Sinister Strength MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2001-02-05
Set symbol
Set name	Planeshift
Set code	PLS
Number	54
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Terese Nielsen

Key Takeaways

Boosts creature power significantly, enhancing combat tactics and enabling powerful mechanics.
Instant speed play increases flexibility and potential for unexpected combat twists.
Demands a card discard and dedicated black mana, a consideration for deck builders.

Text of card

Enchanted creature gets +3/+1 and is black.

"I bless the living with a song of death." —Lord Dralnu

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sinister Strength improves your tactical situation by giving your creature a significant power boost until end of turn. This could lead to a more favorable trade with an opponent’s creature or even change the course of the game by allowing additional creatures to survive combat.

Resource Acceleration: By increasing the power of a creature temporarily, it can potentially enable mechanics that rely on a creature’s power, such as ferocious or formidable, which can accelerate your resource advantage in certain deck builds.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Sinister Strength at instant speed gives you the flexibility to catch an opponent off guard during combat or in response to an opponent’s spell, leading to potentially game-altering shifts in momentum and strategy.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Sinister Strength demands the discarding of a card, which can prove costly when your hand is dwindling and every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Sinister Strength, a dedicated black mana is needed, potentially restricting deck-building flexibility and using it in multicolor strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For three mana, this enchantment card competes with other potentially more impactful plays, challenging players to evaluate its worth in their strategy.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sinister Strength can be easily slotted into a variety of decks, especially those focusing on creature buffs or needing an inexpensive way to turn the tides during combat.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with strategies that capitalize on power increases or require a surprise element to overcome an opponent’s creatures.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-based strategies commonly in play, Sinister Strength offers an efficient answer to bolster your creatures and potentially change the outcome of battles, securing its relevance in many game scenarios.

How to beat

Sinister Strength can be a menacing asset in your opponent’s arsenal in MTG, offering a surge of black power to one of their creatures. At its core, it echoes MTG’s themes of augmenting creatures to overwhelming proportions. Much like enchantments such as Unholy Strength, Sinister Strength enhances a creature’s offense but adds defensively with its toughness boost.

To outmaneuver Sinister Strength, you’ll want to keep some removal spells handy. Cards such as Doom Blade or Go for the Throat effectively neutralize the bolstered creature before it becomes a threat. Another strategy is to employ countermagic when Sinister Strength is cast, disrupting your opponent’s plans with spells like Negate or Counterspell. Additionally, board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation can clean the slate, including any enchanted threats.

Navigating against enchantment-based power plays requires foresight and preparedness. Having the right answers in your deck will not only mitigate the danger of a Sinister Strength-boosted creature but will also ensure that you maintain control of the battlefield and take one step closer to victory.

Cards like Sinister Strength

Sinister Strength provides a noteworthy twist on enchant creature spells in MTG. Its effect is akin to the boosts given by cards like Dark Favor, which also offers a power increase for creatures at the cost of a single point of life. However, Sinister Strength distinguishes itself by allowing the enchanted creature to grow stronger for each Swamp you control, potentially scaling its power as the game progresses.

Unholy Strength is another traditional enhancer in the MTG lineup. It provides a straightforward but smaller power boost without the variable component based on land control. Although it doesn’t have the scaling potential of Sinister Strength, its lower mana cost makes it a quick and easy option for pumping up a creature’s power early in the game. In contrast, Predator’s Gambit can also be paralleled with Sinister Strength. While both enchantments bolster a creature, Predator’s Gambit also grants intimidate, but lacks the scaling strength aspect that can turn a late-game stalled board into a winnable situation.

Overall, Sinister Strength secures a solid spot among enchant creature spells in MTG for its unique ability to exploit land count, highlighting the strategic depth players can harness when faced with various power-boosting options.

Cards similar to Sinister Strength by color, type and mana cost

Chains of Mephistopheles - MTG Card versions

Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - MTG Card versions

Aphemia, the Cacophony - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sinister Strength MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift, 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 Sinister Strength and other MTG cards: