Lurking Informant MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Lurking Informant provides a unique form of card advantage by enabling manipulation of the top card of an opponent’s library, disrupting their draw and potentially denying them crucial resources.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana or ramp, Lurking Informant can accelerate your game plan by filtering your own deck with its ability, ensuring you draw into the action you need more consistently.

Instant Speed: The Informant’s deck manipulation ability can be activated at instant speed, offering flexibility during any phase of the game and the option to disrupt an opponent’s strategy at the most opportune moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One limitation of Lurking Informant is the need to have another card to discard, which can prove challenging when operating with a depleted hand. This puts a strain on the player’s resources and reduces their flexibility during gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting requirement that includes both blue and black mana, Lurking Informant demands a specific deck structure predominantly featuring these colors, which can be restrictive for players wishing to integrate it into a more diverse mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Lurking Informant’s ability offers a form of deck manipulation, its combined mana cost and additional activation cost could be considered steep for its relatively subtle effect. Other cards in the same cost range might provide a more impactful ability or presence on the board.

Reasons to Include Lurking Informant in Your Collection

Versatility: The adaptability of Lurking Informant is notable. It can slip into control or mill decks comfortably, providing a sustainable resource of information about your opponent’s upcoming plays.

Combo Potential: With Lurking Informant, deck synergy elevates as it enables key interactions for self-mill strategies or works with cards that profit from manipulating the top card of a library.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to influence both players’ draws, Lurking Informant can be a tactical addition against decks that rely heavily on the combo and top-deck strategies, making it relevant in various metagames.

How to beat

Lurking Informant, steeped in the intrigue of Ravnica block, is a peculiar creature card that offers an unusual form of deck manipulation. With its ability to surveil an opponent’s library, it can be quite a thorn in your side, subtly pilfering the seams of their strategy. To dismantle its clandestine efforts, strategic sideboarding is crucial. Bringing in cards that shuffle your library, like the efficient ‘Field of Ruin,’ can thwart the Informant’s influence by refreshing your deck’s order. Aggressive play is another avenue, deploying threats that demand immediate answers, thus stretching your opponent’s mana and forcing them to choose between fueling the Lurking Informant or dealing with on-board pressure. Moreover, enchantment removal like ‘Naturalize’ can be pivotal, eliminating ‘Undercity Uprising,’ which often accompanies Lurking Informant in decks to manipulate the top card of the library for a beneficial reveal.

In essence, when you neutralize its ability to surveil, you strip away the edge it provides. Countering Lurking Informant demands a focus on keeping your own game plan fluid while cutting off the avenues that allow it to disrupt and dictate the flow of play.