If you’ve spent any time scrolling Brawl Stars match clips or playing ranked over the last few seasons, you’ve probably run into Shade: the sneaky, shadow-wielding brawler that can vanish mid-fight and take out entire teams before you even see him coming. If you’re trying to add him to your roster, your first question is likely what rarity is shade in brawl stars, and how hard you’ll have to grind to unlock him. I’ve been playing Brawl Stars since its soft launch back in 2017, and I’ve mained Shade for the past three seasons, pushing him to 7200 trophies so far. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about his rarity, unlock odds, abilities, and how to play him like a pro once you get him.
What Rarity Is Shade in Brawl Stars, and What That Means for Unlock Odds
Shade is a Mythic rarity brawler, which puts him in the third-rarest tier of brawlers in the game, behind only Chromatic and Legendary brawlers. A lot of players mistake him for a Chromatic brawler because he launched alongside a seasonal battle pass, but unlike most pass-linked brawlers, he never was a paid or free pass reward, and went straight into the general Mythic loot pool the second he launched. That means you won’t be able to unlock him by just grinding battle pass tiers alone, unlike current season Chromatic brawlers.
For context, current base drop odds for Mythic brawlers sit at 0.25% for a regular Brawl Box, 0.5% for a Big Box, and 1.25% for a Super Box. The good news is that these odds are pity-locked, so every time you open a box that doesn’t give you a Mythic or higher brawler, your odds go up by a tiny amount until you finally get one. I didn’t get Shade until my 127th box after he launched, but one of my clan mates got him on his second Super Box, so luck still plays a huge role here.
You also won’t see Shade in the daily shop rotation very often, but when he does appear, he costs 1699 gems to buy directly. That’s a pretty big investment, so I don’t recommend buying him with real money unless you’re 100% sure you’ll main him long term. If you’re a free-to-play player, you’re better off saving your gems for skins or battle passes, and unlocking Shade through loot boxes as you go.
How to Unlock Shade Faster, No Pay-to-Win Required
You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on gems to get Shade faster. I’m a fully free-to-play player, and I unlocked him in just over two months after he launched by following these simple steps:
- Prioritize opening Super Chests first, as they have 5x higher Mythic drop odds than regular Brawl Boxes, and you can earn them for free by completing daily and seasonal challenges.
- Complete as many battle pass tiers as you can every season, as every 10 tiers you unlock gives you a permanent 10% boost to your Mythic drop odds until you get your next Mythic brawler.
- Join a high-level clan and participate in monthly clan wars, as top 3 clans in each tier get bonus Super Chests and Mythic drop tokens that you can’t earn anywhere else.
- Hold off on opening all your boxes as soon as you get them. Wait until Shade is featured as the “bonus brawler” in the weekly shop rotation, as that doubles his drop odds for the entire week he’s featured.
One mistake I see a lot of new players make is spending all their gems on individual Brawl Boxes to try to get Shade fast. That’s a terrible use of your gems, because you get way more value out of buying the seasonal battle pass, which gives you dozens of boxes, skins, and other rewards for a fraction of the cost of buying boxes individually. I’ve never spent a cent on boxes, and I have every Mythic brawler in the game right now, so it’s totally possible to unlock him without paying.
Key Abilities That Make Shade Worth the Unlock Grind
Shade’s kit is built around hit-and-run play, and he’s one of the most versatile brawlers in the game right now for both casual and ranked play. His primary attack is Shadow Daggers, which fires three sharp shadow blades that pierce through up to two enemies, and applies a stack of Shadow Mark on every target hit. When a target gets three stacks, they get slowed by 40% for 3 seconds, which makes it super easy to finish them off or escape if you’re outnumbered.
His super ability is Shadow Trap, which places a small, invisible trap on the ground that triggers when an enemy walks within 2 tiles of it. When it triggers, Shade turns fully invisible for 4 seconds, gets a 30% attack speed boost, and his attacks deal 20% extra damage for the entire duration of the invisibility. You can place up to two Shadow Traps at once, so you can cover multiple entry points to an objective or set up an ambush for enemy players trying to steal your gems.
His two Star Powers and two Gadgets make him even more overpowered if you know how to use them right. His first Star Power, Shadow Veil, extends his invisibility duration by 2 extra seconds, which is perfect for wiping entire enemy teams in Showdown or Gem Grab without ever being targeted. His second Star Power, Life Drain, heals you for 30% of all damage you deal while invisible, which makes him nearly unkillable in 1v1 fights against tank brawlers like El Primo or Frank.
His gadgets are just as useful. His first gadget, Smoke Bomb, lets you drop a small smoke cloud that hides you from enemy view for 2 seconds, even if you don’t have your super charged. His second gadget, Shadow Clone, spawns a fake copy of Shade that runs towards the nearest enemy, drawing fire away from you while you escape or set up an attack. I switch between the two gadgets depending on the game mode: I use Smoke Bomb for Showdown and Brawl Ball, and Shadow Clone for Heist and Siege.
Pro Play Tips to Master Shade Once You Unlock Him
Shade is really easy to pick up, but hard to master, and a lot of new players waste his potential by playing him too aggressively right off the bat. I’ve put hundreds of hours into playing him, so these are the tips I wish I knew when I first unlocked him.
Never use your super ability right at the start of a match. A lot of new players pop their super as soon as it’s charged to get a quick kill, but you’re way better off saving it for when you’re outnumbered, or when you need to steal an objective like the Heist safe or the Brawl Ball goal in the last 10 seconds of the match. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve won matches by saving my super to sneak past the entire enemy team and score a last-second Brawl Ball goal.
Stick to the edges of the map in team game modes, and avoid open areas as much as possible. Shade only has 3200 base health at max level, which means he can be taken out in two hits by high-damage brawlers like Colt or Piper. You’re way better off hiding in bushes, stacking Shadow Marks on enemies from a distance, and only moving in for the kill when you have your super charged or have a support teammate backing you up.
Pair Shade with a support brawler like Pam or Byron if you’re playing ranked team modes. These supports can heal you from a distance, cover your low health, and let you stay in fights way longer than you would be able to alone. I’ve been running a Shade + Byron + Brock combo for Gem Grab this season, and I’ve won 19 out of my last 21 ranked matches with that team comp.
One last tip: don’t waste your Shadow Marks on low-health minions or low-priority targets. Save them for enemy brawlers that are carrying gems, or high-damage brawlers that are a threat to your team. A slowed enemy is a dead enemy when you’re playing Shade, so you want to make sure you’re applying those marks to the targets that matter most.
Now you know exactly what rarity is shade in brawl stars, how to unlock him faster, and how to play him like a pro once you add him to your roster. He might take a little while to unlock, but he’s 100% worth the grind, especially if you like playing sneaky, high-skill brawlers that can turn the tide of any match. If you already have Shade, try out the tips we shared above next time you play, and you’ll be pushing him to 6000+ trophies in no time. If you’re still grinding to unlock him, don’t get discouraged – your next box could be the one that gives you him.