River Herald Guide MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Merfolk Scout |
| Abilities | Explore, Vigilance |
| Released | 2023-11-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Set code | LCI |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 209 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | David Astruga |
Text of card
Vigilance When River Herald Guide enters the battlefield, it explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
Cards like River Herald Guide
The River Herald’s Guide is a resourceful creature card that aids players navigating through the robust world of MTG. With a similar function to cards like Merfolk Looter, which allows players to draw a card and then discard a card, the River Herald’s Guide differs in its emphasis on supporting other Merfolk, a specific type of creature. Instead of the looting ability, it offers a way to make your Merfolk unblockable for a turn, emphasizing tactical stealth over card advantage.
Triton Shorestalker and Mist-Cloaked Herald should also be considered when evaluating stealth-focused Merfolk. Both cards offer unblockable traits naturally without requiring mana investment, which provides a constant threat to opponents. However, unlike River Herald’s Guide, they do not provide the flexibility of targeting other creatures, thus limiting their utility to their own presence on the battlefield.
While each card has its unique merits, the River Herald’s Guide shines in decks that aim to combine the strengths of Merfolk and bolster their offensive capabilities subtly and efficiently. It exemplifies strategic depth in MTG, showcasing the synergy and tribal focus that can be pivotal to victory in many gameplay scenarios.
Cards similar to River Herald Guide by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Providing vital support in Merfolk decks, the River Herald Guide allows for strategic manipulation of combat scenarios. While it doesn’t directly draw cards, it facilitates card advantage through its ability to enhance the effectiveness of each creature played, allowing players to maximize the potential of the cards already in their hand.
Resource Acceleration: This may not be the foremost ability of the River Herald Guide, but it plays a key role in streamlining your creature deployment. By ensuring your key Merfolk can’t be blocked this turn, it indirectly accelerates your board presence, which is crucial in resource-driven games where tempo leads to victory.
Instant Speed: The River Herald Guide operates at sorcery speed, but its merit lies in the unexpected tactics it enables during the combat phase. By choosing which of your Merfolk is unblockable at the right moment, you can turn the tides, making it an essential asset in swiftly changing combat dynamics to your favor.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The River Herald Guide demands that players discard another card to activate certain abilities. This could lead to a depletion of valuable hand resources, particularly if you are playing a strategy that relies on maintaining card advantage or need all the options available to respond to opponents’ threats.
Specific Mana Cost: As a card that requires both green and blue mana for casting, it may not seamlessly fit into decks that do not run these colors. This restricts the card’s utility to specific deck types, often requiring players to build around a multicolored mana base to take full advantage of its potential.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although offering unique abilities, the mana investment needed to cast River Herald Guide can be considered high compared to other creatures in its class. In a game where efficiency is key, its cost might deter players from including it in fast-paced or highly competitive decks where lower-costing creatures could provide similar or better value.
Reasons to Include River Herald Guide in Your Collection
Versatility: The River Herald Guide is a solid inclusion in merfolk decks and can enhance various strategies within this tribe. Its ability to make another merfolk unblockable for a turn allows for strategic plays and unexpected wins.
Combo Potential: The unblockable ability synergizes with cards that profit from dealing combat damage to a player. Additionally, it pairs well with merfolk that have enter the battlefield effects or those that accumulate +1/+1 counters.
Meta-Relevance: Merfolk decks, particularly in the tribal-focused and singleton formats, can benefit from the River Herald Guide. It shines in a meta where evasive creatures can turn the tide of battle, often slipping past heavy defenses to clinch the win.
How to beat
River Herald’s Guide brings a distinctive advantage to the table in MTG, primarily in Merfolk-based decks. Its ability to make a Merfolk unblockable for a turn carves a pathway for crucial damage and can be a deciding factor in tight matchups. But how do you tackle such a card strategically? One approach is to employ removal spells efficiently. By keeping instant-speed removal in hand, players can wait for the River Herald’s Guide to activate its ability before picking off the targeted Merfolk. This maneuver not only disrupts the opponent’s combat plans but also conserves your removal for key threats.
Counter spells also serve as a robust tool against the Guide. Disallowing it to enter the battlefield in the first place eliminates any problems before they manifest, ensuring your opponent doesn’t gain the upper hand. Utilizing board wipes can be another effective strategy. Since the Guide’s ability needs to be activated each turn, a well-timed board clear can reset the playing field.
Lastly, keeping a stronger board presence can naturally keep the Guide at bay. With robust creatures on your side, the unblockable Merfolk may seem less of a threat, allowing you to outpace your opponent in both life and board dominance. In essence, preemptive control and maintaining pressure are key in managing the challenge posed by River Herald’s Guide.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase River Herald Guide MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 River Herald Guide and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where River Herald Guide has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering River Herald Guide card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-11-10 | If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate. |
| 2023-11-10 | If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard. |
| 2023-11-10 | If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.) |
| 2023-11-10 | Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again. |
Guide to Vigilance card ability
In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.