Bontu's Monument MTG Card


Bontu’s Monument reduces black creature spell costs, speeding up game play and efficient use of your hand. Its effect persists at instant speed, applying pressure with life loss on creature spell casts. While restrictive in mana color, its dual function can make it a viable choice in black-focused decks.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeLegendary Artifact

Text of card

Black creature spells you cast cost less to cast. Whenever you cast a creature spell, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

"The worthy shall strive for greatness. Supremacy in life leads to supremacy in the afterlife." —Monument inscription


Cards like Bontu's Monument

Bontu’s Monument is an intriguing player in the world of Magic: The Gathering, nestled within the sphere of artifacts that reduce mana costs. A suitable comparison would be to other noteworthy artifacts such as Cloud Key and Jet Medallion, which also provide mana benefits.

Cloud Key, like Bontu’s Monument, allows a reduction in casting cost but instead focuses on a chosen type rather than a color theme. Meanwhile, Jet Medallion brings itself to the fore due to it not only reducing mana costs but working for all black spells, illustrating a striking broadness in its application.

Furthermore, we should consider Bontu’s Monument’s secondary ability, a unique trait that differentiates it from many of its counterparts. It’s not just reducing mana cost but also draining an opponent’s life with each creature spell, thereby adding an element of life gain. In this context, Jet Medallion and Cloud Key lack this dual functionality.

In conclusion, weighing the abilities and casting cost of Bontu’s Monument against similar cards, it holds its ground as a potent artifact in Magic: The Gathering, courtesy its dual functionality and mana efficiency.

Bontu's Monument - MTG Card versions
Cloud Key - MTG Card versions
Jet Medallion - MTG Card versions
Bontu's Monument - MTG Card versions
Cloud Key - MTG Card versions
Jet Medallion - MTG Card versions

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Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
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Decks using this card

MTG decks using Bontu's Monument. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Mono-Blue ControlMono-Blue Control Legacy1 LPL OPEN - SEASON V - Liga Paulista Legacy
Sultai Acererak ComboSultai Acererak Combo PioneerGwenna Acererak ComboNRG Series $5,000 Trial - Madison, Wisconsin (Pioneer)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bontu’s Monument MTG card indirectly provides a card advantage. The cost reduction it offers can ensure a more effective use of your cards, allowing you to cast more creatures in less time.

Resource Acceleration: Bontu’s Monument enhances resource acceleration by reducing mana costs for your black creature spells. This benefits your gameplay by expediting the casting speed of those black creatures and ultimately leads to faster, more efficient game progress.

Instant Speed: The Monument’s triggered ability, which makes your opponent lose 1 life whenever you cast a creature spell, doesn’t depend on the speed of your play. This gives it an ‘instant speed’-like aspect, enabling you to pressure your opponent continuously, regardless of their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: This card imposes a constraint where you might have to give up another card. This might trip you up, especially when your deck’s running thin.

Specific Mana Cost: The prescribed mana cost includes black mana, narrowing down its convenience to certain deck builds. Should your deck not align with this, Bontu’s Monument might not be the best fit.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Priced at three mana, you might feel the obelisk is a tad expensive, particularly when there are other cards providing similar or perhaps superior effects at a lesser mana tradeoff.


Reasons to Include Bontu’s Monument in Your Collection

Versatility: Bontu’s Monument is a versatile card that lends itself to a variety of deck builds. Whether you’re playing an aggressive black creature deck, or you’re focused on reducing creature casting costs for a control setup, this card can offer value.

Combo Potential: The monument has immense potential for setting up destructive combos. For instance, it pairs well with creatures that trigger abilities when cast, as the mana cost reduction can speed up your deck’s functionality. Moreover, its life-draining ability is an additional advantage every time a creature spell is cast.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where efficient board presence is vital, including Bontu’s Monument offers an edge. The diminished casting cost of black creature spells facilitates rapid deployment of forces. Simultaneously, the small but consistent life drain can tilt longer games in your favor, making it a relevant card in today’s meta.


How to Beat

Bontu’s Monument is a unique card in the Magic: The Gathering realm that reduces the cost of your black creature spells and simultaneously drains your opponents’ life. This potent artifact, featuring the deity Bontu from the Amonkhet block, creates a distinct challenge for your adversaries, given its dual-purpose utility.

Combatting this card requires a blend of tactical spell use and savvy creatures. Artifact destruction spells like Naturalize, Disenchant, or Fragmentize will dismantle Bontu’s Monument, instantly eliminating its mana-cost reducing benefits and its consistent damage potential. Ideally, these spells should be deployed as soon as Bontu’s Monument manifests on the battlefield

Equally, employing lifegain strategies can help offset the life-drain effect generated by the artifact. Cards that provide consistent life additions or massive instant gains are paramount. Examples include Leonin Warleader, which creates lifelink cats tokens, or Feed the Clan and its substantial instant life-boosting ability.

Contesting Bontu’s Monument necessitates a preemptive stance. Through a careful selection of spells and creatures that counteract its life-draining ability, and tactically disintegrate the artifact, this powerful card’s formidable challenges can be successfully navigated in your game of Magic: The Gathering.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring strategies and expanding your MTG arsenal with cards like Bontu’s Monument can define the outcome of your games. With its mana reduction for black creatures and life-draining ability, this artifact offers both offensive and defensive capabilities. Consider integrating it into your collection for resource acceleration and to refine your gameplay in the current meta. If you’re curious about how Bontu’s Monument can synergize with your deck or looking for powerful combos and tactics to outmaneuver your opponents, we have insights and guides to take your strategies to the next level. Join the BurnMana community and enrich your MTG experience.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bontu's Monument MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Amonkhet Remastered, 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 Bontu's Monument and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bontu's Monument Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2022-09-09. Illustrated by Jonas De Ro.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-04-28AmonkhetAKH 2252015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
22020-08-13Amonkhet RemasteredAKR 2692015NormalBlackJonas De Ro
32022-09-09Dominaria United CommanderDMC 1792015NormalBlackJonas De Ro

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bontu's Monument has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2017-04-18 A creature spell that's multiple colors is each of those colors. For example, Ahn-Crop Champion is a white creature and a green creature, so it can benefit from either Oketra's Monument or Rhonas's Monument—or both at once.
2017-04-18 Each Monument has one ability that reduces the cost of creature spells of a certain color, and a triggered ability that triggers whenever you cast any creature spell—not just a creature spell of that color.
2017-04-18 Each Monument's triggered ability triggers as the creature spell is cast and resolves before that creature spell resolves. The ability will resolve even if that creature spell is countered.
2017-04-18 In a Two-Headed Giant game, the triggered ability of Bontu's Monument causes the opposing team to lose 2 life and you gain 1 life.
2017-04-18 To determine the total cost of a creature spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the creature remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.