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Misery's Shadow

Creature — Shade

If a creature an opponent controls would die, exile it instead.
{1}: This creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Magic Online Promos
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#15681
Buy on TCGplayer
Misery's Shadow card art
Misery's Shadow is a 2/3 for two mana that permanently exiles every creature that dies for as long as it's in play — graveyard strategies simply stop working while it's on the board. The cost is running a two-mana 2/3 that opponents will prioritize killing; commanders like Umbris, Fear Manifest pair with it naturally since exiling rather than graveyard-filling still grows Umbris, while decks like Ashaya, Soul of the Wild that animate lands care nothing for it and won't slot it.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Umbris, Fear Manifest

Umbris, Fear Manifest

11.3% of decks · synergy 0.11

Umbris, Fear Manifest triggers off cards exiled from opponents' libraries and graveyards, and Misery's Shadow converts every creature death into an exile event — so combat, removal spells, and even your own interaction all feed Umbris's power and toughness while simultaneously locking opponents out of recursion loops.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Misery's Shadow is a legitimate hate piece: three or four opponents all running reanimation packages means the static ability punishes the whole table simultaneously, and a 2/3 for two mana is a fine body to have sitting in play while it does it. Modern and Legacy both host dedicated graveyard decks — Dredge, Reanimator, Living End — where Misery's Shadow comes down early and shuts off the engine before it starts, though it competes with Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace for that slot and gets worse against non-creature recursion. Pioneer graveyard decks are less omnipresent but still exist, and the card pulls weight against Phoenix and Greasefang strategies there. Vintage and Oathbreaker are both legal formats where it's playable but rarely a priority inclusion given the speed of the environment.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Current pricing data for Misery's Shadow isn't available in this context, so check Scryfall or your preferred retailer for the live number. Given its role as a niche but real Commander and competitive sideboard piece, it typically sits in the range where it's worth picking up as a one-of if you're building any black graveyard-hate package.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.