Guildless Commons MTG Card

Guildless Commons - Commander Legends (CMR)

Commander Legends (CMR)
2020-11-20 - Number 351

Guildless Commons - Commander Masters (CMM)

Commander Masters (CMM)
2023-08-04 - Number 1003

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Land

Key Takeaways

Guildless Commons enables mana ramp and deck consistency by bouncing lands for repeated benefits.
Its colorless mana production can be limiting early game but useful for multicolor decks.
Including this card offers strategic advantage against nonbasic land disruption tactics.

Text of card

Guildless Commons enters the battlefield tapped. When Guildless Commons enters the battlefield, return a land you control to its owner's hand. : Add .

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Guildless Commons provides a repeatable source of mana, which can be crucial for deck strategies that aim to outpace opponents through superior mana access. This land ensures a consistent flow of resources, aiding in maintaining a strong board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While Guildless Commons enters the battlefield tapped, it compensates by offering an additional land bounce back to your hand. This can be tactically used to replay lands with beneficial enter the battlefield effects or simply to make land drops more consistent.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Guildless Commons can synergize with instant speed spells by providing an untapped land on your next turn. This can be critical for holding up mana to react during your opponent’s turn, enabling strategic plays and responses.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not a traditional discard mechanic, the enters-the-battlefield tapped condition of Guildless Commons can be likened to a discard, as it delays immediate land usage, potentially costing you a turn’s advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Guildless Commons requires a specific mana investment as it taps for colorless mana. This could potentially disrupt a mana base that is dependent on colored sources for early game spells and pivotal plays.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Guildless Commons can be a costly land card considering its effect. Other lands or mana sources may provide more utility or come into play untapped for the same or lower mana cost, leading to more fluid and less constrained gameplay.

Reasons to Include Guildless Commons in Your Collection

Versatility: Guildless Commons offers a valuable mana fix for decks running multiple colors, ensuring you have access to the needed mana at the right time. Its ability to return a land to your hand can also be advantageous, allowing the reuse of lands with enter-the-battlefield effects.

Combo Potential: This land card is excellent for triggering landfall abilities multiple times. Imagine playing this in a deck that exploits land reentry effects, thereby creating powerful plays that can overwhelm opponents.

Meta-Relevance: Considering how land strategies can be paramount in the current metagame, having a card like Guildless Commons can fortify your deck against various opponents. It also stands as a resilient tool against nonbasic land hate, as it provides an additional land drop while avoiding common land destruction strategies.

How to beat

Guildless Commons is a unique land card that can be a staple in Commander decks, especially those that hinge on maximizing the utility of lands. Unlike basic lands that you can play in abundance, Guildless Commons enters the battlefield tapped and requires you to return a land you control back to your hand. This trait can initially seem like a setback, however, with lands that have beneficial enter the battlefield abilities, this can be an advantage by allowing you to re-trigger those effects.

To effectively counteract Guildless Commons, consider using land destruction or denial strategies. Cards that can destroy lands, like Acid Rain or Armageddon, can be a direct approach to deal with troublesome lands. But for a more subtle strategy, cards like Aven Mindcensor limit your opponent’s ability to search their library, thereby negating some of the card’s utility. Another key tactic is to accelerate your own game plan quickly as Guildless Commons can slow down your opponent’s tempo due to its “enter the battlefield tapped” downside.

Always keep in mind your own deck’s pacing and land balance when incorporating or facing Guildless Commons. This card’s unique mechanics demand distinct strategic considerations, but with the right approach, overcoming its challenges becomes a well-played move in your Magic: The Gathering battles.

Cards like Guildless Commons

Guildless Commons is a unique land card that expands the roster of mana-generating assets in Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relatives in functionality may include dual lands like Izzet Boilerworks or Gruul Turf, which also return a land to the player’s hand upon entering the battlefield and produce two mana of specific colors. Guildless Commons differs as it is not bound to any colors, providing colorless mana instead.

Another card that echoes a resemblance is Azorius Chancery, part of the bounce land family, aligning with the mechanics of Guildless Commons by bouncing a land to your hand. However, Guildless Commons is advantageous in decks that can utilize colorless mana or that require an extensive mana base with fewer colors. On the flip side, the Chancery provides mana fixing for two colors but risks being a setback in multicolored decks with tight mana needs.

Examining these comparisons, Guildless Commons enjoys a niche position among land cards in Magic: The Gathering. While it may not offer the color flexibility of dual bounce lands, its colorless mana production and synergy in certain decks make it an asset worth considering for strategic play.

Cards similar to Guildless Commons by color, type and mana cost

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Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Guildless Commons MTG card by a specific set like Commander Legends and Commander Masters, 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 Guildless Commons and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Guildless Commons Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-11-20 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Cliff Childs.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2020-11-20	Commander Legends	CMR		351	2015	Normal	Black	Cliff Childs
2	2023-08-04	Commander Masters	CMM		1003	2015	Normal	Black	Cliff Childs

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Guildless Commons has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-11-10	Guildless Commons will return itself to its owner's hand if you control no other lands when it enters the battlefield or if you choose to return it to its owner's hand. It's almost never a good idea to play it on your first turn.