Skemfar Shadowsage
Creature — Elf Cleric
When this creature enters, choose one —
• Each opponent loses X life, where X is the greatest number of creatures you control that have a creature type in common.
• You gain X life, where X is the greatest number of creatures you control that have a creature type in common.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Kaldheim
- Price
- $0.34
- EDHREC rank
- #4566
Skemfar Shadowsage enters and drains each opponent for X life, where X equals the number of Elves and Clerics you control — in a stocked Lathril, Blade of the Elves board, that's a instant-speed life-swing of 20 or more before combat even happens. Four mana for a 2/3 is not an exciting rate, but the drain trigger is the whole point.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Lathril, Blade of the Elves
Lathril, Blade of the Elves floods the board with 1/1 Elf tokens, and Skemfar Shadowsage converts that critical mass directly into drained life totals — often ending games on the spot when Lathril's activated ability is also online.
Orah, Skyclave Hierophant
Skemfar Shadowsage is itself a Cleric, so Orah, Skyclave Hierophant can recur it from the graveyard; every loop through the bin is another drain trigger firing off a board full of Clerics.
Abomination of Llanowar
Abomination of Llanowar's power scales with Elf and Warrior counts, and Skemfar Shadowsage doubles as a drain payoff for the same Elf density that makes the Abomination a massive threat.
High Perfect Morcant
High Perfect Morcant rewards wide creature builds, and Skemfar Shadowsage punishes opponents for letting that board develop — a clean two-card message that says the wide strategy has inevitability.
Tyvar the Bellicose
Tyvar the Bellicose turns Elf mana abilities into damage sources, so Skemfar Shadowsage slots into the same Elf-dense shell and adds a life-drain threat that closes games Tyvar's combat math alone might miss.
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 |
Skemfar Shadowsage is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its home is unambiguously Commander. The drain trigger scales with board size, and only EDH consistently puts 20-plus Elves or Clerics into play in a single game. In Modern or Pioneer, a 2/3 for four mana that drains for two or three in a tribal shell is just too slow and too fragile against interaction to justify a slot. Legacy and Vintage have the raw efficiency to play around it entirely. Skemfar Shadowsage is a Commander card wearing a legal-everywhere badge.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.34 bulk tier
At $0.34, Skemfar Shadowsage is firmly bulk — easy to pick up in a trade binder or as a throw-in. Bulk rares with narrow tribal applications rarely climb unless the tribe spikes in popularity, so treat this as a cheap role-player rather than a spec.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Lathril, Blade of the Elves
- Orah, Skyclave Hierophant
- Abomination of Llanowar
- High Perfect Morcant
- Tyvar the Bellicose
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.