Shilgengar, Sire of Famine 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
Flying Sacrifice another creature: Create a Blood token. If you sacrificed an Angel this way, create a number of Blood tokens equal to its toughness instead., Sacrifice six Blood tokens: Return each creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it. Those creatures are Vampires in addition to their other types.
Complete guide
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine is a powerhouse Elder Demon that bridges the gap between sacrifice synergies and massive graveyard recursion. It serves as both a generator of resources and a game-ending threat that turns your fallen allies into an unstoppable Vampire legion. Understanding how to manage your Blood tokens and the implications of finality counters is key to mastering this card.
Converting Life to Blood
Shilgengar's first ability is a free sacrifice outlet, allowing you to turn any other creature into a Blood token. While sacrificing standard creatures nets you one token, sacrificing an Angel is far more lucrative, providing tokens equal to that creature's toughness. These Blood tokens are artifacts that can be used to loot through your deck or, more importantly, fuel Shilgengar's second ability.
The Mass Resurrection Process
When you pay three mana (either White or Black) and sacrifice six Blood tokens, Shilgengar brings every creature card from your graveyard back to the battlefield. These creatures gain the Vampire type in addition to their others, which can trigger specific tribal synergies. Every creature returned this way receives a finality counter; if a permanent with such a counter would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, it is exiled instead. Note that multiple finality counters are redundant, and they do not prevent a card from being returned to your hand or put into the command zone.
Timing and Strategy
Because Shilgengar's sacrifice ability is an activated ability, you can use it at instant speed to respond to removal spells or board wipes, ensuring your creatures generate value before they die. The resurrection ability is also activated, meaning you can bring your board back during an opponent's end step to avoid sorcery-speed interaction, giving your new Vampire army a chance to attack on your following turn.
Interaction examples
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
Solemn SimulacrumWith Shilgengar, Sire of Famine on the battlefield, you sacrifice Solemn Simulacrum. This triggers the Simulacrum's 'dies' ability, allowing you to draw a card, while Shilgengar's ability resolves to create one Blood token. Later, if you activate Shilgengar's mass resurrection, Solemn Simulacrum returns as a Vampire Golem. You get to search for a basic land again, but it now has a finality counter. If it dies again, it will be exiled instead of returning to the graveyard.
Roaming ThroneIf you control Roaming Throne with 'Demon' chosen as the creature type, it will not double Shilgengar's abilities. Shilgengar's abilities are activated (indicated by the colon), not triggered. However, if you sacrifice Roaming Throne to Shilgengar, you will receive one Blood token. If you later return Roaming Throne to the battlefield using Shilgengar's second ability, it enters as a Vampire Golem with a finality counter.
BloodYou have five Blood tokens and Shilgengar, Sire of Famine on the board. You sacrifice another creature to Shilgengar to create your sixth Blood token. You can now immediately pay three mana and sacrifice all six tokens to trigger the mass resurrection. Remember that you cannot sacrifice the same Blood token to both activate Shilgengar and pay for a token's inherent 'Discard and Draw' ability; the token is removed as a cost for one or the other.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If an effect refers to a Blood token, it means any artifact token with the subtype Blood, even if it has gained other subtypes.
Card named in this ruling
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You can't sacrifice a Blood token to pay multiple costs.
Card named in this ruling
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Some triggered abilities trigger "whenever you sacrifice a Blood token." These abilities trigger regardless of why you sacrificed that Blood token.
Card named in this ruling
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Finality counters aren't keyword counters, and a finality counter doesn't give any abilities to the permanent it's on. If that permanent loses its abilities and then would go to a graveyard, it will still be exiled instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If you sacrificed an Angel to pay the cost of Shilgengar's second ability, use the toughness of that Angel as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how many Blood tokens to create.
Card named in this ruling
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
Multiple finality counters on a single permanent are redundant.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
Finality counters work on any permanent, not only creatures. If a permanent with a finality counter on it would go to a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Finality counters don't stop permanents from going to zones other than the graveyard from the battlefield. For example, if a permanent with a finality counter on it would be put into its owner's hand from the battlefield, it does so normally.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Solemnity + Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- 1Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing the persist or undying creature.
- 2When the creature dies, its persist or undying ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield without a -1/-1 counter or a +1/+1 counter on it due to Solemnity.
- 3Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 4Repeat.
Bishop of Wings + Divine Visitation + Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- 1Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing another Angel.
- 2When the Angel dies, Bishop of Wings' second ability triggers, creating a 4/4 Angel creature token.
- 3When the Angel enters, Bishop of Wings' first ability triggers, causing you to gain 4 life.
- 4Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 5Repeat.
Luminous Broodmoth + Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- 1Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing the persist or undying creature.
- 2When the creature dies, its persist or undying ability triggers if it doesn't have a -1/-1 counter or +1/+1 counter on it respectively, and Luminous Broodmoth triggers if the creature didn't have flying.
- 3Resolve the persist or undying trigger, if applicable, returning the creature from your graveyard to the battlefield with either a -1/-1 counter or a +1/+1 counter on it.
- 4Resolve the Luminous Broodmoth trigger, if applicable, returning the creature from your graveyard to the battlefield with a flying counter on it if the creature is still in your graveyard.
- 5Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 6Repeat.
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine + Stridehangar Automaton
- 1Activate Shilgengar's first ability by sacrificing another creature, creating a Blood artifact token and a 1/1 Thopter artifact creature token.
- 2Repeat.
Shilgengar, Sire of Famine + Solemnity + Phyrexian Altar
- 1Activate Shilgengar's first ability by sacrificing another nontoken creature, creating at least one Blood artifact token.
- 2Repeat step 1 until you control at least six Blood tokens.
- 3Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing another nontoken creature, adding .
- 4Repeat step 3 until you have available.
- 5Activate Shilgengar by paying and sacrificing six Blood tokens, returning all creature cards from your graveyard to the battlefield without a finality counter on them due to Solemnity.
- 6Repeat.
- 7If you control additional nontoken creatures, you may sacrifice them in step 1 to get infinite Blood tokens, and/or in step 3 to get infinite colored mana.
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- 1Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing the creature with persist.
- 2When that creature dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it.
- 3Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 4Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing the persist creature.
- 5When the persist creature dies, its undying ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
- 6Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 7Repeat.
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward + Karmic Guide + Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- 1Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing Abdel Adrian.
- 2When Abdel Adrian leaves the battlefield, Karmic Guide is returned from exile to the battlefield.
- 3When Karmic Guide enters, it triggers, returning Abdel Adrian from your graveyard to the battlefield.
- 4When Abdel Adrian enters, it triggers, exiling Karmic Guide until Abdel Adrian leaves the battlefield and creating a 1/1 Soldier creature token.
- 5Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 6Repeat.
Giada, Font of Hope + Twilight Shepherd + Shilgengar, Sire of Famine
- 1Activate Shilgengar by sacrificing Twilight Shepherd.
- 2When Twilight Shepherd dies, its persist ability triggers, returning it from your graveyard to the battlefield without a -1/-1 counter on it due to Giada.
- 3Resolve the Shilgengar ability.
- 4Repeat.
Related cards and tokens
Legal formats
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