Whispering Snitch MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Vampire Rogue
Power 1
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants strategic insight into the opponent’s hand, enabling better informed plays and resource management.
  2. Synergizes with surveil, streamlining draws for a more impactful game, but requires surveil-centric deck building.
  3. Limited by mana specificity and efficiency, it fits best in decks designed to leverage its life-drain ability.

Text of card

Whenever you surveil for the first time each turn, Whispering Snitch deals 1 damage to each opponent and you gain 1 life.

"Sure, I hear things. I hear plenty. But how am I to talk with this parched throat?"


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Whispering Snitch grants indirect card advantage by revealing information about your opponent’s hand, allowing for more informed strategic decisions throughout the game. Being privy to your opponent’s strategy could influence your plays and can be as valuable as drawing an extra card.

Resource Acceleration: While Whispering Snitch isn’t a direct source of resource acceleration, it synergizes well with decks that focus on the surveil mechanic. As you surveil and manage the top cards of your library, you effectively streamline your draws towards more impactful cards, thereby accelerating your overall game plan.

Instant Speed: The ability of Whispering Snitch is triggered whenever you surveil. This means it can potentially interact with instant-speed surveil spells, creating opportunities for life drain at any point during the gameplay. This adds a layer of complexity and surprise for your opponent, disrupting their calculations as they must account for potential life point swings outside of the combat phase.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Whispering Snitch hinges on surveil to activate its ability, necessitating a deck designed around this mechanic. This can be restrictive since it requires surveil triggers to get value from the card. Without those synergies, its impact is considerably lessened.

Specific Mana Cost: Whispering Snitch requires one black mana. This specific need can make it a challenging fit for multicolored decks that require a diverse mana base, as it can potentially lead to being uncastable should the right mana not be available when needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not exorbitant, the combined cost of two mana for a 1/3 body may be a bit steep in formats where mana efficiency is key. In environments with aggressive decks, there might be options that provide a greater impact on the game’s early turns.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Whispering Snitch’s low mana cost and robust ability to gain life make it suitable for a variety of decks, accentuating its role in black-centered or multicolored control decks that thrive on incremental advantages.

Combo Potential: With Whispering Snitch’s synergy with surveil mechanics, it slots seamlessly into decks focusing on library and graveyard strategy, enabling potent interactions with other cards that benefit from surveilling.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where numerous players rely on carefully sculpted decks, the consistent life-drain effect of Whispering Snitch can steadily tip the scales in your favor, making it a tactical addition to your collection.


How to beat Whispering Snitch

Whispering Snitch is an intriguing creature card that can be a thorn in your side if you’re facing a deck with a heavy surveil mechanic in Magic: The Gathering. This vampire rogue has the unique ability to drain life from the opponent whenever you surveil, which can incrementally tip the scales of the game. To counter this pestering card, consider using instant speed removals that can target and eliminate it before the surveil synergy takes effect. Cards like Lightning Bolt or Fatal Push are perfect for dealing with Whispering Snitch swiftly.

Additionally, you can disrupt the surveil mechanic itself. Cards that restrict or counter beneficial abilities of your opponent’s creatures, like Pithing Needle or Sorcerous Spyglass, can render Whispering Snitch’s ability useless. Aside from direct removal, exiling it through spells like Path to Exile ensures that it won’t return to the battlefield, circumventing strategies that rely on graveyard recursion. Don’t let Whispering Snitch’s subtle life-draining ability undermine your game plan. Stay proactive, keep your removals at the ready, and focus on disabling the underlying mechanisms that empower this pesky vampire.


Cards like Whispering Snitch

Whispering Snitch is a unique creature in MTG that stands out in deck builds focused on surveil mechanics. One comparable card is Nightveil Sprite, which enables you to surveil whenever it attacks. Although it actively promotes the surveil strategy, unlike Whispering Snitch, it doesn’t offer the advantage of directly draining your opponent’s life.

Duskmantle Guildmage is another card worth mentioning. It shares a synergy with the surveil mechanic by potentially dealing damage whenever a card is put into an opponent’s graveyard from their library, similar to Whispering Snitch’s life drain. However, Duskmantle Guildmage requires mana investment to activate its ability, whereas Whispering Snitch triggers automatically with each surveil.

Lastly, we look at Blood Operative – while not directly impacting life totals like Whispering Snitch, it presents a recurring threat that benefits from surveil and provides graveyard interaction. Despite the differences, Whispering Snitch holds a specific role in surveil-themed decks by combining defense with a passive, yet consistent, life-draining ability.

Nightveil Sprite - MTG Card versions
Duskmantle Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Blood Operative - MTG Card versions
Nightveil Sprite - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Duskmantle Guildmage - Gatecrash (GTC)
Blood Operative - Guilds of Ravnica Promos (PGRN)

Cards similar to Whispering Snitch by color, type and mana cost

Drudge Skeletons - MTG Card versions
Erg Raiders - MTG Card versions
Cuombajj Witches - MTG Card versions
Order of the Ebon Hand - MTG Card versions
Bog Imp - MTG Card versions
Wall of Corpses - MTG Card versions
Blighted Shaman - MTG Card versions
Rabid Rats - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Bat - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Rats - MTG Card versions
Flesh Reaver - MTG Card versions
Bloodcurdler - MTG Card versions
Nantuko Shade - MTG Card versions
Piper of the Swarm - MTG Card versions
Undead Augur - MTG Card versions
Shepherd of Rot - MTG Card versions
Swarm of Rats - MTG Card versions
Skullsnatcher - MTG Card versions
Nezumi Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Stromgald Crusader - MTG Card versions
Drudge Skeletons - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Erg Raiders - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Cuombajj Witches - Chronicles (CHR)
Order of the Ebon Hand - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Bog Imp - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)
Wall of Corpses - Mirage (MIR)
Blighted Shaman - Mirage (MIR)
Rabid Rats - Stronghold (STH)
Dakmor Bat - Portal Second Age (P02)
Ravenous Rats - Invasion (INV)
Flesh Reaver - Urza's Saga (USG)
Bloodcurdler - Odyssey (ODY)
Nantuko Shade - Commander 2014 (C14)
Piper of the Swarm - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Undead Augur - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Shepherd of Rot - Onslaught (ONS)
Swarm of Rats - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Skullsnatcher - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Nezumi Cutthroat - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Stromgald Crusader - Coldsnap (CSP)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Whispering Snitch MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica and Murders at Karlov Manor Commander, 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 Whispering Snitch and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Whispering Snitch Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-10-05 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by Jason Rainville.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-10-05Guilds of RavnicaGRN 902015normalblackJason Rainville
22024-02-09Murders at Karlov Manor CommanderMKC 1442015normalblackJason Rainville

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Whispering Snitch has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-10-05 An ability that triggers “whenever you surveil” triggers after you’re done surveilling, even if you have fewer cards in your library than the number of cards you’re instructed to surveil. It even triggers if you have no cards in your library.
2018-10-05 If you surveil before Whispering Snitch enters the battlefield, surveilling again during that turn won’t cause its ability to trigger.
2018-10-05 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Whispering Snitch’s ability causes the opposing team to lose 2 life and you gain 1 life.

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