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Commander Nexus
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  3. Shadow, Mysterious Assassin

Command zone

Shadow, Mysterious Assassin

Shadow, Mysterious Assassin

Legendary Creature — Human Assassin

Shadow wants a deck that sacrifices its own creatures to drain opponents' life. It also works in a deck built around Assassins or Humans.

  • Mana cost2 genericblack
  • Black ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityRare

Deathtouch

Throw — Whenever Shadow deals combat damage to a player, you may sacrifice another nonland permanent. If you do, draw two cards and each opponent loses life equal to the mana value of the sacrificed permanent.

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Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Shadow, Mysterious Assassin

Picked for what they do in Shadow's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Shadow's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

Does what Shadow, Mysterious Assassin does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Shadow, Mysterious Assassin

explain how Shadow works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 6 Jun 2025

If a permanent has {X} in its mana cost, X is 0 for the purpose of determining its mana value.

Wizards of the Coast 6 Jun 2025

Use the mana value of the sacrificed permanent as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how much life each opponent loses.

2 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Shadow, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.AristocratsAristocrats decks sacrifice their own creatures on purpose and profit every time one dies, often by draining life from each opponent. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you like, decides when that happens.Open the Aristocrats pageLife DrainAn opponent loses life and you gain that life from the same effect. Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat. It lets Aristocrats decks win without ever attacking. Every drain card is also tagged Life Gain; this tag is the part where the life comes out of somebody.Open the Life Drain pageDrawDraws you extra cards. More cards means more choices every turn, and in a 100-card deck it is the main way to find the pieces you need. Rhystic Study, SkullclampOpen the Draw pageSaboteurTriggers when a creature deals combat damage to a player, so the reward comes from connecting rather than from the damage itself. Evasion makes these far more reliable. Ragavan, Nimble PilfererOpen the Saboteur page