All 12 Monuments in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 5, 2023

Forsaken Monument | Illustration by Piotr Dura

Monuments are used to convey history and religion, and each MTG plane has its own lore and worldbuilding. Some of them contain living gods like Amonkhet, and there are bound to be big artifacts representing or drawing power from them.

Today I’m taking a look at some cool cards from MTG’s history. These are Monuments to the power of gods and greatness. I’ve also heard that Phyrexia: All Will be One will have at least one Monument dedicated to the glory of Phyrexia, so we have that to look forward to.

But for now let’s see the Monuments we already have and the gods they pay homage to!

What Are Monument Cards in MTG?

Kolaghan Monument | Illustration by Daniel Ljunggren

The Monument cards are artifacts that represent a divinity or comparable being in a plane of MTG. Examples include the dragons on the plane of Tarkir which were revered as gods, the gods of the Amonkhet plane which are related to the five colors of mana, and the Eldrazi on Zendikar which are also god-like creatures.

These Monuments benefit a certain kind of strategy, and most of them are build-around cards. Oketra's Monument is an important piece in a white weenie or go-wide strategy while Forsaken Monument rewards you for playing colorless creatures.

Almost all Monuments have some sort of mana-producing or -reducing abilities. The Tarkir Monuments are mana rocks of a sort, the Amonkhetones reduce mana requirement for spells in their colors, and the Zendikar Monument dedicated to the Eldrazi pumps your colorless-producing abilities from mana rocks.

#8. Dragons of Tarkir Monuments

• Atarka Monument
• Dromoka Monument
• Kolaghan Monument
• Ojutai Monument
• Silumgar Monument

All these cards are fundamentally equal. They’re 3-cost mana rocks that produce mana of two different colors and give you a 4/4 flying dragon until end of turn for six mana. I can’t say that Kolaghan Monument is necessarily better than Dromoka Monument as it depends on the color identity of your deck.

That said, there are much better mana rocks available. I’d only play them if you’re playing a commander that has dragon synergies, or at least flying buffs.

#7. Kefnet’s Monument

Kefnet's Monument makes all blue creatures cheaper, but its effect isn’t that great. You also need a blue creature-centric deck for it to be good, like wizard tribal. Some more obscure blue EDH tribal decks like sphinxes that can benefit from the ramp would also work.

#6. Bontu’s Monument

Bontu's Monument is a bleeder card that also makes your black creatures cheaper. It has a home in lots of black and Orzhov () decks interested in the effect.

#5. Hazoret’s Monument

Hazoret's Monument has something good going on for it, and that’s the loot ability. Some good red and Rakdos () commanders are based on madness and discard effects, so you have an interesting effect tacked on creature cost reduction.

#4. Rhonas’s Monument

Probably the best place for Rhonas's Monument is in a green aggro deck filled to the brim with 4/4s and 5/5s. It gives them trample so you can hit extra hard.

This Monument is playable in mono green EDH and Explorer/Pioneer decks alike. And green decks have no shortage of big creatures to ramp into.

#3. Oketra’s Monument

Oketra's Monument is a nice boost for go-wide strategies thanks to its capacity to produce extra 1/1 tokens. It’s sometimes played by white weenie decks in Explorer, especially against spot removal since it produces lots of bodies.

#2. Eldrazi Monument

Eldrazi Monument gives your creatures flying and indestructible. You can win the game on the spot using sweepers or just by protecting your creatures.

It’s best used in Commander decks that can easily produce tokens like Rhys the Redeemed since you need to be producing creatures, but it also works in decks where you want to give your commander extra protection from removal. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar want to hit hard, enjoys the indestructibility, makes a token, and flies for the win via commander damage.

#1. Forsaken Monument

Forsaken Monument sees play in colorless creature decks filled with artifacts usually in Explorer/Pioneer, not to mention colorless EDH decks. It’s a good Karn, the Great Creator tutor target.

It also works well with Ugin, the Ineffable since it produces 4/4s instead of 2/2s. And it potentializes mana rocks by doubling their mana output.

Best Monument Payoffs

There’s no linear strategy that benefits from Monuments the most. It varies from card to card so it’s hard to point out a payoff for playing them.

Each color has one so you can definitely play Oketra's Monument in white weenie strategies and benefit from cost reduction and extra bodies. Rhonas's Monument, on the other hand, works better with big creatures (without evasion) since it gives trample.

Monuments are better abused in mono color strategies since most of them are tied to a color (or lack of).

Wrap Up

Rhonas's Monument | Illustration by Cliff Childs

Eldrazi, gods, and big dragons; all have Monuments built to them by the humble mortals and servants. Who knows, maybe the Phyrexian invasion will succeed and they’ll build more Monuments to their praetors and gods. Will there be an Elesh Norn’s Monument? Only WotC knows.

What do you think of the Monuments in MTG? What sort of Monument do you think we’ll get in Phyrexia? Let me know in the comments below or join the discussion in the Draftsim Discord.

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!