God-Eternal Bontu MTG Card


Bontu offers substantial card draw, turning sacrifices into a wellspring of new strategies. Despite its benefits, sacrificing permanents can diminish your on-board advantage. Its versatile nature makes Bontu a valuable addition to various MTG decks.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Zombie God
Abilities Menace
Power 5
Toughness 6

Text of card

Menace When God-Eternal Bontu enters the battlefield, sacrifice any number of other permanents, then draw that many cards. When God-Eternal Bontu dies or is put into exile from the battlefield, you may put it into its owner's library third from the top.


Cards like God-Eternal Bontu

God-Eternal Bontu cuts a unique figure in the realm of sacrificial effects and finishers within Magic: The Gathering. Cards like Merciless Executioner demand a creature sacrifice upon entering the battlefield, yet Bontu’s ability to sacrifice any number of other permanents upon its own arrival allows for an unprecedented level of control and a potentially massive card draw. Unlike the Executioner’s limited condition, Bontu’s flexibility to tailor its effect creates opportunities for a staggering array of strategic plays.

When considering cards with comparable mechanics, we observe Butcher of Malakir, which also revolves around the concept of sacrifice. This card primarily focuses on forcing opponents to sacrifice creatures whenever one of your own creatures dies, establishing a persisting threat. While Bontu offers a one-time yet highly impactful advantage, the Butcher exhales a constant pressure on the battlefield.

Overall, God-Eternal Bontu sits at a prestigious echelon for players seeking to leverage sacrifice for both board presence and card advantage. Its potential to produce a significant swing in both resources and momentum allows it to serve as both an offensive and strategic cornerstone in many deck archetypes.

Merciless Executioner - MTG Card versions
Butcher of Malakir - MTG Card versions
Merciless Executioner - MTG Card versions
Butcher of Malakir - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to God-Eternal Bontu by color, type and mana cost

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Skyshroud Vampire - MTG Card versions
Entropic Specter - MTG Card versions
Predatory Nightstalker - MTG Card versions
Fallen Angel - MTG Card versions
Stone Catapult - MTG Card versions
Sengir Vampire - MTG Card versions
Hollow Dogs - MTG Card versions
Grotesque Hybrid - MTG Card versions
Earwig Squad - MTG Card versions
Indulgent Tormentor - MTG Card versions
Sootfeather Flock - MTG Card versions
Zombie Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Gluttonous Zombie - MTG Card versions
Vermiculos - MTG Card versions
Woebearer - MTG Card versions
Wei Elite Companions - MTG Card versions
Halo Hunter - MTG Card versions
Malakir Bloodwitch - MTG Card versions
Caustic Crawler - MTG Card versions
Shriekmaw - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: God-Eternal Bontu allows you to sacrifice any number of other permanents as it enters the battlefield. For each permanent sacrificed in this way, you’ll draw a card, potentially refreshing your hand and giving you a significant edge in maintaining pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While God-Eternal Bontu does not directly produce mana or tokens, the ability to sacrifice unused or redundant permanents means that you can convert non-essential resources into fresh cards, effectively accelerating towards your key spells and strategies.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, God-Eternal Bontu is a catalyst for instant-speed interactions. By holding onto cards that can be played at instant speed or sacrifice effects that can be used as a response, you maintain flexibility while leveraging God-Eternal Bontu’s ability to draw numerous cards during your turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: On casting God-Eternal Bontu, you may feel the pinch of sacrificing one or more other permanents. This can hamper your board presence, particularly if you’re sacrificing vital lands or creatures you needed for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Bontu comes with a specific and not so flexible mana requirement. With two black mana symbols in its casting cost, this might restrict the card’s playability exclusively to black-centric or two-color decks that can reliably produce black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Five mana for a 5/6 creature may seem steep, especially in formats where the board can be rapidly developed. While Bontu does offer a valuable enter-the-battlefield ability, there are times where the immediate impact may not justify the cost, compared to other options available in the meta.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: God-Eternal Bontu offers flexibility in a variety of deck archetypes, from enabling sacrifice mechanics to providing a powerful late-game presence. Its ability to bolster card advantage while offering a considerable threat on the board makes it a multifaceted option for collectors and players alike.

Combo Potential: Bontu’s sacrifice trigger can be the linchpin in combos, working in tandem with death triggers or as a way to manipulate graveyard strategies. Its synergy with permanents that benefit from or replace sacrificed creatures can turn the tide of a game.

Meta-Relevance: As the game shifts and adapts, the enduring relevance of a robust 5/6 menace creature that can recur from the graveyard ensures that God-Eternal Bontu remains a competitive choice. In environments where generating card advantage and maintaining board presence are key, Bontu can be a game-changing inclusion.


How to beat

Mastering the art of overcoming a powerful adversary like God-Eternal Bontu requires strategic insight. In the Magic: The Gathering universe, this formidable creature stands out with its substantial power and unique sacrifice ability, offering players card draw proportional to the number of permanents they sacrifice upon its entrance to the battlefield. Defeating such a card is a challenge, but not impossible.

One effective tactic is employing exile effects that can target God-Eternal Bontu directly, circumventing its die or exile from the battlefield clause which allows it to be placed third from the top in its owner’s library. An example of an efficient exile spell is Path to Exile, a low-cost removal that can neutralize this Egyptian-themed behemoth effectively. Counterspells also serve as a preemptive approach, providing a means to prevent Bontu from entering the battlefield in the first place, ensuring your opponent cannot utilize its abilities or trigger its formidable enter the battlefield ability.

It’s crucial to keep removal or counters at the ready when facing decks that run God-Eternal Bontu. By doing so, you can maintain control over the tempo of the game and negate the significant advantage Bontu can give to your opponent with its intimidating presence and powerful abilities.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the complex dynamics of MTG involves a blend of strategic play and a deep understanding of individual card strengths. God-Eternal Bontu emerges as a formidable choice for players who value card advantage and strategic sacrifices. If you’re seeking to enhance your gameplay by incorporating this powerful creature into your deck, there’s a wealth of creative strategies to explore. Delve deeper into our extensive resources to discover how to optimize your deck with God-Eternal Bontu, unlock the full potential of its sacrifice ability, and maintain a robust board presence. Elevate your MTG experience by learning more with us today.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase God-Eternal Bontu MTG card by a specific set like War of the Spark and War of the Spark Promos, 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 God-Eternal Bontu and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The God-Eternal Bontu Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-05-03 and 2019-05-04. Illustrated by Lius Lasahido.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 922015NormalBlackLius Lasahido
22019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 92s2015NormalBlackLius Lasahido

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where God-Eternal Bontu 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 God-Eternal Bontu card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2019-05-03 As Bontu’s first triggered ability resolves, you may choose to sacrifice zero other permanents.
2019-05-03 If a second God-Eternal Bontu enters the battlefield under your control, you’ll put one into your graveyard before you can sacrifice anything to the new Bontu’s triggered ability.
2019-05-03 If an effect exiles the God and immediately returns it to the battlefield, its last ability triggers but will have no effect. However, if an effect exiles it and would return it to the battlefield at a later time, the God’s ability may return that card its owner’s library first. If it does, the effect that exiled it won’t return it later.
2019-05-03 If any abilities trigger as you sacrifice other permanents, those abilities won’t be put onto the stack until after you’ve drawn cards.
2019-05-03 If one of these Gods leaves the graveyard or exile while its last ability is on the stack, it will remain in its new zone, even if that zone is a graveyard or exile.
2019-05-03 If one of these Gods would die and it’s your commander in the Commander variant, you may put it into the command zone instead. If you save your commander this way, it doesn’t die and you won’t put it into your library. The same is true if it would be exiled.
2019-05-03 If the God’s owner has two or fewer cards in their library, the God is put on the bottom of their library as its last ability resolves.
2019-05-03 If you control another player’s God when it dies, you decide whether to put that card into its owner’s library.
2019-05-03 In a multiplayer game, if you put another player’s God onto the battlefield under your control, it will be exiled as you leave the game. If you were still the controller of that God, you would control its triggered ability but you have left the game; that ability won’t resolve and the card remains in exile. Similarly, if you lose the game at the same time that another player’s God that you put onto the battlefield is destroyed, it remains in its owner’s graveyard.