Sultai Banner MTG Card


Sultai Banner - Khans of Tarkir
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeArtifact
Released2014-09-26
Set symbol
Set nameKhans of Tarkir
Set codeKTK
Number225
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDaniel Ljunggren

Key Takeaways

  1. Sultai Banner excels in mana fixing and resource acceleration for Sultai color-combined decks.
  2. It offers instant speed activation, allowing players to adapt their strategies on the fly.
  3. Drawback includes a discard requirement and a specific mana cost that affects versatility.

Text of card

: Add , , or to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice Sultai Banner: Draw a card.

Power to dominate, cruelty to rule.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sultai Banner is not just an efficient mana fixer but also a subtle way to gain card advantage. When you’re ready, you can sacrifice it to draw a card, ensuring you keep your hand replenished while you set up for victory.

Resource Acceleration: As part of the Sultai clan’s arsenal, this card excels in resource acceleration. By tapping for one mana of any of the Sultai colors, it enables a smoother gameplay experience and helps cast powerful multicolor spells ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: The card’s flexibility extends to its activation option at instant speed. This lets you decide the best time to sacrifice the Sultai Banner for card draw, perhaps at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to an unforeseen situation, keeping your strategies adaptive and sharp.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Sultai Banner card hinges on a discard mechanic, often requiring a player to part with another potentially valuable card from their hand. This can pose a setback when your hand is already depleted or when every card you hold is pivotal to your game strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: The Sultai Banner demands a precise combination of mana types for its activation. This inflexibility means it might not smoothly fit into a deck that isn’t strictly tailored to the Sultai color identity, potentially limiting its playability across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the Sultai Banner provides a mana boost, its cost is on the higher end when compared with other mana artifacts in MTG. This can be a considerable drawback, especially when quicker and more cost-effective alternatives are available for accelerating your mana base.


Reasons to Include Sultai Banner in Your Collection

Versatility: Sultai Banner is a smooth fit for a plethora of deck archetypes. Its primary draw is mana fixing across three colors, critical in Sultai decks that harness the full spectrum of their color identity for disruptive and powerful effects.

Combo Potential: This card can serve as a cornerstone in unlocking potent combinations. By effortlessly ramping into high-cost spells or accelerating out key creatures and planeswalkers, Sultai Banner primes the stage for game-winning synergies.

Meta-Relevance: Given the dynamics of the latest gameplay trends, the adaptability provided by Sultai Banner can give players an edge. It aligns well with strategies that pivot on maintaining a steady flow of resources across multiple colors, keeping you at pace with or ahead of the competition.


How to beat

Overcoming the Sultai Banner card in MTG requires strategic finesse and an understanding of its utility within a deck. Sultai Banner primarily serves as a mana fixer in the Sultai color pie, enabling players to effectively access a diverse pool of mana colors and casting costs. To dismantle its advantage, players need to focus on disrupting mana bases or removing artifacts. Cards like Naturalize or Return to Nature provide a straightforward removal of artifacts such as Sultai Banner and can hinder a player’s mana development.

In addition to artifact removal, applying pressure with aggressive strategies can also be effective. By forcing the Sultai Banner wielder to use mana for defensive purposes, their multicolor strategy can be thrown off-balance. Counterspells are similarly potent against Sultai Banner, especially if played in response to its mana abilities or cast triggering effects. Tapping into the arsenal of spells that counter activated abilities, players can limit the scope of its impact within a game.

Ultimately, though Sultai Banner can be a valuable asset in the right deck, it can be neutralized with prompt artifact destruction, counterspells, and aggressive gameplay tactics. By addressing its presence early on, players can diminish the card’s influence and maintain control over the match’s pace and resource flow.


Cards like Sultai Banner

Exploring the depth of tri-color mana fixing in Magic: The Gathering leads us to Sultai Banner. This card serves a purpose familiar to tools like Obelisk of Grixis and Manalith, offering access to three colors of mana. Sultai Banner stands out by aligning specifically with the Sultai color identity, enabling the intricate strategies associated with black, green, and blue mana.

Comparable to the Sultai Banner is the Darksteel Ingot, a mana artifact that not only fixes for any color but also boasts indestructibility, granting reliability against removal. While both cards help in casting spells across a variety of hues, the resilience of Darksteel Ingot offers a unique advantage.

Then we have Cultivator’s Caravan, matching the three mana fixing role but with an additional ability to become a creature. Though it provides versatility in a pinch, it doesn’t bear the alignment specificity that Sultai Banner offers to Sultai decks. In the grand scheme of deck construction, each card’s merit can be seen by how they align with a player’s strategy and game plan in Magic: The Gathering.

Obelisk of Grixis - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Darksteel Ingot - MTG Card versions
Cultivator's Caravan - MTG Card versions
Obelisk of Grixis - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Manalith - Magic 2012 (M12)
Darksteel Ingot - Arena League 2004 (PAL04)
Cultivator's Caravan - Kaladesh Promos (PKLD)

Cards similar to Sultai Banner by color, type and mana cost

Jorn, God of Winter // Kaldring, the Rimestaff - MTG Card versions
Zagoth Crystal - MTG Card versions
Jorn, God of Winter // Kaldring, the Rimestaff - Kaldheim Promos (PKHM)
Zagoth Crystal - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sultai Banner MTG card by a specific set like Khans of Tarkir, 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 Sultai Banner and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sultai Banner has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

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