Skyclave Shadowcat
Creature — Cat Horror
, Sacrifice another creature: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it dies, draw a card.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Zendikar Rising
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #13947
Skyclave Shadowcat turns every non-token creature death into a +1/+1 counter drip — a repeatable engine that snowballs fast in any deck that kills its own creatures. The cost is a two-mana 2/1 body that does nothing the turn it enters, so it only earns its slot when you can reliably trigger it multiple times per game; Felisa, Fang of Silverquill decks clear that bar easily.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
Felisa, Fang of Silverquill converts those +1/+1 counters directly into 1/1 flying tokens on death, so every creature that dies with counters from Skyclave Shadowcat generates board presence — the two cards form a self-sustaining loop where dying creatures build the Shadowcat, and the Shadowcat makes dying creatures worth more.
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 |
Skyclave Shadowcat is a Commander card through and through — it needs a critical mass of creature deaths to justify the slot, and 100-card singleton games with sacrifice and aristocrats synergies provide that density far more reliably than 60-card formats. In Modern and Pioneer it sits below the power threshold; a 2/1 for two with a slow counter accumulation trigger can't compete with the speed of those formats, and no dedicated shell has emerged to make it viable. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters for the same reason, now compounded by raw card quality. Stick to Commander, specifically aristocrats and -1/-1 counter shells where Skyclave Shadowcat's trigger fires multiple times per turn cycle.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Skyclave Shadowcat is firmly bulk — you're picking this out of a dollar box, not budgeting for it. Bulk rares with narrow commander applications rarely climb without a breakout deck or reprint, so don't expect movement; just grab a copy whenever you're building the right shell.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.