Dire Fleet Interloper MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Human Pirate |
| Abilities | Explore,Menace |
| Released | 2017-09-29 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Ixalan |
| Set code | XLN |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | 103 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | John Severin Brassell |
Key Takeaways
- Dire Fleet Interloper offers card selection and potential land draw, enhancing game progression and player insight.
- Resource-wise, exploring impacts deck filtering and indirectly aids in achieving resource goals with additional efficiency.
- Despite sorcery speed, this card aligns with proactive strategies and establishes board presence to disrupt opponents.
Text of card
Menace When Dire Fleet Interloper 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.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Dire Fleet Interloper brings strategic depth to your play by allowing for a crucial card selection process. When this pirate enters the battlefield, you explore, delving one card deep into your deck. If it’s a land, you’re rewarded with an additional resource in your hand, keeping your game progression steady. Otherwise, you still gain insight into your upcoming draws, positioning you a step ahead of your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: Though Dire Fleet Interloper doesn’t directly accelerate resources like some other cards, the act of exploring can indirectly contribute to your resource advantage. By filtering through your deck and potentially drawing a land, you get closer to the resources necessary to execute your strategy more efficiently and outmaneuver your adversary.
Instant Speed: Despite operating at sorcery speed, Dire Fleet Interloper compensates by enabling a proactive approach during your turn. It aligns well with strategies planning to make strong plays while the opponent is tapped out or when you need to establish a threat on board, contributing to a tempo that can disrupt the opponent’s rhythm.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Dire Fleet Interloper calls for a card to be discarded when it enters the battlefield. This can backfire, especially if you’re already struggling with keeping a full hand and need all the resources you can get.
Specific Mana Cost: This pirate demands a precise combination of mana types, including two black mana. This could prove to be inflexible, complicating its integration into multi-colored decks or those with a less consistent mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering its casting cost of four mana, including two that are color-specific, one might expect a more substantial impact on the game. This slots the card into a tricky spot where it competes with other four-mana creatures that could potentially offer more bang for your buck.
Reasons to Include Dire Fleet Interloper in Your Collection
Versatility: Dire Fleet Interloper is a flexible addition to any deck that thrives on aggressive tactics and graveyard interaction. Its Menace ability ensures it can often swing through for damage, making it a thorn in your opponent’s side.
Combo Potential: When entering the battlefield, its Explore mechanic allows you to potentially draw a card and increase Dire Fleet Interloper’s power if a nonland card is revealed. This synergizes well with strategies that manipulate the top of the library or benefit from card draw.
Meta-Relevance: In the current gameplay environment, having creatures that can serve multiple roles is crucial. Dire Fleet Interloper’s ability to contribute to board presence while also filling your graveyard can be a tactical advantage. It fits well within the strategies that rely on a robust creature-base while also interacting with the graveyard.
How to beat
Dire Fleet Interloper presents a tactical challenge for MTG players with its ability to explore upon entering the battlefield – potentially drawing a card or strengthening the creature. To effectively counter this card, it’s vital to control the timing of its entry. Counterspells, particularly those able to target spells with moderate casting costs, can halt the Interloper in its tracks. Cards like Essence Scatter are perfect for this situation, preventing the oncoming threat before it can explore and impact the board.
Once the Dire Fleet Interloper lands on the battlefield, removal spells are your next line of defense. Instant-speed removal like Murder or Lightning Strike provides flexibility, allowing you to react swiftly to the creature’s presence. This ensures that even if the Interloper strengthens through exploration, you can manage the threat before it tips the scale of the match. Timing is key — by saving your removal until just before your opponent’s combat phase, you minimize the card advantage they might gain.
In essence, having a strategy to disrupt or react to Dire Fleet Interloper can significantly reduce its influence. Whether you’re countering it pre-emptively or eliminating it upon arrival, maintaining control of the game tempo enables players to outmatch the strengths of this exploring pirate.
Cards like Dire Fleet Interloper
In the vast card selection of Magic: The Gathering, Dire Fleet Interloper stands out for its ability to blend aggression with card selection. In the pirate-themed deck, this card is akin to Gavony Unhallowed, which also gets a power boost whenever another creature dies. However, Dire Fleet Interloper begins its journey by allowing the player to explore, which potentially offers both immediate card filtering and a stat increase. This benefit is not featured in Gavony Unhallowed.
Another parallel can be drawn to Elvish Visionary, a card celebrated for replacing itself in the player’s hand upon entering the battlefield. While Elvish Visionary guarantees an extra card, Dire Fleet Interloper offers more flexibility with the chance of a power boost along with card selection – though without the certainty of drawing. Also, Visionary’s cost is lower and presents an efficient body for its mana.
To sum up, Dire Fleet Interloper is fitting for those who like to gamble with potential upside and enjoy strategizing with the explore mechanic. When we evaluate similar options in Magic: The Gathering, particularly within the explore and pirate synergies, the Interloper provides a compelling mixture of aggressive stats and card selection that can influence the tides of battle.
Cards similar to Dire Fleet Interloper by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Dire Fleet Interloper MTG card by a specific set like 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 Dire Fleet Interloper 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 Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Dire Fleet Interloper has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dire Fleet Interloper card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-01-19 | 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 you control explores” trigger if appropriate. |
| 2018-01-19 | If no card is revealed, most likely because that player’s library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter. |
| 2018-01-19 | 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. |
