Hello happy people! I hope your day is going weirdly well.

Modern Magic is in odd place. There are many cards released in a set that are not available in the normal way.

From promo decks to planeswalker cards and other places, you cannot acquire them by simply opening a Standard booster pack. Many of them are quite good, and I wrote an article on some great ones for Commander you may not have even known existed as they were not released in packs or Commander decks. Many great cards for casual audiences were released without a normal card distribution network.

Theros Beyond Death is very, very weird. It has cards available in the Theme Boosters series that aren't anywhere else, and which aren't in the visual spoiler for the set online, so there's no way you'd know that many of these cards existed! We're taking a deep dive into one of them today (Underworld Sentinel) but I also wanted to pause and show off the rest of the cards first.

Deathbellow War Cry

Amazing in Minotaur decks, the ability to Tooth and Claw for four dorks instead of two is amazing.

Demon of Loathing

Seven mana for a nasty body and powerful smash trigger (made easy by the flying and trample), the Demon of Loathing is my favorite of this cycle.

Grasping Giant

Probably the weakest of the cards here, Grasping Giant is still a 6-mana 5/7 that will temporary pull a blocker off the table until it heads away.

Ironscale Hydra

My second-favorite card, this powerful 5/5 for five mana is immune to combat damage and even turns that damage into counters.

Mindwrack Harpy

Mostly Limited fodder, Mindwrack Harpy could find a Constructed home in the right shell.

Serpent of Yawning Depths

Want to make your big Blue stuff mostly unblockable? Including itself?

Sphinx Mindbreaker

In a few years, I think Sphinx Mindbreaker will be the most valuable of these, as it's a Glimpse the Unthinkable on a creature that's abusable.

Swimmer in Nightmares

Again, Swimmer in Nightmares is likely better in Limited formats. But it offers some solid value in the right Ashiok-led build.

Terror of Mount Velus

Amazing enters-the-battlefield trigger and body, who doesn't like Dragons and their kind? This is my third-favorite card in the cycle. (Today's card is fourth).

Treeshaker Chimera

Draw three on death? Where do I sign up?

Victory's Envoy

That's a lot of counters! Thanks Victory's Envoy!

Chances are, you saw at least one or two cards here that would easily make the cut in your decks. But they weren't anywhere near the spoiler, nor are they in traditional boosters. Now, are you ready for the one we're taking a deep dive into today? Okay, here you go!

Underworld Sentinel

Five mana for a solid body that won't embarrass you. When it swings, you exile a dork from your 'yard. When it dies, those exiled cards enter the battlefield. Note that our good dork will recur any card exiled, even if it wasn't a creature. If you can find ways to let the Sentinel exile a non-creature, then they will all return post-death.

The Top Ten Ways to Abuse Underworld Sentinel

Honorable Mention #1 - Phage the Untouchable and Donate

You could choose a dork like Phage that will kill if it enters the battlefield wrongly and then give away the Sentinel with a Donate or something similar! Enjoy the power of Phage kills! You could also look at something like Leveler and other swapping methods like Harmless Offering.

Honorable Mention #2 - The Mimeoplasm

If you have a dead Sentinel in your graveyard, then you can exile a Sentinel and another card. Copy the Sentinel. Now use it like normal, and when it dies you exile both the Sentinel and the other card copied, as well as any others! Note that you can use this to bring back an exiled card from a foe's graveyard, (normally not in range of your Sentinel), then you can bring it back later under your control.

10. Relentless Assault

Cards like Underworld Sentinel that have a compelling attack trigger are going to always enjoy nabbing more attacks. Something like Aggravated Assault can be used turn after turn for powerful effects. You can even use it multiple times a turn if you have enough mana. Since you only need to untap and swing anew with the Sentinel, Seize the Day will yield two extra attacks.

9a. Lightning Greaves

The two biggest issues with Underworld Sentinel are a lack of haste and pinpoint removal that exiles, which will remove him without seeing the trigger. Enter Lightning Greaves, which will singlehandedly handle both for no mana. You can keep your Skeleton Soldier swinging and safe from Path to Exile. Shout out to cards like Swiftfoot Boots and such that require mana to be used on their equip.

9b. Whispersilk Cloak

The Cloak won't give haste, but it will give unblockable so you can keep swinging turn after turn without worrying. It still has the precious protection from being targeted.

8. Morality Shift

Want to ensure that your graveyard is dense and thick with all the best stuff? Why not swap it with your deck? That way you can exile the best cards for the situation, and then maximize the value of your exiling.

7. Ashnod's Transmogrant and Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice

As Ashnod was Mishra's apprentice, I felt it would be fun to have cards with both Urza and Mishra represented. Normally, Tawnos can't copy the exiling fun times of the Sentinel as it's not an artifact. That's okay, just send it into the Transmogrant! When it pops out, it'll be copyable by your Tawnos! There are many other ways to change things to an artifact, like Liquimetal Coating.

6. Sacrifice Engines

Once you have a nice stack of exiled cards, you'll want a way the kill the Underworld Sentinel. The best won't cost mana, so you can use it in response to exiling removal (such as Swords to Plowshares) coming its way. Goblin Bombardment and Ashnod's Altar suggest themselves, although there are others. I really like the Altar, as you can likely see enough mana to win the game with so many creatures to sacrifice.

5. Dimir Doppelganger

Use Dimir Doppelganger to exile your Underworld Sentinel from the game to become it. If you have the mana, you can exile other cards from your graveyard first. Sacrifice it. Now you grab everything you exiled back. You also got back your Sentinel, so it's still hanging around for another go! Pretty cool, right? If it were an artifact creature, you could use Myr Welder on it.

4a. Oona, Queen of the Fae

You could also copy Oona, Queen of the Fae first before taking your Sentinel! Then you can use her, activate, exile a bunch of cards, and then sacrifice to bring them back.

4b. Arc-Slogger

If you copy Arc-Slogger prior to doing so with Sentinel, then you can activate this for 10 exiled cards from your library for each you invest. You could easily exile 30 or 40 cards, deal 8 damage, and then bring back those permanents when your Sentinel dies!

4c. Divining Witch

If you choose something that's not in your deck, like Trained Orgg, then you can exile your entire library. Now you can sacrifice the Sentinel after copying it, and then put your entire exiled library onto the battlefield, minus instants and sorceries. You will need to win the game that turn, but you can easily load up with one-turn combos and dorks with haste and such. You can also dump out a winning condition like Jace, Wielder of Mysteries and win that way.

3. Desecrated Tomb (with a shout out to Syr Konrad, the Grim)

Let's suppose that your Underworld Sentinel only nets two triggers each turn due to just one of the combos here like a single Relentless Assault. Great! Not you've made two Bats! As you exile more and more and more, you get more and more and more, all for free - no mana needed! Also, a quick shoutout to Syr Konrad, the Grim. He'll ting your foes as they head out too. If you run Konrad as a leader in Commander, then your Sentinel can do great work by exiling and then bringing them back after death for more fun. It's an ideal tag-team partner!

2. Strionic Resonator

Want to copy a triggered ability? Okay! You got it. Strionic Resonator is here to help you out. For just a simple 2 mana, you exile two dorks instead of one. Enjoy!

1. Volrath, the Shapestealer with Pyschatog and Sarcatog

This combo is sick! You can put a counter on your Sentinel and one of the Black 'Togs (or Withered Wretch). Now exile cards from your graveyard with Volrath for free. You can also exile other cards from foes with a copied Wretch or similar effect, although that costs mana. Then copy the Sentinel, sacrifice, and you return every permanent that was exiled back. Lands. Dorks. Enchantments. Artifacts. Planeswalkers. I think you might win that game!

Shoutout to cards like Shauku, Endbringer and Taigam, Sidisi's Hand that also may want to be added into these builds.

And there we are! I hope you enjoyed my article. Had you seen Underworld Sentinel before, or the other cards in this list? Anything I missed or that inspired you? Just let me know!

P.S. - Hello! Want to check out what it's like for me to play Dungeons and Dragons as someone with Huntington's Disease? Here you go!