Underdark Explorer MTG Card

Allows card advantage through exploration, potentially revealing more strategic options during play. Can hasten gameplay with land-based mana acceleration, giving a leg up on casting spells. Operates at instant speed, offering real-time adaptability and strategic responses in matches.

Underdark Explorer - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Lizard Warrior
Abilities	Menace
Released	2022-06-10
Set symbol
Set name	Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
Set code	CLB
Power	5
Toughness	3
Number	154
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	David Astruga

Text of card

Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) When Underdark Explorer enters the battlefield, you take the initiative.

"Keep your fancy magic. All I need is a hook and a sturdy length of rope."

Cards like Underdark Explorer

Underdark Explorer emerges as a unique piece among creature cards in Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels to cards like Elvish Visionary for their inherent ability to draw cards. What sets Underdark Explorer apart is its added ability to scale with the game’s progression, gaining a +1/+1 counter whenever a land card hits your graveyard from anywhere. The Elvish Visionary lacks this scaling capability, offering a simple one-time card draw without additional growth potential.

Another card in a similar orbit is Satyr Wayfinder, which not only allows you to reveal cards from the top of your library but also aids in potentially filling your graveyard with land cards, thus synergizing with Underdark Explorer’s passive ability. The Satyr Wayfinder, however, doesn’t grant any card draw directly but sets the stage for graveyard strategies. Tilling Treefolk can also be a comparable card due to its ability to return land cards from the graveyard to the player’s hand but doesn’t contribute directly to board presence or card draw.

It is evident that while there are creatures that blend with Underdark Explorer’s land-based card draw theme, very few bridge the gap between enhancing board presence and leveraging graveyard interactions as effectively in the realm of MTG.

Cards similar to Underdark Explorer by color, type and mana cost

Predatory Nightstalker - MTG Card versions

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Underdark Explorer enables players to delve deeper into their decks, offering potential card advantage with its ability to explore the unknown territories of the library – a boon for any player seeking to outmaneuver their opponent with superior card options.

Resource Acceleration: This card contributes to resource acceleration by potentially allowing a land card to enter the battlefield, thus boosting your mana resources and paving the way for casting more impactful spells earlier in the match.

Instant Speed: The exploratory power of Underdark Explorer is harnessed at instant speed, ensuring you maintain flexibility in your strategy. This can seamlessly integrate into any game plan, allowing for tactical responses to the evolving state of the battlefield even during an opponent’s turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Necessitating discarding a card to activate Underdark Explorer’s abilities could be a strategic setback. In tight game situations, being forced to relinquish a potentially crucial card from your hand can tip the scales unfavorably, especially when options are already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: Underdark Explorer commands a unique blend of mana to cast, which might not seamlessly align with a deck’s mana base. This specificity can be an obstacle, particularly in decks that strive for mana flexibility or those that run a tight color scheme, hindering the card’s overall adaptability on the battlefield.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a higher mana investment than some alternative creatures in its slot, Underdark Explorer could be considered a suboptimal choice. Players often assess the cost-to-benefit ratio in deckbuilding, and there are numerous creatures that could offer more immediate board presence or value for the same, if not lower, mana expenditure.

Reasons to Include Underdark Explorer in Your Collection

Versatility: Underdark Explorer proves to be a flexible addition to any MTG player’s collection. Its adaptability allows it to be easily slotted into a variety of deck archetypes, particularly those that capitalize on graveyard mechanics or benefit from a sturdy blocker.

Combo Potential: This card can serve as a crucial combo piece in decks designed to exploit landfall triggers or delve mechanics. By filling the graveyard with lands, Underdark Explorer paves the way for powerful synergies and intricate plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given that the MTG landscape often shifts to include graveyard-based strategies, Underdark Explorer holds its value as a card that can interact with popular meta decks, countering strategies that might otherwise capitalize on large graveyards.

How to beat Underdark Explorer

The card Underdark Explorer has caught the attention of players for its duality in enabling card advantage and potential board presence. Rising as a mainstay in decks leveraging graveyard mechanics, this card offers a unique challenge to opponents. Successfully navigating a match against this card requires strategic foresight.

To overcome the value that Underdark Explorer provides, utilizing graveyard hate spells can be an effective countermeasure. By disrupting the graveyard synergy, you can greatly diminish the effectiveness of Underdark Explorer’s abilities. Options such as Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can be powerful tools that negate the card’s advantage. Moreover, maintaining pressure with creature removal is also key. Ensuring the Explorer doesn’t stay on the field to generate value or establish a formidable presence is crucial. Efficient removal spells or even board wipes can help in keeping the battlefield clear, ultimately diminishing the impact of Underdark Explorer.

Focusing on this approach can help you retain control over the game, limit your opponent’s options, and navigate around the potential threats posed by this card. With a well-tuned strategy and timely responses, the challenges of facing Underdark Explorer can be mitigated.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Underdark Explorer MTG card by a specific set like Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, 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 Underdark Explorer and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Underdark Explorer has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Banned
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Underdark Explorer card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2022-06-10	A player who currently has the initiative may take the initiative again. This causes that player to venture into Undercity again, but does not cause them to have multiple initiative designations.
2022-06-10	If the player with the initiative leaves the game, the active player takes the initiative at the same time that player leaves the game. If the active player is leaving the game or if there is no active player, the next player in turn order takes the initiative.
2022-06-10	If you aren’t in a dungeon when instructed to venture into Undercity, you will put Undercity into the command zone and move your venture marker to Secret Entrance (the first room).
2022-06-10	If you’re already in a dungeon when instructed to venture into Undercity, you move to the next room of that dungeon. If you are already in the last room, you will complete that dungeon and start Undercity. This is true whether you’re already in Undercity or any other dungeon.
2022-06-10	In a Two-Headed Giant game, if both players on a team deal combat damage to the player that has the initiative at the same time, the player with the initiative will choose the order of the triggered abilities. Then, as those abilities resolve, one team member takes the initiative (and ventures into Undercity) and then the other team member does the same. The last player to take the initiative keeps it until the initiative changes again.
2022-06-10	Only one player can have the initiative at a time. As one player takes the initiative, any other player that had the initiative ceases to have it.
2022-06-10	Similarly, when instructed to venture into Undercity, you can’t start a dungeon that isn’t Undercity.
2022-06-10	The initiative is a designation a player can have. A player with the initiative designation is said to “have the initiative.” The initiative carries two inherent rules. First, whenever a player takes the initiative, and at the beginning of the upkeep of the player with the initiative, that player ventures into Undercity. Second, whenever one or more creatures a player controls deal combat damage to the player who has the initiative, the first player takes the initiative. Also, some abilities will refer to having the initiative and provide other benefits.
2022-06-10	There is no initiative in a game until an effect instructs a player to take the initiative. Once a player is instructed to do this, they have the initiative until another player takes the initiative.
2022-06-10	You cannot venture into Undercity unless instructed to do so, either because you have the initiative at the beginning of your upkeep or because you take the initiative. Notably, if you aren’t in a dungeon and an effect instructs you to venture into the dungeon (not venture into Undercity), you can’t start Undercity.