The Commander
Flying, double strike
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may choose two. Each mode must target a different player.
• Target player creates a 2/1 white and black Inkling creature token with flying.
• Target player draws a card and loses 1 life.
• Target player puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature they control.
Guide
Gameplan
Cast Shadrix on turn 5 as an evasive 4/4 double striker that pressures the board while its combat trigger generates value every turn. You hand opponents small upsides while building your own board, tokens, and counters, then close with a buffed swarm or a lethal Voltron Shadrix. The deck plays a midrange-aristocrats game, leveraging flyers and counters into incremental advantage.
Strengths
- Free recurring value every combat without spending mana
- Built-in evasion and double strike make it a real Voltron threat
- Flexible modes feed tokens, aristocrats, and +1/+1 counter themes
- BW gives premium removal, recursion, and board wipes
Weaknesses
- Modes force you to give opponents cards, tokens, or counters
- Triggers only fire if Shadrix survives to your combat
- Politically you can accidentally grow a rival's board
- No inherent ramp or card draw outside its own trigger
Key Cards
- Anointed Procession — Doubles every Inkling token Shadrix makes for you, snowballing the board fast.
- Cathars' Crusade — Turns the +1/+1 counter mode and token entries into a runaway anthem engine.
- Teleportation Circle — Doesn't fit—skip; instead rely on doublers.
- Cathar's Call — Filler; prioritize counter and token doublers for the engine.
- Doubling Season — Doubles both tokens and +1/+1 counters from Shadrix's modes for explosive turns.
- Skullclamp — Converts your fragile 2/1 Inklings into a relentless card-draw engine.
Upgrade Path
Lean into one engine—either token doublers (Anointed Procession, Doubling Season) or counter payoffs (Cathars' Crusade, proliferate)—rather than spreading thin. Add fast mana and protection (Swords to Plowshares, Teferi's Protection, Lightning Greaves) so Shadrix survives to combat, plus sac outlets and Blood Artist effects to convert the constant token stream into reach. Tighten the curve with efficient BW removal and a couple of finishers like Skullclamp and a reliable board-wide pump.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Commander damage from an evasive, buffed double-striking Shadrix
- ▸Wide Inkling token swarm pumped by anthems and counters
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist effects sacrificing tokens
- ▸Cathars' Crusade or counter doublers creating an overwhelming buffed board
Archetypes
- Tokens — The Inkling mode plus token doublers floods the board with evasive flyers.
- Aristocrats — Disposable Inklings and life-loss synergies feed sacrifice and drain payoffs.
- Voltron — Flying double strike plus counters and equipment makes Shadrix a fast commander-damage clock.
- Counters — The +1/+1 counter mode pairs with proliferate and anthem effects to scale the team.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BW), by popularity.
