Feral Shadow

Feral Shadow is a black-aligned creature card featured in the Portal starter set, released by Wizards of the Coast in 1997. Designed as an introductory product to reach new players, the Portal set simplified the rules of Magic: The Gathering by removing phases like instants and complex stack interactions, focusing instead on a straightforward turn structure. The art direction for the set emphasized a more accessible, fantasy-storybook aesthetic compared to the grittier, high-fantasy illustrations found in the base sets of the time.

The card features an illustration by the artist Margaret Organ-Kean, who contributed several pieces to the set during this experimental period for the game. Her work on Feral Shadow depicts the creature as a ghostly, predatory entity, consistent with the set's intent to provide clear visual cues for card types and their associated mechanical threats. While Portal was initially met with mixed reactions from veteran players due to its simplified mechanics, it successfully lowered the barrier to entry for many who would eventually transition into more complex formats of the game.