Nova Pentacle MTG Card
1994-06-01 - Number 289
2009-09-07 - Number 200
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Artifact |
Key Takeaways
- It transforms opponents’ creatures into protective assets, saving your own cards and life.
- Instant speed activation allows for real-time combat adjustments and resource allocation.
- However, its mana requirements and self-sacrifice activation can limit its usability in some decks.
Text of card
o3oc T: Redirect damage done to you from one source to target creature of opponent's choice.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Nova Pentacle stands out in its ability to use opponents’ creatures to protect your life total, effectively nullifying threats without the need to spend cards on direct removal. This can indirectly lead to card advantage as opponents might have to waste resources to deal with the Pentacle or risk an unfavorable attacking position.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly involved in accelerating resources, the subtle efficiency of Nova Pentacle can contribute to resource conservation. By potentially deterring attacks, you’re able to commit mana to other aspects of your game plan, ensuring you’re always ahead of the curve.
Instant Speed: The beauty of Nova Pentacle is in the instant speed of its activation. You can alter combat dynamics on the fly, turning an opponent’s attack phase into a strategic pitfall for them. This enables you to make decisions with perfect information about the state of the board, ensuring your resources are used at the most opportune moments.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Nova Pentacle’s activation necessitates sacrificing a creature, which can deplete your board presence and impact your strategy negatively, especially if you’re in a position where creatures are a scarcity.
Specific Mana Cost: This artifact’s ability requires a specific combination of one generic and three colorless mana, making it potentially cumbersome for multicolored decks that might struggle with colorless mana sources.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of four mana just to get Nova Pentacle onto the battlefield, it can be argued there are alternative cards that may provide immediate impact or defensive capabilities at a lower cost.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Nova Pentacle offers a unique defensive tactic, potentially diverting damage from important creatures or yourself to less critical assets. Its application in different formats can prepare your deck against various threats.
Combo Potential: With the right setup, this artifact can become a key component in control strategies, by synergizing with indestructible or expendable creatures, making it an unexpected pivot in your tactical maneuvers.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state that heavily features aggressive strategies, Nova Pentacle could serve as a deterrent, making opponents hesitant to attack, thus buying time to execute your game plan or to set up your winning combo.
How to Beat Nova Pentacle
Nova Pentacle can pose a unique challenge on the battlefield of Magic: The Gathering. As an artifact with the ability to redirect damage, it forces players to adapt their strategies. The key to overcoming this card lies in targeting it directly. Artifacts can be vulnerable, and focusing on spells or abilities that can destroy or neutralize artifacts can effectively counter Nova Pentacle’s impact. Versatile cards like Naturalize or Disenchant, known for their targeted removal, become essential tools in your arsenal.
Another tactic is to exploit the fact that Nova Pentacle’s ability requires a tapped creature to function. Swinging in with creatures while Nova Pentacle is unprotected or using effects that tap your opponent’s creatures without engaging them in combat can circumvent its ability. In addition, alternative win conditions that do not involve traditional damage can bypass Nova Pentacle’s redirection altogether. Cards that cause loss of life directly or impose conditions for an alternate victory, such as Thassa’s Oracle, stay unaffected by its manipulation.
Strategic planning and an adaptive approach to the game’s mechanics are pivotal in mastering MTG. By analyzing how cards like Nova Pentacle operate, players can choose the most effective counters and maintain control over the battlefield, ensuring your deck is equipped to withstand any artifact-centred hurdles.
Cards like Nova Pentacle
Within the intricate tapestry of Magic: The Gathering’s card archive, Nova Pentacle stands as a unique artifact, akin to the multifaceted nature of Nevinyrral’s Disk. Both are artifacts that demand a board presence to exploit their defensive capabilities. Nova Pentacle shines in redirecting damage from key creatures or planeswalkers to protect your strategic assets. It’s a reactive tool much like the Disk, which provides a formidable board wipe capability. Yet, unlike Nevinyrral’s Disk’s sweeping effect that leaves nothing behind, Nova Pentacle’s precision provides a distinct tactical advantage.
Another card that overlaps in purpose is the venerable Maze of Ith. Serving as a powerful utility land, it also prevents damage by removing an attacking creature from combat. While it doesn’t redirect the damage like Nova Pentacle, it shares the defensive characteristic, providing safety without requiring a mana investment each turn. Therein lies the balancing act – the certainty of the Maze’s prevention against the broader applications but higher cost of Nova Pentacle.
In sum, among artifacts and lands that offer protective measures, Nova Pentacle offers a noteworthy role. Its ability to selectively shield your most valuable game pieces gives it a specialized niche, reflecting the complex strategic decision-making that Magic: The Gathering players revel in.
Cards similar to Nova Pentacle by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Nova Pentacle MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Masters Edition III, 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 Nova Pentacle 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
Printings
The Nova Pentacle Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-06-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by Richard Thomas.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994-06-01 | Legends | LEG | 289 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Richard Thomas | |
| 2 | 2009-09-07 | Masters Edition III | ME3 | 200 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Richard Thomas |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Nova Pentacle has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Nova Pentacle card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | In multi-player games you can choose a different opposing player each time it is used. |
| 2009-10-01 | As the ability resolves, you choose a damage source. |
| 2009-10-01 | As you activate the ability, you choose an opponent, then that opponent chooses a creature for the ability to target. It doesn’t have to be a creature that opponent controls. If there are no creatures that can be targeted with the ability, it can’t be activated. |
| 2009-10-01 | The next time damage from the chosen source would be dealt to you this turn, that damage is dealt to the targeted creature instead. Whether it’s still a legal target is not checked at this time. However, if it’s not able to be dealt damage because it’s neither a creature nor a planeswalker, or it’s no longer on the battlefield, then the damage is not redirected and is dealt to you as normal. |
