Liliana's Shade MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Shade
Released	2012-07-13
Set symbol
Set name	Magic 2013
Set code	M13
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	98
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Eric Deschamps

Key Takeaways

Fetches a Swamp to enhance mana flow and ensures consistent land drops throughout the match for resourceful gameplay.
Demands precise mana management, as its high utility comes with discard and specific mana cost considerations.
Excellent for synergistic decks, scales in power and contributes to mana consistency, adapting well to various game situations.

Text of card

When Liliana's Shade enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a Swamp card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library. : Liliana's Shade gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Liliana’s Shade has an enter-the-battlefield ability that allows you to search your library for a Swamp card and put it into your hand, thereby increasing your card advantage. This ensures you have resources available for future plays and keeps your hand replenished.

Resource Acceleration: The Shade’s ability to fetch a Swamp from your deck directly into your hand can be counted as a form of resource acceleration. It smooths out your mana base, enabling you to consistently make land drops and set up for more powerful spells in the upcoming turns.

Instant Speed: While Liliana’s Shade itself is not an instant, its ramp capability at sorcery speed can set you up to utilize instant speed spells more effectively in later stages of the game. Ensuring your land drops have been made means you’re more likely to have the mana available when you need to react swiftly to an opponent’s actions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Liliana’s Shade necessitates a discard when leveraging its abilities, potentially depleting your hand when you might not be ready to lose additional cards.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature card demands a dedicated source of black mana, which could be restrictive for decks that are not mono-black or that have a high diversity of mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring three generic and one black mana, Liliana’s Shade stands on the steeper side of the mana curve, especially given that its baseline stats are not especially formidable without leveraging its mana-intensive ability.

Reasons to Include Liliana’s Shade in Your Collection

Versatility: Liliana’s Shade offers flexible play options, adeptly serving both as mana-fixing with its ability to search for a Swamp and as a scalable threat that can grow in power with each mana invested into it.

Combo Potential: This card works well in synergistic setups, particularly in decks that capitalize on repeated casting or graveyard interactions, leveraging its pump ability for recurring boosts in power.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where mana consistency and creature scalability are pivotal, Liliana’s Shade stands out. It can adjust to control-heavy games, demanding an immediate answer or progressively threatening the board with its increasing strength.

How to beat

Liliana’s Shade is a versatile creature card in Magic: The Gathering that offers more than just a board presence. When it enters the battlefield, it allows you to search your library for a Swamp card and put it into your hand, guaranteeing land drops and mana consistency. But like any card, Liliana’s Shade has its vulnerabilities.

To effectively counter this creature, timing and removal are key. Since its ability activates upon entry, wait until the Shade is on the battlefield before deploying removal spells to ensure your opponent doesn’t gain an extra land advantage. Cards with instant-speed removal like Doom Blade or Path to Exile are perfect for this as they can handle the Shade before it becomes a stronger threat through its pump ability.

Moreover, preventing the Shade from buffing is another strategy. Cards that restrict mana usage or lock down abilities, such as Damping Sphere or Linvala, Keeper of Silence, can diminish the effectiveness of Liliana’s Shade. In essence, maintain control of the battlefield and manage your timing when dealing with this creature to ensure it remains just a minor setback in your path to victory.

Cards like Liliana's Shade

Liliana’s Shade is a unique creature card in the vast repertoire of Magic the Gathering. Its direct comparison might bring us to Nantuko Shade, another creature that similarly bolsters its power with mana investment. Nantuko Shade offers a stronger base power, but Liliana’s Shade provides the added bonus of fetching a Swamp from your library, ensuring a land drop and potential mana acceleration.

Another near peer is Squelching Leeches, which derives its power and toughness from the number of Swamps you control. While it doesn’t allow you to search your library for additional lands, it can potentially become much more powerful in a mono-black deck that focuses on Swamp synergy. This difference in dynamic showcases Liliana’s Shade’s flexibility in providing a guaranteed land alongside a scalable threat.

Meanwhile, cards like Dread Shade also come to mind. Dread Shade permits a more substantial one-time mana investment for each boost to its power. However, it lacks Liliana’s Shade’s ability to aid in mana consistency. Evaluating all facets, Liliana’s Shade stands out for its blend of utility in mana-fixing and scalable power in gameplay within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Liliana's Shade by color, type and mana cost

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Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Liliana's Shade MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2013, 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 Liliana's Shade and other MTG cards: