The Power of Shades
General forum
Posted on Sept. 17, 2010, 10:25 a.m. by NecroBane
I've noticed there aren't a lot of decks that make use of black shade creatures. Why is this? Because they tend to tap the player out? What cards can be good in these kinds of decks and what are your opinions on them.
If you don't know, shades are these, Crypt Ripper , Nirkana Revenant , Nantuko Shade .
nammertime says... #3
I agree with Tioras. Shades haven't been really popular due to not being very efficient, with the exception of Nantuko Shade , so I'm pretty glad they reprinted it in M11. Wizards usually prints shades like they print one big crappy serpent fatty in each core set (eg. Sea Serpent ).
September 17, 2010 11:38 a.m.
I'ma let you finish but Nantuko Shade is the greatest shade of all time.
I used to run Balshan Collaborator as a wincon in an old U/B control deck for that block.
September 17, 2010 12:10 p.m.
Balshan wasn't too terrible. Especially since all the power in Oddysey block was in B/U.
Also: EXCELLENT flavor text! :D
September 17, 2010 12:19 p.m.
Rite of Consumption seems to work really well with shades I've found. Buff, Attack, Sacrifice, Lifelink.
Does anyone know of other coloured creatures like shades like Furnace Whelp and Shade of Trokair ?
September 17, 2010 12:35 p.m.
well, red has a lot of firebreathers, which is what Furnace Whelp , Dragon Whelp , Shivan Dragon , et al. are. They're not true shades because their ability only offers power.
Killer Bees however, is a true green shade.
September 17, 2010 12:41 p.m.
nammertime says... #8
Carrion Ants was the super-'shade' back in the day during Legends... too bad it's so expensive to cast compared to creatures now.
September 17, 2010 12:52 p.m.
Carrion Ants is nice because of it's colorless cost for the shade ability though. You have to give it that.
September 17, 2010 6:05 p.m.
Justarsaus says... #10
how about card:Shade's Breath or card:Shade's Form
September 18, 2010 1:48 p.m.
I like card:Shade's Form for it's totem armor effect, however. It saw play back in it's day.
September 18, 2010 3:53 p.m.
card:Shade's Form can be useful given the situation...
September 18, 2010 9:48 p.m.
The big problem with the shades is their lack of evasion. 10/10 shades get blocked by Hill Giant all the same. A shade based aggro deck could be really cool though.
September 19, 2010 2:50 p.m.
Justarsaus says... #15
my fav creature with the "shade" ability Cursed Ronin sure he costs a lot but damn he looks bad ass as for lack of evasion on their own black has a lot to add to that such as Fear would easily get around your run of the mill Hill Giant or you could use all creatures get -x/-x and beef up your shade just past the x and their are plenty of artifacts that give trample if you want a more straight forward approach
September 20, 2010 1:19 a.m.
apple41792 says... #17
Has anyone noticed ashiok's price of late. it has went back up to 15 or so. i have been told this is because of tiny leaders? if this is true how high you think she/he will get?
April 7, 2015 11:29 a.m.
JakeHarlow says... #18
I think it will remain at $15. Unless it pops in Legacy or Modern, that is. It sees a fair amount of play in Standard control decks and people love it for Tiny/EDH.
April 7, 2015 11:31 a.m.
I don't think it's because of Tiny Leaders. Right now He's a cornerstone in U/B control, one of the most popular decks in the Standard meta right now. I could be mistaken though.
April 7, 2015 11:32 a.m.
Killabeetle says... #20
Card was about 10 usd until Gfab won a modern SCG event with sultai control starring ashiok. since then it has shot up to nearly 20 usd.
April 7, 2015 12:03 p.m.
Ashiok is likely to fall as I think the current Standard metagame will be quite harsh on Ashiok. the PT might change my mind, but you might want to consider selling your Ashioks now.
April 7, 2015 12:41 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #22
I don't think that she will go up much more, if at all. Plus once rotation hits, she'll be 7-10 USD. So not really worth investing in if that's what you are looking for.
April 7, 2015 12:51 p.m.
I think ashiok settles around 10 after standard rotation. I mean I love the card and wanna break it in modern but it's so derpy in the sense that unless you rip a creature on his first hit or have a protection for him he is too easily dealt with. I'm just glad he's got a home in standard right now.
April 7, 2015 1:05 p.m.
He will definitely fall by end of standard. Due to the popularity of UB control and Sultai Control, I doubt he will lower to $15 USD before Origins comes out. After standard, he won't see much play. I expect him under $10 USD, more likely $7.50
Tioras says... #2
The problem with shade creatures is this: Most of them are overcosted. Crypt Ripper is a 2/2 for 4cc. The haste isn't useful early game because you'll be tapped out just casting the creature, and by turn 4 your opponent will have something larger than a 2/2.
Nirkana Revenant is used by a player in my playgroup, and I can't say enough good things about Nantuko Shade . Nantuko is undercosted for his ability, and works excellently in MBC builds.
Lastly, I also like using shades with Xathrid Demon . Untap, pump your shade up insanely high before sacing it to xathrid, making your entire playgroup feel the pain of you losing it! BWAHAHAHAH.
That is all.
September 17, 2010 10:35 a.m.