Sure, it looks like it'd be amazing, but it can
only exist in play if you're at 12 or lower, and
even then, if you're at 12, this is a 1/1 for 1.
I don't doubt that there's combos with it-- for
example it'd be good in a deck with Dark
Confidant or Phyrexian Arena-- but you should
make sure you have some such combos before
simply throwing this in your deck. Not only is
this not an effective one-drop, it doesn't even
become relevant at all until the late game.
One of the most interesting cards I've seen
in a long time. A superbly executed design that
seems like it could have been a creature from
Ravenloft or some other old-school Dungeons and
Dragons book? Check. A part of a combo which, as
Jacob Van Lunen showed last week, can take an
opponent from 16 to zero in one turn? Check. A
reminder that while Death in the tarot deck has
figurative meanings, in other situations it's
much more literal? That's a big check.
Magic the Gathering Card of the day: Death’ s
Shadow
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day
is an Interesting black creature from Worldwake.
For one black mana you get a 13/13 creature,
besides being nigh ridiculous stats the card is
black so there is a downside. Death’s shadow
gets –X/-X where X is your life total. Wow a big
catch for the small mana cost this card is
better late game, It lacks evasion so it’s not
the greatest finisher as it can be chump blocked
over and over. In standard this card is
interesting but doesn’t fill too many deck gapes
in the powerhouse constructed format, you could
put it in a deck with Platinum Angel though this
is too expensive and fragile to see play outside
of casual. There currently isn’t a powerful deck
in any competitive format, standard, eternal or
extended that this card would see play as it is
inefficient and does not have a set power level.
In casual and multiplayer this card is fun
combine with life loss cards and bash face,
combine with Platinum Angel or better yet
Worship, a lot of hilarious and powerful options
are open to players. In limited this card
becomes a huge beater the lower your life,
having a creature dependent on your life total
and there by dependent on an opponent is never a
good thing although this card could swing till
they run out of chump blockers its lack of
evasion hurts this card.
Today's card of the day is Death's Shadow which
is only the second creature to be printed in a
black border with a power and toughness as high
as thirteen, but with a converted mana cost of
nine less than the previous example of Krosan
Cloudscraper. (Autochthon Wurm also has fourteen
toughness, but costs fifteen mana and has
Trample, Convoke, and no direct penalty beyond
the mana cost.) That power comes with a price as
it often does with Black as it requires your
life total to be quite low before it can even
remain in play. With no evasion or protective
ability this just isn't a creature likely to
stand on their own merits, but there is some
potential with combinations that can open up
possibilities. Morbid Bloom would give you
thirteen Saproling tokens and Dead Reckoning can
destroy nearly any creature in the game. A large
number of cards also benefit when a creature is
sent to the graveyard and Death's Shadow would
count for that as well if played just to go to
the graveyard, but a creature with an optional
sacrifice or an actual removal spell would offer
more value.
For Constructed, Casual, and Multiplayer this
can be a bit of a fun card, but one with almost
no direct playability. Being entirely dependent
on either dramatically low life can work with a
few cards such as a Platinum Angel, Ali From
Cairo, Fortune Thief, and Lich that can each
keep you in the game, but Death's Shadow just
doesn't meet the criteria for a win condition.
Even a 1/1 for one with a self-sacrificing
ability offers far more in almost every
scenario.
In Limited this is a bit more likely to see
play from the lack of other options, tendency
for life totals to stay relatively low for
several rounds, and the presence of Dead
Reckoning. Dead Reckoning may not be the best
removal, but it has the most potential power in
the format and is generally passed around a
table at least once in a Booster draft and when
combined with Death's Shadow can destroy targets
few other cards available could handle. Even
with that option the timing required for this
card to be effective is a major hindrance and if
played expecting to be used in the late game a
higher mana costing creature without the major
drawback should be played instead. As a final
note for rare drafters the value of Death's
Shadow is quite low and that should not be used
as a deciding factor in selecting this as a
first pick.
