Nakaya ShadeHow it works & interactions with other cards

A Negotiated Buff

Nakaya Shade features an activated ability that costs one Black mana to initiate. When this ability resolves, Nakaya Shade gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn. However, there is a catch: any player may choose to pay two generic mana to prevent this bonus from happening. This creates a psychological game where you must decide if you have more mana to spend than your opponents have to waste.

Step-by-Step Resolution

First, you pay one Black mana to put the ability on the stack. Once both players pass priority and the ability begins to resolve, the choice happens. Starting with the active player and proceeding in turn order, each player is given the option to pay two generic mana. If at least one player pays the two mana, the Shade does not get the +1/+1 bonus. If no one pays, the bonus is applied. Note that you cannot react once players start choosing whether to pay; you must activate the ability multiple times beforehand if you want multiple stacks of the effect.

Common Mistakes

A frequent error is assuming that if you activate the ability five times, a single payment of two mana by an opponent cancels all of them. In reality, each activation is separate. An opponent would have to pay two mana for every single instance of the ability on the stack to fully stop Nakaya Shade from growing. Another mistake is forgetting that you, the controller, can also pay the two mana, though there is rarely a strategic reason to do so.

When to Activate

The best time to use Nakaya Shade is when your opponent is 'tapped out' or has very little mana available. If they only have one mana untapped, they cannot pay the two-mana cost to stop the ability, making your Black mana activations guaranteed power boosts. It also serves as a great deterrent during the declare blockers step, forcing opponents to decide between losing their creatures or emptying their mana pool.

Interaction examples

Generating the Tax

Ornithopter of Paradise

You control Nakaya Shade and an Ornithopter of Paradise. During your attack, you tap the Ornithopter of Paradise to add one Black mana and use it to activate Nakaya Shade's ability. Because your opponent spent all their mana on their previous turn, they cannot pay the two generic mana required to stop the ability, ensuring your Shade grows to a 2/2.

Surviving the Drain

Blood Artist

Your opponent has a Blood Artist on the field and you are at 1 life. You want to attack with Nakaya Shade, but you need it to be large enough to survive combat so you don't trigger the Blood Artist's death effect. You activate Nakaya Shade's ability three times. Your opponent only has two mana available, so they can only pay to stop one activation. The other two resolve successfully, making Nakaya Shade a 3/3, allowing it to survive combat and keeping you in the game.