| Zombies | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Realm |
 Death | |
| ||
| Upkeep Cost | None | |
| ||
| # of Figures |
 6 | |
| Moves |
 1 | |
| Melee Attack per figure |
 4 | |
| Defense per figure |
 3 | |
| Resistance |
 3 | |
| Hit Points per figure |
 3 | |
| ||
|
 Death Immunity | ||
Zombies are a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. Zombies belong to the Death Realm, and may be created through the Zombie Mastery spell. Zombies are very basic Death creatures, and have fairly low combat attributes. However, they do possess all of the immunities common to Death creatures, and are often still stronger than the low-tier Normal Units from which they are usually created.
Zombies have no Upkeep Costs whatsoever, and will remain in play even if the enchantment that raised them is removed.
The Fantastic Unit[]
Physical Description[]
Zombies are some of the most famous fantastic creatures. They are simply reanimated humanoid corpses, shambling to and fro, driven by their hunger for mortal flesh (and, occasionally, grey matter). Their decomposing bodies are often intimidating, and they possess surprising strength. However they lack virtually any intelligence, and are simply puppets in the hands of their creator.
Zombies are a Multi-Figure Unit containing up to 6 of these creatures.
Attack Properties[]
Zombies possess only a straight-forward, mediocre Melee Attack. Each Zombie attacks with a strength of 4, and enjoys a 
+10% To Hit bonus. The average "raw" 
damage from one Zombie's attack is therefore around 1.6 – not too bad, but not impressive either. Of course, with 6 Zombies attacking in unison, this can still be dangerous to low-tier enemy units.
Defensive Properties[]
Zombies have a low Defense score of only 3, making them vulnerable to virtually any physical attack. They will deflect an average of about 0.9 from Conventional Damage sources. However, they are considerably more durable than most low-tier Normal Units, with 3 Hit Points per Zombie. This makes them a little sturdier than the units from which they are normally made.
Like most other creatures from the Death Realm, Zombies do possess a variety of other immunities: 
Poison Immunity, 
Illusions Immunity, 
Cold Immunity, and 
Death Immunity. These render them completely invulnerable to a wide array of Unit Curses and Special Damage attacks. However, in situations where they do not apply, Zombies have the worst Resistance score in the game: 3. They can easily be afflicted with any maledictions that their immunities do not cover. In fact, this score is so low that some effects will automatically affect and/or destroy the Zombies without any chance of survival.
Other Properties[]
Zombies are as slow as one might expect. They move at a rate of 1, both on the overland map and during battle. As a result, they cannot make any fancy maneuvers during combat, and are exceptionally vulnerable to Ranged Attacks. As with most other Death creatures, Zombies do not heal naturally, nor can they be healed by magic or abilities, with the sole exception being the 
Regeneration spell. Despite the logical assumption, Zombies are not considered to be 
Undead (as the game defines this term) – they are simply Fantastic Creatures of the Death Realm.
Basic Tactics[]
Zombies are some of the crudest tools on the battlefield. They typically serve no function other than to absorb damage and, if possible, attack the enemy in Melee Combat. Their slow movement speed and lack of any special abilities mean that they simply cannot fill any other role. As such, Zombies often perform best when they can gang up on an enemy unit. Then again, if the target is powerful enough, it may be able of take out several units of Zombies without suffering any damage at all.
Enemy Zombies[]
Although Wizards require the Rare Zombie Mastery spell to create Zombies, these creatures are among the most common neutral units in the game. They are often found in Encounter Zones such as Ancient Temples, Fallen Temples, or Ruins, and occasionally even in Towers of Wizardry. They frequently appear in large groups of at least 3 Zombie units, and may be accompanied by other Death creatures of any tier.
Zombies are on par with experienced low-tier Normal Units, and should be treated as such. They pose no real threat to strong Melee Attack units, and can often be destroyed easily with Ranged Attacks and/or spells. Their low Resistance score makes them extremely susceptible to any source of Special Damage that is not blocked by their immunities, along with a few Unit Curses.
Ability Overview[]
+10% To Hit[]
- This unit has an extra 10% chance to hit its target with every die of its Attack Rolls. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more Damage with each attack it makes.
Poison Immunity[]
- This unit cannot be hurt by Poison Damage. It will automatically pass any Resistance roll to avert such damage.
Illusions Immunity[]
- Illusion Damage inflicted on this unit does not bypass its Armor. The unit gets to make its Defense Rolls as normal.
- During combat, this unit will spot all enemy Invisible creatures regardless of how close they are. Those creatures become semi-visible on the screen, and may be targeted by spells like any other unit.
- This unit may not be targeted by Mind Storm, Confusion, Creature Binding, or Vertigo.
Cold Immunity[]
- This unit is considered to have a Defense score of 50 against Cold Damage. It will almost never be hurt by the Ice Bolt and Ice Storm spells.
Death Immunity[]
Creating Zombies[]
- Main article: Zombie Mastery
Zombies are amongst the very few Fantastic Units that are not summoned by a Summoning Spell. Instead, they are created from the dead corpses of Normal Units that fell in battle under the effect of the Rare Zombie Mastery Global Enchantment. While this spell is active, any Normal Unit that dies during a battle involving the caster's armies is reanimated at the end of the battle – assuming that the caster's army is victorious. This happens to both friendly and enemy units alike. However, instead of turning into Undead units, the fallen are raised as Zombies.
The original unit's attributes are almost entirely ignored during this transformation. The new Zombies have all of the combat properties and abilities described above in this article, and none of those possessed by the unit they are created from. The only exception to this rule, likely resulting from a programming oversight, is weapon quality – if the original unit had 
Magical, 
Mithril, or 
Adamantium weapons, they are inherited by the new Zombies unit, despite the fact that Fantastic Creatures can't normally have these.
The unit will also have exactly 6 figures, even if the original unit had a different amount. Thus, even a Catapult would be brought back as a unit of 6 Zombies. While they ought to be created with full health, they will occasionally have a small amount of recorded damage. This is caused by the original unit having fewer than 3 per 
figure, which can confuse the game. Fortunately, the maximum amount they can start with is only 2, which is not a significant impact.
Zombies have no Upkeep Costs, regardless of whether the original unit had any. They also do not depend on the spell that created them, and will remain in play even if Zombie Mastery is removed or dispelled by an opponent. On the other hand, as Fantastic Creatures, Zombies can not gain 
Experience, and will also lose whatever benefits they may have gained from it before.