Lazotep

The Necromantic Mineral

Lazotep is a rare and magical mineral native to the desert plane of Amonkhet. It is highly prized for its unique and powerful interaction with necromancy, serving as a core component in the creation of specialized undead.

Physical Characteristics & Harvesting: Lazotep is a blue-hued substance found in mines, often giving off a distinct glint that attracts desert predators like drakes. On Amonkhet, it was the primary material used in the complex embalming process designed to preserve the "worthy" dead for the afterlife.

The Creation of Eternals: The most infamous use of lazotep was orchestrated by Nicol Bolas, who subverted Amonkhet’s culture to produce a tireless, undead fighting force known as Eternals. Unlike standard mindless zombies, creatures embalmed in lazotep retain the combat skills, intelligence, and physical prowess they possessed in life. The mineral coating removes "disadvantages" common to the living, such as emotion, hesitation, or disloyalty, resulting in perfect, elite soldiers.

Ravnica has a traumatic history with this mineral; during the War of the Spark, the city was invaded by Bolas’s army the Dreadhorde who were coated in lazotep. The mineral allowed these invaders to be transported across planes and maintained their deadly efficiency during the siege.

Some lazotep may be found in remnants of that invasion or through the Ravnica Expedition Corp's ongoing multiversal research. For example, the Golgari Swarm has revived a lazotep-covered jackal zombie named Twinless to serve as their official envoy to the REC, specifically to study the necromantic properties of other worlds. Individuals should treat any lazotep-coated entity as a high-threat combatant significantly more dangerous than a typical zombie.