Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Shao Jun
Shao Jun
Legendary Creature — Human Assassin · {1}{U}{R} · Red/Blue commander
Leap Strike — During your turn, Shao Jun has flying and first strike.
Rope Dart — Tap two untapped artifacts you control: Shao Jun deals 1 damage to each opponent.
Build a Shao Jun deck →
What Shao Jun actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Activated abilityTap two untapped artifacts you control: Shao Jun deals 1 damage to each opponent.
- Keyword · leap strikeleap strike
- Keyword · rope dartrope dart
What a Shao Jun deck wants
The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.
- 16× A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- 23× A permanent of the exact NON-creature type the commander counts — artifacts for an artifact commander, enchantments for an enchantress
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- 11× Get ahead on mana
Best cards for Shao Jun
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- Shao Jun3 mana
A permanent of the exact NON-creature type the commander counts — artifacts for an artifact commander, enchantments for an enchantress
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Lotus Petal0 mana
- Mox Amber0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mox Opal0 mana
- Lion's Eye Diamond0 mana
- Ornithopter0 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Wild Magic Surge2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- Suspend1 mana
- Snap2 mana
- Into the Flood Maw1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Blasphemous Act9 mana
- Displacement Wave2 mana
- Breaking Point3 mana
- Crack the Earth1 mana
- Filter Out3 mana
- Kozilek's Return3 mana
- Akki Blizzard-Herder2 mana
- Devastating Dreams2 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- Counterspell2 mana
- Three Steps Ahead1 mana
- Long River's Pull2 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Abjure1 mana
- Archmage's Charm3 mana
- Cancel3 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Reshape2 mana
- Mask of the Mimic1 mana
- Long-Term Plans3 mana
- Whir of Invention3 mana
- Merchant Scroll2 mana
- Mystical Tutor1 mana
- Muddle the Mixture2 mana
- Goblin Recruiter2 mana
Refill your hand
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Rhystic Study3 mana
- Faerie Mastermind2 mana
- The One Ring4 mana
- Combat Research1 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Hexing Squelcher2 mana
- Cryptothrall4 mana
- Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus4 mana
- Lost in the Maze2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Eldrazi Monument5 mana
- Commander's Plate1 mana
Get ahead on mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Mox Amber0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mox Opal0 mana
- Mana Vault1 mana
- Sol Ring1 mana
- Wayfarer's Bauble1 mana