Thousand-Faced Shadow MTG Card
2022-02-18 - Number 86s
2022-02-18 - Number 337
2022-02-18 - Number 86
2022-02-18 - Number 86p
2022-02-18 - Number 451
2002-06-24 - Number 97909
2022-02-18 - Number 37
| Card sets | Released in 7 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Ninja |
| Abilities | Flying,Ninjutsu |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Enables significant card advantage by duplicating key creatures on the battlefield.
- Instant speed play disrupts opponents, allowing tactical advantages.
- Versatile card with solid meta relevance and combo potential in MTG.
Text of card
Ninjutsu (, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.) Flying When Thousand-Faced Shadow enters the battlefield from your hand, if it's attacking, create a token that's a copy of another target attacking creature. The token enters the battlefield tapped and attacking.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Thousand-Faced Shadow offers the ability to create copies of your creatures, essentially cloning your best assets on the battlefield. This gives a player more options and power, contributing significantly to card advantage as you maximize the utility of each creature in your deck.
Resource Acceleration: By utilizing the copies generated by Thousand-Faced Shadow, you can effectively increase the number of creatures without spending additional mana on casting them from your hand. This can lead to advanced board states earlier in the game, potentially outpacing your opponent in deploying threats.
Instant Speed: With its instant speed, Thousand-Faced Shadow can be played during your opponent’s turn, catching them off guard and potentially disrupting their strategies. This flexibility allows for more tactical decisions, ensuring that you always have the capability to respond or advance your board at crucial moments.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Thousand-Faced Shadow demands a card discard to unleash its potential, a hurdle when your hand is running on empty.
Specific Mana Cost: Locked into black mana requirements, this card can be a stumbling block in multi-colored decks craving flexibility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana valuation that’s a notch above some peers, players may glance towards other creatures that hit the battlefield with less of a resource dent.
Reasons to Include Thousand-Faced Shadow in Your Collection
Versatility: Thousand-Faced Shadow has a chameleon-like ability to adapt to various gameplay situations, making it a fitting choice for players who like to keep their opponents guessing. Its changeling trait allows it to seamlessly blend into multiple creature-based synergy decks.
Combo Potential: As a creature with myriad possibilities, Thousand-Faced Shadow synergizes with tribal support cards and mechanics, enabling a wealth of interactions and combo plays that can swing the game in inventive ways.
Meta-Relevance: Remaining one step ahead in the swiftly changing MTG landscape involves having aces up your sleeve. Thousand-Faced Shadow offers just that. Being a relevant card in diverse matchups gives it a strong place in the current meta, especially in formats where tribal decks and creature utilities are prevalent.
How to beat
The Thousand-Faced Shadow card presents a complex challenge on the battlegrounds of Magic the Gathering. To effectively tackle this elusive creature, understanding its mechanics is key. With an array of abilities that can disrupt traditional strategies, overcoming the Shadow requires precise and strategic plays. Common tactics involve managing your removal spells to coincide with the opponent’s attempts to maximize the card’s value. By doing so, you’ll be able to neutralize its impact and maintain control of the game’s pace.
Additionally, engaging in deck-building that includes cards with exile or sacrifice effects can serve as a robust countermeasure to the Shadow’s strengths. Cards that restrict or negate abilities also prove to be effective, as they directly undermine the flexibility that makes the Thousand-Faced Shadow a formidable adversary. Coupled with constant pressure and an adaptive playstyle, you can ensure that the Shadow’s multiplicity does not overwhelm your path to victory.
Ultimately, staying ahead of the Shadow’s game means keeping a keen eye on battlefield dynamics and being ready to react. It’s about timing your responses and not allowing the Shadow’s abilities to stack up to a point beyond containment. A delicate balance of foresight and responsive play is the key to success against this challenging addition to the Magic the Gathering universe.
BurnMana Recommendations
The Thousand-Faced Shadow is a card that rewards cunning and strategy, aligning perfectly with MTG’s spirit of adaptability and surprise. With its enhanced versatility in creating creature copies and the added edge of instant-speed plays, it’s a card that promises to enrich your game and offer new avenues of tactical advantage. As you assess its place in your deck and collection, consider the synergy with your current lineup and the dynamic nature of your gameplay. If you crave more strategic depth and surprise elements for unforgettable matches, delve further with us into MTG’s fascinating card interactions and discover the full potential of Thousand-Faced Shadow on your path to victory.
Cards like Thousand-Faced Shadow
Thousand-Faced Shadow is an intriguing addition to the array of creature cards in MTG. It draws a parallel with the likes of the infamous Clone card, allowing players to copy any creature on the battlefield. What makes Thousand-Faced Shadow distinct is its ability to utilize ninjutsu, enabling a sneakier and more versatile play by returning an unblocked attacker to hand and replacing it with Thousand-Faced Shadow already copying another creature.
Another card that shares similarities with Thousand-Faced Shadow is Phantasmal Image. This card also clones creatures, but with the downside of having an illusionary fragility; it’s destroyed if targeted by any spell or ability. Meanwhile, Thousand-Faced Shadow doesn’t face this particular drawback. Sakashima’s Student, a card famed for its ninjutsu ability, brings to the table a similar mechanic to Thousand-Faced Shadow, although it tends to copy creatures more for its enter-the-battlefield effect rather than attacking benefits.
Analyzing the characteristics of creature copying in MTG, Thousand-Faced Shadow showcases versatility with its combination of ninjutsu and cloning potential, positioning itself as a compelling choice for players seeking strategic adaptability on the battlefield.
Cards similar to Thousand-Faced Shadow by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Thousand-Faced Shadow MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Promos, 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 Thousand-Faced Shadow 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
Printings
The Thousand-Faced Shadow Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2022-02-18 and 2022-02-18. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 97909 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ekaterina Burmak | ||
| 2 | 2022-02-18 | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Promos | PNEO | 86s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ekaterina Burmak | |
| 3 | Neon Dynasty Art Series | ANEO | 37 | 2015 | Art series | Borderless | |||
| 4 | 2022-02-18 | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty | NEO | 337 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Maji | |
| 5 | 2022-02-18 | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty | NEO | 86 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ekaterina Burmak | |
| 6 | 2022-02-18 | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Promos | PNEO | 86p | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ekaterina Burmak | |
| 7 | 2022-02-18 | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty | NEO | 451 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ekaterina Burmak |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Thousand-Faced Shadow has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | 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 Thousand-Faced Shadow card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-02-18 | Although the Ninja is attacking, it was never declared as an attacking creature (for purposes of abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks, for example). |
| 2022-02-18 | Although the token is attacking, it was never declared as an attacking creature (for purposes of abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks, for example). |
| 2022-02-18 | Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied creature will trigger when the token enters the battlefield. Any “As -his creature] enters the battlefield” or “ -his creature] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the copied creature will also work. |
| 2022-02-18 | As you activate a ninjutsu ability, you reveal the Ninja card in your hand and return the attacking creature. The Ninja card stays revealed and isn't put onto the battlefield until the ability resolves. If it leaves your hand before then, it won't enter the battlefield at all. |
| 2022-02-18 | If a creature in combat has first strike or double strike, you can activate the ninjutsu ability during the first-strike combat damage step. The Ninja will deal combat damage during the regular combat damage step, even if it has first strike. |
| 2022-02-18 | If the copied creature had in its mana cost, X is 0. |
| 2022-02-18 | If the copied creature is a token, the token created by Thousand-Faced Shadow copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that put it onto the battlefield. |
| 2022-02-18 | If the copied creature was copying something else, the token enters the battlefield as whatever that creature was copying. |
| 2022-02-18 | Puff of smoke not included. |
| 2022-02-18 | The creature with ninjutsu enters the battlefield attacking the same player or planeswalker that the returned creature was attacking. This is a rule specific to ninjutsu; in other cases, when a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking, that creature's controller chooses which player or planeswalker it's attacking. |
| 2022-02-18 | The ninjutsu ability can be activated during the declare blockers step, combat damage step, or end of combat step. In most cases (see below), if you wait until the combatdamage step or end of combat step, it will be after combat damage has been dealt, so the Ninja won't deal combat damage. |
| 2022-02-18 | The ninjutsu ability can be activated only after blockers have been declared. Before then, attacking creatures are neither blocked nor unblocked. |
| 2022-02-18 | The token copies exactly what was printed on the original creature and nothing else (unless that permanent is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that creature has any counters on it or Auras and/or Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that changed its power, toughness, types, color, and so on. Notably, it doesn't copy any effects that may have turned a noncreature permanent into a creature. If the token isn't a creature as it enters the battlefield, it won't be attacking. |
| 2022-02-18 | You choose which opponent or opposing planeswalker the token is attacking as you put it onto the battlefield. It doesn't have to be the same player or planeswalker Thousand-Faced Shadow is attacking. (Remember that the rules for ninjutsu specify that a creature that enters the battlefield attacking because of a ninjutsu ability attacks the same player or planeswalker the returned unblocked creature was.) |