Shade

Shade is a mainly black creature type used for cards that depict powerful spirits, beings of darkness, typically employed by evil wizards who wield large amounts of black mana.

Description

Shades are shadowy ghosts of dead people which linger on earth. The cards usually have "pump" effect (: ~ gets +1/+1 until end of turn). The first card to bear the type was Frozen Shade in Alpha.

Storyline

Dominaria

Certain regions of Dominaria are inhabited by Frozen Shades, which are often enslaved by powerfull sorcerrers. Some were used as protectors of Caliphear the Nightmare’s lands in the Great Salt Marshes of Western Golthonor. These Shades were defeated by goblins and Shanodin Dryads after the swamps became barren due to the wizard Coldraith’s magic. Another Frozen Shade was summoned by Aldon using the Dark Amulet, along with a vampire and bog wraith. The shade needed to feed on flesh or would dissipate, so joined with Dreygar in convincing Aldon to attack Dreygar's Castle. When Dreygar was killed, the bog wraith remained as an advisor to Aldon. Frozen Shades were also used by the planeswalker Marduk Blackwater in his battle in the Hurloon Mountains against Adam Carthalion.

Rimewind Necromancers were known to create Chilling Shades from the souls of those trapped in mystical blizzards. Furthermore, the Nantuko often become shades after their death.

Dread shades, known as remnants, served Belzenlok's Cabal. They could change size; not only capable of becoming extremely large, also able to shrink down small enough to crawl inside a corpse and animate it. They were gray figures, naked to the waist, their bodies like a muscular, desiccated corpse. Their chest have been ripped open collar to waist, revealing an empty cavity that glowes with spectral light, below a pointed face with a wide fanged jaw.

Innistrad

Innistradi shades are known to live among humanity (Evernight Shade).

Ixalan

Some Condemners of the Legion of Dusk are Shade-Binders. They capture and magically bind Shades, using blessed braziers that exude inky black smoke. These Revenants are used to guard ships and are sometimes bound in weapons.

Ravnica

Both the Dimir and the Rakdos employ shades as servants, spies and protectors. More feral shades are known to prowl the Undercity.

Ulgrotha

Ihsan's Shade is an infamousd Shade on Ulgrotha, created by Baron Sengir.

Zendikar

Shades on Zendikar are often drawn to places of great power, where they establish their hunting grounds. Some vampires are shown to return after their death as shades (Nirkana Revenant).

Trivia

• Cinder Shade has red in its casting cost.
• Shade of Trokair from Planar Chaos is the only white Shade and does have a white form of this ability.
• Shade's Breath is an instant that turns creatures into Shades.
• Shade's Form is an enchantment that gives creatures Shade-abilities. The art shows a person in the process of changing into a shade.