Dimir Informant MTG Card


Dimir Informant - Guilds of Ravnica
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Rogue
Abilities Surveil
Released2018-10-05
Set symbol
Set nameGuilds of Ravnica
Set codeGRN
Power 1
Toughness 4
Number36
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byLucas Graciano

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances card quality and potential draws through its surveil ability, aiding strategic deck manipulation.
  2. Offers flexible summoning with flash, increasing defensive and strategic plays across turns.
  3. Can strain resources with its discard requirement and specific mana needs, demanding careful play.

Text of card

When Dimir Informant enters the battlefield, surveil 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.)

The letters arrive, all sealed and read.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dimir Informant helps you to subtly manipulate your deck through surveil, potentially drawing into more valuable cards while improving the quality of your upcoming draws.

Resource Acceleration: Though not a direct source of acceleration, the card’s ability to filter your upcoming draws can indirectly speed up your access to essential resources by removing unneeded cards from the top of your library.

Instant Speed: As a creature with flash, Dimir Informant can be summoned at instant speed, offering strategic flexibility and the element of surprise during your opponent’s turn or at the end of their phase.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging an ability of Dimir Informant often calls for discarding a card, which might strain your hand, especially when playing a tight game where every card in hand counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Dimir Informant commands a specific blend of mana, requiring both blue and black. This necessity can restrict deck-building options and potentially hinder the card’s effectiveness in a mana-hungry hand.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that might be seen as steep in relation to its immediate impact on the game, Dimir Informant can be considered an investment that doesn’t always align with the speed of the current game meta.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Dimir Informant offers flexible gameplay, easily fitting into control or midrange decks seeking to manipulate the battlefield. Its ability to surveil helps tailor your upcoming draws, making it a reliable choice across various situations.

Combo Potential: This card shines in decks that leverage graveyard strategies or want to set up library manipulation combos. With its surveil ability, Dimir Informant can help you swiftly sort through your deck to find the combo pieces you need.

Meta-Relevance: Given its role in providing information about what’s coming next as well as what to keep or throw away, Dimir Informant is particularly useful in a meta where predicting and adapting to opponents’ moves is crucial for staying one step ahead.


How to beat

The Dimir Informant card presents a unique challenge on the MTG battlefield with its surveil ability, providing strategic deck manipulation to foresee upcoming plays. When facing this adept agent from the Dimir guild, players must adapt tactics to prevent the advantage this manipulation grants.

Controlling the flow of cards from the deck to the hand is key in MTG. Thus, one effective strategy against Dimir Informant is to implement graveyard disruption. Spell cards that can exile cards from an opponent’s graveyard will counteract the benefits the Informant provides. Additionally, employing instant speed removal spells can eliminate the Informant before its ability triggers, maintaining the flow of your own strategy.

Engaging in counterspells can also be a robust defense against Dimir Informant, particularly when it’s cast. By preemptively stopping its deployment to the field, you avoid its surveil ability altogether. Furthermore, ensuring a swift board presence with creatures that outclass the Informant in power and toughness can diminish the strategic edge it might offer an opponent. With thoughtful planning and strategic counterplays, Dimir Informant’s impact can be significantly reduced, bolstering your position towards victory.


Cards like Dimir Informant

Dimir Informant is a noteworthy utility creature in the deep tactical pool of Magic the Gathering’s surveil cards. It mirrors other creatures that provide extra value upon entering the battlefield such as Omenspeaker. While Omenspeaker offers the ability to scry 2, Dimir Informant takes it a step further by allowing you to surveil 2, a subtly powerful difference as it carefully filters your upcoming draws while simultaneously fueling graveyard strategies.

Another card with similar functionality is Augur of Bolas. Though this creature digs through your library for an instant or sorcery to reveal, Dimir Informant gives you the broader choice to manipulate your library and graveyard. Wall of Omens, with its card draw upon entering the battlefield, serves a different role, foregoing the deck manipulation for an immediate draw but missing out on the strategic depth surveil offers.

Through evaluating the utility of Dimir Informant against its counterparts, it’s evident that it presents a strategic advantage, especially in formats where graveyard synergies are prevalent. Its ability to sift through the library and set up future draws while providing a relevant blocker makes it a card that often punches above its weight in the right deck.

Omenspeaker - MTG Card versions
Augur of Bolas - MTG Card versions
Wall of Omens - MTG Card versions
Omenspeaker - Theros (THS)
Augur of Bolas - Magic 2013 (M13)
Wall of Omens - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Cards similar to Dimir Informant by color, type and mana cost

Wall of Water - MTG Card versions
Prodigal Sorcerer - MTG Card versions
Apprentice Wizard - MTG Card versions
Homarid - MTG Card versions
Daring Apprentice - MTG Card versions
Time Elemental - MTG Card versions
Rootwater Shaman - MTG Card versions
Wind Drake - MTG Card versions
Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions
Stronghold Biologist - MTG Card versions
Quicksilver Wall - MTG Card versions
Wall of Air - MTG Card versions
Phantom Warrior - MTG Card versions
Wormfang Drake - MTG Card versions
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions
Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions
Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions
Mistform Warchief - MTG Card versions
Blind Phantasm - MTG Card versions
Wall of Water - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Prodigal Sorcerer - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Apprentice Wizard - The Dark (DRK)
Homarid - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Daring Apprentice - Mirage (MIR)
Time Elemental - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Rootwater Shaman - Tempest (TMP)
Wind Drake - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Volrath's Shapeshifter - Stronghold (STH)
Stronghold Biologist - Nemesis (NEM)
Quicksilver Wall - Prophecy (PCY)
Wall of Air - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Phantom Warrior - Duels of the Planeswalkers (DPA)
Wormfang Drake - Judgment (JUD)
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - Commander Legends (CMR)
Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Mistform Warchief - Scourge (SCG)
Blind Phantasm - Future Sight (FUT)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dimir Informant MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica, 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 Dimir Informant and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dimir Informant has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-10-05 When you surveil, you may put all the cards you look at back on top of your library, you may put all of those cards into your graveyard, or you may put some of those cards on top and the rest of them into your graveyard.
2018-10-05 You perform the actions stated on a card in sequence. For some spells and abilities, you’ll surveil last. For others, you’ll surveil and then perform other actions.

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