Orcish Spy
Creature — Orc Rogue
: Look at the top three cards of target player's library.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Fallen Empires
- Price
- $0.12
- EDHREC rank
- #20013
Orcish Spy lets you look at the top three cards of any player's library at any time — that's free, repeatable information with no activation cost beyond tapping a 1/1. The payoff is real in decks that exploit top-of-library knowledge, but a 1/1 with no evasion and no board impact beyond scrying for politics makes it a specialist card, not a staple.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Orcish Spy fits narrowly into decks that care about what's on top of an opponent's library — primarily Chaos or group-slug shells that weaponize shared information, or goblin tribal where it fills a cheap body slot. Outside of those homes, it's outclassed by draw spells that actually advance your hand. In Pauper, where card selection is at a premium and every mana matters, Orcish Spy is still too passive — you're seeing cards, not drawing them. Legacy and Vintage have zero interest in a 1/1 that does nothing to the board or the stack. The honest read is that Orcish Spy is a Commander curiosity: occasionally correct, almost never necessary.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.12 bulk tier
At $0.12, Orcish Spy is pure bulk — the price reflects exactly what it is. It won't spike, and you'll find copies in any bulk bin without thinking twice about the cost.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.