Undercity Informer MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Rogue
Released	2013-02-01
Set symbol
Set name	Gatecrash
Set code	GTC
Power	2
Toughness	3
Number	82
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Raymond Swanland

Key Takeaways

Undercity Informer offers card advantage by milling opponents and enabling graveyard strategies.
Activation at instant speed allows for strategic flexibility, disrupting opponents effectively.
Despite its strengths, the card’s sacrifice requirement and specific mana cost limit its utility.

Text of card

, Sacrifice a creature: Target player reveals cards from the top of his or her library until he or she reveals a land card, then puts those cards into his or her graveyard.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Undercity Informer enables a unique form of card advantage by disrupting your opponent’s library. With its ability, you force an opponent to put the top card of their library into their graveyard, which can incidentally lead to advantageous board states depending on what gets discarded.

Resource Acceleration: This card can act as an indirect accelerator by filling your own graveyard. In decks designed to leverage the graveyard, it effectively makes every card milled a potential resource. This sets the stage for powerful reanimation strategies or synergizes with mechanics like delve, where a stocked graveyard equates to casting spells for less mana.

Instant Speed: The ability can be activated at instant speed, which offers you the flexibility to wait until your opponent’s end step or in response to actions that might threaten the Undercity Informer. This timing flexibility can be pivotal in disrupting your opponent’s strategy at the most opportune moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The ability of Undercity Informer can only be activated when a creature is sacrificed, which might force you to give up a valuable board presence or deplete your resources at a crucial moment in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Undercity Informer has a casting cost that includes black mana, which could restrict the card’s inclusion only to decks running that color, potentially reducing its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Undercity Informer’s cost of three mana (one colorless and two black) might appear reasonable, some players might find it a bit awkward, as there are other cards in the same mana range that could provide more immediate board impact or card advantage.

Reasons to Include Undercity Informer in Your Collection

Versatility: Undercity Informer can be seamlessly integrated into many deck archetypes, notably those that exploit the graveyard or prioritize sacrificing creatures for benefits.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combination with cards that deal with library manipulation or milling, setting the stage for powerful play sequences that can disrupt your opponent’s strategy.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame frequently adjusts to graveyard-based tactics and various creature strategies, Undercity Informer maintains relevance by providing a tool to control the flow of both your own and your opponent’s game plan.

How to beat

Undercity Informer serves as a unique card in the vast array of MTG strategies, known for its ability to disrupt a player’s deck by forcing them to put cards from their library into their graveyard. Understanding its potential can be the key to countering its effect and preserving the integrity of your deck. A smart approach is to use cards that can exile it from the battlefield or counter its activation. Instant spells like Swords to Plowshares or Counterspell can be efficient tools to deal with this troublesome rogue.

It’s also crucial to consider the timing of when Undercity Informer’s ability is activated. If you suspect your opponent might be planning to use its ability, holding onto an instant speed removal or counter spell until the right moment can be game-changing. Remember, graveyard interaction is common in many decks, so having a plan to either utilize your own graveyard or inhibit your opponent’s access to theirs is vital. Keeping track of your graveyard’s contents and incorporating cards that can shuffle your graveyard back into your library, like Elixir of Immortality, could also lessen the impact of Undercity Informer’s ability on your game plan.

Ultimately, the key to beating Undercity Informer lies in preparedness and timing. By incorporating these strategies and maintaining flexibility in your playstyle, you can reduce the effectiveness of Undercity Informer and maintain control over the game.

Cards like Undercity Informer

Undercity Informer is a unique creature card in Magic: The Gathering that stands out for its ability to disrupt the opponent’s library. Unlike cards such as Balustrade Spy, which also looks at the opponent’s library for a land card, Undercity Informer gives players the control to decide when to activate this effect by sacrificing a creature, which could be tactically advantageous.

Another card worth comparing is Mind Funeral, which shares a similar milling strategy, targeting the opponent’s deck until they reveal a set number of land cards. While Mind Funeral can potentially mill more cards for the same cost, it is not a creature and lacks the flexibility that Undercity Informer’s activation provides. Conversely, Hedron Crab presents a different approach, offering repeatable mill effects without the need to sacrifice creatures but requiring land drops to trigger its ability.

Each of these cards offers diverse strategies for players who enjoy controlling the game by manipulating their opponent’s libraries. Undercity Informer successfully combines milling with creature sacrifice, a synergy that could be exploited in decks tailored to this style of gameplay, making it a valuable and dynamic tool in the right deck composition.

Cards similar to Undercity Informer by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Undercity Informer MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash, 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 Undercity Informer and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Undercity Informer has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Banned
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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