Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper MTG Card

Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)

Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
2019-10-04 - Number 284

Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
2019-10-04 - Number 53

Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Magic Online Promos (PRM)
2002-06-24 - Number 78822

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery — Adventure
Abilities	Mill

Key Takeaways

Merfolk Secretkeeper leverages its Adventure for instant-speed milling, impacting an opponent’s game flow.
Though it requires specific mana, its versatility in blue decks makes it a strategic addition.
The card’s dual nature supports unique graveyard strategies, enhancing its value in MTG decks.

Text of card

Target player mills four cards. (Then exile this card. You may cast the creature later from exile.)

Merfolk curiosity usually has dire consequences, but rarely for the merfolk.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Merfolk Secretkeeper offers a strategic advantage by allowing you to tap into your library’s depth. With its ‘venture into the dungeon’ ability, you can effectively manipulate your deck and that of your opponents, potentially disrupting their strategy while paving the way for your victory.

Resource Acceleration: This card may not directly accelerate resources in the traditional sense, but its low casting cost makes it a valuable addition to your board early in the game. Playing Merfolk Secretkeeper can set the stage for more powerful plays, maintaining a tempo that can overwhelm the opposition.

Instant Speed: One of Merfolk Secretkeeper’s strengths is its Adventure mechanic, which can be cast at instant speed. This means you can hold your mana and choose the most opportune moment during the game to cast ‘Venture Deeper’, potentially milling your opponent at a crucial moment or perhaps when they least expect it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Merfolk Secretkeeper requires you to discard a card, potentially putting you at a disadvantage if your hand is already sparse.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands blue mana, which could restrict its integration into multi-colored or mana-flexible decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Venture into the Dungeon aspect of the card has a relatively high mana cost for its mill effect, which could be a deal-breaker in fast-paced games where efficiency is key.

Reasons to Include Merfolk Secretkeeper in Your Collection

Versatility: Merfolk Secretkeeper offers a dual aspect of gameplay with its Adventure ability, ensuring it serves as both a creature and a mill card, allowing for various strategic plays in any blue-centric deck.

Combo Potential: Its mill ability synergizes well with graveyard-centric strategies and can enable powerful interactions with cards that capitalize on the number of spells in the opponents’ graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where graveyard access is key, this card supports an underplayed strategy that can disrupt many popular deck archetypes in the current MTG landscape.

How to Beat

Merfolk Secretkeeper may seem like a humble 0/4 creature at first glance, but it’s actually an integral part of a popular mill strategy in Magic: The Gathering. The card presents a two-fold challenge: as a blocker it can prevent early combat damage effectively, and through its Venture Into the Dungeon adventure, it throws a wrench into your game by putting the top four cards of your library into your graveyard.

One reliable method to counter this is by utilizing cards that either shuffle your graveyard back into your library or cards that grant you benefits from having a stacked graveyard. A well-timed Tormod’s Crypt can exile your graveyard before the mill has a negative impact, while the power of an Eldrazi titan like Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre offers protection by shuffling your entire graveyard back into your library if it’s ever put there from anywhere.

Your strategy can also revolve around graveyard synergy. Cards that thrive off a full graveyard, such as delve spells or creatures like Gurmag Angler, turn your graveyard into a resource rather than a liability. Play smart, conserve your key spells for the crucial moments, and Merfolk Secretkeeper will be less of a barrier and more of an asset to you in the grand tapestry of Magic: The Gathering tactics.

BurnMana Recommendations

Magic the Gathering enthusiasts understand that mastering every card’s potential is essential for triumph. Merfolk Secretkeeper’s low-cost and versatile Adventure mechanic can be a game-changer in milling strategies, shaping your path to victory. As you build your collection, consider the depth it adds to your blue-based decks. Looking to thwart your opponents with innovative tactics or appreciate unique combos that dance around the graveyards? Dive deeper and enrich your strategies at BurnMana. Enhance your MTG arsenal with cards like Merfolk Secretkeeper that challenge conventions and refine your deck’s edge against the competition.

Cards like Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper

Merfolk Secretkeeper is a noteworthy card in MTG, serving as a linchpin in mill decks that aim to exhaust an opponent’s library. It bears a resemblance to Hedron Crab, another efficient mill card. Both enable players to quickly deplete an opponent’s deck. Merfolk Secretkeeper, as an adventure card, can first be cast as Venture Deep, milling the opponent for four cards, and then played as a creature. This dual utility offers strategic depth in game play.

Comparatively, Ruin Crab follows in the same vein. It continues the legacy of crab creatures with landfall-triggered milling abilities but has a higher milling potential. While it lacks the adventure mechanic of Merfolk Secretkeeper, Ruin Crab’s ongoing effect can disrupt opponents’ strategies consistently over the course of the game. Another peer is Drowned Secrets, an enchantment that mills whenever a blue spell is cast, ensuring a similar impact but with potentially higher yield over time.

Ultimately, Merfolk Secretkeeper’s versatility and its ability to combine early-game mill strategies with late-game creature plays make it a distinctive and valuable component within the milling archetype in MTG. This makes it a must-consider for players building around mill strategies.

Cards similar to Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Throne of Eldraine, 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 Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-10-04 and 2019-10-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	~~2002-06-24~~	Magic Online Promos	PRM	78822	2015	Adventure	Black	Allen Williams
2	2019-10-04	Throne of Eldraine	ELD	284	2015	Adventure	Black	Allen Williams
3	2019-10-04	Throne of Eldraine	ELD	53	2015	Adventure	Black	Jana Schirmer

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper 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 Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2019-10-04	An adventurer card is a creature card in every zone except the stack, as well as while on the stack if not cast as an Adventure. Ignore its alternative characteristics in those cases. For example, while it's in your graveyard, Giant Killer is a white creature card whose mana value is 1. It can't be the target of the triggered ability of Mystic Sanctuary.
2019-10-04	Casting a card as an Adventure isn't casting it for an alternative cost. Effects that allow you to cast a spell for an alternative cost or without paying its mana cost may allow you to apply those to the Adventure.
2019-10-04	If a spell is cast as an Adventure, its controller exiles it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard as it resolves. For as long as it remains exiled, that player may cast it as a creature spell. If an Adventure spell leaves the stack in any way other than resolving (most likely by being countered or by failing to resolve because its targets have all become illegal), that card won't be exiled and the spell's controller won't be able to cast it as a creature later.
2019-10-04	If an adventurer card ends up in exile for any other reason than by exiling itself while resolving, it won't give you permission to cast it as a creature spell.
2019-10-04	If an effect copies an Adventure spell, that copy is exiled as it resolves. It ceases to exist as a state-based action; it's not possible to cast the copy as a creature.
2019-10-04	If an effect instructs you to choose a card name, you may choose the alternative Adventure name. Consider only the alternative characteristics to determine whether that is an appropriate name to choose.
2019-10-04	If an object becomes a copy of an object that has an Adventure, the copy also has an Adventure. If it changes zones, it will either cease to exist (if it's a token) or cease to be a copy (if it's a nontoken permanent), and so you won't be able to cast it as an Adventure.
2019-10-04	If you cast an adventurer card as an Adventure, use only its alternative characteristics to determine whether it's legal to cast that spell. For example, if Giant Killer is exiled with the last ability of Vivien, Champion of the Wilds, you can't cast it as Chop Down.
2019-10-04	When casting a spell as an Adventure, use the alternative characteristics and ignore all of the card's normal characteristics. The spell's color, mana cost, mana value, and so on are determined by only those alternative characteristics. If the spell leaves the stack, it immediately resumes using its normal characteristics.
2019-10-04	You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions for the creature spell you cast from exile. Normally, you'll be able to cast it only during your main phase while the stack is empty.