Odyssey rare. Designed by Jon Finkel, winner of the 2000 Invitational, Shadowmage Infiltrator combines a black evasion ability with the (then solely) blue Ophidian ability ??? a potent combination. During Odyssey development, it was realized that another card in the file ??? also costed at 
??? might overshadow the Invitational winner’s creation, and the card was cut from the set. Given the obvious power of U/B “Finkel” decks in Extended, however, it’s hard to imagine a better creature for the cost.
What is ‘What If?’ Week?
It’s “What If?” Week here on
magicthegathering.com, and in the spirit of
Planar Chaos, we’re presenting you with a variety of “What If?” alternate reality scenarios. Some of them, like
Mark Rosewater’s column, explain the premise up-front; others, like Kelly Digges’
feature article, encourage you to figure out the “What If?” on your own. Ask Wizards and Card of the Day are in on the fun as well, containing implied “What If?” questions, but Arcana is “normal” ??? we didn’t feel alternate reality scenarios would play well in that format. Thanks for reading, and enjoy “What If?” Week!
