Magic: the Gathering contains plenty of unblockable creatures. Typically printed in blue, cards like Invisible Stalker and Phantom Warrior have been nuisances for years, as it’s very difficult to stop their attacks from slipping through. The upcoming Avatar: the Last Airbender expansion is printing a new unblockable card, but rather than being a creature, it’s a land. Secret Tunnel has no ability to make itself combat ready. Despite this fact, if you can get it into a position where it’s able to attack, it’s completely unblockable. Just what is the secret behind how you’re supposed to play with this mysterious tunnel?
Secret Tunnel is a reference to an infamous song, and, I guess, an infamous tunnel from the Avatar TV series. It’s a variant of cards like Rogue’s Passage and Access Tunnel, as it can both generate colorless mana and be tapped down in order to make creatures unblockable.
Secret Tunnel is different from its prior counterparts, as not only can your attackers sneak through it in order to directly damage your opponents, but it’s also unblockable itself. It’ll need some support, though, to dig through to its full potential.
In a bit of a flavor win, Secret Tunnel synergizes fantastically with the new earthbending mechanic. Whether it’s an impactful commander like Toph, the First Metalbender, or a bulk common like Badgermole, cards with earthbend have the ability to place +1/+1 counters on lands and transform them into creatures. A bit of earth magic gets this Secret Tunnel bent into shape and ready to attack.
What do you think of unblockable creatures? Are they as entertaining as they are elusive, or are they just annoying? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord.
For a thorough breakdown on all of the mechanics from the Avatar expansion, check out our Avatar news page. If you’re looking for more lands as spicy as Secret Tunnel, look at our list of the best MTG lands.