Stensia MTG Card
2018-12-25 - Number 74
2023-04-21 - Number 159
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Plane — Innistrad |
Key Takeaways
- Stensia cards offer game-changing card advantage through extra draws or opponent discards.
- These cards can ramp up mana resources quickly, pivotal for casting high-cost spells early.
- Instant speed spells from Stensia give strategic advantage by disrupting enemy strategies on their turn.
Text of card
Whenever a creature deals damage to one or more players for the first time in a turn, put a +1/+1 counter on it. Whenever you roll {Chaos}, each creature you control gains ": This creature deals 1 damage to target player" until end of turn.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Stensia cards often offer the ability to draw additional cards or force the opponent to discard, thereby tipping the balance of resources in your favor. This can be a game-changer, providing you with more options and answers against your opponent’s plays.
Resource Acceleration: Some Stensia cards enable you to ramp up your mana resources, either by providing additional lands to play or by generating mana through creature and artifact abilities. This acceleration can be crucial for casting high-cost spells sooner than normally possible, allowing you to overpower the battlefield with formidable threats.
Instant Speed: The instant speed of certain Stensia spells gives you the strategic upper hand, letting you react to your opponent’s moves during their turn. Timing is everything, and these cards ensure you can always stay one step ahead, whether that’s disrupting an enemy’s strategy or protecting your interests at a crucial moment.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Stensia cards often necessitate discarding as part of the casting or ability cost, which can deplete your hand quickly. For decks that don’t operate well with a light hand or without a reliable means to refill it, this can be a significant setback, making Stensia cards a potentially risky play.
Specific Mana Cost: Stensia cards typically require a rigorous mana base, including both red and sometimes black mana, which could be restrictive for those not running a dedicated vampire or Rakdos deck. This requirement makes them less flexible and harder to integrate into multicolored strategies that aren’t heavily weighted in those colors.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When analyzing Stensia cards, you’ll often find that the mana cost is on the higher side for their effects, especially when compared to similar cards in the same slot. This implies that playing these cards could slow down your tempo or leave you behind your opponent as they deploy more cost-efficient threats or responses.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: The Stensia card, rooted in the gothic plains of Innistrad, can adapt to numerous deck archetypes. Its thematic fit for vampire or horror-based decks adds both flavor and functional depth, enhancing the immersive experience while providing strategic value.
Combo Potential: Stensia cards offer intriguing synergies, particularly with those that amplify damage or benefit from bloodthirsty minions. These alliances can swiftly turn the tide of a game, thanks to the inherent combo potential that comes with the crimson territory of Stensia.
Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-shifting landscape of the MTG competitive scene, Stensia’s attributes could become more pronounced against decks that undervalue early threats. Harnessing the right Stensia components could mean the difference between victory and defeat, making it a worthy candidate for your arsenal.
How to Beat
When facing off against a Stensia card in MTG, you’re engaging with the strength and aggression that represents the vampires of Innistrad. These cards are known for their swift and forceful assaults, often bolstered by abilities that enhance their damage output or drain life from opponents. To counter this relentless offensive, there are effective strategies players can adopt.
A key tactic is to manage the threat by keeping their board clear of the bloodthirsty creatures. Utilize removal spells efficiently, targeting creatures that offer the greatest advantage or pose the most imminent threat. Moreover, sweepers or spells that affect multiple creatures can be invaluable in maintaining control of the game. Strategic life gain can also be important to stay out of critical range from aggressive vampire assaults. Additionally, be mindful of the graveyard, as many Stensia cards and vampire-themed decks capitalize on recursion, bringing creatures back into play from the graveyard.
Understanding the rhythm of your opponent’s strategy and adapting your play to disrupt it is essential. Timely removal, the smart use of life-gain spells, and keeping pressure with your own threats will make a Stensia-centric deck falter, giving you the upper hand for victory.
Cards like Stensia
The Stensia card series brings a unique flair to the land card category within Magic: The Gathering. Stensia comes with a spotlight on the setting of Innistrad, providing both eerie aesthetics and strategic depth. Similar to the beloved Cavern of Souls land card, Stensia cards offer mana with an added benefit. Where Cavern of Souls grants your chosen creature spells uncounterability, Stensia lands may have different benefits such as pumping a creature’s abilities or providing color fixing that’s vital for multicolor decks.
Cards like Dragonskull Summit are a fair comparison as well, thanks to their conditional mana provision. While both provide access to red and black mana, Stensia’s offering is often tied to the vampire tribe, drawing both flavor and power from the game’s beloved creatures. With this tribal connection, Stensia cards can elevate vampire deck strategies to greater heights, much like how Sunpetal Grove can reinforce white and green decks.
In short, while there are numerous land cards in Magic: The Gathering that serve a dual-mana function, Stensia cards excel by dovetailing synergy with vampire-themed decks, enhancing both the thematic and strategic layers of gameplay, proving its value amongst its counterparts.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Stensia MTG card by a specific set like Planechase Anthology Planes and March of the Machine Commander, 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 Stensia and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The Stensia Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-12-25 and 2023-04-21. Illustrated by Vincent Proce.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2018-12-25 | Planechase Anthology Planes | OPCA | 74 | 2015 | planar | black | Vincent Proce | |
| 2 | 2023-04-21 | March of the Machine Commander | MOC | 159 | 2015 | planar | black | Vincent Proce |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Stensia card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2012-06-01 | Each creature can have only one +1/+1 counter put on it this way per turn. |
| 2012-06-01 | Unlike the Vampires in the _Innistrad_(TM) block, Stensia's ability triggers whenever a creature deals any damage, not just combat damage. |
