Nightshade Schemers MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Faerie Wizard
Abilities	Flying,Kinship
Released	2008-02-01
Set symbol
Set name	Morningtide
Set code	MOR
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	69
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Paolo Parente

Key Takeaways

Nightshade Schemers facilitates significant card advantage by potentially drawing cards each turn.
It requires strategic discarding, which can be tough with a low hand, limiting its play.
Works best in decks utilizing Rogues or Faeries for tribal synergy and combo plays.

Text of card

Flying Kinship At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it shares a creature type with Nightshade Schemers, you may reveal it. If you do, each opponent loses 2 life.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nightshade Schemers comes with a built-in mechanic that lets you control the flow of the game by potentially stripping resources from your opponent while padding your own hand. This can lead to a significant edge as the match progresses.

Resource Acceleration: When deploying Nightshade Schemers, its kinship ability can be a game-changer, especially if you reveal a card that shares a creature type. This mechanic not only filters through your deck but also puts you ahead by potentially landing an additional creature on the board without spending resources from your hand.

Instant Speed: Although Nightshade Schemers itself doesn’t function at instant speed, the ability to subtly manipulate your top deck can synergize well with instant-speed spells and abilities in your strategy. This can create unexpected turns and shifts in momentum that catch opponents off guard, keeping you one step ahead in resource management and board presence.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the limitations of Nightshade Schemers is that it asks you to discard another card to capitalize on its kinship ability. This can be particularly challenging when your hand is already running low, forcing you to make tough decisions on what to sacrifice for potential gains.

Specific Mana Cost: Nightshade Schemers requires a dedicated mana investment with three black mana in its cost, limiting its integration into multi-colored decks. Decks that can’t generate enough black mana consistently may find this card hard to cast on time.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost requiring five mana overall, Nightshade Schemers may arrive too late in the game compared to other creatures that offer similar or greater impact for less investment, potentially causing it to sit unused in your hand or putting you behind in tempo while you work to play it.

Reasons to Include Nightshade Schemers in Your Collection

Versatility: Nightshade Schemers can find its place in decks that capitalize on the kinship mechanic or those that synergize with the flying ability. Its potential to draw extra cards every turn appeals to players in need of consistent card advantage.

Combo Potential: As a card with inherent evasiveness, Nightshade Schemers pairs well with strategies that leverage creature types, specifically Rogues and Faeries, for combo interactions and tribal bonuses.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where there is a high volume of creature-based strategies, Nightshade Schemers’ ability to potentially disrupt opponents’ top-deck cards can be a subtle yet impactful form of control.

How to beat Nightshade Schemers

Nightshade Schemers can be a tricky adversary for players in the game. This card demands strategic planning due to its kinship ability, which gives it deathtouch if you control another black creature. When facing this card, it’s vital to limit the number of black creatures your opponent has, making the Schemers less threatening without their poisonous capability.

Board management spells can be quite effective. Consider using removal such as “Path to Exile” or “Doom Blade” to keep the opponent’s board clear, paying attention to timing, so you eradicate creatures before the kinship ability can trigger. Alternatively, preventive measures such as “Ghostly Prison” or “Propaganda” can constrain your opponent’s ability to attack, thus sidestepping the threat of deathtouch.

Remember, with the right strategy and foresight, overcoming a card like Nightshade Schemers becomes much easier. Keeping their kinship at bay and managing the board effectively will often neutralize their advantage and keep you in control of the game. Always be ready to adapt your tactics as the match unfolds to ensure victory against this sly foe.

Cards like Nightshade Schemers

Nightshade Schemers joins the elusive ranks of creatures with the kinship mechanic in Magic the Gathering. In the family of creatures that bolster your board each upkeep, Nightshade Schemers shares similar ground with Leaf-Crowned Elder, a card that also reaps the benefits of the top of your library, in this case focusing on casting tribal spells without paying their mana cost. However, Nightshade Schemers carves its unique niche with the capacity to become a flying threat, something uncommon among its kinship counterparts.

Another kinship member worth comparing is the Ballyrush Banneret, which, although it doesn’t enhance board strength, makes your kithkin spells cheaper, facilitating a quicker deck strategy. Then there’s also Wolf-Skull Shaman, creating wolf token reinforcements every upkeep with the correct reveal, contributing to board presence similar to Nightshade Schemers. Yet none offer the potential for an evasive ability that can be as game-tipping as flying.

Assessing the value and role of these kinship creatures, Nightshade Schemers finds its place by effectively blending the advantage of potentially increasing one’s air offense while also contributing to the tribal synergy that defines this mechanic in MTG’s broader strategy.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Nightshade Schemers MTG card by a specific set like Morningtide, 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 Nightshade Schemers and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Nightshade Schemers has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-04-01	After the kinship ability finishes resolving, the card you looked at remains on top of your library.
2008-04-01	If the top card of your library is already revealed (due to Magus of the Future, for example), you still have the option to reveal it or not as part of a kinship ability’s effect.
2008-04-01	If you have multiple creatures with kinship abilities, each triggers and resolves separately. You’ll look at the same card for each one, unless you have some method of shuffling your library or moving that card to a different zone.
2008-04-01	Kinship is an ability word that indicates a group of similar triggered abilities that appear on _Morningtide_ creatures. It doesn’t have any special rules associated with it.
2008-04-01	The first two sentences of every kinship ability are the same (except for the creature’s name). Only the last sentence varies from one kinship ability to the next.
2008-04-01	You don’t have to reveal the top card of your library, even if it shares a creature type with the creature that has the kinship ability.