Secret Door MTG Card

Secret Door - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Artifact Creature — Wall
Abilities	Defender,Venture into the dungeon
Released	2021-07-23
Set symbol
Set name	Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Set code	AFR
Power	0
Toughness	4
Number	71
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Francisco Miyara

Key Takeaways

Secret Door offers card advantage through its scrying and dungeon venture abilities, enhancing game control.
Its resource acceleration can be a crucial asset in long matches, though it does have downsides.
Flexible and low-cost, Secret Door supports instant-speed plays, making it a defensive powerhouse.

Text of card

Defender : Venture into the dungeon. Activate only as a sorcery. (Enter the first room or advance to the next room.)

The way opened before him, and the dust of centuries stirred in the air.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Enhancing card selection by peering into the next few cards of your library can be a subtle but vital edge in gameplay. Though Secret Door itself does not draw cards, its ability to scry harmonizes with strategies focused on manipulating the top of your library to ensure quality draws.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly increasing mana, Secret Door can unlock the value over time by consistently venturing into the dungeon, potentially granting you access to effects that would create treasure tokens or add mana to your pool. Efficient utilization of this resource acceleration is key in longer, more drawn-out games.

Instant Speed: Although Secret Door’s abilities are not at instant speed, its low cost allows for a more flexible mana base throughout the course of a game, letting you keep mana available for instant-speed interactions while still developing your board.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Secret Door requires a specific action to open it, which could mean discarding another valuable card from your hand. This could be disadvantageous, particularly in situations where your hand is already diminished.

Specific Mana Cost: Secret Door comes with a precisely defined mana cost that includes blue mana. This specificity means that it fits primarily in blue-based or multi-colored decks, potentially limiting the decks it can be played in without significant mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana required to utilize Secret Door’s ability could be relatively high compared to other options available. For decks that aim to be fast-paced or mana-efficient, dedicating resources to a card like Secret Door may not be the most strategic choice when other cards could accomplish similar objectives for less.

Reasons to Include Secret Door Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Secret Door fits smoothly into any deck that aims to stall the game and build towards a powerful late-game strategy. This card’s ability to block incoming attacks repeatedly can be an excellent addition, especially in controlling or defensive decks.

Combo Potential: As a card with an activated ability that allows you to venture into the dungeon, Secret Door can be a critical piece in combo decks that leverage dungeon mechanics. Each venture lets you progress through various rooms, unlocking incremental advantages that culminate in significant payoffs.

Meta-Relevance: With numerous competitive decks focusing on creature-based strategies, Secret Door’s low casting cost and potential to manipulate dungeon effects make it a relevant choice. Its ability to consistently block and facilitate dungeon progression can disrupt many opponents’ strategies, particularly in a meta that undervalues such incremental advantages.

How to beat Secret Door

The Secret Door card is an intriguing inclusion in Magic: The Gathering decks, particularly within the realm of defender-oriented strategies. Its low mana cost and ability to provide a consistent venture into the dungeon ability make it a utility player on the battlefield. To effectively counter this card, it is essential to incorporate removal spells into your deck that can target low-cost creatures or even focus on enchantments that prevent activated abilities from being used.

Considering that Secret Door relies on its ability to repeatedly venture into dungeons, it becomes vulnerable to cards like Shatter the Sky or Doom Blade, which can remove it from the board swiftly, thereby halting its dungeon crawling activities. Additionally, using counter magic or enchantments like Crippling Fear that allow you to choose creature types to spare can also bypass your own creatures, giving you an unruffled battlefield control while thwarting your opponent’s defenders.

Overall, the key to defeating cards like Secret Door lies in the timely use of control spells and strategic planning. By keeping your opponent from maximizing the value of their dungeon-delving and defenders, you maintain the upper hand and can guide the game towards a victorious outcome.

BurnMana Recommendations

Diving deeper into the MTG realm, the nuances of every card become clear. Secret Door exemplifies strategic depth, meshing well with decks meant to endure and control. Its potential to block consistently and progress dungeon encounters offers a unique tactical edge. Remember to pair Secret Door with spells that maximize dungeon benefits or control the board to leverage its full potential. To ensure you’re always ahead of the game and find the synergies that make your decks unbeatable, explore our resources. With our guidance, you’ll be unlocking the secrets of the dungeons and your path to victory.

Cards like Secret Door

The Secret Door card is a unique entry in Magic: The Gathering’s array of defensive options. Functionally, it can be compared to the likes of a standard Wall creature, such as Wall of Runes. Both serve as early-game blockers, but Secret Door offers a late-game advantage with its ability to venture into the dungeon. Wall of Runes, however, provides immediate value by allowing a player to scry upon entering the battlefield.

Looking at Doorkeeper, there is a resemblance due to its defender ability, but it bears an alternate win condition through milling an opponent’s library. The milling capability creates a different type of strategic opportunity as opposed to Secret Door’s dungeon exploration. Another card with comparable qualities is Crashing Drawbridge, which also acts as a defensive card but with an added bonus of granting all creatures haste until end of turn.

Each card has its particular merit, yet Secret Door stands out for players who aim at leveraging the long-term benefits of dungeon mechanics, especially in formats where those strategies are viable. Its blending of solid defense with progressive gameplay shapes it as a distinctive contender among defender cards in the MTG landscape.

Cards similar to Secret Door by color, type and mana cost

The Blackstaff of Waterdeep - MTG Card versions

Trickster's Talisman - MTG Card versions

The Enigma Jewel // Locus of Enlightenment - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Secret Door MTG card by a specific set like Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Secret Door and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Secret Door has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Secret Door card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2021-07-23	A player may only have one dungeon in the command zone at a time.
2021-07-23	Choosing the dungeon or room to venture into is part of resolving the venture into the dungeon keyword action. Once that choice is made, players may not respond until after the appropriate room ability has triggered.
2021-07-23	Dungeon cards are not part of a player's deck or sideboard. In both constructed and limited formats, players can use any dungeon card when they venture into the dungeon.
2021-07-23	Dungeons are removed from the game as a state-based action.
2021-07-23	If you somehow venture into the dungeon while a room's ability is on the stack, you will continue on in the dungeon. If you're already in the last room, complete that dungeon and start a new one.
2021-07-23	Moving into a dungeon room will cause its room ability to trigger.
2021-07-23	Once you resolve the last room ability of a dungeon, that dungeon is now completed and is removed from the game.
2021-07-23	The player venturing into the dungeon chooses which dungeon they will venture into. They may choose a dungeon that they have already completed this game.
2021-07-23	To venture into the dungeon, a player moves their venture marker into the next room of the dungeon they are currently in. If they aren't currently in a dungeon, that player instead chooses a dungeon card from outside the game, puts it into the command zone, and moves their venture marker onto the first room.
2021-07-23	You can only move forward (well, downward) in a dungeon, never backwards or sideways.