Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Volrath, the Shapestealer

Volrath, the Shapestealer

Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Shapeshifter · {2}{B}{G}{U} · Black/Green/Blue commander

At the beginning of combat on your turn, put a -1/-1 counter on up to one target creature. {1}: Until your next turn, Volrath becomes a copy of target creature with a counter on it, except it's 7/5 and it has this ability.

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What Volrath, the Shapestealer actually does

Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.

• Triggered ability · beginning_of_combatAt the beginning of combat on your turn, put a -1/-1 counter on up to one target creature.
• Activated ability{1}: Until your next turn, Volrath becomes a copy of target creature with a counter on it, except it's 7/5 and it has this ability.

What a Volrath, the Shapestealer deck wants

The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.

• 39× A permanent that does something every turn it is on the battlefield — the deck's body, for a commander whose text asks for nothing specific
• 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 Volrath, the Shapestealer

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.

Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →

Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables. Read the guide · Browse all commanders · Pricing