Gilded Sentinel MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact Creature — Golem |
| Released | 2017-09-29 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Ixalan |
| Set code | XLN |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 239 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Izzy |
Key Takeaways
- Gilded Sentinel provides a defensive edge, making it costly for opponents to attack, indirectly safeguarding your game state.
- Its resilience can allow a focus on other spells, but a strict colorless mana cost may limit deck flexibility.
- Despite a higher mana cost, it integrates well with artifact strategies and can thrive in the right metagame conditions.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Gilded Sentinel doesn’t directly draw cards, but it does have a formidable presence on the board that can dissuade opponents from attacking, indirectly preserving your hand and board state.
Resource Acceleration: While Gilded Sentinel does not generate resources in a traditional sense, its resilience in combat can help maintain a stable board, allowing you to commit mana to other spells and strategies with less risk.
Instant Speed: Gilded Sentinel operates at sorcery speed, but its sturdy stats make it a reliable asset once it’s on the battlefield. Integrating it into a deck with instant-speed support can maximize its potential and surprise opponents during combat.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Gilded Sentinel’s ability comes with the price of discarding from your hand. In situations where your hand is already depleted, activating its ability might not be feasible, potentially rendering it less effective during tight matches.
Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a mana cost that is strictly colorless, this card could strain mana resources in decks that heavily rely on colored mana for card synergy and combo executions. Its rigid mana requirement can make it less flexible and harder to cast in multi-colored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though the Gilded Sentinel offers a solid body, its high mana cost when weighed against other creatures in the same mana range could be seen as a disadvantage. Players might find better value in creatures or spells that provide additional utility or firepower for the same, or even lower, mana investment.
Reasons to Include Gilded Sentinel in Your Collection
Versatility: Gilded Sentinel offers a solid artifact creature that can seamlessly integrate into a variety of deck types. Its colorless nature means it doesn’t restrict your mana base, making it a good fit for multi-colored decks or artifact-centric strategies.
Combo Potential: As an artifact, this card has synergy with strategies that capitalize on artifact play, such as enabling improvise abilities or benefiting from cards that trigger upon artifacts entering the battlefield or being sacrificed. This adds a layer of utility, particularly in decks that are built around these synergies.
Meta-Relevance: Depending on the state of the game, a resilient artifact creature like Gilded Sentinel can be a useful tool to have. It can withstand some of the common removal spells that don’t target artifacts, making it a dependable choice in a meta with a bias against color-specific creatures.
How to Beat Gilded Sentinel
Confronting a Gilded Sentinel in MTG, players must assess its intrinsic stature as a colorless artifact creature. Standing as a 3/3, it lacks any built-in protection or evasion, making it vulnerable to a vast array of removal spells. Direct damage spells, such as Lightning Bolt, easily dispatch it due to its moderate toughness. Furthermore, enchantments like Pacifism can neutralize it without triggering common artifact-focused removal defenses.
Tactically, it’s also advantageous to sidestep battle with the Sentinel entirely. Utilizing unblockable creatures or those with flying gives players an edge, as it allows you to deal damage without engaging with the creature. If Gilded Sentinel is part of the opponent’s defensive lineup, employ tactics that impose decisive pressure, forcing the opponent to use the Sentinel aggressively, thus leaving their battlefield exposed to your strategic plays.
Ultimately, while Gilded Sentinel might seem daunting due to its artifact nature and efficient stats, a mindful approach combining direct removal, evasive creatures, and strategic pressures can dismantle the potential threat it poses on the battlefield, ensuring your path to victory remains clear.
Cards like Gilded Sentinel
The Gilded Sentinel stands as a unique artifact creature in the broad tapestry of MTG cards. Its counterparts often share either its cost or role in a player’s deck but typically differ in effects and stat distribution. Karn, Scion of Urza, for instance, is another high-cost artifact that can create creature tokens, much like Gilded Sentinel, which is a creature token itself. The distinction lies in Karn’s ability to provide card advantage and versatility, which Gilded Sentinel lacks.
When considering other construct creatures, like Metalwork Colossus, they share the artifact theme but diverge significantly. Metalwork Colossus is a heavyweight that can potentially cost less due to its ability to count the total cost of noncreature artifacts you control, whereas Gilded Sentinel maintains a fixed cost. Furthermore, the colossus offers a self-recursion mechanism absent in the vigilant Gilded Sentinel.
Gleaming Barrier is a lower-cost artifact creature that can be compared to Gilded Sentinel. The Barrier provides an early-game defense, and upon its destruction, furnishes its controller with a Treasure token, potentially ramping into the higher-cost Gilded Sentinel. While Gleaming Barrier assists in resource acquisition, Gilded Sentinel serves as a static defender boasting no such added benefit.
Cards similar to Gilded Sentinel by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Gilded Sentinel MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan, 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 Gilded Sentinel 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 Gilded Sentinel has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
