Guildpact InformantHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

Guildpact Informant is a 1/1 creature with Flying that costs three mana. Its primary strength lies in its triggered ability: whenever it deals combat damage to a player or a planeswalker, you proliferate. Proliferating allows you to choose any number of permanents or players that already have counters and add another counter of each kind already present on them.

How It Resolves

First, Guildpact Informant must successfully deal combat damage to a player or planeswalker. Once damage is dealt, its ability triggers and is put onto the stack. When the ability resolves, you choose which players and permanents you want to affect. You can only choose targets that already have at least one counter. For each chosen target, you add one additional counter for every type of counter they already have.

Common Mistakes

A frequent misconception is that you can add a counter of a new type; however, proliferate only adds more of what is already there. Also, remember that you do not have to proliferate every permanent with a counter. You choose which ones benefit, allowing you to avoid adding negative counters to your own creatures or beneficial counters to your opponents' permanents.

When to Play It

This card is most effective in decks that rely on +1/+1 counters, loyalty counters on planeswalkers, or poison counters. Because it requires combat damage to trigger, it is best played when the opponent lacks flying or reach blockers, ensuring the Informant can safely bypass their defenses to trigger its ability.

Interaction examples

Doubling the Data

Roaming Throne

If you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Faerie' or 'Rogue' chosen, Guildpact Informant's ability triggers twice when it deals combat damage. This allows you to proliferate twice in a single combat phase, effectively adding two counters of every type to your chosen targets.

Mana and Growth

Solemn Simulacrum

While Solemn Simulacrum helps you ramp into the mana needed for Guildpact Informant, the Informant cannot proliferate the Simulacrum unless it already has a counter. If you use another spell to place a +1/+1 counter on Solemn Simulacrum, Guildpact Informant can then use its combat trigger to keep growing the Golem's power and toughness.