Janjeet Sentry MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Vedalken Soldier |
| Released | 2016-09-30 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Kaladesh |
| Set code | KLD |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 53 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Dan Scott |
Key Takeaways
- Janjeet Sentry delivers card advantage and resource acceleration, pivotal in controlling game tempo.
- Instant speed activation grants surprise and adaptability, manipulating the game state effectively.
- Its energy mechanic requires specific investments but yields a continuous board control effect.
Text of card
When Janjeet Sentry enters the battlefield, you get (two energy counters). , Pay : You may tap or untap target artifact or creature.
Janjeet Observatory is open to the public, but access to the adjoining laboratories is restricted.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: With Janjeet Sentry, the ability to untap another target artifact or creature can effectively double the utility of your most important permanents. This flexibility enables you to open up more avenues for drawing cards or deploying strategies that maintain your grip on the game.
Resource Acceleration: Janjeet Sentry grants you the tactical advantage of untapping a land, which can accelerate your resource development. This can be crucial in the early to mid-game phases, allowing for quicker deployment of higher-cost cards and keeping the pressure on your opponents.
Instant Speed: The utility of Janjeet Sentry’s ability can be activated at instant speed, offering a significant level of adaptability and surprise. This means you can disrupt your opponent’s expectations by, for example, untapping a potential blocker during their combat phase or freeing up mana for an unexpected counterplay.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The ability of Janjeet Sentry to tap or untap another target artifact or creature comes at the cost of not only paying mana but also discarding a card or returning a permanent you control to your hand. This can be particularly taxing when you’re trying to maintain card advantage or hand size throughout the game, potentially putting you at a disadvantage.
Specific Mana Cost: Janjeet Sentry has a specific mana cost that requires two different types of mana, including one blue. This can be restrictive for deck building, as it necessitates a mana base that can consistently produce both energy and blue mana, reducing its flexibility and potentially slowing down your ability to play other cards in your deck on curve.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Janjeet Sentry may seem reasonable at first glance; however, when you consider that the energy mechanic requires additional investments and the metagame is replete with lower-cost alternatives for control or utility creatures, it can often feel like an inefficient use of resources, especially in formats where tempo plays a critical role.
Reasons to Include Janjeet Sentry in Your Collection
Versatility: Janjeet Sentry is a multi-functional addition to any deck, fitting well into strategies that value tapping or untapping permanents. With its ability to influence the board state, it adapts to both offensive and defensive roles, providing control over the tempo of the game.
Combo Potential: This card deftly interacts with other cards that capitalize on tap and untap mechanics. Its synergy with cards that care about artifacts or untapped states can be the linchpin in complex, game-winning combos, making it a smart pick for players who love a high-ceiling strategy.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where controlling resources can dictate the pace of the match, Janjeet Sentry offers a way to disrupt opponent’s plans while furthering your own. Whether it’s disabling a potential blocker or freeing up your own mana for a critical play, it lends subtle yet powerful support to a wide array of deck archetypes.
How to beat
Janjeet Sentry is a unique card in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering, offering players a strategic tool for controlling the board. To effectively combat Janjeet Sentry, it’s critical to understand its ability to tap and untap artifacts or creatures. An early removal of the sentry can prevent your opponent from utilizing this disruptive capability. Cards like Fatal Push or Shock provide a swift answer to the Sentry before it becomes a recurrent nuisance.
Another approach to tackling the Janjeet Sentry is by using instant-speed spells, which can be cast after the Sentry’s ability has been activated but before its effect resolves. This timing allows you to potentially save a critical creature from being tapped down. Counter strategies, including counter spells and abilities that grant hexproof or indestructibility, can also shield your key assets from the Sentry’s influence, allowing you to maintain momentum and board presence.
In playing against Janjeet Sentry, prioritize retaining control of the board and keeping your key creatures and artifacts insulated from interference. Adaptability in response to the Sentry’s ability is the key to turning the tide and ensuring your strategy remains unhampered by this meddlesome card.
Cards like Janjeet Sentry
Janjeet Sentry is an interesting utility creature within the world of Magic: The Gathering. It bears resemblance to creatures such as Man-o’-War in its ability to influence the battlefield by interfering with opponents’ plans. However, Janjeet Sentry stands out with its energy mechanic, requiring and consuming energy counters to tap or untap another target artifact or creature. This offers a reusable control effect that can be strategically important in the right deck.
Looking at cards with similar functionalities, we find Aether Adept. Like Janjeet Sentry, Aether Adept affects the board by returning target creatures to their owners’ hands when it enters the battlefield. While it doesn’t have the repeatable utility of the Sentry, its impact is immediate and can be just as disruptive. Another card worth mentioning is Glimmerpost Stag, which offers a similar tap/untap ability. However, the Stag’s vigilance and larger body make it slightly more formidable in combat, albeit at a higher cost and without the energy mechanic synergy.
In summarizing, the Sentry’s ability to consistently manipulate the board’s state through its energy-based tapping ability puts it in a unique position compared to its peers, offering both offensive and defensive versatility to MTG players.
Cards similar to Janjeet Sentry by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Janjeet Sentry MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh, 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 Janjeet Sentry 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Janjeet Sentry has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Janjeet Sentry card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They're not associated with specific permanents. (Other kinds of counters that players may have include poison and experience.) |
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters aren't mana. They don't go away as steps, phases, and turns end, and effects that add mana “of any type” to your mana pool can't give you energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | If an effect says you get one or more , you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more , you lose that many energy counters. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | Keep careful track of how many energy counters each player has. You may do so by keeping a running count on paper, by using a die, or by any other clear and mutually agreeable method. |
| 2017-02-09 | You can't pay more energy counters than you have. |
| 2017-02-09 | is the energy symbol. It represents one energy counter. |
