Sigil Captain MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Rhino Soldier
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Sigil Captain excels in creature-heavy deck types, boosting each 1/1 creature that comes onto the field.
  2. This card’s abilities offer a cost-efficient way to upgrade creatures, providing more in-game value.
  3. Fits well in decks utilizing instant speed tactics to surprise opponents during their own turns.

Text of card

Whenever a creature comes into play under your control, if that creature is 1/1, put two +1/+1 counters on it.

"One sigil awarded for valor, the other awarded for surviving Hellkite's Pass."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sigil Captain is a boon for players that focus on creature-heavy strategies. When played effectively, this card can rapidly multiply the creatures on your battlefield. Each 1/1 creature that enters under your control gets an automatic boost, transforming what would be a minor threat into a more formidable one. This not only bulks up your army but also helps to preserve your hand by utilizing the full potential of each creature drawn.

Resource Acceleration: In the right deck, Sigil Captain can act as a form of resource acceleration. By upgrading newly played 1/1 creatures, it saves you mana since you’re essentially getting two creatures’ worth of power and toughness for the price of one. This allows you to spend mana on other spells or abilities to further your game plan.

Instant Speed: While Sigil Captain itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its ability triggers anytime a 1/1 creature enters the battlefield under your control. This synergizes perfectly with flash creatures or cards that create creature tokens at instant speed. You can end your opponent’s turn by adding to your board and immediately strengthening your new token’s presence, catching opponents off guard during their turn cycles.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Sigil Captain demands that you have other creature cards to utilize its ability effectively. Not having the fodder to exploit its benefits can lead to missed value during gameplay, especially when your hand is lacking.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s cost is specific to green and white manas, amounting to a total casting cost of {1}{G}{W}{W}. This requirement makes it less flexible for decks that aren’t centered around these colors or multicolored strategies and may pose a challenge when you’re trying to maintain a stable mana base across other spells.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The four-mana investment into Sigil Captain can be steep when considering the pace of your deck. Against fast-paced strategies or in a meta that favors low-costing efficiency, the Captain might sit idle in your hand while opponents take the lead or could be considered too late of a play to impact the game significantly.


Reasons to Include Sigil Captain in Your Collection

Versatility: Sigil Captain can seamlessly adapt to decks focusing on +1/+1 counters. Its ability to buff creatures complements various strategies from token spamming to beefing up individual powerhouses.

Combo Potential: This Commander staple creates combo opportunities with cards that generate multiple creatures, immediately scaling them up and creating a formidable board presence without requiring additional mana investments.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where small creature strategies are prevalent, Sigil Captain provides a significant advantage. Its ability to quickly escalate the threat level of your creatures can turn the tide in matches, making it a smart pick for competitive play.


How to beat

Sigil Captain is a unique creature card that can quickly escalate the power of an army in Magic: The Gathering. Commanding a deck, this card has a strategic ability that puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature that enters the battlefield under your control with a power of 1. To outplay a deck with Sigil Captain, the focus should be on either preventing these counters from accumulating or dealing with the bolstered creatures swiftly.

Utilizing removal spells that can bypass the buffing mechanic is a winning strategy. Cards like Wrath of God or Damnation that sweep the board clean are effective against creature-heavy decks buffeted by Sigil Captain. Targeted removal such as Path to Exile also works wonders by exiling Sigil Captain before accumulation of counters goes out of hand. Additionally, countering the initial casting of Sigil Captain with spells like Cancel ensures that the creature never hits the battlefield, thus neutralizing the threat from the get-go.

The main objective is to prevent this captain from sailing his crew towards victory. Board control and well-timed counterspells are crucial elements in the arsenal needed to successfully navigate the challenges that Sigil Captain presents.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG means constantly adapting and refining your deck, and Sigil Captain can be a game-changer. Understanding how to leverage this card’s unique abilities could lead to a strategic overhaul of your gameplay. With the right strategy, you turn seemingly inconsequential creatures into a formidable force. Dive deeper into the potential of Sigil Captain with us, and we’ll guide you on how to seamlessly integrate its powerful mechanics into your deck-building and in-game tactics. If you’re ready to unlock new levels of play and establish dominance on the battlefield, join our community where learning and victory go hand in hand.


Cards like Sigil Captain

Sigil Captain enriches the populous MTG landscape of creature buffing cards with its own unique twist. This card stands out for its ability to turn small defending creatures into substantial threats by appending +1/+1 counters on them. In relation to other cards of its kind, Juniper Order Ranger also offers a +1/+1 counter benefit, but it bolsters any creature that comes into play under your control, not just those with smaller statures.

Good-Fortune Unicorn is another relevant comparison. Much like Sigil Captain, it allows creatures entering the battlefield to gain +1/+1 counters, but without the power restriction. The unicorn, however, provides this bonus in a streamlined universal fashion, regardless of the creature’s original stats. Conversely, Sigil Captain encourages a strategy focused on casting or creating an army of smaller creatures to exploit its specialized effect optimally.

When considering creature enhancement cards within the vast array of MTG options, Sigil Captain offers a valuable niche for decks geared towards “going wide” with numerous low-power creatures. Its ability to empower your battlefield presence with each creature summon sets it apart as a formidable force in token strategies.

Juniper Order Ranger - MTG Card versions
Good-Fortune Unicorn - MTG Card versions
Juniper Order Ranger - MTG Card versions
Good-Fortune Unicorn - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sigil Captain MTG card by a specific set like Alara Reborn and Commander 2011, 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 Sigil Captain and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sigil Captain Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2009-04-30 and 2011-06-17. Illustrated by Howard Lyon.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-04-30Alara RebornARB 772003NormalBlackHoward Lyon
22011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 2252003NormalBlackHoward Lyon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sigil Captain has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2009-05-01 For that reason, two Sigil Captains don’t work well together. When a 1/1 creature enters the battlefield under your control, the abilities of both Sigil Captains will trigger. When the first resolves, two +1/+1 counters are put on the 1/1 creature. When the second resolves, it will do nothing because the creature that entered the battlefield is now 3/3.
2009-05-01 If, for some reason, Sigil Captain enters the battlefield as a 1/1 creature (due to a pair of Engineered Plagues, for example), it will cause its own ability to trigger.
2009-05-01 Sigil Captain’s ability checks a creature’s initial power and toughness upon being put on the battlefield, so it will take into account counters that it enters the battlefield with and static abilities that may give it a continuous power boost once it’s on the battlefield (such as the one on Glorious Anthem). After the creature is already on the battlefield, changing its power and toughness to 1/1 with a spell, activated ability, or triggered ability won’t allow this ability to trigger; it’s too late by then.
2009-05-01 Sigil Captain’s ability has an “intervening ‘if’ clause.” That means (1) the ability won’t trigger at all unless the creature that enters the battlefield under your control is 1/1, and (2) the ability will do nothing unless that creature is still 1/1 at the time the ability resolves.

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