Keensight Mentor MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Cleric |
| Released | 2020-04-24 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths |
| Set code | IKO |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 18 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Yongjae Choi |
Key Takeaways
- Keensight Mentor thrives in green and white decks, rewarding players with substantial creature boosts.
- While challenging to include in non-green decks, its potential in creature synergy is significant.
- Strategic card removal is crucial to impede Keensight Mentor’s game-changing abilities.
Guide to Vigilance card ability
In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.
Text of card
When Keensight Mentor enters the battlefield, put a vigilance counter on target non-Human creature you control. , : Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control with vigilance.
Through the *eludha*, bonders share the powerful abilities of their chosen companions.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Keensight Mentor shines in its ability to bolster your hand by revealing cards that share a keyword with it, providing a potential surge in card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: With the Mentor’s ability to put additional +1/+1 counters on your creatures, it creates a situation where your creatures can become threats more quickly, indirectly speeding up your resource value on the battlefield.
Instant Speed: Though the Mentor itself isn’t an instant, it synergizes well with other spells you may cast at instant speed by enhancing creatures with vigilance that can attack and yet remain ready to block or utilize tap abilities.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To harness the full potential of Keensight Mentor’s abilities, players often need to part with valuable cards in their hand. This can be particularly detrimental when your hand is already depleted, making the discard cost a significant downside to consider.
Specific Mana Cost: Keensight Mentor comes with a precise mana requirement that includes green. For those operating outside of mono-green or green-centric decks, slotting this card into your deck can prove challenging, hindering its versatility across various deck builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that sits on the higher end for its abilities, players might find themselves weighing other options. Alternative cards may offer more efficient synergy or impactful effects for a similar or lower investment, leaving Keensight Mentor feeling cost-inefficient in some scenarios.
Reasons to Include Keensight Mentor in Your Collection
Versatility: Keensight Mentor is a flexible addition to green and white decks, enhancing creature strategies with its ability to distribute +1/+1 counters. This utility makes it applicable in a breadth of gameplay situations.
Combo Potential: When paired with proliferate mechanics or cards that benefit from counters, Keensight Mentor can become a keystone in creating powerful board states and synergistic plays.
Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to buff creatures quickly, Keensight Mentor can be crucial in metas where boosting the power and toughness of your creatures is pivotal for overcoming opponents.
How to beat
Keensight Mentor is a unique creature card that brings strategic depth to any deck in Magic: The Gathering. This card stands out for its ability to place a +1/+1 counter on another target creature when it enters the battlefield. Additionally, it grants you the power to bolster your creatures even further with its activated ability, which adds more +1/+1 counters to each creature you control with vigilance.
To effectively counter Keensight Mentor, players should focus on removal spells or abilities that can target it before it becomes a larger threat. An example would be to cast a spell like Murder or Doom Blade, which can destroy it outright. Alternatively, countering it upon casting with a spell like Negate or Essence Scatter can prevent its abilities from even entering the fray. Moreover, using board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation can clear the board of creatures, including those augmented by Keensight Mentor’s ability.
Ultimately, maintaining control and being prepared to deal with Keensight Mentor, either through focused removal or counter spells, is key to preventing your opponent from gaining an overwhelming board presence with too many buffed creatures.
Cards like Keensight Mentor
If you’re fine-tuning your deck’s creature support, Keensight Mentor is a card that might catch your attention. Much like the Mentor, Juniper Order Ranger excels in bolstering other creatures. Both cards focus on adding +1/+1 counters, but the Ranger can distribute counters more liberally with its ability that triggers whenever another creature enters the battlefield, which contrasts with Keensight Mentor, where counters are placed only on creatures with vigilance.
Armorcraft Judge is another card that works well in tandem with Keensight Mentor, rewarding players for their counter-laden creatures by drawing cards. This creates a beneficial cycle of enhancement and advantage. When compared, the Judge might not directly boost creatures as Keensight Mentor does, but it capitalizes on the state of your board by translating counters into valuable card draw.
Lastly, Ajani’s Pridemate serves as a comparison for self-sufficiency in powering up. While not providing counters to others, the Pridemate grows with each instance of life gain, potentially outpacing Keensight Mentor’s steady growth.
In the landscape of MTG, Keensight Mentor may not be the universal pick for counter-based strategies, yet it stands its ground with a focused ability that benefits a particular subset of creatures, ultimately weaving into the nuanced tapestry of deck-building choices.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Keensight Mentor MTG card by a specific set like Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, 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 Keensight Mentor 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Keensight Mentor has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
