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Mythic Decks
Mythic Decks

Shelob, Child of Ungoliant

LTR · rare · Released 2023-06-23

Power

brawl
tier-2→tier-1Game-defining14/19
commander
tier-2→tier-1Game-defining14/19

Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell). The score (-8 to 19) is a rank signal derived from tier + kind + atoms; browse by it on the cards page.

Derived from the 7 atoms below.

over

above rate

standalone

meaningful alone

synergy

wants support

takes over

can take over a game

rigid

one mode

broad

broadly useful

sticky

hard to remove

Commander Bracket

1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH

Archetypes

positive:
aristocratssacrificetokens-go-widemidrange
negative:
aggrospellslinger

Roles

top-end-finishertoken-producerdeath-triggerfood-generatorlordlifegain-payoff

Risks

slow-setupremoval-magnetrequires-tribe-density

Mechanics

mech-foodmech-ward

Typal

synergy:
spider
anti:

—

Structural

triggered-abilitystatic-ability

Rationale

Shelob is a 6cmc 8/8 deathtouch/ward {2} spider that grants its keywords to all other spiders and converts any creature killed by a spider into a copy-Food token, enabling ongoing lifegain and sacrifice fodder. It is a premier spider-tribal commander and a top-end value engine in BG midrange/aristocrats; the token-conversion trigger rewards any deathtouch attacker and feeds sacrifice outlets. It is too slow for aggro and doesn't benefit spellslinger plans.

Learnings (3)

  • Shelob's token-copy trigger is NOT limited to spider tribal — any spider you control (including Shelob itself) dealing damage and then the target dying creates the Food copy, so even a single deathtouch blocker outside the spider theme can generate tokens.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • The Food tokens created are copies of the dead creature with all non-Food card types removed, preserving the creature's name, power/toughness, and any static numbers — this matters for sacrifice payoffs that care about the sacrificed permanent's characteristics.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • Shelob's static ability granting deathtouch+ward to other spiders means the lord effect amplifies multiple cheap deathtouch spiders into ward-protected threats, making even budget spider-tribal builds surprisingly resilient to spot removal.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

Popularity

  • EDHREC rank: #5,067

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