Thirsting Shade MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Shade
Abilities	Lifelink
Released	2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica Allegiance
Set code	RNA
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	87
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Seb McKinnon

Key Takeaways

Lifelink provides sustained life, making Thirsting Shade a subtle game extender in MTG matches.
Its activated ability at instant speed offers strategic flexibility, crucial during tight combat scenarios.
Mana investment for power boost can be resource-intensive, a factor to consider in deck building.

Text of card

Lifelink : Thirsting Shade gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

"Your life is a blinding light, your breath a gale, your pulse a deafening drum. Be still. Be still." —Dahlya Trul, "Irbitov Lament"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Thirsting Shade’s lifelink ability has the potential to be a key factor in sustaining life points, indirectly contributing to card advantage by preserving your life total and allowing you to be more judicious with your card plays.

Resource Acceleration: While Thirsting Shade doesn’t directly contribute to mana acceleration, its low casting cost makes it a viable early-game play, allowing you to establish board presence while still holding mana for other vital plays in the early to mid-game.

Instant Speed: Its activated ability can be used at instant speed, allowing for strategic timing to gain life during combat or at the end of your opponent’s turn. This offers flexibility and can affect combat decisions in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Thirsting Shade demands a continual resource investment to increase its threat level, often requiring the discard of valuable cards that could be crucial in later stages of the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Thirsting Shade requires black mana, which ties it specifically to decks that can produce or benefit from that type of mana. This potentially limits its versatility across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the initial casting cost is low, the ability to pump Thirsting Shade’s power comes at a steep cumulative mana price. This can make it a less preferable choice compared to other low-cost creatures that provide more impact without additional mana investment.

Reasons to Include Thirsting Shade in Your Collection

Versatility: Thirsting Shade may seem unassuming but its ability to gain lifelink makes it a valuable addition in decks where life gain is pivotal for outlasting the opponent. Whether you’re stalling against aggressive decks or aiming for a key threshold to activate other card abilities, the Shade can be a subtle yet effective piece.

Combo Potential: The real allure of Thirsting Shade lies in its adaptability. Utilize this creature in conjunction with enchantments or artifacts that boost its strength, enabling it to become a persistent threat. Moreover, its scaling mana sink allows it to grow alongside the game’s progression, synergizing well with strategies focused on mana availability.

Meta-Relevance: Thirsting Shade can have a place in your deck if you’re facing a meta teeming with high-paced aggro strategies. Its ability to regain health while dispatching smaller creatures allows it to function as an effective tool for stabilizing the game and giving you the upper hand in the long run.

How to beat

Thristing Shade may catch an opponent’s eye as a potential option for black mana decks in Magic: The Gathering. Early in the game, this one-mana creature with lifelink seems like an appealing choice for building a life advantage. Despite its ability to grow through its activated ability, investing additional mana can be a costly venture in terms of resource allocation.

When facing Thristing Shade, prioritizing removal cards can efficiently handle this creature card. Direct damage spells or creature removal can neutralize it before it becomes a larger threat on the board. Flexible spells such as Shock or Fatal Push offer inexpensive solutions to dispatch Thristing Shade, preserving your mana and card resources for more substantial threats that might arise throughout the game.

In essence, while Thristing Shade has the potential to become stronger over time, its necessity for a continuous mana investment and vulnerability to common removal tools position it as a card that can be readily managed by a prepared player. Facing off against such early threats requires strategic planning and a well-constructed deck that isn’t shy of handling small creatures efficiently.

Cards like Thirsting Shade

Thirsting Shade is a small but resilient creature in the world of Magic: The Gathering. This card shares qualities with other life-draining creatures like Vampire Neonate. While both cards have the ability to gain life, Thirsting Shade offers the additional benefit of becoming stronger with its lifelink until end of turn, for each mana you pump into it. Vampire Neonate, however, can affect the game from a distance by not needing to engage in combat to utilize its ability.

Comparatively, Child of Night is akin to Thirsting Shade with lifelink and a low mana cost, allowing for an early game presence. The key difference lies in Thirsting Shade’s capacity for growth, contrasting Child of Night’s static power and toughness. Moving towards a slightly higher mana spectrum, we find the Dusk Legion Zealot, which immediately impacts the board by letting you draw a card upon entering the battlefield, albeit with a loss of one life – a price not present in Thirsting Shade’s arsenal.

Exploring these creatures highlights the nuanced strategies and decisions players face when curating their decks. Thirsting Shade may not be the mightiest fighter, yet its potential for scaling power makes it an intriguing choice for Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Thirsting Shade MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Thirsting Shade and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Thirsting Shade has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal