The rabies virus is the type species for the genus Lyssavirus (which basically means that when biologists were formulating the genus, this species was chosen as a template, in this case probably because of its significance to human health). The virus infects the central nervous systems of mammals (it incubates in muscle tissue before spreading to the nervous system). Humans commonly contract the disease when bitten by infected wild animals. This happens because the saliva of an infected mammal contains a significant amount of the virus. Contact with the saliva of infected mammals generally doesn't transmit the disease if the saliva doesn't break the skin. There have also been cases of infections in humans from organ transplants. If left untreated, infection is often fatal. Bats are the main reservoir for rabies and generally tolerate infection moreso than other mammals. Often, although not in all cases, humans and other mammals with brains damaged by rabies become confused and enraged. This can help the virus to spread, as these victims are more likely to bite other animals. This rage is the most famous characteristic of rabies. In fact, the word “rabies” comes from the Latin word for “rage.” Other symptoms of the disease include paralysis, hallucinations, hydrophobia, and insomnia. Also, there's the whole “dying a horrible death” part. But for the humble wombat, a squat marsupial normally content to burrow through soil and gnaw on plants, rabies synergizes with magical auras. Weird, right? I mean, who knew? Deadly brain virus that kills most mammals turns wombats into powerful monsters, apparently. Magic: how does it work?
The combination of “rage disease” and “chubby marsupial” for a Magic card is actually quite clever. I mean, rabies is a terrible disease that kills tens of thousands of people every year in the real world. Wombats are fat and not particularly intimidating in the real world. No one would be interested in a “Rabid Bat” or a “Grey Wombat.” But somehow, “Rabid Wombat” is just the right amount of silliness without actually being an Unglued card. So yeah, I can poke fun at the notion that viral destruction of a mammalian nervous system is supposed to have anything to do with enchantments, but that sort of thing has been all over the game from the beginning. And that's fine. Crushing opponents with my diseased marsupial (uh, I hope that's not a euphemism for anything) is more fun than watching generic sword-wielding hero #45 charge in for the kill. So even if Rabid Wombat wasn't as good as generic sword-wielding hero #45, I'd still expect to see Rabid Wombat pop up in casual play because dammit, it's a rabid wombat. It's rabid. It's a wombat. It has rabies. It carries its young in a pouch. It eats grass. It is foaming at the mouth and is going to kill, kill, kill. What more do you want? It gets better, though. Rabid Wombat isn't the most broken creature ever printed, but its aura-boosting ability is pretty good and well worth either building a deck around or including in a deck that uses lots of auras.
