given this information, you're almost certainly running Swamps; and given that information, Sheoldred is unblockable because she has Swampwalk. Maybe a different creature would be better fit for your example—perhaps Ludevic's Abomination?

I just noticed, his ability is reminiscent of Sengir Vampire/Baron Sengir/Krovikan Vampire-style activation.

Except this is : AMAZING colour weight for limited.

Adding First Strike? "Jeez guys, I don't think this is good enough". It really seals the deal.

Death Baron and 4 of this guy.


"TIME TO GET BLUTTED!"

Noooooooo Butcher I don't want that human meat... Bleeggggggh... STOPPPPPP

Butcher force feed you chop up meat.

This guy just doesn't have the efficiency for Constructed, but this is definitely one of the most flavourful cards I've seen in a long time.

Abattoir is another word for 'slaughterhouse', and that sets the tone of this zombie well. Normally I'd feel that this is a little too brutal for a regular set, but it fits the horror plane of Innistrad perfectly.

I know it might sound strange, but I like this guy better as a 3/2 than I would as a 3/3. First Strike is a wonderful ability, and it never feels more satisfying than it does when it's on a top-heavy creature.

Just think about it. This guy is just like every other 2/2 zombie, except for one thing. He's got that massive butcher's knife! Longer range weapons are often shown in Magic as giving a creature First Strike and some sort of +X/+0 bonus. Having these things built into a creature is a cool idea, and I think it works well here.

Although many players will insist that Lifelink is a White ability, you have to remember that methods and results are two very different things. While White creatures will use Lifelink in a healing context, Black creatures almost always use them parasitically.

Somehow, having a zombie cut up a body is creepier than just having the same zombie devour it in a frenzy. Maybe it's because the butcher zombie seems more human in his actions, and therefore more like a psychopath and less like an animal?

It's cards like this that give Innistrad its atmosphere. Wonderful design.

just an observation to Chamale's idea, if you control Abattoir Ghoul, you probally have a swamp, in which case you couldn't block Sheoldred...

After taking out an opposing creature, he carves you up some delicious monster steak.

This guy is the archenemy of Zzzyxas.