Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows MTG Card

Flexibly encounters threats or boosts resources with its unique cleave mechanic. Generates Spirit tokens, enhancing tribal synergies and board presence. Instant speed play allows for strategic depth and surprise tactics.

Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows - Wilds of Eldraine

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery — Adventure
Released	2023-09-08
Set symbol
Set name	Wilds of Eldraine
Set code	WOE
Number	236
Frame	2015
Layout	Adventure
Border	Black
Illustred by	Randy Vargas

Text of card

Creatures your opponents control get -1/-1 until end of turn. (Then exile this card. You may cast the creature later from exile.)

Cards like Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows

In the realm of transformative cards in Magic: The Gathering, Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows offers a versatile option for deck builders focusing on graveyard strategies. Its kinship is seen with cards like Cloistered Youth // Unholy Fiend, which also morphs from a seemingly harmless creature into a powerful threat. However, unlike the simple transformation of Cloistered Youth, Shrouded Shepherd requires the player to have a graveyard strategy in place, rewarding them with a comparable, yet conditional, power shift.

Another kin to Shrouded Shepherd is the powerful Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration. While Delver thrives in the preparation of the top of the deck, Shrouded Shepherd’s cleave ability from its Cleave Shadows side grants it a different kind of mid-game surge depending on the richness of your graveyard. In the vein of versatility, cards like Ludevic’s Test Subject // Ludevic’s Abomination mirror this transformability but are more suited to resource-heavy blue strategies and lack the graveyard interaction that gives Shrouded Shepherd its unique edge.

Evaluating these complex mechanics, Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows commands its own niche in Magic: The Gathering. It stands out with dual utility, balancing early game presence with late-game graveyard-powered advantages, thus carving a distinct place in the transformative card landscape.

Cloistered Youth // Unholy Fiend - MTG Card versions

Delver of Secrets // Insectile Aberration - MTG Card versions

Ludevic's Test Subject // Ludevic's Abomination - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows offers a dynamic play option through its cleave mechanic, which can be crucial in creating card advantage. By providing flexibility in its use, it can effectively outpace opponents in resources, whether through generating creature tokens or selectively targeting opponent’s threats.

Resource Acceleration: As a part of its cleave cost, this card generates a Spirit token. This additional creature can be pivotal for decks that focus on synergies or tribal themes, potentially accelerating your board presence and strategic options significantly.

Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of Cleave Shadows ensures strategic depth and surprise factor. It enables players to respond to threats immediately or maximize the benefit of their mana during the opponent’s turn, potentially altering the course of the game. This aspect of the card bolsters its utility and positions it as a formidable tool within a player’s arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows requires you to exile a card from your hand, presenting a challenge when your hand size is already dwindling. This can be particularly taxing in the late game when every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Cleave Shadows necessitates a combination of specific mana types for its cleave cost. This may result in difficulty for multicolored decks to consistently meet the requirement, potentially limiting the card’s versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Its cleave cost is significantly higher than the front side, demanding a substantial mana investment. While the transformed version offers powerful abilities, some may consider the mana cost steep when evaluating the card’s overall efficiency in gameplay.

Reasons to Include Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows in Your Collection

Versatility: Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows is a highly adaptable card capable of switching roles from an early blocker to a late-game threat via its cleave mechanic, seamlessly fitting into various deck styles.

Combo Potential: The card’s ability to transform from a creature to a potentially game-altering enchanted aura offers unique interactions with cards that thrive on enchantment synergies or creature resurrection themes.

Meta-Relevance: With the meta constantly evolving, the flexible nature of Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows makes it a worthwhile addition to adapt to changing gameplay dynamics and outmaneuver your opponents with its dual functionality.

How to beat

Overcoming Shrouded Shepherd in your games of Magic: The Gathering requires strategic depth and card knowledge. This transformable card has dual dynamics – as an unassuming Shepherd or as the formidable Cleave Shadows. On its front, it possesses the ability to grow stronger through its kinship with other spirits. To counteract this, creature removal can be key, preferably before it amasses a ghostly gathering.

On its flipside, Cleave Shadows enters as a powerful influence that commands immediate attention. One effective method is to limit graveyard interactions, which could dampen its resurgence capabilities. Additionally, employing instant-speed removal as it transforms can thwart the Cleave Shadows before it begins to exert its influence. Lastly, countering the initial spell with negates or similar cards also serves as a preemptive strike against this spectral threat.

Remember, versatility in your approach is paramount – whether you opt for early interruptions or wait to dismantle its treacherous transformation. The key to victory is disrupting the Shepherd’s evolution or directly vanquishing the Shadows it becomes, ensuring this eerie entity doesn’t overshadow your game plan.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows MTG card by a specific set like Wilds of Eldraine, 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 Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Shrouded Shepherd // Cleave Shadows has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2023-09-01	An adventurer card is a permanent card in every zone except the stack, as well as while on the stack if not cast as an Adventure. Ignore its alternative characteristics in those cases. For example, while it’s in your graveyard, Questing Druid is a green creature card whose mana value is 2. It can’t be the target of Tenacious Tomeseeker’s triggered ability (“return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand”).
2023-09-01	An effect may refer to a card, spell, or permanent that “has an Adventure.” This refers to a card, spell, or permanent that has an adventurer card’s set of alternative characteristics, even if they’re not being used and even if that card was never cast as an Adventure.
2023-09-01	Casting a card as an Adventure isn’t casting it for an alternative cost. Effects that allow you to cast a spell for an alternative cost or without paying its mana cost may allow you to apply those to the Adventure.
2023-09-01	If a spell is cast as an Adventure, its controller exiles it instead of putting it into its owner’s graveyard as it resolves. For as long as it remains exiled, that player may cast it as a permanent spell. If an Adventure spell leaves the stack in any way other than resolving (most likely by being countered or by failing to resolve because its targets have all become illegal), that card won’t be exiled and the spell’s controller won’t be able to cast it as a permanent later.
2023-09-01	If an adventurer card ends up in exile for any other reason than by exiling itself while resolving, it won’t give you permission to cast it as a permanent spell.
2023-09-01	If an effect copies an Adventure spell, that copy is exiled as it resolves. It ceases to exist as a state-based action; it’s not possible to cast the copy as a permanent.
2023-09-01	If an effect instructs you to choose a card name, you may choose the alternative Adventure name. Consider only the alternative characteristics to determine whether that is an appropriate name to choose.
2023-09-01	If an effect refers to a card, spell, or permanent that has an Adventure, it won’t find an instant or sorcery spell on the stack that’s been cast as an Adventure.
2023-09-01	If an object becomes a copy of an object that has an Adventure, the copy also has an Adventure. If it changes zones, it will either cease to exist (if it’s a token) or cease to be a copy (if it’s a nontoken permanent), and so you won’t be able to cast it as an Adventure.
2023-09-01	If you cast an adventurer card as an Adventure, use only its alternative characteristics to determine whether it’s legal to cast that spell. For example, if you control Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer (“Once each turn, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from the top of your library.”) and Questing Druid is on top of your library, you can cast Seek the Beast, but not Questing Druid.
2023-09-01	When casting a spell as an Adventure, use the alternative characteristics and ignore all of the card’s normal characteristics. The spell’s color, mana cost, mana value, and so on are determined by only those alternative characteristics. If the spell leaves the stack, it immediately resumes using its normal characteristics.
2023-09-01	You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions for the permanent spell you cast from exile. Normally, you’ll be able to cast it only during your main phase while the stack is empty.