by Can Tran

Created on: November 05, 2009

"Veteran of the Depths" is a 2/2 white merfolk soldier printed as an uncommon for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Lorwyn." So far, it is somewhat a card is meant to be played with other merfolk cards. However, it does not really seem to be the case with Veteran of the Depths.

The converted mana cost for Veteran of the Depths is four. You will need one white mana and three colorless mana to play Veteran of the Depths onto the battlefield. For what Veteran of the Depths can do, the converted mana cost seems to be worth it for the most part. With certain cards, Veteran of the Depths seems to be quite the impressive card to have in a deck full of merfolk creatures.

What does Veteran of the Depths do in the first place?

This is a creature that simply gets stronger whenever it gets tapped. Whenever Veteran of the Depths becomes tapped, you may put a +1/+1 counter on it. For example, if you tap and attack with Veteran of the Depths, it receives a +1/+1 counter. In due time, Veteran of the Depths becomes a formidable creature to deal with for the most part. In a merfolk deck, one should have Veteran of the Depths. However, there are ways to exploit and abuse this ability for your own self gain.

You will need the following cards: "Merrow Reejeray," "Merrow Commerce," and "Lullmage Mentor."

Merrow Reejerey allows you to tap and untap a target permanent whenever a merfolk spell is played. You can use this ability to constantly tap and untap Veteran of the Depths. Doing so will let you constantly put +1/+1 counters on the Merrow Reejerey. You may want to have some artifacts or other cards with abilities that let you untap target permanents let alone creatures. Doing so primes Veteran of the Depths to be tapped again.

Merrow Commerce untaps all of your merfolk creatures at the end of the turn. In this respect, you should be able to have Veteran of the Depths ready for your next turn. With cards that allow you to tap permanents, Merrow Commerce can help Veteran of the Depths become stronger.

With Lullmage Mentor, you can use Veteran of the Depths as one of the seven merfolk to be tapped in order to counter a spell. Not only do you get to put a +1/+1 counter on Veteran of the Depths, you get a 1/1 blue merfolk token in the process.

Overall, Veteran of the Depths seems to be a handy card to have. Alone, it seems to be able to hold its own. When working with other merfolk cards, Veteran of the Depths can be pretty impressive.

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