Kozilek's Sentinel MTG Card

Kozilek's Sentinel - Battle for Zendikar

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Eldrazi Drone
Abilities	Devoid
Released	2015-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Battle for Zendikar
Set code	BFZ
Power	1
Toughness	4
Number	129
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Raymond Swanland

Key Takeaways

Kozilek’s Sentinel offers strategic defense, deterring attacks while conserving on-board resources.
It excels with colorless spells, strengthening without extra mana, enhancing board pressure.
Instant-speed spells magnify the Sentinel’s power, surprising opponents with boosted combat prowess.

Text of card

Devoid (This card has no color.) Whenever you cast a colorless spell, Kozilek's Sentinel gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

It moves through the tunnels as slowly and surely as the shifting stones.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Though not a direct source of drawing cards, Kozilek’s Sentinel can become a formidable blocker or attacker that helps you maintain board presence. Its strength lies in its ability to deter opponents from attacking, preserving your card resources on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: This card synergizes well with decks that cast colorless spells, potentially growing stronger without additional mana investment. Each spell cast can turn Kozilek’s Sentinel into a more substantial threat, enabling you to apply pressure while developing your mana base for more significant plays.

Instant Speed: While Kozilek’s Sentinel itself isn’t an instant, it benefits greatly from instant-speed colorless spells. Casting these during your opponent’s turn not only increases the Sentinel’s power for the next combat phase but also allows you to optimally time your spells, keeping the Sentinel as a surprise element of your strategy.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Kozilek’s Sentinel requires colorless mana to cast, which means it may not seamlessly fit into decks that don’t generate this type of mana easily or decks that focus on a multicolor strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although two mana isn’t exorbitant, within the two-mana slot there are creatures with more impactful immediate effects or higher base power and toughness, which could provide a more substantial early game presence.

Discard Requirement: While Kozilek’s Sentinel itself does not have a discard requirement, it is designed to synergize with decks that utilize ingest and processor mechanics, commonly found in the Battle for Zendikar set. This often necessitates a discard or exile strategy, which can be a downside if you’re not set up to capitalize on these mechanics.

Reasons to Include Kozilek’s Sentinel in Your Collection

Versatility: Kozilek’s Sentinel slides easily into decks that are bolstered by colorless creatures. Its initial low cost complements a variety of strategies, from ramping up to powerful Eldrazi titans to supporting a strong defense early in the game.

Combo Potential: With its ability to grow stronger whenever you cast a colorless spell, this card becomes a threat alongside spells that allow multiple casts in a single turn. It synergizes well with artifact-heavy decks that chain colorless spells to maximize value from each cast.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors aggressive starts, this card is cost-effective and poses an escalating threat that must be answered. Its capability to increase its power makes it relevant in matchups that can go wide on the board early on.

How to beat

The challenge presented by Kozilek’s Sentinel in MTG is its ability to become a significant blocker on the fly, increasing its toughness each time you cast a colorless spell. While it starts off as a manageable 1/4 creature, any player utilizing a deck with colorless spells can quickly bolster its defensive capabilities on their turn.

To efficiently handle Kozilek’s Sentinel, one can consider utilizing removal spells that don’t rely on damage, as damage-based removal may become less effective if the Sentinel’s toughness has been increased. Spells like Path to Exile or Doom Blade bypass the troublesome toughness altogether. Another tactic is to focus on strategies that limit the opponent’s ability to cast spells, using counter-spells or discard to disrupt their plan before they can bolster the Sentinel’s defenses. Finally, leveraging board wipes clears Kozilek’s Sentinel regardless of its size, making cards like Wrath of God or Damnation excellent choices against it.

Strategically, it’s crucial to pay close attention to when the opponent reaches casting spells during their turn. Timing your removal or counters for when the Sentinel remains a 1/4 creature is key. By preempting the opponent’s tactics, you can ensure that Kozilek’s Sentinel remains a minor threat rather than an impenetrable wall.

Cards like Kozilek's Sentinel

For those who appreciate the formidable presence of eldrazi in their MTG decks, Kozilek’s Sentinel presents an interesting role as a defensive early drop. Comparable to Eldrazi Skyspawner, both cards share the colorless identity and the eldrazi lineage. Where Kozilek’s Sentinel has vigilance due to its consistent power boost when casting colorless spells, the Skyspawner provides additional value by spawning a scion token which can be sacrificed for mana.

Another card often weighed against Kozilek’s Sentinel is Ruination Guide. Both act as two-drops in a colorless deck, but the Guide brings a different advantage to the field by giving other colorless creatures you control a pump in power, specifically with its ability to buff attacking creatures, which may affect the board more significantly than the Sentinel’s conditional power increase.

Lastly, Mist Intruder shares similarities but serves a different axis of attack, enabling ingest and flying over ground-based blockers. Unlike Kozilek’s Sentinel, which can potentially grow stronger during your turn, Mist Intruder remains a consistent, but less versatile threat. In terms of filling the two-mana curve with defensive capability, Kozilek’s Sentinel holds a solid stance among its peers.

Cards similar to Kozilek's Sentinel by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Elite Infantry - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kozilek's Sentinel MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Kozilek's Sentinel and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kozilek's Sentinel has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2015-08-25	A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost.
2015-08-25	Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play.
2015-08-25	Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield.
2015-08-25	If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid.
2015-08-25	Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless.