Sentinel Totem MTG Card


Sentinel Totem - Ixalan
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact
Abilities Scry
Released2017-09-29
Set symbol
Set nameIxalan
Set codeXLN
Number245
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byAnthony Palumbo

Key Takeaways

  1. The scry ability of Sentinel Totem improves draw quality and helps in strategizing future plays.
  2. Its instant speed activation disrupts graveyard-centric plays, making it a powerful tool in matches.
  3. Effective against decks utilizing the graveyard, Sentinel Totem serves as a strategic counter in the meta.

Text of card

When Sentinel Totem enters the battlefield, scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom of your library.) , Exile Sentinel Totem: Exile all cards from all graveyards.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sentinel Totem provides a unique form of card advantage through its scry ability. When it enters the battlefield, it allows you to scry 1, helping to filter upcoming draws and improve the quality of the cards you’ll play.

Resource Acceleration: While Sentinel Totem doesn’t directly accelerate resources in the traditional sense, it is a low-cost artifact that can indirectly affect the board by exiling all cards from all graveyards. This can set back opponents relying on graveyard strategies, potentially accelerating your path to victory against these decks.

Instant Speed: Sentinel Totem’s activated ability can be used at instant speed, making it a versatile tool in any player’s arsenal. Its capacity to exile graveyards on demand means that it can disrupt an opponent’s plans at a moment’s notice, particularly in response to strategies that hinge upon graveyard interactions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One potential downside of Sentinel Totem in your deck is the exile clause on activation, meaning you must discard your graveyard as part of the cost. This condition can be restrictive if your strategy includes leveraging graveyard resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Although the totem’s initial cost is colorless and can fit into any deck, it does require a specific mana investment to activate, which can clash with decks that aim to use their mana more flexibly during a turn.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When compared to other one-cost artifacts that can be activated without additional mana, the totem’s requirement of tapping and a colorless mana might seem steep for a one-time use ability, especially in fast-paced games where mana efficiency is critical.


Reasons to Include Sentinel Totem in Your Collection

Versatility: Sentinel Totem is a versatile piece for any collection. As a low-cost artifact, it can be easily slotted into various decks that aim to control the graveyard activities of opponents, making it a staple card for maintaining a strategic edge regardless of your deck’s primary theme.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to scry when it enters the battlefield provides card selection to set up for future plays. Furthermore, once it’s sacrificed, the totem removes all cards from all graveyards, allowing it to work seamlessly with strategies that rely on graveyard hate or benefit from opponents losing their graveyard resources.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy with graveyard-based strategies, Sentinel Totem shines by countering these tactics effectively. It serves as a solid hedge against decks that leverage the graveyard for value, such as reanimator strategies or decks utilizing flashback and delve mechanics. Its presence is a valuable insurance policy in any collection.


How to beat

Sentinel Totem shines in MTG as a powerful artifact, providing not only a scry effect upon entering the battlefield but also a simple yet potent graveyard vanishing capability. The flexibility of this card can be a real game-changer, offering both deck manipulation and a graveyard hate option.

To conquer the challenge presented by Sentinel Totem, consider timing and strategic removal. Engage it with targeted artifact destruction before it can be activated or in response to an ability that would fill your graveyard. Abrade, Nature’s Claim, or even the brutal efficiency of Shatterstorm can render the Totem’s exile effect useless by removing it from play prematurely. Alternatively, countering it on the stack before it touches down can neutralize the threat it poses entirely, using spells like Negate or Dispel.

In essence, dealing with Sentinel Totem revolves around preemptive or responsive action. By understanding when to dismantle it and exploiting your opponent’s reliance on its graveyard-erasing potential, you can maintain control over your graveyard and secure a tactical advantage over the artifact’s temporary surveillance.


Cards like Sentinel Totem

Sentinel Totem shines in the realm of graveyard hate artifacts within Magic: The Gathering. It stands shoulder to shoulder with Tormod’s Crypt, a staple in many formats for its costless activation and ability to exile all cards from a single graveyard. However, Sentinel Totem goes one step further by exiling all cards from all graveyards upon its activation, although it requires a sacrifice to do so. This wider-reaching effect can be pivotal in shutting down multiple opponents simultaneously.

Relic of Progenitus presents another interesting comparison. Like Sentinel Totem, it can exile all graveyards, but it also offers the utility of incremental graveyard control by cantripping for one mana. Conversely, Sentinel Totem boasts scry 1 upon entering the battlefield, providing a subtle yet valuable form of deck manipulation, aligning your next draws to better suit the established board state.

Overall, Sentinel Totem’s introduction to the array of available graveyard management tools gives players a well-rounded option for keeping graveyards in check. Its universal purge combined with a quick deck sifting feature means it can find a home in many decks that care about the state of opponents’ graveyards.

Tormod's Crypt - MTG Card versions
Relic of Progenitus - MTG Card versions
Tormod's Crypt - The Dark (DRK)
Relic of Progenitus - Shards of Alara (ALA)

Cards similar to Sentinel Totem by color, type and mana cost

Glasses of Urza - MTG Card versions
Wooden Sphere - MTG Card versions
Sol Ring - MTG Card versions
Iron Star - MTG Card versions
Library of Leng - MTG Card versions
Black Vise - MTG Card versions
Urza's Chalice - MTG Card versions
Ivory Cup - MTG Card versions
Brass Man - MTG Card versions
Mana Vault - MTG Card versions
Soul Net - MTG Card versions
The Rack - MTG Card versions
Helm of Chatzuk - MTG Card versions
Obelisk of Undoing - MTG Card versions
Feldon's Cane - MTG Card versions
Ivory Tower - MTG Card versions
Meekstone - MTG Card versions
Triangle of War - MTG Card versions
Throne of Bone - MTG Card versions
Crystal Rod - MTG Card versions
Glasses of Urza - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Wooden Sphere - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Sol Ring - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Iron Star - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Library of Leng - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Black Vise - Revised Edition (3ED)
Urza's Chalice - Masters Edition (ME1)
Ivory Cup - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Brass Man - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Mana Vault - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Soul Net - Seventh Edition (7ED)
The Rack - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Helm of Chatzuk - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Obelisk of Undoing - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Feldon's Cane - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Ivory Tower - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Meekstone - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Triangle of War - Visions (VIS)
Throne of Bone - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Crystal Rod - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sentinel Totem MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan, 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 Sentinel Totem and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sentinel Totem has restrictions

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

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