Jeskai Infiltrator MTG Card
2015-01-23 - Number 36
2015-01-23 - Number 36s
2018-08-09 - Number 93
2002-06-24 - Number 55757
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Monk |
| Abilities | Manifest |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Text of card
Jeskai Infiltrator can't be blocked as long as you control no other creatures. When Jeskai Infiltrator deals combat damage to a player, exile it and the top card of your library in a face-down pile, shuffle that pile, then manifest those cards. (To manifest a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)
Cards like Jeskai Infiltrator
Jeskai Infiltrator is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering that distinguishes itself in the realm of unblockable creatures. A card with a similar ability is Invisible Stalker, which not only cannot be blocked but also has hexproof, preventing it from becoming the target of spells or abilities. While Invisible Stalker guarantees evasion and protection, Jeskai Infiltrator provides a unique shuffle ability that can potentially create card advantage and surprise interactions on the board.
Looter il-Kor is another creature with a similar “cannot be blocked” theme but comes with a different twist. Instead of shuffling and potentially creating copies, Looter il-Kor allows for card filtering whenever it deals damage to an opponent. This effect provides regular card quality improvement rather than a one-time potentially high-impact play. Then we have the classic Thada Adel, Acquisitor, who, besides being unblockable, empowers you by allowing the theft of artifacts from opponents’ decks.
Assessing these alternatives highlights Jeskai Infiltrator’s unique positioning among its peers. It offers an impressive blend of evasion, surprise factor, and possible card advantage, making it a notable option for players looking for an unorthodox approach to creature-based strategies.
Cards similar to Jeskai Infiltrator by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Jeskai Infiltrator can generate card advantage by potentially drawing you cards every time it deals combat damage to a player. This rewards strategic play and can help you maintain superiority over your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: Upon dealing combat damage, Jeskai Infiltrator shuffles into your library and comes back as a manifested card. This has the potential to accelerate your resources by putting additional creatures on the battlefield that may turn out to be powerful spells when flipped up.
Instant Speed: While Jeskai Infiltrator itself isn’t an instant, it encourages a playstyle that keeps mana open for other instant speed interactions. Playing this way allows you to react to an ever-changing battlefield and make the best use of your card at the most opportune moment, increasing your strategic options.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Jeskai Infiltrator can have synergy issues in decks that don’t capitalize on self-mill or graveyard strategies, leading to potential card disadvantage if its triggered ability is not fully utilized.
Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue and red mana, the Infiltrator’s casting cost can be restrictive, making it less flexible for decks that run on a more varied mana base or that are not aligned with the Jeskai color combination.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two specific colors, it presents a higher investment compared to other creatures with similar or more impactful abilities at a lower cost.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Jeskai Infiltrator can seamlessly slip into numerous deck archetypes with its ability to shuffle back into your library and come back unpredictably. Its adaptability shines in decks looking to evade targeted removal.
Combo Potential: The card’s unique unblockable attribute, combined with the reshuffle and Manifest mechanics, opens up possibilities for combos with cards that utilize top-deck manipulation or capitalize on the Manifest ability.
Meta-Relevance: Given a meta that favors creature-based strategies, Jeskai Infiltrator can serve as a perfect fit. It can disrupt opponent’s strategies by providing a recurring threat that not only has to be dealt with multiple times but can also bring a surprise element each time it attacks.
How to beat Jeskai Infiltrator
Jeskai Infiltrator is a unique threat in MTG that can slip past your defenses and disrupt your deck. This creature stands out by becoming unblockable as long as it attacks alone, and it further complicates your strategy by shuffling into your library and emerging with a mysterious manifested card. Overcoming this elusive aggressor requires smart play and tactical foresight. Cards with “reach” or “flash” can be instrumental, allowing you to block or deal with the infiltrator unexpectedly.
Moreover, spells that force your opponent to sacrifice a creature can prove invaluable as they sidestep the infiltrator’s unblockable nature. Board wipes also serve as a reliable reset button, clearing the Infiltrator along with the rest of the threats on the board. Lastly, keeping a tight grip on your opponent’s attacking options, with cards that limit the number of creatures that can attack each turn, ensures that Jeskai Infiltrator loses its unblockable advantage, significantly reducing the card’s impact on your game plan.
Understanding the tricks and tactics to counteract Jeskai Infiltrator can help you maintain control in your matches, preventing this cunning creature from gaining the upper hand and unraveling your carefully laid plans.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Jeskai Infiltrator MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Fate Reforged, 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 Jeskai Infiltrator and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Jeskai Infiltrator Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Cynthia Sheppard.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 55757 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cynthia Sheppard | ||
| 2 | 2015-01-23 | Fate Reforged | FRF | 36 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cynthia Sheppard | |
| 3 | 2015-01-23 | Fate Reforged Promos | PFRF | 36s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cynthia Sheppard | |
| 4 | 2018-08-09 | Commander 2018 | C18 | 93 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cynthia Sheppard |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Jeskai Infiltrator has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Jeskai Infiltrator card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-11-24 | A card’s owner is public information at all times. If the two cards you exile are owned by different players (perhaps because you gained control of a Jeskai Infiltrator owned by your opponent), which card is which is no longer hidden from your opponent. That player will know which face-down creature they own. |
| 2014-11-24 | A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren’t affected. |
| 2014-11-24 | Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. |
| 2014-11-24 | At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect allows you to or instructs you to. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because face-down creatures don’t have names, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger. |
| 2014-11-24 | If Jeskai Infiltrator isn’t on the battlefield as its triggered ability resolves, you’ll manifest just the top card of your library. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a manifested creature would have morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its morph cost. |
| 2014-11-24 | If you manifest a card owned by an opponent and you leave the game, that card is exiled. |
| 2014-11-24 | Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still can’t be turned face down. |
| 2014-11-24 | The face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It’s colorless and has a converted mana cost of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant or change any of these characteristics. |
| 2014-11-24 | The pile is shuffled to disguise from your opponents which manifested creature is which. After you manifest the cards, you can look at them. |
| 2014-11-24 | There are no cards in the Fate Reforged set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up. |
| 2014-11-24 | Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped. |
| 2014-11-24 | Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using the morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it’s a creature card. |
| 2014-11-24 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on). |
| 2018-07-13 | Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. |
| 2018-07-13 | At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect instructs you to do so. |
| 2018-07-13 | Because face-down creatures don’t have a name, they can’t have the same name as any other creature or share any creature types with any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2018-07-13 | If an effect tries to return a face-down creature to the battlefield after it leaves (such as Aminatou’s second ability or Adarkar Valkyrie’s delayed triggered ability), that effect returns the card face up. If it tries to put an instant or sorcery card onto the battlefield this way, that card remains in its current zone instead. |
| 2018-07-13 | Some previous Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. Although a double-faced card can enter the battlefield face down, one already on the battlefield can’t be turned face down. |
| 2018-07-13 | The face-down characteristics of a permanent are copiable values. If another object becomes a copy of a face-down creature or if a token is created that’s a copy of a face-down creature, that new object is a 2/2 colorless face-up creature with no abilities. |
| 2018-07-13 | There are no cards in this set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up. |
| 2018-07-13 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using a morph ability, and so on). |