Shadewing Laureate
Creature — Human Warlock
Flying
Whenever another creature you control with flying dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Strixhaven: School of Mages
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #21111
Shadewing Laureate turns every non-token creature death into a +1/+1 counter delivery, which in the right shell means a board that grows every time an opponent clears it. The catch is narrowness — outside of Felisa, Fang of Silverquill and dedicated counters decks, that trigger rarely pulls enough weight to earn a slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill's entire engine runs on creatures dying with counters, and Shadewing Laureate guarantees every non-token death in the deck feeds that engine — it's not a support piece here, it's infrastructure.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Shadewing Laureate is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but competitive constructed formats have no use for a three-mana do-nothing-until-something-dies enchantment when faster, higher-ceiling payoffs exist at the same cost. Commander is where Shadewing Laureate actually lives — specifically in token-generating +1/+1 counter decks where the trigger fires repeatedly in a single turn cycle. Outside of dedicated synergy shells, it sits too far down the power curve to justify a slot in any 60-card format.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Shadewing Laureate is deep bulk — easy to acquire, zero financial barrier to testing. Bulk rares with narrow homes don't appreciate unless a new commander breaks the archetype wide open, so treat this as a free pickup for the right deck, not a spec.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.