Shadow Alley Denizen MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Vampire Rogue
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Shadow Alley Denizen can tip game balance by granting evasion, potentially pressuring opponents.
  2. Maximizes black creature plays, enabling life-drain synergies and resource acceleration.
  3. Countered by controlling creature count and composition through removals and disruption.

Text of card

Whenever another black creature enters the battlefield under your control, target creature gains intimidate until end of turn. (It can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: This adept creature from the dimly-lit streets of Ravnica offers a subtle yet consistent way to gain card advantage. Every time another black creature enters the battlefield under your control, Shadow Alley Denizen gives that creature the added edge of intimidation until end of turn, potentially rendering them unblockable by colorless and white creatures. Such a tactic can pressure your opponent and tip the balance of the game in your favor by ensuring your creatures can sneak past defenses and hit their mark.

Resource Acceleration: Although Shadow Alley Denizen itself doesn’t directly boost your mana resources, it accelerates your strategic resources by enabling your creatures to connect more easily with the opponent. A successful attack can lead to life loss, triggering synergies with life-drain mechanics, or enabling extortion effects, which are common in black’s slice of the color pie and can overall accelerate your path to victory.

Instant Speed Interactions: While Shadow Alley Denizen isn’t an instant, it can benefit from instant-speed interactions. This includes flashing in black creatures during your opponent’s turn to unexpectedly give them evasion capability when they least expect it. Being able to dodge blockers can be just as timely as having an instant and can be used strategically alongside other instant-speed spells to create unexpected and advantageous scenarios.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Shadow Alley Denizen requires you to have other creatures with its same characteristic to fully utilize its potential, limiting its effectiveness when you have no other creatures on the battlefield or in hand.

Specific Mana Cost: As a card that demands one black mana, it is not as flexible for multi-colored decks that might struggle to provide the necessary mana especially early in the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For its ability to give only one creature intimidate until the end of the turn, the cost might seem excessive when other cards provide more utility or affect the board more substantially at a similar or lower mana cost. This could lead players to opt for alternatives that yield a higher payoff for their decks.


Reasons to Include Shadow Alley Denizen in Your Collection

Versatility: Shadow Alley Denizen is a card that can seamlessly blend into various black-centric or multicolor decks. Given its low mana cost and the ability to give creatures unblockable status, it can be an excellent addition to aggressive strategies aiming to bypass an opponent’s defenses.

Combo Potential: This card shines in decks that frequently cast black creatures, enabling you to continually threaten your opponent’s life total. Its ability can be paired with numerous creatures entering the battlefield to create an unblockable army, turning the tide of a game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where ground stalls are common, Shadow Alley Denizen can provide an invaluable edge. Its potential to slip past blockers makes it relevant in metas where evasive abilities are prized, allowing you to maintain momentum and put pressure on control-oriented adversaries.


How to beat

Shadow Alley Denizen is a nuanced card that adds a layer of strategy when facing creatures in the world of Magic: The Gathering. This subtle card, often used in decks focused on evasion and incremental advantage, requires pinpointed methods to counteract its influence on the game. Its ability to give creatures unblockable characteristics can catch opponents off guard and enable crucial damage to slip through the defenses.

The key to overcoming Shadow Alley Denizen lies in controlling your opponent’s creature count and composition. Board wipes and targeted removal play pivotal roles in preventing the Denizen from applying its effect successfully. Tackling the creatures before they can benefit from the Denizen’s ability is essential. Moreover, keeping your opponent’s hand size in check limits the times they can trigger its ability and maintain constant pressure.

To sum up, leveraging removals and disruption efficiently neutralizes the incremental benefits provided by Shadow Alley Denizen. In doing so, one can maintain the battlefield equilibrium and prevent opponents from exploiting those key moments where their creatures are rendered unblockable. With considered strategy, this tricky card’s impact can be significantly diminished.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the MTG realm and sharpen your skills with Shadow Alley Denizen. Gaining an upper hand in the game is all about making the right choices and equipping your deck with cards that can swing the tide of battle in your favor. As you build on card advantage and finetune your strategy, Shadow Alley Denizen’s ability to make creatures unblockable could be the secret weapon you need. Elevate your game plan and create formidable decks that opponents will find challenging to counter. Explore more insights and strategies to reinforce your position as a formidable player in the MTG community. Join us to amplify your gameplay and add a strategic depth to your collection.


Cards like Shadow Alley Denizen

Delving into the night-shrouded alleys of Magic: The Gathering, Shadow Alley Denizen emerges as a staple for decks with a penchant for rogues and evasive tactics. This card offers a unique ability that gives your creatures a nifty advantage – the potential for unblockability. Similar cards, like Vampire Cutthroat, also provide a subtle edge with its skulk ability, ensuring it can only be blocked by creatures with equal or lesser power.

Another card that orchestrates similar under-the-radar maneuvers is Whispersilk Cloak. This equipment grants not only unblockability but also shrouds the creature it’s equipped to, protecting it from targeted spells or abilities. While Shadow Alley Denizen requires a specific trigger – another black creature entering the battlefield – Whispersilk Cloak offers a more direct route to making a creature unblockable, albeit at the cost of the equip fee.

Looking at cards within this shadowed niche in Magic: The Gathering, Shadow Alley Denizen offers an affordable and synergistic approach for decks capitalizing on a stream of black creatures to subtly shift the tide of battle in their favor.

Vampire Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Whispersilk Cloak - MTG Card versions
Vampire Cutthroat - Eldritch Moon (EMN)
Whispersilk Cloak - Darksteel (DST)

Cards similar to Shadow Alley Denizen by color, type and mana cost

Stone-Throwing Devils - MTG Card versions
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Vampire Bats - MTG Card versions
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Plague Beetle - MTG Card versions
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Stone-Throwing Devils - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Will-o'-the-Wisp - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Vampire Bats - Renaissance (REN)
Bog Rats - Chronicles (CHR)
Insidious Bookworms - Alliances (ALL)
Sewer Rats - Mirage (MIR)
Muck Rats - Portal Second Age (P02)
Vebulid - Urza's Saga (USG)
Zodiac Rat - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Urborg Skeleton - Invasion (INV)
Carrion Rats - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Champion of the Perished - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Dark Supplicant - Legions (LGN)
Bile Urchin - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Rimebound Dead - Coldsnap (CSP)
Plague Beetle - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Festering Goblin - Modern Masters (MMA)
Sleeper Agent - Tenth Edition (10E)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Shadow Alley Denizen MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash and Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska, 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 Shadow Alley Denizen and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Shadow Alley Denizen Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2013-02-01 and 2024-01-12. Illustrated by Cynthia Sheppard.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12013-02-01GatecrashGTC 762003normalblackCynthia Sheppard
22014-03-14Duel Decks: Jace vs. VraskaDDM 442003normalblackCynthia Sheppard
32024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 922015normalblackCynthia Sheppard

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Shadow Alley Denizen has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-01-24 Shadow Alley Denizen can be chosen as the target of its own ability.
2013-01-24 The black creature that entered the battlefield can be chosen as the target of Shadow Alley Denizen’s ability, but it won’t be able to attack that turn unless it also has haste.

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