Silent Sentinel MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Archon
Abilities Flying
Power 4
Toughness 6

Key Takeaways

  1. Brings enchantments back during attack, offering consistent in-game advantage and resilience.
  2. Demands substantial mana investment, potentially limiting rapid deck deployment and versatility.
  3. Enhances enchantment-centric decks, with substantial impact in the right meta.

Text of card

Flying Whenever Silent Sentinel attacks, you may return target enchantment card from your graveyard to the battlefield.

It serves a justice higher than the whims of the gods.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sporting a potent ability to return enchantment cards from your graveyard to the battlefield whenever it attacks, Silent Sentinel ensures a considerable advantage. This recurring mechanism can tilt the tide of the match in your favor by persistently reusing powerful enchantments.

Resource Acceleration: While Silent Sentinel itself doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, by recovering enchantments that do provide such acceleration, it indirectly contributes to your resources. Enchantments that generate additional mana or reduce casting costs can be revived, propelling your gameplay speed.

Instant Speed: Although Silent Sentinel’s abilities activate at sorcery speed during the combat phase, it has great synergy with cards that can be cast at instant speed. This large flying creature puts pressure on opponents to leave mana open, potentially disrupting their plays. Being vigilant on board presence can enable you to make instant-speed moves with more confidence, knowing you have a substantial threat already in play.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Silent Sentinel doesn’t demand a discard when played, its revival ability competes for resources in hand with other cards that may have immediate discard demands, potentially hindering your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Silent Sentinel’s mana cost is heavily weighted in white, necessitating seven mana with a double white requirement, which can be prohibitive and restricts deck versatility, especially in multi-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of seven mana, Silent Sentinel’s abilities come at a steep price. In a fast-paced game, players might opt for lower-cost creatures or spells that provide quicker board presence or impact.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Silent Sentinel provides an edge in decks that focus on enchantment strategies or require a resilient creature. Its ability to return enchantments from the graveyard to the battlefield ensures that your key pieces remain in play, adaptable across various game situations.

Combo Potential: When paired with cards that benefit from enchantments entering the battlefield or that allow you to cheat mana costs, Silent Sentinel can become a combo engine, harnessing the power of your graveyard as a resource.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where graveyard interaction and enchantment-based decks are prevalent, Silent Sentinel shines by reinstating your board presence and giving you repeatable advantage against opponents’ removal strategies.


How to beat

Silent Sentinel presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, often turning the tide in favor of the player who controls this imposing creature. As a card capable of returning enchantment cards from the graveyard to the battlefield upon dealing combat damage, overcoming this vigilant sentinel requires strategic planning. Focus on maintaining control by using instant speed removal spells to ensure the sentinel never gets the chance to attack and trigger its formidable ability. Cards like Swords to Plowshares stand as efficient solutions to exile Silent Sentinel before it becomes a recurring threat.

Consider board wipes like Supreme Verdict, which can bypass the Silent Sentinel’s ability by not allowing it to deal that crucial combat damage. Alternatively, keeping the Silent Sentinel tapped with cards like Pacifism or using countermagic when it’s cast can effectively neutralize the threat. In a pinch, sacrificing creatures for greater control with spells such as Diabolic Edict or Chainer’s Edict also provides an avenue to keep Silent Sentinel from overwhelming the field. Effectively managing your resources to handle this creature before it gains momentum can ensure your opponent’s graveyard remains a silent resting place for enchantments.


Cards like Silent Sentinel

Silent Sentinel, a formidable presence in Magic: The Gathering, shares traits with other creatures that offer the ability to manipulate the battlefield from the graveyard. Like Sun Titan, which also has the power to return permanents from the graveyard to play, Silent Sentinel excels by specifically targeting enchantment cards each time it attacks. While Sun Titan can retrieve a broader range of cards with a converted mana cost of three or less, Silent Sentinel’s focus on enchantments makes it a perfect fit in decks that capitalize on such cards.

Resembling Emeria Shepherd in its ability to recur cards, Silent Sentinel does not require a land drop but instead necessitates combat engagement to trigger its ability – a distinction that can influence deck strategy and timing. Moreover, the Sentinel’s triggered ability contrasts with Nomad Mythmaker, which also revives enchantments but does so at a lower mana cost and an activated ability, offering more control over when and how the enchantments return to the battlefield.

Assessing value and synergy, Silent Sentinel can be a strategic addition to MTG decks that depend on enchantments, standing out with its recurring ability and combat-driven mechanics that could turn the tides of the game in your favor.

Sun Titan - MTG Card versions
Emeria Shepherd - MTG Card versions
Nomad Mythmaker - MTG Card versions
Sun Titan - Magic 2011 Promos (PM11)
Emeria Shepherd - Battle for Zendikar (BFZ)
Nomad Mythmaker - Judgment (JUD)

Cards similar to Silent Sentinel by color, type and mana cost

Elder Land Wurm - MTG Card versions
Seraph - MTG Card versions
Archangel - MTG Card versions
Ancestor's Chosen - MTG Card versions
Serra Avatar - MTG Card versions
Drogskol Cavalry - MTG Card versions
Eternal Dragon - MTG Card versions
Soul of Eternity - MTG Card versions
Crowd Favorites - MTG Card versions
Kami of the Honored Dead - MTG Card versions
Luminous Angel - MTG Card versions
Angel of Retribution - MTG Card versions
Ghosts of the Innocent - MTG Card versions
Angel of Glory's Rise - MTG Card versions
Windbrisk Raptor - MTG Card versions
Pale Wayfarer - MTG Card versions
Yoked Plowbeast - MTG Card versions
Vengeful Archon - MTG Card versions
Angelic Arbiter - MTG Card versions
Kemba's Legion - MTG Card versions
Elder Land Wurm - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Seraph - Masters Edition (ME1)
Archangel - Starter 1999 (S99)
Ancestor's Chosen - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Serra Avatar - Commander 2013 (C13)
Drogskol Cavalry - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
Eternal Dragon - Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC)
Soul of Eternity - Commander Legends (CMR)
Crowd Favorites - Onslaught (ONS)
Kami of the Honored Dead - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Luminous Angel - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Angel of Retribution - Battlebond (BBD)
Ghosts of the Innocent - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Angel of Glory's Rise - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Windbrisk Raptor - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Pale Wayfarer - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Yoked Plowbeast - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Vengeful Archon - Magic 2011 (M11)
Angelic Arbiter - Commander Anthology (CMA)
Kemba's Legion - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Silent Sentinel MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Born of the Gods Promos, 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 Silent Sentinel and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Silent Sentinel Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2014-02-01 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 519102003normalblackKev Walker
22014-02-01Born of the Gods PromosPBNG 26★2003normalblackKev Walker
32014-02-07Born of the GodsBNG 262003normalblackSlawomir Maniak
42015-11-13Commander 2015C15 812015normalblackSlawomir Maniak
52018-08-09Commander 2018C18 752015normalblackSlawomir Maniak

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Silent Sentinel has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Silent Sentinel card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2014-02-01 If the enchantment card is an Aura, you choose a legal player or object for that Aura to enchant as it enters the battlefield. This doesn’t target the player or object, so it’s possible to enchant an opposing creature with hexproof this way, for example. If there’s no player or object the Aura can legally enchant, it stays in the graveyard.
2014-02-01 If you return an enchantment creature card with bestow to the battlefield, you can’t pay its bestow cost. It won’t be an Aura and can’t be attached to a creature.

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