Silent Skimmer MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Eldrazi Drone |
| Abilities | Devoid,Flying |
| Released | 2015-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Battle for Zendikar |
| Set code | BFZ |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 96 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Alejandro Mirabal |
Key Takeaways
- With unblockable attacks, Silent Skimmer steadily diminishes an opponent’s life, adding subtle pressure each turn.
- Its synergy with damage-triggered effects and instants makes it a versatile addition to various deck strategies.
- Despite a higher mana cost for its functions, Silent Skimmer’s guaranteed life loss effect can justify its inclusion.
Text of card
Devoid (This card has no color.) Flying Whenever Silent Skimmer attacks, defending player loses 2 life.
"I watched it pass at a distance. When I looked back to my companions, Najet was dead." —Akiri, kor line-slinger
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Silent Skimmer’s ability to bypass traditional combat lets it consistently chip away at an opponent’s life total, essentially drawing you closer to victory each turn without having to commit additional cards or resources to achieve this effect.
Resource Acceleration: Though not directly a resource accelerator, Silent Skimmer can be an enabler for cards that trigger upon dealing damage, indirectly speeding up your game plan.
Instant Speed: While the Silent Skimmer isn’t an instant itself, its evasion capability synergizes well with instant speed interaction, allowing you to keep mana open for responses while still applying pressure during your attack phase.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Silent Skimmer doesn’t come with an intrinsic disadvantage like a discard requirement, but any additional effects in your deck that do can hamper its effectiveness. Always consider your hand’s robustness when playing creatures with synergistic discard effects.
Specific Mana Cost: While colorless, the Silent Skimmer requires two black mana to cast. This cost necessitates a strong black mana base, potentially limiting deck diversity and reducing your flexibility in deck-building strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, the Silent Skimmer can be considered mana-intensive, especially when you’re aiming for deck speed and efficiency. In competitive play, there are alternative creatures or spells that might provide more immediate board presence or impact at or below this mana cost.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Silent Skimmer brings a unique dynamic to the battlefield with its unblockable nature, making it a fine addition to decks that prioritize consistent damage output without the need for buffs or evasion tactics.
Combo Potential: As a colorless creature, it slots easily into any deck, and its ability to deal direct damage while evading conventional blockers pairs exceptionally well with life-drain or artifact synergy strategies.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where defense strategies often focus on deterring attackers, Silent Skimmer sidesteps this by guaranteeing damage thanks to its evasion ability. This makes it a stealthy threat against fortressed opponents.
How to beat Silent Skimmer
Silent Skimmer is a unique creature card that brings a consistent damage-dealing ability to the battlefield in MTG. With its evasion prowess, it automatically inflicts 2 damage to opponents when it attacks, irrespective of whether it’s blocked or not. Notably, Silent Skimmer’s strength lies in its ability to bypass creatures while still assuring a damage output, making it a steady source of frustration for many players.
In order to effectively counter Silent Skimmer, aiming for direct removal spells is key. Cards such as Fatal Push, Path to Exile, or Assassin’s Trophy can outright get rid of the Silent Skimmer for a low mana cost. Employing such removal spells allows you to directly handle this threat without needing to declare blockers or engage in combat.
Another strategy involves manipulating combat math in your favor by increasing your life total, making the damage from Silent Skimmer less impactful. Utilizing life gain cards can help balance out the life loss and sustain you throughout the game. While Silent Skimmer can be a thorn in one’s side, with the right approach and tools, it can be rendered a minor obstacle on your path to victory.
Cards like Silent Skimmer
Silent Skimmer joins the echelon of elusive creatures in the game of Magic: The Gathering, evoking comparisons to other cards that unerringly chip away at an opponent’s life total. It shares qualities with the likes of Bitterblade Warrior, which also has an ability making it hard to block. Yet, Silent Skimmer stands out with its guaranteed loss of life mechanic, irrespective of whether the combat damage is dealt.
Moving on, we observe Vampire Nighthawk. Though both Silent Skimmer and the Nighthawk have flying, the Nighthawk brings more to the table with lifelink and deathtouch. Silent Skimmer, on the flip side, doesn’t rely on dealing combat damage to trigger its effect. There’s also Skyrider Patrol, which confers flying to other creatures. While this ability is potent, it doesn’t provide the repeated, unpreventable life loss Silent Skimmer assures at each combat.
To sum up, the Silent Skimmer makes a subtle yet steady impact on the board with its unique attack phase ability. Though other cards offer additional combat benefits, Silent Skimmer’s consistent effect every turn offers a distinctive advantage in depleting an opponent’s life while remaining virtually untouchable in the air.
Cards similar to Silent Skimmer by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Silent Skimmer MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Silent Skimmer and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Silent Skimmer has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Silent Skimmer card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-08-25 | A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost. |
| 2015-08-25 | Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play. |
| 2015-08-25 | Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield. |
| 2015-08-25 | If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid. |
| 2015-08-25 | Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless. |
