Shadowmoor

Shadowmoor is the forty-fifth Magic expansion and was released in May 2008 as the first set in the Shadowmoor block. Prerelease tournaments were held April 19–20, 2008. Release events were held May 2–4, 2008.

Set details

Shadowmoor contains 301 cards (80 rare, 80 uncommon, 121 common, and 20 basic lands). It is the first set of a so-called mini-block, the second being Eventide. It is also a large expansion released in May when usually a small expansion is released. Together with the previous Lorwyn block, they formed a four-set mega-block.

Shadowmoor takes place on the plane of the same name, which is a reflection of Lorwyn, the setting of the previous block. Shadowmoor does not continue any mechanics or themes from Lorwyn and often inverts them. For example, while Lorwyn had a sub-theme involving +1/+1 counters, Shadowmoor uses -1/-1 counters instead. While Lorwyn contained only a few multicolored cards and Morningtide none, Shadowmoor contains many multicolored cards. The races native to Lorwyn also appear in Shadowmoor, but some switch color alignment. Additionally, a race of artifact creatures called Scarecrows is introduced.

The strongest theme of Shadowmoor is the usage of Hybrid mana which can be paid with mana of either of two colors. This mechanic was first introduced in the Ravnica block but is heavily expanded in this and the following set, Eventide. Shadowmoor focuses on Allied pairs.

Every basic land in Shadowmoor is part of a two-card diptych. The expansion symbol of Shadowmoor is alternately interpreted as a bat wing, a dead leaf or the Jack-o'-lantern lid from the Reaper King, the King of the scarecrows. The latter is the official reading.

Flavor and storyline

Shadowmoor was once the world of Lorwyn — in fact, in a sense, it still is. But thanks to the Great Aurora, everything's changed. Where it was once constantly sunny, now it is always night, steeped in gloom and fog, with only cold moonlight to light the skies. Once-clear waters have turned brackish and chill. The howling wind creaks the brittle branches of rotting trees. Life, once abundant, either struggles to survive or is twisted into something vicious and cruel. This is not a world of despair but of oppressive terror and constant death.

Storyline sources

Marketing

Shadowmoor was sold in 75-card tournament decks, 16-card booster packs, five preconstructed theme decks and a fat pack. All products except the boosters contained a random Pro Tour Player Card. The booster packs featured artwork from Murderous Redcap, Grief Tyrant, Ashenmoor Gouger, Reaper King and Faerie Macabre. Starting with Shadowmoor, the fat pack was redesigned to include one storage box rather than two, and eight boosters rather than six. The panorama art piece that wraps the contents is 2¼" shorter as a result. The promotional prerelease cards for Shadowmoor was Demigod of Revenge with alternate art. The promotional release card for Shadowmoor was Vexing Shusher. The set was accompanied by the anthology of the same name, consisting of stories written by Cory J. Herndon, Scott McGough and others.

Like Morningtide boosters before them, boosters of Shadowmoor come with a bonus sixteenth card that is either a "rules card" or a creature token. One face of the Shadowmoor bonus card has one of six different rules tips or one of twelve different creature tokens. The other face has one of six advertisements for organized play programs, Gleemax, fat packs, and Eventide.

Tips & Tricks

The tips & tricks cards are

• Rules Tip: is the Untap Symbol
• Rules Tip: +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters
• Rules Tip: and Are Hybrid Mana Symbols
• Rules Tip: Conspire
• Rules Tip: Persist
• Rules Tip: Wither

Tokens

The Shadowmoor tokens are:

• 1/1 Kithkin Soldier produced by Repel Intruders
• 1/1 Spirit with flying produced by Spectral Procession
• 1/1 Rat produced by Plague of Vermin
• 1/1 Elemental produced by Elemental Mastery
• 1/1 Elf Warrior produced by Flourishing Defenses and Presence of Gond
• 1/2 Spider with reach produced by Gloomwidow's Feast
• 2/2 Wolf produced by Howl of the Night Pack
• 1/1 Faerie Rogue with flying produced by Oona, Queen of the Fae
• 5/5 Elemental produced by Din of the Fireherd
• 4/4 Giant Warrior with haste produced by Giantbaiting
• 1/1 Goblin Warrior produced by Wort, the Raidmother
• 1/1 Elf Warrior produced by Mercy Killing and Rhys the Redeemed

Misprints

• Reflecting Pool — the white mana symbol was mistakenly inserted into the foil treatment of the text box of the premium version of the card, as it was carried over from the premium Mistveil Plains.

Mechanics

Shadowmoor expands on its hybrid theme with the introduction of mono-colored hybrid mana. This mana cost can be paid by either one mana of a specified color, or by two mana of any color. The converted mana cost of these cards is the highest possible.

Another new feature was the untap symbol which is used as a cost allowing a permanent to be untapped to produce some effect as listed on the card. The card must be tapped to use that ability, just as cards with must be untapped. This ability appeared primarily in white and blue.

Further, the set includes a cycle of lands that have basic land types, despite not being basic lands. To prevent them from being strictly better than basic lands, these enter the battlefield tapped. However, they can also be used for a specific, somewhat weak effect, if its controller also controls at least two permanents of the appropriate color.

Shadowmoor introduced the following keyword mechanics:

• Conspire — As you play this spell, you may tap two untapped creatures you control that share a color with it. When you do, copy it.
• Persist — When this creature is put into the graveyard from play if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to play under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.
• Wither — This deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters. Primarily in red, black, and green.

Color Shifts

Except for Faeries, each of the major races has its main colors changed:

• Flamekins: Mono- → / (Cinders)
• Elves: / → /
• Giants: / → /
• Goblins: / → /
• Kithkin: / → /
• Merfolk: / → /
• Treefolk: // → /

Cycles

Shadowmoor has 26 cycles. Seven of them are part of the Shadowmoor block mega cycles. The remaining 19 cycles are:

Mega Cycles

Shadowmoor has seven mega cycles as part of the Shadowmoor block mega cycles. The allied colored set in Shadowmoor are:

Reprinted cards

• Corrupt, first printed in Urza's Saga, last seen in Seventh Edition
• Flow of Ideas, first printed in Ravnica: City of Guilds
• Graven Cairns, first printed in Future Sight
• Last Breath, first printed in Mercadian Masques
• Mistmeadow Skulk, first printed in Future Sight
• Reflecting Pool, first printed in Tempest
• Torture, first printed in Homelands, last seen in 5th Edition

Colorshifted

• Power of Fire, red colorshifted version of Hermetic Study (Urza's Saga)

Reflections

Several cards from Shadowmoor were designed to reflect cards printed in Lorwyn and Morningtide, playing up the set's theme as a dark reflection of the world of Lorwyn:

Mechanical Reflections:

• Boggart Arsonists is a reflection of Boggart Loggers.
• Torture is a reflection of Daily Regimen.
• Hollowsage is a reflection of Fallowsage.
• Incremental Blight is a reflection of Incremental Growth.
• Kithkin Shielddare is a reflection of Kithkin Daggerdare.
• Kinscaer Harpoonist is a reflection of Kinsbaile Balloonist. Magicthegathering.com's Wallpaper of the Week featured a wallpaper of the two artworks together on May 30, 2008.

Flavor Reflections:

• Mistmeadow Skulk is a reflection of Goldmeadow Dodger.
• Rhys the Redeemed is a reflection of Rhys the Exiled.
• Sygg, River Cutthroat is a reflection of Sygg, River Guide.
• Wort, the Raidmother is a reflection of Wort, Boggart Auntie.
• Graven Cairns is a reflection of Ancient Amphitheater.
• Fire-Lit Thicket is a reflection of Auntie's Hovel.
• Sunken Ruins is a reflection of both Wanderwine Hub and Rustic Clachan.
• Wooded Bastion is a reflection of Gilt-Leaf Palace.

Notable cards

• Fossil Find is the last card to refer to graveyard order; it only does so as other forms of randomly taken from the graveyard are less practical than shuffling face-down.
• Kitchen Finks was a key midrange card, with Persist and lifegain, it stifled burn-based aggressive decks.
• Painter's Servant is infamous for being part of a two-card combo with Grindstone.
• Reflecting Pool, a famous reprint, enabled five-color mana bases in combination with the Vivid Lands from Lorwyn.
• Runed Halo is the first card to grant Protection to a player rather than a creature.
• Safewright Quest is the first land tutor with a casting cost of and searches for either a Forest or Plains specifically.
• Savor the Moment has the cheapest casting cost "take an extra turn" spell since Alpha's Time Walk, at but has the drawback of skipping the untap step of that turn.
• Swans of Bryn Argoll was used in a few combo decks which would deal a large amount of damage to the Swans to draw a lot of cards and turn those cards into damage to the opponent, such as with Seismic Assault or Chain of Plasma.
• Wheel of Sun and Moon can be used to combat an opponent who is reliant on their graveyard by enchanting them or combatting an opponent with a mill strategy by enchanting oneself.
• Vexing Shusher and Guttural Response have seen play as an annoyance to blue control decks.
• Devoted Druid has proven to be a consistent combo enabler when combined with any way to prevent -1/-1 counters from being placed on it
• Fulminator Mage was a common answer in the early age of Modern sideboards for problematic nonbasic lands
• Smash to Smithereens is a sideboard favorite in burn decks in multiple formats
• Manamorphose is an important part of spell-based combo decks like Storm and Arclight Phoenix in Modern, Legacy, and Pauper, as an essentially "free spell" that refunds both mana and cards, especially when combined with cost reduction to turn it into a ritual
• Savor the Moment is a notably cheap extra turn spell for the Modern era, balanced by turning off the extra turn's untap step

Misprint

• All printed versions of the foil Reflecting Pool have a white mana symbol behind the text.

Preconstructed decks

Shadowmoor features five two-colored, allied-colored theme decks.

External links

• Mark Rosewater (March 21, 2023). "Lesson Learned, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.