Questions about Volrath, the Shapestealer and kindred cards like [Call to the Kindred] or [Kindred Discovery]

Asked by ChaoticGnat 2 years ago

I am building a Volrath, the Shapestealer edh deck with a shapeshifter theme, and i was wandering if Call to the Kindred triggers on a Clone (or similar cards) when found in the top five cards.

and i was also wandering about Kindred Discovery and Kindred Summons do they trigger on shapeshifters?

Dracoson says... Accepted answer #1

A couple things going on here. First is the creature type Shapeshifter. It doesn't have any inherent rules, and is just another creature type like Human or Goblin. Second is Copy abilities. Clone, outside of the battlefield, is exactly what is printed on it. So to find it by type, you have to be looking for a Shapeshifter. When it's on the battlefield, it's whatever it is copying. So if it is copying a Grizzly Bear, it's a 2/2 green bear with mana value 2. It's no longer a shapeshifter.

So now let's roll through the scenarios. Call to the Kindred would only find Clone if it was enchanting a creature that still had the Shapeshifter creature type (like Volrath, the Shapestealer before it has activated its copy ability).

Kindred Discovery will depend on what's named. If you name Shapeshifter, then Clone enters and copies a Grizzly Bear, you don't draw a card, because a shapeshifter didn't enter, a bear did.

Kindred Summons doesn't trigger, but if you name Shapeshifter, it will go off the creatures that are currently that type, so the Clone on the battlefield copying Grizzly Bear, won't count towards X.

Of note, there is a Characteristic-Defining Ability called Changeling (Changeling Outcast is an example) that does what you are talking about, and is generally on shapeshifters, so thematically they work in the deck.

February 15, 2022 10:08 a.m.