Nantuko Shade
Mana cost {B}{B}. Power/toughness 2/1.
{B}: This creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Nantuko Shade is a black card, legal in Premodern, shown in its old-frame Torment printing.
Price and printings: Cardmarket (€12.37) · TCGplayer ($17) · Scryfall
Tracked daily since 28 July 2026: on Cardmarket between €8.68 and €13.86 in that time.
How often Nantuko Shade is played
Nantuko Shade is maindecked in 6 of 131 tournament decks in this archive (5%), averaging 2.7 copies; used by 2 of 33 tracked archetypes.
Counting only the 75 decks that can cast black cards, 6 of them play it (8%).
See how it compares on the Premodern staples list.
Premodern archetypes that play Nantuko Shade
- Mono Black: A 2/1 for two that gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each {B} you pay, in more than eight of ten lists. Late in the game each untapped Swamp adds a point of damage, and Dark Ritual adds two more for a surprise kill.
- Deadguy Ale: In about half the lists: a two-mana 2/1 that gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each {B} you spend, so every black source drawn late adds damage. It punishes a control deck that taps out. Swords to Plowshares and Smother kill it, but with black mana open it survives burn, Fire // Ice and Pyroclasm by growing in response.
Tournament decks with Nantuko Shade
- Moneyball: 4th Place at 4Seasons Summer Edition (3× mainboard)
- Pox Aggro: 1st Place at Magic Beijing #59 (4× mainboard)
- Mono Black: 1st Place at MTGO Premodern League (2× mainboard)
- Moneyball Red: 2nd Place at 2026 Nantuko League (4× mainboard)
- Moneyball: 1st Place at LPP x Trial Épico (2× mainboard)
- Moneyball Black: 2nd Place at Liga Paulista de Premodern 2026 (1× mainboard)
