Undercity ShadeHow it works & interactions with other cards

Mastering Fear and Pumping

Undercity Shade possesses the Fear keyword, which dictates that only black creatures and artifact creatures can legally block it. Additionally, it features a 'Shade' ability: for every Black mana you spend, it grows larger by +1/+1 until the end of the turn. This makes it a formidable attacker that scales with your available mana.

How It Resolves Step by Step

First, Undercity Shade enters the battlefield as a 3/3. During your declare attackers step, you choose it to attack. The game checks for legal blockers; your opponent can only assign creatures that are black or carry the artifact type. Before damage, you can activate its ability multiple times. Each activation goes on the stack separately and, when resolved, increases its power and toughness.

Common Mistakes

A common error is forgetting that Fear is color-blind to artifact creatures; even a non-black artifact creature can block the Shade. Also, remember that the +1/+1 boost is temporary. It expires during the cleanup step at the end of the turn, so don't count on that extra toughness to survive a removal spell during your opponent's next turn.

When to Play Undercity Shade

This card is best played in mono-black decks where you have access to a large amount of Swamps. It serves as a late-game finisher because it forces the opponent to have specific answers. If they are playing a non-black, non-artifact deck, Undercity Shade is essentially unblockable.

Interaction examples

Bypassing the Throne

Roaming Throne

If your opponent controls Roaming Throne, they are in luck. Because Roaming Throne is an artifact creature, it is one of the few types of creatures permitted to block Undercity Shade. Even if the opponent chose a non-black creature type for the Throne, its artifact status allows it to stand in the Shade's way.

The Sad Robot's Defense

Solemn Simulacrum

You attack with Undercity Shade. Your opponent controls a Solemn Simulacrum. Despite the Golem being colorless, its type line includes 'Artifact Creature.' This satisfies the Fear requirement, allowing the opponent to block your Shade with their Solemn Simulacrum to trigger its card-draw death ability.

The Lethal Pump

Imagine you have six Swamps untapped. You attack with Undercity Shade. Your opponent has no black or artifact creatures, so no blockers are declared. Before the combat damage step, you activate the Shade's ability six times. It becomes a 9/9 creature, dealing a massive 9 damage directly to the opponent's life total.