Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar
Legendary Creature — Human Elf Cleric
, 
, Sacrifice another creature: Draw X cards, where X is that creature's power.
Choose a Background (You can have a Background as a second commander.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Battle for Baldur's Gate Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #3622
Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar puts a massive pile of +1/+1 counters on the board in a single activation — the kind of stat inflation that closes games or sets up lethal swings with almost no setup. The cost is real: you're sacrificing creatures to fuel the ability, which means she belongs in decks already running fodder engines, not as a standalone threat. Commanders like Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist make that cost irrelevant, and the combo ceiling alongside Body of Research makes her worth serious consideration in any black-green counter shell.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist is the premier home for Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar because Xu-Ifit generates sacrificial fodder continuously, turning Shadowheart's activation cost into pure upside rather than card disadvantage. The two cards form a self-sustaining engine where Xu-Ifit's bone tokens feed Shadowheart's counter stacking on a single target.
Minthara, Merciless Soul
Minthara, Merciless Soul rewards going wide with creatures and punishing opponents through combat, and Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar delivers exactly the kind of sudden power spike that turns a board of modest tokens into a lethal attack. The sacrifice synergy means Minthara's expendable creatures become counter fuel without tempo loss.
Orah, Skyclave Hierophant
Orah, Skyclave Hierophant runs a dense cleric package and recursive loops that keep creatures flowing in and out of the graveyard — Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar fits neatly as a payoff that converts that creature churn into a single enormous threat. The cleric type also plays into Orah's tribal synergies.
Edea, Possessed Sorceress
Edea, Possessed Sorceress leans on sacrifice and recursion as core gameplay mechanics, which aligns directly with Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar's demand for a steady supply of expendable bodies. Edea's ability to repeatedly rebuy creatures means Shadowheart rarely runs dry on sacrifice targets.
Yargle and Multani
Yargle and Multani care about stacking power onto a single high-base-power creature and swinging for lethal, making Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar's counter-dumping ability a natural accelerant for that plan. Piling counters onto Yargle and Multani with Shadowheart's activation can translate a normal board state into a one-shot threat.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar actually gets to operate at full power — 100-card singleton games run long enough for sacrifice engines to come online, and the political and multiplayer dynamics mean a single creature loaded with counters can swing the game decisively. Legacy and Vintage legality is technically correct, but neither format has any interest in a four-mana legendary creature whose payoff requires a sacrifice loop to compete with the raw efficiency of those environments. Oathbreaker is a plausible niche for her, particularly in a Golgari shell built around counters, though the format's faster pace makes the setup cost harder to justify. Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar is a Commander card through and through — evaluate her entirely through that lens.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Shadowheart, Dark JusticiarBody of Research
Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar isn't available in our system, so check Scryfall or your preferred vendor for the live number before buying. Given her strong inclusion rate in Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist and Minthara, Merciless Soul decks, demand is real — if she's sitting cheap, that's a pickup worth making for any Golgari counter or sacrifice build.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Body of Research
- Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
- Minthara, Merciless Soul
- Orah, Skyclave Hierophant
- Edea, Possessed Sorceress
- Yargle and Multani
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.