1. Morphling
The most versatile Shapeshifter ever printed, Morphling does everything you want for a high-cost blue creature.
For one mana each, Morphling can give itself your choice of flying, shroud, +1/-1, or -1/+1. It can untap itself too. These abilities are potent.
Morphling saw use in nine Pro Tour Top 8 decks, including three first-place winners. If you played during Urza’s Saga, you either have nightmares of this card, or you miss its reign of terror deeply.
Morphling has unkillable, unblockable, and can end a game in four turns alone. It was the perfect finisher to any blue deck.
2. Aetherling
And while Morphling might never see a reprint since it’s on the Reserved List, the same can’t be said for its successor, Aetherling.
This fixed version of MTG’s first great Shapeshifter has no less an impressive competitive record, though. Aetherling has eight Pro Tour Top 8 finishes, including a first-place victory.
Aetherling’s abilities are good, very good. You get a 4/5 blue creature for six mana that can blink itself and become unblockable. It can give itself either +1/-1 or -1/+1 too. And all of that for only one mana each!
Countless games have been lost to a 9/1 unblockable Aetherling that dodges all the removal you throw at it.
3. Morophon, the Boundless
EDHREC’s 36th most popular Commander, Morophon, the Boundless, is a legendary Shapeshifter lord – and it’s a lord for any creature type!
When Morophon enters the battlefield, you choose a creature type. Not only do creatures of the chosen type get +1/+1, but they also cost WUBRG less to cast.
Morophon might cost seven mana, but for a 6/6 changeling with those abilities, that cost is more than worth it. Alongside cards like Fist of the Suns or Jodah, Archmage Eternal, you can cast your chosen tribe complete for free.
Morophon remains the best choice to be a Commander for any tribe without a mascot legendary even without using combos.
4. Chameleon Colossus
One of the best MTG Shapeshifters, especially in Modern, Chameleon Colossus has an impressive track record of four Pro Tour Top 8s and eighteen Grand Prix Top 8s.
It’s the very picture of a well-costed card. For four mana, you get a 4/4 creature with changeling, protection from black, and the ability to double its power and toughness for another four mana.
Changeling Colossus has always been a strong card since its release in Morningtide. It has seen notable success as an affordable finisher in several decks.
Elves, Amulet Titan, and Omnath decks particularly enjoy this Shapeshifter and its ability to dodge black removal and double its power.
5. Mirror Entity
A card as beloved as it is infamous, Mirror Entity has earned one Pro Tour Top 8, six Grand Prix Top 8s, and it sees play in 5% of all EDHREC Commander decks.
Not only does Mirror Entity have changeling, but it can pump all your creatures to an absurd degree.
Specifically, you can pay X mana to make all your creatures base power and toughness X/X until the end of turn. They gain all creature types too. With this activated ability and enough mana, it becomes a cakewalk to one-shot an opponent.
It’s even easier if you’re playing a tribal deck. Then all your creatures benefit from all your synergies.
6. Clever Impersonator
Clever Impersonator can enter the battlefield as a copy of any nonland permanent.
That means you can copy artifacts, creatures, enchantments, or planeswalkers. In this way, it’s almost a strictly better Clone. Only, it needs two blue mana instead of one. Still, the possibilities are endless.
No wonder Clever Impersonator has picked up a Top 8 in Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir and the 2014 World Magic Cup! According to EDHREC, this blue four mana shapeshifter is also used in 6% of all Commander decks.
You can copy an opponent’s Commander or their best mana rock.
7. Realmwalker
Sometimes you want a Glimpse of Nature with legs.
In that case, you want Realmwalker – choose a creature type, and you can look at the top card of your library at any time. As long as it’s a creature of the chosen type, you can cast it. And, of course, Realmwalker has changeling. It can slot right into any tribal deck.
It’s no surprise that 6% of all Commander decks on EDHREC run a copy of Realmwalker in the 99.
It’s a favorite of Elf and Human Tribal decks, mainly since they can quickly amass an army of creatures. Add scrying to the mix, and you have an excellent build.
8. Vizier of Many Faces
At first glance, Vizier of Many Faces is nothing more than Amonkhet’s take on the Clone archetype.
It’s a blue creature for four mana that enters as a copy of any other creature on the battlefield. Except for that, Vizier of Many Faces can embalm for five mana.
This ability lets you get twice as much value out of it. While other Clones are one use only, Vizier of Many Faces can come back for a second round and copy a new creature, albeit as a white Zombie token.
Nevertheless, this unique ability has earned Vizier of Many Faces a total of seven Top 8 finishes across Pro Tours and Worlds.
9. Phyrexian Metamorph
Phyrexian Metamorph is easily one of the most oppressive Shapeshifters in MTG’s history.
With the conflux of many broken abilities in their own right, Phyrexian Metamorph can enter the battlefield as a copy of any target artifact or creature and for only three mana.
The one blue mana in its casting cost is Phyrexian – you can pay two life instead of the mana itself. That means any deck can run this low-cost clone. And many do.
Phyrexian Metamorph is played in over 30000 EDHREC Commander decks, is a staple of Vintage and Legacy, and has seen two Pro Tour Top 8 finishes.
10. Unsettled Mariner
One of the best hate bears, Unsettled Mariner, is a Shapeshifter that gives you and your permanents the equivalent of Ward 1.
Your opponent has to pay one extra mana to target you and your permanents with any spells or abilities, or they’re countered.
Although it hasn’t had its break in professional play yet, Unsettled Mariner is popular among blue-white control decks because of the protection it gives your side. Spirits, Humans, and Shapeshifter Tribal all find room for this card.
11. Masked Vandal
Masked Vandal is the Shapeshifter answer to artifacts and enchantments.
When it enters the battlefield, if you exile a creature from your graveyard, you can also exile a target artifact or enchantment an opponent controls. Remember that Masked Vandal only costs two mana, so you get a 1/3 body plus a removal spell.
This low-cost, high-efficiency card has earned a total of nine Standard League Weekend first-places, and it sees use in 3% of all EDHREC Commander decks. If you weren’t already convinced about Masked Vandal’s power, remember that it has changeling too.
Any tribal strategy running green can search and deploy this excellent shapeshifter card.
12. Duplicant
A Vintage staple with two Pro Tour Top 8 finishes, Duplicant isn’t just a Shapeshifter.
It’s also a removal spell. When this artifact creature enters the battlefield, you can exile any target creature – including your opponent’s. Duplicant has that card’s power, toughness, and creature types afterward.
Any deck that can afford Duplicant’s hefty six mana casting cast can consider including it – as can decks that can cheat artifacts into play.
Duplicant is an excellent source of creature removal and, in the right circumstances, it can be a game-ending threat too.