Shadowblood Egg MTG Card


Shadowblood Egg - Odyssey
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact
Released2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set nameOdyssey
Set codeODY
Number308
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDavid Martin

Key Takeaways

  1. Shadowblood Egg provides card advantage and mana acceleration, pivotal for advancing MTG strategies.
  2. The Egg’s ability at instant speed allows for flexible, reactive play, enhancing tactical depth.
  3. Its discard requirement and mana specificity can limit its utility in some deck constructions.

Text of card

, oc T, Sacrifice Shadowblood Egg: Add o Bo R to your mana pool. Draw a card.

"Does your passion for power consume your soul?" —Watnik, master glassblower


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Shadowblood Egg enchantment, when sacrificed, deck-thins and draws you a card, providing the opportunity to shift the game dynamics by getting to crucial pieces of your strategy faster.

Resource Acceleration: The enchantment converts into a mana asset upon cracking, specifically producing two mana of any one color, which can propel your plays by a turn or enable multi-colored deck consistency.

Instant Speed: Activating the Egg’s ability at instant speed offers tactical flexibility, allowing you to respond to your opponent’s actions or to simply utilize your mana more effectively at the end of their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Shadowblood Egg necessitates sacrificing it and discarding a card from your hand in order to activate its ability. This additional discard cost could potentially deplete your hand, creating a disadvantage if you’re already struggling with card availability.

Specific Mana Cost: The activation of Shadowblood Egg’s ability requires specific mana colors, which may not align with the mana base of all deck types. This could restrict its integration into a more diverse range of decks and strategies, potentially limiting its overall utility within the broad spectrum of game play.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The cost for utilizing the Egg, considering both the casting and activation costs, is somewhat steep when compared with alternative card draw or resource acceleration options available in the game. This could impact its playability and appeal, particularly in formats where mana efficiency is critical to maintaining competitive edge during play.


Reasons to Include Shadowblood Egg in Your Collection

Versatility: Shadowblood Egg is a flexible card that can be incorporated into various deck types. Its color-fixing ability is valuable for decks requiring multiple mana colors, offering consistency and smoother gameplay.

Combo Potential: This card holds significant potential in combo decks. By sacrificing Shadowblood Egg, you can release mana for combo pieces or synergize with cards that benefit from artifacts entering and leaving the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: Shadowblood Egg’s role in the current meta can’t be understated. It fits nicely in decks that thrive on speed and efficiency, providing an edge when facing opponents with slower, more controlling strategies.


How to beat

Shadowblood Egg presents a unique challenge on the battlefield when it comes to artifact strategies in MTG. This small, innocent-looking artifact carries the power to potentially turn the tide of a game in favor of its controller. Key to disrupting this is understanding how and when it activates. Notice that it requires a mana investment and a tap, which means you need to anticipate when your opponent might crack it open for value.

Much like the historical Tormod’s Crypt, the Shadowblood Egg hinges on timing. The Egg needs an opportune moment to be exploited for card advantage. Players proficient at reading the game can find moments to remove it before its owner reaps the benefits. Engaging in artifact destruction like Abrade or naturalize effects can nullify the Egg before it hatches. Similarly, exile effects avert any graveyard interactions, bypassing its death-triggered ability, a strategy akin to applying Rest in Peace to ensure it never fuels further plays.

Efficient play includes keeping up interaction mana in critical turns or preempting the Egg’s usage with hand disruption spells, outlining a meticulous and calculated approach towards victory. The aim is to keep the Egg’s latent power sealed, thwarting the inevitable card draw that could lead to your opponent gaining the upper hand in the duel.


Cards like Shadowblood Egg

Shadowblood Egg finds its niche in MTG as a unique artefact with the versatility to enhance various deck strategies. Its ability to filter cards by transforming one mana of any color into two mana of any single color, parallels the function of cards like Prismatic Lens. However, Shadowblood Egg offers something more with its death-triggered card draw, setting it apart from the mere mana filtering of Prismatic Lens.

Another card worthy of comparison is Golden Egg. Both eggs provide mana filtering and card draw upon their destruction. Yet, Shadowblood Egg requires no mana investment to activate its mana filtering ability, whereas Golden Egg demands one. Moreover, Shadowblood Egg lets you peek into the future by sifting through the top two cards of your deck, unlike Golden Egg which only offers a direct card draw.

Evaluating these cards side by side, Shadowblood Egg holds its ground as a valuable asset for players who seek to maximize their mana efficiency and build their hands. In the landscape of MTG, it’s a card that offers a combination of immediate utility and strategic depth suitable for various gameplay styles.

Prismatic Lens - MTG Card versions
Golden Egg - MTG Card versions
Prismatic Lens - Time Spiral (TSP)
Golden Egg - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Shadowblood Egg MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Shadowblood Egg and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Shadowblood Egg has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Shadowblood Egg card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2008-08-01 This is a mana ability, which means it can be activated as part of the process of casting a spell or activating another ability. If that happens you get the mana right away, but you don’t get to look at the drawn card until you have finished casting that spell or activating that ability.

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