Orcish Spy MTG Card

Fallen Empires (FEM)
1994-11-01 - Number 61b

Fallen Empires (FEM)
1994-11-01 - Number 61c

Fallen Empires (FEM)
1994-11-01 - Number 61a

Eighth Edition (8ED)
2003-07-28 - Number 208★

Eighth Edition (8ED)
2003-07-28 - Number 208

Card sets	Released in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Orc Rogue
Power	1
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Orcish Spy—reveals opponent’s top cards; fosters tactical planning and potential game disruption.
Knowledge gained can lead to better resource allocation, subtly speeding up player strategies.
Despite sorcery speed, the Spy’s foresight primes players for more effective instant responses.

Text of card

oc T: Look at the top three cards of target player's library and return them in the same order.

"Orcish armies often employed the smaller, swifter, and less intelligent Goblins as spies." —*Sarpadian Empires, vol. I*

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Orcish Spy card provides unique insight into an opponent’s upcoming draws, allowing strategic planning and disruption, which can indirectly lead to a card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While Orcish Spy itself doesn’t accelerate resources, the information gleaned can inform decisions on resource allocation, leading to more efficient play and acceleration of your game plan.

Instant Speed: Although Orcish Spy operates at sorcery speed, it effectively sets the stage for instant speed responses by revealing crucial information about the opponent’s potential actions during their next turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Though not applicable to every card, it is often a significant drawback when a card asks for the player to discard as part of the casting or ability costs. This can prematurely deplete the player’s hand, leading to a loss of valuable resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Cards like Orcish Spy are color-specific, requiring red mana in their casting cost. This requirement makes them less flexible, as they can primarily be used in red or multicolored decks, potentially hindering their integration into various strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: One often needs to consider the mana efficiency of their spells. When a card such as Orcish Spy has a specific ability tied to a mana cost that may be deemed high relative to its impact on the game, players might find it underwhelming. They may opt for other cards with a more advantageous cost-to-effect ratio, making it a less frequent choice for competitive play.

Reasons to Include Orcish Spy in Your Collection

Versatility: Orcish Spy is not limited by a specific deck archetype, allowing it to be a useful tool in various strategies that require insight into an opponent’s upcoming moves. Its utility in knowing the next draws can be compatible with control or disruption-focused decks.

Combo Potential: With the knowledge that Orcish Spy provides of the opponent’s upcoming cards, it pairs well with cards that manipulate deck order, such as mill strategies or those that force draws. This information can set up tactical plays that disrupt the opponent’s plans.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where top-deck manipulation is crucial or where decks are built around predictability and consistency, Orcish Spy’s ability to peek at the next few cards of an opponent’s library can be a game changer, potentially giving you an edge by adjusting your plays before your opponent draws their key resources.

How to beat

Orcish Spy is a unique fixture in the vast library of cards within Magic: The Gathering. Its strength lies in its ability to reveal the top three cards of an opponent’s library, a valuable insight in assessing their potential moves. It’s a modest one-two creature for a single red mana, which can provide critical strategic advantage especially early in the game.

To overcome the card’s intelligence gathering capabilities, players might consider using shuffling effects to tamper with the top of the library, thus nullifying the information gained by the opponent. Cards that reshuffle the library, like Evolving Wilds or fetch lands, can be particularly effective. Another strategy is to play with the top of your own library using scrying effects or library manipulation cards, ensuring that the revealed information is less impactful or even misleading. This turns the Spy’s ability into less of a threat, and more of a misguidance.

Orcish Spy may not be a powerhouse in terms of combat, but its true value lies in deck awareness and control. Smart deck construction and clever play can thwart its espionage, keeping you one step ahead in the game of knowledge.

Cards like Orcish Spy

Orcish Spy, a notable reconnaissance card in Magic: The Gathering, offers an unrivaled glimpse into the top cards of an opponent’s library. This capability echoes the structure of cards like Wizened Snitches, which although slightly more costly, provides a broader view of everyone’s top library cards. The Spy, however, zeroes in on your adversaries alone and does so at a lower mana cost.

Another relative in surveillance is Telepathy, revealing each opponent’s entire hand with no recurring ability but giving strategic insight from the outset. Orcish Spy’s ongoing ability to scope out upcoming draws offers a tactical edge that’s different from the sudden intel burst that Telepathy presents. Lantern of Insight also plays in this field, offering a more constant surveillance effect as it discloses the top card of libraries continuously and doubles as a utility artifact.

Comparing these recon options, Orcish Spy stands out in the context of continuous scouting and mana efficiency. While alternatives like Wizened Snitches or Lantern of Insight might offer more information or a broader range of effects, the Spy caters to proactive players aiming to plan against an opponent’s forthcoming strategy at an economical cost.

Cards similar to Orcish Spy by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Orcish Spy MTG card by a specific set like Fallen Empires and Fallen Empires, 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 Orcish Spy and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Orcish Spy Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-11-01 and 2003-07-28. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1994-11-01	Fallen Empires	FEM	61b	1993	Normal	Black	Daniel Gelon
2	1994-11-01	Fallen Empires	FEM	61c	1993	Normal	Black	Pete Venters
3	1994-11-01	Fallen Empires	FEM	61a	1993	Normal	Black	Susan Van Camp
4	2003-07-28	Eighth Edition	8ED	208★	2003	Normal	Black	Greg Staples
5	2003-07-28	Eighth Edition	8ED	208	2003	Normal	White	Greg Staples