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Shadowspear

Legendary Artifact — Equipment

Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has trample and lifelink.
{1}: Permanents your opponents control lose hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.
Equip {2}

CMC
1
Mana cost
{1}
Color identity
C
Rarity
rare
Set
Secret Lair Drop
Price
$69.96
EDHREC rank
#331
Buy on TCGplayer
Shadowspear card art
Shadowspear does two things simultaneously that most equipment can't: it grants trample and lifelink to push through damage and stabilize life totals, and its activated ability strips hexproof and indestructible from every opponent's permanent for a single mana — making it a combat threat and an interaction piece on the same card. At one mana to cast and one to equip, the cost is effectively nothing. Commanders like Lara Croft, Tomb Raider that want cheap equipment with outsized board impact treat this as an auto-include, and it earns that status.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

86.3% of decks · synergy 0.84

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider cares about low-cost equipment that generates value on contact, and Shadowspear at one mana to cast and equip fits that engine perfectly — the activated ability to strip hexproof and indestructible also removes blockers or targets that would otherwise stall Lara Croft's combat math.

02
Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence

Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence

51.6% of decks · synergy 0.45

Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence deals damage to herself to load up counters, and Shadowspear's lifelink converts that self-damage into a life buffer that keeps her engine online longer — the trample meanwhile ensures those counters translate into actual kills through chump blockers.

03
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

46.8% of decks · synergy 0.43

Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale draws a card for each equipped creature that attacks, so Shadowspear's low equip cost means it slots onto a Knight, replaces itself immediately, and then contributes trample and lifelink on the swing.

04
Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

51.5% of decks · synergy 0.42

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary accumulates counters and wants equipment that amplifies each hit, making Shadowspear's trample essential for turning a large but blockable threat into a guaranteed damage source — the hexproof-stripping ability also lets Cloud punch through otherwise untouchable creatures.

05
Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer

50.1% of decks · synergy 0.40

Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer builds around gaining life to trigger payoffs, and Shadowspear is one of the most efficient lifelink sources available at this mana cost — equipping it to any attacking creature turns every combat step into a life engine trigger.

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

Commander is where Shadowspear earns its reputation: the ability to remove hexproof and indestructible at instant speed for one mana solves problems that pure equipment never touches, and the lifelink plus trample on a 1-mana body makes it generically excellent in any creature-combat deck. In Modern, Shadowspear sees play in Amulet Titan and creature-based midrange shells that need both a life buffer against aggressive decks and a way to answer Gods or other indestructible threats. Legacy and Vintage have access to more busted options, but Shadowspear still appears in fair creature decks that need efficient utility. Pioneer shows moderate play in midrange strategies where the hexproof-stripping ability specifically answers Spirits and hexproof voltron lines.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Basilisk Collar gives lifelink and deathtouch on a one-mana equip cost and runs under $5, which covers the life-gain angle entirely — you lose trample and the activated ability, but in decks that just want combat sustainability it does the job. Loxodon Warhammer is the other common stand-in, granting trample and lifelink on a larger body bonus, though its three-mana equip cost is noticeably slower than Shadowspear and it never touches hexproof or indestructible permanents.

Price Context

Current price

$69.96 premium tier

At $69.96, Shadowspear sits firmly in premium equipment territory — comparable to the most-played utility artifacts in Commander. The card's unique combination of stat bonuses and the permanent-answer activated ability keeps demand high enough that the price has been sticky, making it a legitimate purchase if your deck is built around combat and needs the effect.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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