Volrath, the Shapestealer card art

Volrath, the Shapestealer

Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Shapeshifter MV 5

Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.

What it does

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.

Combos with Volrath, the Shapestealer

The lines this card is part of, what it needs alongside it, and what the cards do together. An infinite result is the one that moves a deck's bracket.

Showing the 8 shortest and most explosive. This card appears in more than these. Follow any of them through to Commander Spellbook to browse the rest.

Combo data from Commander Spellbook, the community-maintained database of Magic combos. Mirrored nightly.

Rulings

12 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.

  • 2019-08-23

    If Volrath copies a creature that's copying something else, it will become whatever the target is copying.

  • 2019-08-23

    If another object becomes a copy of Volrath, it has the ability to become a copy of something else and it's 7/5.

  • 2019-08-23

    If a creature has +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it, state-based actions remove the same number of each so that it has only one of those kinds of counters on it. This may cause the creature to no longer have any counters on it.

  • 2019-08-23

    If an effect begins to apply to Volrath before it becomes a copy of another creature, that effect will continue to apply.

  • 2019-08-23

    Activating Volrath's last ability causes it to lose its first ability until your next turn, so if you activate it before the beginning of combat step, it won't trigger during that turn. Players can cast instant spells and activate abilities (such as the second ability) during the beginning of combat step after that first ability has triggered or resolved but before attackers are chosen in the declare attackers step.

  • 2019-08-23

    If the target creature is a token, Volrath copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that created the token. Volrath doesn't become a token in this case.

  • 2019-08-23

    If Volrath copies a creature with an ability that can be activated only once each turn (such as Chainer, Nightmare Adept), you can activate that ability once. If Volrath then becomes a copy of that same creature, you can activate that ability another time, and so on.

  • 2019-08-23

    If Volrath copies a creature the same turn Volrath enters the battlefield, you can't attack with it or use any of its T abilities (if it gains any) unless the copied creature has haste.

  • 2019-08-23

    Volrath copies the printed values of the target creature, plus any copy effects that have been applied to it. It won't copy counters on that creature. It also won't copy any effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on. Notably, it won't copy effects that made the target become a creature if it's not normally a creature.

  • 2019-08-23

    If Volrath becomes a copy of a legendary creature you control, you'll put one of them into your graveyard.

  • 2019-08-23

    If Volrath becomes a copy of a face-down creature, Volrath becomes a 7/5 creature with no color, cost, or creature type. Volrath is still face up.

  • 2019-08-23

    If Volrath becomes a copy of a creature whose power and toughness are defined by an ability (usually printed as */* or similar), Volrath doesn't copy the ability that defines its power and toughness. Volrath remains a 7/5 creature.

Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.

In the 99

Every deck whose current list includes Volrath, the Shapestealer, whatever its commander.

Decks running it 1
Games played 0
Win rate — Fewer than 5 completed games, which is not enough to publish a rate yet.
Confirmed on board 0 Games where a board photo caught it actually in play.

Most played under

Commander Decks Games Win rate
Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer 1 0 —

Colors it shows up in

  • Sultai 1 deck

Volrath, the Shapestealer price history

The Commander 2019 #51 printing, as Scryfall reports the TCGplayer market. Updated nightly.

Foil today$0.60▼ $0.05 (7.7%)
Low $0.60 · High $0.71Tracked since Sep 28, 2026
Every recorded price change
DateFoil
Nov 11, 2026$0.60
Nov 10, 2026$0.60
Nov 6, 2026$0.62
Nov 5, 2026$0.63
Nov 2, 2026$0.66
Oct 29, 2026$0.65
Oct 26, 2026$0.71
Oct 22, 2026$0.70
Oct 20, 2026$0.67
Oct 17, 2026$0.66
Oct 12, 2026$0.65
Oct 9, 2026$0.63
Oct 7, 2026$0.62
Oct 1, 2026$0.67
Sep 29, 2026$0.69
Sep 28, 2026$0.65

A row is recorded only on nights the price moved, so each price held until the row above it.

Every version of Volrath, the Shapestealer

1 printing, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly. A printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall publishes none for some of them.

Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Volrath, the Shapestealer. It runs a name search across every version, which covers the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.

Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only. No individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.