Gateway Sneak MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Vedalken Rogue
Released	2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica Allegiance
Set code	RNA
Power	1
Toughness	3
Number	40
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Stewart

Key Takeaways

Gateway Sneak excels in gate-focused decks, offering card draws and resource acceleration.
Specific mana requirements limit its use to blue or multicolor gate decks.
High casting cost may outweigh benefits compared to other creatures.

Text of card

Whenever a Gate enters the battlefield under your control, Gateway Sneak can't be blocked this turn. Whenever Gateway Sneak deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.

"I've been through every guildgate in this city, and no one sees me come or go."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gateway Sneak offers a consistent draw engine for players who successfully navigate its triggered ability. Every time a Gate enters the battlefield under your control, you are permitted to draw additional cards, thereby reinforcing your hand and enhancing possibilities for future plays.

Resource Acceleration: While the card itself doesn’t directly create resources, it incentivizes and rewards a deck strategy built around Gates, which can naturally lead to an acceleration of resources. This occurs as the diverse mana provided by Gates supports casting more impactful spells sooner in the game.

Instant Speed: Though Gateway Sneak operates at sorcery speed, its compatibility with cards that fetch Gates at instant speed allows for surprising shifts in board state. This interaction can trigger the card draw at times opponents might not be fully prepared to handle, thus providing an indirect advantage of timing and resource management.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Gateway Sneak necessitates discarding a card for its abilities. This can leave players at a significant disadvantage, especially when in a tight spot with a scarcity of cards in hand.

Specific Mana Cost: To play Gateway Sneak, players need one blue mana, which restricts it to blue-centric or multicolor decks, potentially limiting its versatility in various strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that might be considered steep for its utility, players may find that other creatures offer a better ratio of power to mana cost, making Gateway Sneak less appealing in a competitive environment.

Reasons to Include Gateway Sneak in Your Collection

Versatility: Gateway Sneak is not just a creature; it prompts additional draws when it connects with an opponent after a gate enters the battlefield under your control. Its ability to seamlessly integrate into gate-centric decks, and contribute to card advantage makes it a flexible addition to your roster.

Combo Potential: This card shines in the presence of gate-related mechanics. Combine it with gate payoff cards to maximize its impact, turning every played gate into a potential draw engine. It works excellently with mechanics that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield or dealing combat damage to a player.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where gates are prevalent, Gateway Sneak becomes increasingly valuable. With the ability to bypass defenders and draw cards in gate decks, it can maintain card flow and pressure in the meta, keeping your hand refreshed and your strategy flowing smoothly.

How to beat Gateway Sneak

Gateway Sneak is a unique fixture in the rogues’ gallery of creatures in Magic: The Gathering. It stands out with the ability to draw a card whenever a gate enters the battlefield under your control. This offers an intriguing synergy in decks heavily featuring gates. However, there are strategies to outmaneuver Gateway Sneak.

When facing Gateway Sneak, the key is disrupting the synergy it tries to create. Effective removal spells are a primary tactic. Utilizing spells that can target and destroy or exile creatures at instant speed disrupts the flow of your opponent’s game, limiting the card advantage that Gateway Sneak can provide. Cards like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can be powerful against the Gateway Sneak as soon as it hits the board.

Alternatively, counterplay can come in the form of enchantments or artifacts that limit your opponent’s ability to gain benefit from gates entering the battlefield. Suppressing summoning abilities with cards like Silent Arbiter or damping the number of gates they can play with a card like Damping Sphere can also be a solid strategy. Therefore, by anticipating the Sneak’s gate-based synergy, one can plan a potent resistance to keep the upper hand.

Cards like Gateway Sneak

Gateway Sneak is a unique fixture in the world of sneaky creatures within Magic: The Gathering. It shares traits with other unblockable entities like Mist-Cloaked Herald, which carries the might of being an evasive creature that can bypass blockers. But Gateway Sneak goes further, it not only slips past enemy lines but also replenishes your hand every time a gate enters the battlefield under your control, a feature the Herald doesn’t possess.

Then there’s Looter il-Kor, a card that boasts a similar benefits for the player. While not unblockable, its shadow ability makes it difficult for opponents to block, and it facilitates card draw through its loot mechanic upon dealing damage. However, it lacks the synergy with gates that the Gateway Sneak celebrates. We also have Tandem Lookout, which harnesses the power of pairing with another unblockable creature to draw cards, yet it doesn’t directly incentivize a specific land type the way Gateway Sneak can capitalize on gates.

Consequently, in a deck that leverages gates, Gateway Sneak not only offers an avenue for consistent pressure on the opponent, but also a card advantage mechanism that rewards you for playing within a gate-centric strategy, firmly establishing its unique position in MTG.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gateway Sneak MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Gateway Sneak and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gateway Sneak has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Timeless	Legal