Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder MTG Card

Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder - Shadows over Innistrad

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant,Transform
Released	2016-04-08
Set symbol
Set name	Shadows over Innistrad
Set code	SOI
Number	182
Frame	2015
Layout	Transform
Border	Black
Illustred by	Nils Hamm

Key Takeaways

MTG players gain board advantage with Skin Invasion’s unique enchant-and-transform ability, ensuring superior card utility.
The card’s requirement for creature death to transform can present strategic challenges but bolsters resource acceleration.
Instant speed potential of Skin Invasion allows for surprise plays, giving an edge during combat and removal.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature attacks each combat if able. When enchanted creature dies, return Skin Invasion to the battlefield transformed under your control.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder offers a unique two-for-one utility by beginning as an enchantment that then transforms into a creature, supplying you with an additional asset on the board and ensuring you maintain card superiority.

Resource Acceleration: This card accelerates your board presence. Once the enchanted creature dies, Skin Invasion turns into Skin Shedder, instantly giving you access to a 3/4 creature, effectively condensing steps that quicken the pace at which you mobilize your resources.

Instant Speed: The utility of Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder plays well with instant speed removal or combat tricks. By casting spells at instant speed that might lead to the enchanted creature’s demise, you can seamlessly transition the enchantment into a creature on your turn, catching opponents off guard and maximizing your turn efficiency.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder has an intriguing mechanism of transforming from an aura to a creature, it necessitates a creature you control to die. This can be a considerable setback if your board presence is already weak or if you’re unable to safely sacrifice a creature without compromising your gameplay strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder requires exclusively red mana to cast. This limitation ensures that only decks with a red mana base can utilize this card, potentially excluding it from a wide array of multi-colored or colorless strategies that could otherwise benefit from its unique attributes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When assessing the cost to benefit ratio, the one red mana needed to cast Skin Invasion is manageable, but the payoff is contingent on a future event—namely, the enchanted creature’s death. In the early game, when mana efficiency is key, needing to invest in an aura that doesn’t provide immediate impact can set a player back when compared to other low-cost cards that offer direct and guaranteed enhancements or effects.

Reasons to Include Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder in Your Collection

Versatility: Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder offers unique gameplay options. As an Aura, Skin Invasion attaches to any creature and transforms into Skin Shedder upon the enchanted creature’s demise, providing a solid creature for your battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card shines with sacrifice effects. You can control the transformation by sacrificing the enchanted creature yourself, which could be part of a larger combo or synergy within your deck’s strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creatures are plentiful and removal is essential, Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder remains relevant. Controlling when your creatures die can decisively turn the tides of the game, making it a valuable tool in many matchups.

How to beat

Overcoming Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder in Magic: The Gathering can be quite the challenge. This card transforms from an Aura attached to a creature causing it to be aggressive, to a formidable creature once the enchanted creature dies. To tackle this, one efficient strategy is to remove the creature it’s attached to without destroying it, such as through exile or bounce effects. This prevents Skin Invasion from triggering and becoming a creature. Cards like Path to Exile and Unsummon work well here.

Alternatively, taking control of the creature that Skin Invasion enchants can neutralize the threat, as sacrificing or utilizing that creature for your gain prevents your opponent from benefiting from the transformation. Act of Treason and similar effects can serve dual purposes in this regard. Lastly, effects that prevent creatures from attacking, like Ghostly Prison, ensure that the forced aggression leads nowhere, stalling the transformation until you can address the threat directly.

Recognizing the right moment and choosing the right method to interact with either Skin Invasion or its creature counterpart is crucial. By doing so, you keep the upper hand and prevent your opponent’s scheming from coming to fruition.

Cards like Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder

Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder is a unique card from the world of Magic: The Gathering that offers both an enchantment in its first form and a creature in its after transformation. It bears similarity to enchantments like Dead Weight which also serves as an effective way to debilitate opposing creatures, however, Skin Invasion takes it further by turning into a creature upon the enchanted creature’s death, providing a notable advantage.

Another comparable card is Kaya’s Ghostform from the War of the Spark set. While it doesn’t transform, it shares the theme of sticking around after the creature it enchants dies by bringing the creature or planeswalker back to the battlefield. This similarity showcases an intriguing subtheme in MTG of cards that offer more than just a simple enchantment. Furthermore, Invasive Species also echoes the concept of metamorphosis as it allows you to return another permanent you control to your hand upon entering the battlefield, although it lacks the direct interplay with the death of creatures.

Scrutinizing the versatile nature and adaptable tactics they bring, Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder emerges as an imaginative pick within its category, armed with the capacity to escalate the game by converting temporary control to a more permanent, creature-based advantage.

Cards similar to Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad, 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 Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-04-08	If, during your declare attackers step, the enchanted creature is tapped or is affected by a spell or ability that says it can’t attack, then it doesn’t attack. If there’s a cost associated with having that creature attack, its controller isn’t forced to pay that cost, so it doesn’t have to attack in that case either.
2016-04-08	The controller of Skin Invasion, not the controller of the enchanted creature, returns Skin Invasion to the battlefield transformed.
2016-04-08	The enchanted creature’s controller still chooses which player or planeswalker that creature attacks.
2016-07-13	For more information on double-faced cards, see the Shadows over Innistrad mechanics article (http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/shadows-over-innistrad-mechanics).