Shepherd of the Cosmos MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Angel Warrior |
| Abilities | Flying,Foretell |
| Released | 2021-02-05 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Kaldheim |
| Set code | KHM |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 28 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Johannes Voss |
Key Takeaways
- Shepherd excels in card advantage by returning low-cost permanents from the graveyard, aiding momentum.
- Resource acceleration is subtly achieved by resurrecting mana-producing cards, aiding late-game strategies.
- Foretell provides strategic instant-like benefits, allowing surprise plays during the opponent’s turn.
Text of card
Flying When Shepherd of the Cosmos enters the battlefield, return target permanent card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. Foretell (During your turn, you may pay and exile this card from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Shepherd of the Cosmos excels in providing card advantage by potentially returning a permanent card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. This ability not only replenishes your resources but also can swing momentum in your favor by reusing powerful abilities or combo pieces.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana, Shepherd of the Cosmos could accelerate your resource development by retrieving a mana-producing card from the graveyard to the battlefield, making it a subtle yet effective accelerator in the late game.
Instant Speed: While Shepherd of the Cosmos is not an instant itself, the foretell mechanic provides a strategic advantage. Casting the spell for its foretell cost during your turn grants some instant-like benefits by allowing a reduced mana cost and unexpectedly bringing back a permanent during your opponent’s end phase, potentially at a time when they are least prepared to deal with it.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing Shepherd of the Cosmos often requires a strategic sacrifice. To leverage its full potential, you might need to discard another permanent card from your hand, potentially thinning your resources at a critical moment in the game.
Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that demands two white and four other mana, Shepherd of the Cosmos may not seamlessly fit into every deck. This specific mana cost can restrict its playability, particularly in multi-colored decks that may not always have the necessary white mana available when needed.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Shepherd of the Cosmos offers the benefit of returning a smaller creature from your graveyard to the battlefield, it comes at a fairly steep cost of six mana. For this amount of investment, you may find that there are other options available that provide greater value or more immediate board impact, especially in decks focused on efficiency and speed.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Shepherd of the Cosmos adapts to diverse deck strategies due to its ability to return a permanent card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield upon entering. This function aligns well with both aggressive and control-oriented decks, allowing you to reutilize key pieces.
Combo Potential: In decks that hinge on permanents with enter-the-battlefield effects or death triggers, Shepherd of the Cosmos can be a cornerstone, repeatedly leveraging these interactions. Its synergy with self-milling strategies amplifies its potential to create powerful plays.
Meta-Relevance: Given that the MTG landscape often features decks built on efficiency and card synergy, Shepherd of the Cosmos holds its ground. This card’s ability to recover critical low-cost permanents can disrupt opponent’s plans while maintaining your board presence, making it a practical inclusion in a fluctuating meta.
How to beat
The celestial realm of MTG introduces the Shepherd of the Cosmos, a card with the power to resurrect permanents from the graveyard. Its dual abilities provide both aerial defense and the strategic retrieval of low-cost permanents, making it a versatile asset. To effectively counteract this card, players should prioritize removal spells that can exile, sidestepping Shepherd’s reanimation strategy. Consider employing cards like Path to Exile or Scavenging Ooze to address both the creature and the cards it targets from the graveyard.
Another efficient strategy is to restrict the Shepherd’s impact by utilizing graveyard hate mechanisms or by countering creature spells. Cards like Grafdigger’s Cage or the counter-spell Negate can prove instrumental in suppressing the Shepherd’s intrinsic value. Furthermore, imposing restrictions on your opponent’s graveyard, such as with Relic of Progenitus, can render the Shepherd’s return ability ineffective. In essence, by anticipating and inhibiting your opponent’s strategies, you can nullify the Shepherd of the Cosmos’s advantages, maintaining dominance on the battlefield.
Ultimately, in the ever-evolving landscape of MTG, Shepherd of the Cosmos demands specific attention. Yet, with the right toolkit of countering measures, its influence can be greatly diminished, ensuring your path to victory remains unobstructed.
Cards like Shepherd of the Cosmos
Shepherd of the Cosmos is an intriguing creature card from the storied realms of Magic: The Gathering. It shares a kinship with other card reanimation spells and abilities. A prime example is Sun Titan, which also specializes in retrieving permanents from the graveyard. However, Shepherd of the Cosmos is more restrictive, limiting the retrieval to cards with a lower cost yet allowing for airborne support with its flying ability.
Resembling the Shepherd in its graveyard interaction is the card Emeria Shepherd. While both cards have synergies with landfall and graveyard retrieval, Emeria Shepherd provides greater flexibility, potentially returning any nonland permanent to the battlefield. The trade-off is its higher mana cost and the requirement for a land to enter the battlefield under your control.
Ultimately, Shepherd of the Cosmos carves out its niche with its mana value focused graveyard retrieval, and as a flying body on the battlefield. It strikes a balance between cost-efficiency and utility. Savvy Magic: The Gathering players will find it a useful asset, especially in decks that look to maximize value from the graveyard.
Cards similar to Shepherd of the Cosmos by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Shepherd of the Cosmos MTG card by a specific set like Kaldheim, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Shepherd of the Cosmos and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Shepherd of the Cosmos has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Shepherd of the Cosmos card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-05 | A permanent card is an artifact, creature, enchantment, land, or planeswalker card. |
| 2021-02-05 | Because exiling a card with foretell from your hand is a special action, you can do so any time you have priority during your turn, including in response to spells and abilities. Once you announce you’re taking the action, no other player can respond by trying to remove the card from your hand. |
| 2021-02-05 | Casting a foretold card from exile follows the timing rules for that card. If you foretell an instant card, you can cast it as soon as the next player’s turn. In most cases, if you foretell a card that isn’t an instant (or doesn’t have flash), you’ll have to wait until your next turn to cast it. |
| 2021-02-05 | If the mana cost of a card in your graveyard includes , X is considered to be 0. |
| 2021-02-05 | If you return an Aura this way, you choose what the Aura will enchant just before it enters the battlefield. An Aura returning to the battlefield this way doesn’t target the player or permanent it will enchant, so permanents or players with hexproof may be chosen; however, the chosen recipient must be able to legally be enchanted by the Aura, so a player or permanent with protection from one of the Aura’s qualities can’t be chosen this way. If there’s nothing legal for the Aura to enchant, it stays in the graveyard. |
| 2021-02-05 | If you’re casting a foretold card from exile for its foretell cost, you can’t choose to cast it for any other alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast the spell. |
