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Shadow Rift

Instant

Target creature gains shadow until end of turn. (It can block or be blocked by only creatures with shadow.)
Draw a card.

CMC
1
Mana cost
{U}
Color identity
U
Rarity
common
Set
Tempest Remastered
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#2934
Buy on TCGplayer
Shadow Rift card art
Shadow Rift makes a creature unblockable and replaces itself for a single blue mana — that combination of evasion and card neutrality is the whole argument. It earns its slot in spell-slinging decks like Zethi, Arcane Blademaster, and it's one of the more dangerous targets to copy with Precursor Golem on the battlefield, turning one cantrip into a full army of shadows.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Zethi, Arcane Blademaster

Zethi, Arcane Blademaster

67.8% of decks · synergy 0.65

Shadow Rift is in roughly 68% of Zethi, Arcane Blademaster decks because Zethi imprints instants and replays them for free — a one-mana cantrip that grants unblockable is exactly the kind of cheap, recurring threat enabler Zethi wants imprinted.

02
Muddle, the Ever-Changing

Muddle, the Ever-Changing

56.9% of decks · synergy 0.54

Muddle, the Ever-Changing rewards casting cheap instants and sorceries to accumulate lore counters, and Shadow Rift fits cleanly into that spell-count engine while keeping your attackers alive through blockers.

03
Octavia, Living Thesis

Octavia, Living Thesis

52.5% of decks · synergy 0.49

Octavia, Living Thesis turns creatures into 8/8s when you cast instants or sorceries, so Shadow Rift does double duty — it advances Octavia's trigger count and then lets the newly pumped attacker walk through the board uncontested.

04
Orvar, the All-Form

Orvar, the All-Form

49.6% of decks · synergy 0.46

Casting Shadow Rift targeting your own creature triggers Orvar, the All-Form to create a token copy of any permanent you control, making a one-mana cantrip also a free clone engine piece.

05
Lyse Hext

Lyse Hext

46.2% of decks · synergy 0.44

Lyse Hext cares about instants and sorceries fueling a storm-adjacent gameplan, and Shadow Rift slots in as a zero-cost spell in terms of card equity — you spend one mana and replace the card while pushing damage through.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Shadow Rift is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, and the format where it actually sees meaningful play is Pauper, where cantripping protection spells are currency and evasion at common is genuinely scarce. In Legacy and Vintage the competition from Cantrips is steep enough that Shadow Rift rarely makes the cut outside of niche Ninja or Prowess shells. Commander is where the card finds its most consistent home — spell-slinging commanders that want cheap instants to trigger abilities, copy with the stack, or simply keep a key attacker alive for lethal will reach for Shadow Rift regularly.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Shadow Rift isn't currently available in this snapshot, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate. Given its age and niche appeal it has historically been an easy pickup, but supply can vary depending on the printing.

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Sources

Mentioned

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