Doorkeeper MTG Card

Return to Ravnica (RTR)
2012-10-05 - Number 37

Iconic Masters (IMA)
2017-11-17 - Number 53

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 355

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number IMA-53

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Homunculus
Abilities	Defender,Mill
Power	0
Toughness	4

Key Takeaways

Doorkeeper offers valuable mill mechanics, disrupting opponents while benefiting your graveyard strategies.
Flexibility at instant speed instances allows Doorkeeper to interrupt opponents’ plans effectively.
The card’s resource demands may challenge deck construction and in-game strategies.

Text of card

Defender , : Target player puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is the number of creatures with defender you control.

One piercing stare usually convinces thieves to go elsewhere.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Doorkeeper leverages its ability to mill cards from your opponent’s library, potentially unlocking synergies with other cards that benefit from a well-stocked graveyard.

Resource Acceleration: With the right setup, including a dungeon filled with defenders, the Doorkeeper can become an efficient milling machine, effectively hindering your opponents’ resources while possibly accelerating your own strategy.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, the Doorkeeper’s activated ability can be used at instant speed, offering flexibility to disrupt your opponent’s strategy during their turn or in response to their actions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Doorkeeper requires you to mill cards, which can backfire if it fuels your opponent’s graveyard strategies or helps them with threshold abilities.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a specific blue color mana cost, which may constrain deck-building options if your strategy doesn’t align with blue mana synergies or if your mana base can’t consistently support blue spells.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Activation of Doorkeeper’s ability can be costly for what it accomplishes. With a mana cost to both play and activate, efficiently utilizing it within a game could be challenging compared to other low-cost mill options.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Doorkeeper offers a unique dimension to any deck that can make use of its milling abilities. Its low casting cost makes it a practical addition to control or mill-focused strategies, potentially disrupting your opponent’s game plan early on.

Combo Potential: Known for its synergy with cards that bolster the number of defenders you control, Doorkeeper can become a powerful tool in a defender-heavy build. Its ability can work in tandem with cards that untap creatures, allowing for multiple activations in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: With graveyard-based strategies often seen in various formats, having a reliable mill card like Doorkeeper can be an effective countermeasure. Its presence in your collection ensures you have the means to address decks that leverage their graveyard for resources.

How to beat

Understanding How to overcome Doorkeeper in your MTG games involves recognizing its unique role and limitations. This unassuming defender might not seem imposing, but it can become a significant obstacle when combined with a deck that feeds on a large library. While Doorkeeper has the potential to mill your deck, it requires a consistent inflow of blue mana and numerous defenders to activate its ability effectively.

In essence, disrupting your opponent’s board by removing or incapacitating defenders can significantly curb Doorkeeper’s threat. Strategic use of removal spells will be crucial, focusing on shattering the synergy among defenders or directly targeting Doorkeeper. In some cases, utilizing counterspells to prevent the Doorkeeper from hitting the battlefield at all can save precious cards from the mill. It’s essential to keep pressure on your opponent, force them to react to your threats, and limit their ability to establish the board state they desire for Doorkeeper to thrive.

Every card has its Achilles’ heel, and in the case of Doorkeeper, it’s the dependency on other creatures and blue mana. By cutting off these resources, you can neutralize the card’s effectiveness and keep your library safe from its milling potential.

Cards like Doorkeeper

In the realm of defender creatures that also manipulate a player’s library, Doorkeeper stands out as a distinctive option in MTG. When compared with similar cards like Wall of Lost Thoughts, Doorkeeper offers more than just a defensive barrier. Both cards can mill an opponent, but Doorkeeper’s milling ability scales with the number of defenders you control, which can potentially lead to a larger chunk of the opponent’s library being excavated.

Additionally, considering its synergy with other defenders, creatures like Axebane Guardian come to mind. This creature not only contributes to Doorkeeper’s milling potential but also provides a ramp in mana resources, unlike the Doorkeeper whose primary role is disrupting the opponent’s deck strategy. Finally, there’s the stalwart Gomazoa, offering a defensive bulwark with a unique ability to put attacking creatures back into a player’s library, diverging from Doorkeeper’s tactical milling focus.

Thus, in the context of MTG defender strategies, Doorkeeper carves a niche that distinctly combines defensive capabilities with a proactive approach to getting through an opponent’s deck, an aspect that its counterparts offer in varied ways, reinforcing Doorkeeper’s role in specific deck builds.

Wall of Lost Thoughts - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Doorkeeper by color, type and mana cost

Soratami Cloudskater - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Doorkeeper MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica and Iconic Masters, 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 Doorkeeper and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Doorkeeper Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2012-10-05 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Kev Walker.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-10-05	Return to Ravnica	RTR	37	2003	Normal	Black	Kev Walker
2	2017-11-17	Iconic Masters	IMA	53	2015	Normal	Black	Kev Walker
3	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	355	2015	Normal	Black	Kev Walker
4	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	IMA-53	2015	Normal	Black	Kev Walker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Doorkeeper 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 Doorkeeper card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.