Gonti's Machinations MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Released | 2017-01-20 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Aether Revolt |
| Set code | AER |
| Number | 63 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Daarken |
Key Takeaways
- Offers life gain and strategic resource acceleration through energy counters, enhancing deck synergy.
- Provides tactical depth with instant-speed sacrifice, allowing for optimal gameplay disruption.
- Demands careful play, balancing card sacrifice and mana cost challenges in diverse MTG strategies.
Text of card
Whenever you lose life for the first time each turn, you get . (You get an energy counter. Damage causes loss of life.) Pay , Sacrifice Gonti's Machinations: Each opponent loses 3 life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
"I am confident that all our enterprises can benefit from this little revolution."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Gonti’s Machinations offers incremental life gain which, upon reaching the requisite energy, translates into the opportunity to drain life from opponents. This effect not only tips the scale in life totals but also presents you with the potential to turn on powerful synergies and interactions within decks that thrive on life differential or loss of life triggers, thereby offering a unique form of card advantage in specific archetypes.
Resource Acceleration: By granting energy counters each time you lose life, Gonti’s Machinations can serve as a resource accelerator. It sets up the stage for a burst of energy which can be harnessed by numerous cards in the MTG universe that leverage the energy mechanic. This acceleration can lead to powerful tempo swings, enabling high-impact plays earlier than expected.
Instant Speed: While Gonti’s Machinations itself isn’t an instant, it can be sacrificed at instant speed once you have the requisite energy. This allows for strategic flexibility, enabling you to wait for the most opportune moment to disrupt your opponent’s strategy or to maximize the value gained from the life drain effect. The ability to activate it when most advantageous adds a layer of tactical depth to gameplay.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To fully utilize Gonti’s Machinations, players often need to sacrifice other cards. This can lead to a depletion of hand advantage which is critical in tight matches where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a specific combination of energy counters and black mana. Because of its distinct mana requirements, this can sometimes clash with non-black-oriented strategies and limit its inclusion in multi-color decks that don’t prioritize black mana sources.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although offering an intriguing effect, Gonti’s Machinations comes with a mana cost that might not always align with the pace of your game plan. Compared to other one-cost cards, it might not provide the immediate board presence or impact that faster-paced decks require.
Reasons to Include Gonti’s Machinations in Your Collection
Versatility: Gonti’s Machinations brings utility to any black-aligned deck, acting as a reliable source of energy counters and a life-draining mechanism. Its flexibility allows it to be incorporated into various strategies, from aggressive decks that capitalize on life loss to controlling decks that value incremental life gain.
Combo Potential: This card synergies well with other energy-producing cards, enabling powerful combinations that can fuel high-impact plays. It’s not just about the energy—it’s about what you can do with it, creating endless possibilities on the battlefield.
Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where incremental advantages yield victory, Gonti’s Machinations provides a consistent edge. As the game shifts and new decks emerge, it remains a subtle but potent tool against a wide range of opponents, ensuring its place in many sideboards and main decks alike.
How to beat Gonti’s Machinations
Gonti’s Machinations is a unique enchantment that can be a real thorn in the side for many MTG players. Its energy counter accumulation and loss-of-life ability upon cashing in can be potent but not unbeatable. Start by considering direct enchantment removal like Disenchant, which cleanly removes such pesky enchantments from the game. Additionally, playing around the life loss trigger is key. By strategically planning your life total and managing your resources, you can minimize the impact of Machinations’ secondary ability.
Moreover, life gain strategies can help offset the life loss from Gonti’s Machinations. Cards like Sphinx’s Revelation can swing the game back in your favor whilst refilling your hand. Fast-paced aggressive decks can also race against the incremental advantage Gonti’s Machinations provides, often winning the game before it can have a substantial impact.
Finally, if Gonti’s Machinations is part of a larger energy-themed deck, cards that disrupt energy counters, like Solemnity, can essentially nullify the card. It’s about identifying the role Gonti’s Machinations plays in your opponent’s strategy and efficiently dismantling it with your choice of counterplay. Adaptation and disruption are your allies in claiming victory over Gonti’s energy-based machinations.
Cards like Gonti's Machinations
Gonti’s Machinations offers a unique angle in the energy counter strategy within Magic: The Gathering. It reminds players of the functionality found in cards like Aether Hub, which also provides an energy counter upon entering the battlefield. However, Gonti’s Machinations extends its reach by granting an energy counter each time you lose life, creating a persistent source of energy that can culminate in life gain and loss for an opponent.
Likewise, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner presents an energy-centric approach, with the difference lying in its creature form and the method of energy accumulation through combat. While Gonti’s Machinations activates with life loss, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner requires combat for energy and card advantage. Another comparable card is Live Fast, a sorcery that offers an immediate influx of energy and card draw but lacks the incremental buildup and player interaction that Gonti’s Machinations can exert turn after turn.
Concluding, Gonti’s Machinations stands out amongst its peers for its unique combination of energy gain triggered by loss of life, rounded with a potential damage mechanism. It engages players in a balancing act, rewarding careful life total management in the intricate gameplay of Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Gonti's Machinations by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Gonti's Machinations MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt, 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 Gonti's Machinations 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 Gonti's Machinations has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Gonti's Machinations 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 | In a Two-Headed Giant game, Gonti’s Machinations’s second ability causes the opposing team to lose a total of 6 life. |
| 2017-02-09 | In a Two-Headed Giant game, damage and life loss happen to individual players, and the result affects the team’s life total. Combat damage is assigned and dealt to specific players. If your teammate is dealt damage or otherwise loses life, Gonti’s Machinations doesn’t trigger, even though your life total went down. |
| 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 | The triggered ability gives you at most one energy counter each turn, regardless of how much life you lost. |
| 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. |
