Shameless Charlatan — ruling 1

The copy effect doesn't have a duration. It lasts until the commander leaves the battlefield, though another copy effect with a later timestamp (perhaps from a new activation of the ability granted by Shameless Charlatan) would override the effect for as long as it's active.

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 2

If your commander becomes a copy of something else while you control Shameless Charlatan, it will still be your commander and it will still have the ability granted to it.

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 3

If Shameless Charlatan is your commander and somehow becomes a creature, and you use the ability it grants itself to make it a copy of another creature, it will no longer have its ability so it would no longer grant the activated ability to commander creatures you own (including itself).

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 4

Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability.

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 5

If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities.

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 6

Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 7

If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander.

Shameless Charlatan — ruling 8

Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional {2} the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won’t usually be a creature anyway).

Shameless Charlatan : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Shameless Charlatan is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.

Official card text

Commander creatures you own have ": This creature becomes a copy of another target creature."

Complete guide

Shameless Charlatan is a versatile Background that allows your commanders to infiltrate the ranks of your opponents. By granting your commander creatures the ability to shapeshift, you can adapt to any board state while maintaining your commander's unique identity. This enchantment transforms your most important piece into the biggest threat on the table for just a few mana.

What It Does

Shameless Charlatan is a Legendary Enchantment - Background that provides an activated ability to commander creatures you own. While you control this enchantment, each of your commander creatures gains: '{2}{U}: This creature becomes a copy of another target creature.' Because this effect doesn't have a duration, your commander remains a copy of the chosen creature indefinitely, even if Shameless Charlatan leaves the battlefield later.

How It Resolves Step by Step

First, you must control Shameless Charlatan and your commander must be a creature on the battlefield. You pay {2}{U} and target any other creature on the field. Upon resolution, your commander loses its original characteristics and takes on the name, types, mana cost, and abilities of the target. Importantly, it retains the ability granted by Shameless Charlatan, allowing you to pay {2}{U} again later to transform it into something else.

Common Mistakes

A common point of confusion is how 'commander-ness' works with copy effects. Even if your commander becomes a copy of a non-legendary creature, it is still your commander. It still deals commander damage, and it still benefits from any other effects that check for your commander. Additionally, note that if Shameless Charlatan itself somehow becomes a creature and copies something else, it will lose the ability to grant the copy power to your other commanders.

When to Play It

This card is best used in decks where your commander has low base stats but you want to leverage its presence for combat or specific triggered abilities. It is also excellent for reactive strategies; if an opponent plays a massive threat, you can simply pay three mana to have one of your own. It provides incredible scaling as the game progresses and more powerful creatures enter the battlefield.

Interaction examples

Standard Copying Procedure

With Shameless Charlatan on the battlefield, you cast your commander. You then activate the granted ability for {2}{U}, targeting an opponent's 6/6 creature. Your commander becomes a 6/6 copy of that creature but remains your commander for the purpose of tracking 21 combat damage.

Multiple Commanders

If you are using the 'Choose a Background' or 'Partner' mechanics to have two commanders, and both are currently creatures, Shameless Charlatan grants the activated ability to both of them. Each one can independently become a copy of a different target creature on the battlefield.

Copying Utility Effects

Rhystic Study

Mystic Remora

While Shameless Charlatan can only target creatures, if your opponent has a creature that interacts with spells (like a creature version of Rhystic Study or Mystic Remora), your commander can copy it. Note that copying an enchantment like Rhystic Study directly is not possible unless that enchantment is also a creature at the time the ability resolves.

Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.

How it works : Shameless Charlatan

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
The copy effect doesn't have a duration. It lasts until the commander leaves the battlefield, though another copy effect with a later timestamp (perhaps from a new activation of the ability granted by Shameless Charlatan) would override the effect for as long as it's active.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If your commander becomes a copy of something else while you control Shameless Charlatan, it will still be your commander and it will still have the ability granted to it.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#3June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If Shameless Charlatan is your commander and somehow becomes a creature, and you use the ability it grants itself to make it a copy of another creature, it will no longer have its ability so it would no longer grant the activated ability to commander creatures you own (including itself).
No other card is named in this ruling.
#4June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#5June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#6June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#7June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#8June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won’t usually be a creature anyway).
No other card is named in this ruling.
#9June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#10June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#11June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
You can choose two commanders that are the same color or colors.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#12June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If a card refers to a commander creature you own, a Background won't usually be counted or included for that effect. If another spell or ability causes your Background to become a creature, however, it will be included. Any effect that refers to your commander or a commander you own or control without specifying creature will apply to a Background that is your commander, as appropriate.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#13June 10, 2022· Wizards of the Coast
If you control a Background that grants an ability to commander creatures you own, and you own more than one commander creature, each of them will have that ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.