@terrarius wrote about this before, but these cards make me really frustrated. These cards get so rewarded, like Phantasm was, get so rewarded for not being removed. The reward to cost is mindblowing to me.
Was curious about other people’s opinions on these cards. I personally don’t understand why these cards are allowed multiple procs while the other activation efforts only occur once.
Oni is sick, it should trigger only when it is transformed. It’s definitely feels broken to me.
Basilisk is strong, but it’s essentially a pile of stats which can be easily dispelled without giving cards to the opponent, unlike Oni. It never felt abusive to me.
I do agree that sentinels should give maximum benefit when they transform rather than afterwards, given the flavour of the mechanic.
Well if every Sentinel acted everytime it’s effect was activated, it’d be a different. Can’t attack twice with Skull prophet as you’d hit 0. Zendo Mizuchi decks. Bound tomentor would be the new MCO, Rakushi would be so anti swarm that it would be run. Only vanar neutral sentinels would work regularly?
So Sentinels could be much more anti and effective and fun, but since they aren’t you only use the useful ones and MCO and Basalisk aren’t answer or die. Don’t play spells if that’s what you suspect, unless it’s an answer. MCO should get two spells at best. Basalisk as an immediate 5/5 can be troublesome, but not death. Given I usually expect Spell sentinels, they aren’t that bad and rarely have an opportunity to snowball.
Pro tip: use obtuse removal like sky burial so you can Vaath Wink or Argeon Smile if you prefer Decimate.
Yeah it’s really too bad there’s no way to play around Sentinels, nothing you can do, you’re forced to play a spell even though you KNOW it’s Basilisk 
I think that the sentinels are the way they are for a purpose.
Well mayne basilisk is not.
Mind cage feels the role and theme of songhai.
Procing only once will make him a dead card.
Besides every faction got a broken cards, and you should learn to play around them.
If you are having trouble, run Saberspine Tigers. They are a great card, and they handle most of the common sentinels nicely.
Mindcage Oni definitely feels like it fits the theme of Songhai. Like a sort of copycat Scroll Bandit. Tbh I often don’t get much out of them but that one removal spell they use or even dropping that lightbender is worth it for the cost.
Basilisk I hold no love for though. At least a lot of spells kill Oni after it transforms; things like Phoenix Fire, Frostburn, Cobra Strike. These don’t work on Basilisk. Only thing that does is dispel. Without this you risk an 11/11 Basilisk that you’ve tried so hard to avoid being Hearth Sister’d into your face. I don’t dislike its ability but the +3/+3 allows it to outrun a lot of the damage you do with spells or minions. So without dispel you either hamstring yourself by not using spells or hope you can find a way around the Basilisk.
oni is bs the other one can be removed easl but oni if you remove it with your spells he baiscly gets em which is really frusttrating
At least their stats could be swapped with some of the other sentinels. Seriously why is Skullprophet a 3/3 when Oni is 4/3, Basilisk is a (dispellable) 5/5 and Freeblade is a 3/5, all with way better abilities…
Because abyss got a sickshit bag of removel that’s why.
And songhai don’t, so you’ll have to go face with sentinel.
Besides on turn 4 3/3 or 4/3 are not that nuch of a diffrence.
Yes… this is the point of the card, you basically get the removel, so? Songhai doesn’t have that much rrmovel to begin with.
I see why this card is needed so bad.
Still, forcing the opponent to spend one removal AND give it to you would already be a very strong effect, even without multiple procs. All this without considering that sometimes you don’t have the removal for the Oni, e.g., due to range restriction or conditional removals like Natural Selection, and you can’t play any spell to avoid giving your opponent too much of an advantage.
Can you tech against Sentinels? Sure, running Tigers or Dancing Blades for instance. But Oni can easily cost you a game if left unchecked, which is a bit too much for a 3-mana minion. I think players should not be punished so heavy if they don’t have the right answer at the right time.
This is true for literally any backlline threat in the game though. Just try leaving a KI Beholder unchecked and try to win. Backline threats generate infinite value if left unchecked, that’s just in their nature but since they aren’t that difficult to check it’s not a problem.
I can only partly agree. While it is true that an unchecked Ki Beholder can cost you the game, you can answer it without giving a significant advantage to your opponent with any ranged removal. And if you don’t have the removal right away, you can still freely play for a couple of turns while you dig for it.
The main problem with Oni is that you cannot use any spell until you find the right one to remove it, otherwise you give too much advantage to your opponent. This allows him to develop the board while you cannot use your removals.
Would the card still be good if it gave you only one spell? I definitely think so, it’s card draw and you can still get a useful effect
Unpopular Opinion: In Shidai’s current stage Basilysk is a necessary evil.
yeah i guess and effect of oni is insane
I don’t. Nobody would use a valuable spell to procc it. People would give you a BBS or some faction synergy card that is useless to you and be done with it. You are certainly right that Ki Beholder doesn’t give the opponent a card when he deals with it, but Ki beholder barely sees play, i’d say that’s what makes the difference between a mediocre card and a decent one. I don’t even find mindcage that good tbh. His value depends far too much on what your opponent does not to mention that he is literally useless against Titan decks.
Very much disagree. If it gave only one spell it would be near-worthless. They’d BBS or give some crap card like Lurking fear or something that their deck synergises with but is worthless otherwise to set off the Oni then kill it.
It would go from being popular to a 3-drop to one that is never used. Lantern Fox at least guarantees either a dispel or hard removal unless they want to give you a Phoenix Fire or two. Much better cards out there if the card draw is the goal. Oni is there is catch removals and the like to use against you, not pick up a useless spell as pseudo-draw.
Seems relevant: Mind Cage Oni not giving a spell even though it transformed
Any opinions on whether it’s a bug?
The inconsistency between the Vanar and Songhai (idk about Abyssian) Sentinels in this regard is ugly/confusing for sure, if it’s not a bug.
Moonlit is rough- should be +1/+1 but I don’t think it’s even sort of as strong as Oni.
I forget the name (Abyss Sentinel that gives a single discounted minion on trans) only triggers once and its a 3mana 2/3…and Oni is, well, Oni. I think it goes a little under the radar because Songhai just isn’t super strong right now- but the new general will abuse the fuck out diz bish
Should only trigger once and should stay 3/3 once triggered and, imo, it would still be a really good pick and still one of the better sentinels.