Magister Sphinx MTG Card


Sets player’s life total to 10 upon entering, creating substantial in-game advantage and tempo shift. Card’s flexibility is enhanced with synergies allowing life-total setting at strategic times. Despite high mana cost, Magister Sphinx offers tactical value in both offense and control strategies.
Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Sphinx
Abilities Flying
Power 5
Toughness 5

Text of card

Flying When Magister Sphinx comes into play, target player's life total becomes 10.

"These benighted worlds are thick with ignorance. I will educate them. They will listen, or they will die."


Cards like Magister Sphinx

Magister Sphinx is a unique card exuding power in the Esper control decks in Magic: The Gathering. Junior Sphinx of Uthuun shares a similar ability, changing life totals when it enters the battlefield. Alas, without the pinpoint precision of setting an opponent’s life total to a specific number, it falls short of the strategic edge of Magister Sphinx.

Similarly, Sorin Markov, while not a creature, he has the same life-changing effect as Magister Sphinx. With the added advantage of repeatable use, as a planeswalker, it makes a formidable comparison. However, Sorin requires more setup, and his effect is limited to his ultimate ability, while Magister Sphinx executes this upon entering the battlefield.

In a related vein, we find Serra Avatar, a creature whose power and toughness correlate to the controller’s life. Though it doesn’t alter life totals of opponents, it presents a unique strategy and an equally powerful effect as Magister Sphinx. Albeit in a more defensive means where the strategy revolves around life gain rather than life reduction.

In conclusion, while comparing the selected alternatives, none quite matches the efficiency and direct strategy of Magister Sphinx in Magic: The Gathering, thanks to its powerful life-altering ability that dramatically shifts the game’s dynamics.

Sorin Markov - MTG Card versions
Serra Avatar - MTG Card versions
Sorin Markov - MTG Card versions
Serra Avatar - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Magister Sphinx by color, type and mana cost

Enigma Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Enigma Sphinx - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Magister Sphinx has a powerful entering battlefield effect, setting a player’s life total to 10. This ability is a massive swing in the game dynamics, giving you an edge over your opponent, especially in multiplayer matches. Thus, Magister Sphinx provides not just card advantage but life point advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While Magister Sphinx does not directly provide mana or resource acceleration, it does indirectly contribute to resource acceleration. By using Magister Sphinx, you reduce the resources your opponent has left for defense or retaliation by bringing their life total significantly lower. This puts you in a favorable position, accelerating your victory.

Instant Speed: Though Magister Sphinx isn’t an instant, its potent effect can be used in conjunction with cards that allow for instant speed return from your graveyard to your hand or instant speed creature flickering. This flexibility brings the tactical depth of instant speed to this card, enabling you to use its life-setting ability at the most strategic moment.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Magister Sphinx Card often entails a mandate to dispense an extra card, hence posing a setback in scenarios when your resources are down to a bare minimum.

Specific Mana Cost: The cost included for the Magister Sphinx Card happens to be particular, making it limited for utilization within specific decks only. This may restrict its adaptability and user flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The noteworthy characteristics of the Magister Sphinx Card include a somewhat high mana price, standing at seven units. While it promised powerful stress upon the opponent’s life total, there are other cards present providing greater efficiency in aspects of card draw or resource generative capabilities.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Magister Sphinx appeals to an array of decks due to its effect of setting the opponent’s life total to 10 when it enters the battlefield. This can significantly change the course of the game, regardless of the play style of your deck.

Combo Potential: This card has high synergistic potential with other spells or abilities that can deal damage with precision. Utilising the sphinx’s effect in tandem with other damage causing cards can lead to an instant victory.

Meta-Relevance: In the current meta-game, where creature-heavy strategies are common, Magister Sphinx remains appealing as it has the capability of essentially nullifying any life advantage your opponent might have gained. Consequently, its meta relevance cannot be undersold.


How to beat

Magister Sphinx is an incredibly potent force on any battlefield in Magic: The Gathering – a unique creature that can drastically alter any player’s life total to ten. Not surprisingly, knowing how to undermine its effect can give any MTG player an upper hand. Since this creature thrives on flying and artifact synergies, cards that can remove or mitigate these types of threats should be a player’s first line of defense.

One of these cards is Path to Exile that can exile the Sphinx regardless of its protective color. Similarly, Beast Within can destroy it, irrespective of its comprehensive abilities. Also, harnessing cards that neutralize flying creatures can help nullify the Sphinx’s flying advantage. Notable among these is Gravity Well, which essentially grounds all your opponent’s flying creatures.

In summary, playing cards with exile or destroy abilities alongside those that can tackle flying opponents offer a solid strategy against Magister Sphinx. Remember, MTG is a dynamic game with infinite possibilities, and arming oneself with robust knowledge of different cards can be the crucial difference between winning and losing.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the diverse abilities and interactions of cards like Magister Sphinx can significantly enhance your MTG gameplay. This card’s entry onto the battlefield can be a game-changer, offering you a tactical advantage in reducing your opponent’s life total dramatically. Combining it with other cards that complement its life-setting ability can lead to swift victories, making it a valuable addition to specific strategies and decks. If you’re eager to improve your game and learn how to best integrate Magister Sphinx into your collection while overcoming its drawbacks, our dedicated insights can guide you towards becoming a formidable opponent. Dive deeper with us and sharpen your MTG strategy.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Magister Sphinx MTG card by a specific set like Conflux and Archenemy, 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 Magister Sphinx and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Magister Sphinx Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2009-02-06 and 2022-07-08. Illustrated by Steven Belledin.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-02-06ConfluxCON 1162003NormalBlackSteven Belledin
22010-06-18ArchenemyARC 892003NormalBlackSteven Belledin
32022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 5192015NormalBlackSteven Belledin
42022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 2472015NormalBlackSteven Belledin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Magister Sphinx has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2009-02-01 For a player’s life total to become 10, what actually happens is that the player gains or loses the appropriate amount of life. For example, if the targeted player’s life total is 4 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to gain 6 life; alternately, if the targeted player’s life total is 17 when this ability resolves, it will cause that player to lose 7 life. Other cards that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly.
2009-02-01 This ability is not optional.
2010-06-15 In a Two-Headed Giant game, this ability basically causes the team’s life total to become 10, but only the targeted player is considered to have actually gained or lost life.