Drana's Silencer MTG Card

Card synergy elevates Drana’s Silencer, especially within party-centric or battlefield-focused MTG strategies. Despite potency when optimally deployed, rigid mana and late-game arrival may hamper versatility. In the current meta, it’s a significant counter to creature-heavy decks and can sway match outcomes.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Vampire Rogue
Released	2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar Rising
Set code	ZNR
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	99
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mads Ahm

Text of card

When Drana's Silencer enters the battlefield, target creature an opponent controls gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of creatures in your party. (Your party consists of up to one each of Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, and Wizard.)

"Hush."

Cards like Drana's Silencer

Drana’s Silencer is intriguing for its potential to alter the battlefield when it enters play in Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to cards like Malakir Bloodwitch, which also affects the board by offering life gain for each opponent, Drana’s Silencer leans more towards the offensive with its ability to give creatures -1/-1 until the end of the turn for each creature in your party. Unlike Malakir Bloodwitch, this ability targets creature strength directly.

In a similar way, cards such as Nirkana Assassin provide an interesting reference point. Like Drana’s Silencer, the Assassin is strengthened by the party mechanic, albeit through a life link attribute when a Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, or Wizard enter under your control. However, it doesn’t have the immediate board impact provided by Drana’s Silencer’s entrance. Another kin, Ob Nixilis’s Cruelty, also offers creature debuff, but with a steadier -5/-5 effect and an exile feature, which can be pivotal during gameplay, though it isn’t a creature card itself.

Assessing the utility and impact of these cards, Drana’s Silencer offers MTG players a unique tool to swing the tide of the battlefield, especially when intricately woven into a party-focused deck strategy.

Ob Nixilis's Cruelty - MTG Card versions

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: In the case of Drana’s Silencer, while the card itself doesn’t directly allow you to draw more cards, it synergizes particularly well with other cards that encourage party mechanics or rely on creatures entering the battlefield. Each time Drana’s Silencer or another creature enters under your control, you can potentially weaken an opponent’s creature, which may lead to advantageous trades and indirectly create card advantage over your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Although not a source of resource acceleration itself, Drana’s Silencer can be a vital piece in a deck that benefits from having a diverse set of creature types, which could include Rogues, Warriors, Wizards, and Clerics. Its presence can enhance your board state and potentially facilitate resource acceleration through other synergistic abilities or interactions within your deck.

Instant Speed: Drana’s Silencer operates at sorcery speed due to its nature as a creature card, but the instant impact of its ability when it enters the battlefield can be equated to an instant-speed removal effect. When timed correctly upon entry, it can disrupt an opponent’s strategy at a critical moment, much like an instant would, by significantly weakening an opposing creature just before combat or an expected combo.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Drana’s Silencer does not have a discard requirement, its party mechanic necessitates a diverse lineup of creatures to optimize its effect, which can be restrictive in deck building.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a black color-focused mana cost, which can be challenging to accommodate in multicolor decks, potentially limiting its flexibility across various formats.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, Drana’s Silencer may arrive on the battlefield too late, given its power and toughness. Cards at a similar or lower cost could provide more immediate and impactful benefits to your strategy.

Reasons to Include Drana’s Silencer in Your Collection

Versatility: Drana’s Silencer is a flexible addition to decks running black, as its ability can impact the board as soon as it enters play. It pairs well with a variety of strategies that capitalize on creature removal or entering the battlefield effects.

Combo Potential: This card has synergy with decks that focus on +1/+1 counters or those that require a high count of creatures entering the battlefield to trigger various effects, making it a worthy consideration for combo-centric builds.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capability to weaken opponents’ creatures, Drana’s Silencer can be particularly effective in a meta filled with creature-based aggro decks. Its ability to possibly remove key threats can make it a game-changer during tight matches.

How to beat

Drana’s Silencer is a creature card that can make your opponents hesitate to swarm the board. Players need to understand the card’s potential impact on the game state when it lands. Its ability to give creatures -1/-1 until end of turn for each creature in your party can be a game-changer, especially in party-themed decks that are utilizing all four party types. It’s a common inclusion in black decks that capitalize on creature control.

However, the key to overcoming this card’s influence is through proper timing and creature management. By limiting the number of creatures you play or ensuring their toughness is beyond the reach of Drana’s Silencer’s ability, you can mitigate its impact. Direct removal spells can also deal with it before the ability triggers, or countering it upon cast prevents it from affecting the board altogether. Additionally, maintaining card advantage and playing around the potential of this creature coming into play will always give you the upper hand, effectively neutralizing the threat it represents.

Overall, while Drana’s Silencer can be a powerful ally in the right deck, strategic play and understanding its mechanics can ensure that this card does not dictate the flow of the match against you.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Drana's Silencer MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Drana's Silencer and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Drana's Silencer 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
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-09-25	An ability referring to the number of creatures in your party gets a number from zero to four. Such abilities never ask which creatures are in your party, and you never have to designate specific creatures as being in your party. You can’t choose to exclude creatures from this count to lower the number.
2020-09-25	If a creature has more than one party creature type, and there are multiple ways to count that creature that could result in a different number of creatures in your party, the highest such number is used. For example, if you control a Cleric and a Cleric Wizard, the number of creatures in your party is two. You can’t choose to have it be just one by counting the Cleric Wizard first as a Cleric.
2020-09-25	If an ability of a creature counts the number of creatures in your party, that number is counted as the ability resolves. If that creature is still on the battlefield when the ability resolves, it’ll be counted if appropriate.
2020-09-25	To determine “the number of creatures in your party,” check whether you control a Cleric, whether you control a Rogue, whether you control a Warrior, and whether you control a Wizard. The number is the total number of those checks to which you answered yes. Each creature you control can be counted for only one of those checks.