Guildscorn Ward MTG Card


Guildscorn Ward - Gatecrash
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant
Released2013-02-01
Set symbol
Set nameGatecrash
Set codeGTC
Number15
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byRyan Barger

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants targeted protection, dodges most multicolored removals, fortifying key assets on the battlefield.
  2. Instant cast provides flexibility in response, enhancing control over the board and mana efficiency.
  3. Despite the higher mana cost and discard trade-off, it remains a resilient defensive tool in MTG.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has protection from multicolored.

"The Gateless have risen. The Ten shall fall." —Ninth District graffiti


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Guildscorn Ward can be a key card in decks looking to protect their key creatures. The ability to give a creature protection from multicolored spells ensures that your critical creatures can evade common removal in multi-colored MTG formats, maintaining your presence on the board.

Resource Acceleration: While Guildscorn Ward itself doesn’t accelerate resources directly, safeguarding your mana-efficient creatures enables you to retain your board state, indirectly contributing to resource acceleration by protecting your investments.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Guildscorn Ward at instant speed allows players to react to threats immediately, maintain the element of surprise, and efficiently manage their mana throughout their turn and their opponent’s. This flexibility is crucial in tight game situations where timing can make all the difference.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Guildscorn Ward means parting ways with another card in your hand, a tough call if you’re struggling to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card asks for a particular blend of mana, which can sometimes complicate its inclusion in multi-colored decks that might struggle with mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Weighing in at three mana, Guildscorn Ward’s price tag is a bit hefty when juxtaposed with similar protective spells that cost less and potentially offer more immediate board impact.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Guildscorn Ward is not limited to a specific type of deck, making it a flexible option for players who value defensive strategies. Its ability to grant protection from multicolored can be crucial in matchups where multicolored spells are prevalent.

Combo Potential: This card offers synergies with strategies that capitalize on protection abilities and can be used to safeguard key creatures from a wide range of removals or to enable advantageous attacks free from multicolored blockers.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG metagame often fluctuates with multicolored spells occupying a central role, integrating Guildscorn Ward into your deck could serve as a counterbalance, making it a worthy addition to potentially disrupt popular deck compositions.


How to beat

Guildscorn Ward is a unique tool designed to strengthen your creatures against multicolored threats in Magic: The Gathering. This enchantment card offers protection, but like any strategy, it has its vulnerabilities. Identifying the drawback that it only shields against multicolored spells or abilities is key. Therefore, targeting the warded creature with monocolored or even colorless cards can effectively counteract its advantages. Removal spells that don’t specify a color are excellent for bypassing the protective barrier Guildscorn Ward provides.

In addition, utilizing board wipes or global effects can overcome the Guildscorn Ward’s limitations, as they don’t target specific creatures and thus elude the protection clause. It’s also worth noting that the card’s protection only applies to the enchanted creature. Therefore, shifting the focus to other elements of your opponent’s strategy, like their life total or other creatures, can outpace the temporary stability Guildscorn Ward grants.

Being aware of the metagame and keeping versatile answers in your deck can ensure that the presence of Guildscorn Ward won’t significantly hinder your path to victory. In essence, when you prepare your deck with the right mix of spells, Guildscorn Ward becomes less of a safety net for your opponent and more of a minor obstacle to be easily overcome.


Cards like Guildscorn Ward

Guildscorn Ward is a unique enchantment in the realm of Magic the Gathering, providing protection similar to other spells but with a distinct approach. It parallels cards like Shield of Duty and Reason, which offers protection from the selected color. Guildscorn Ward goes beyond, allowing the enchanted creature to block any multicolored creatures with impunity. This can create a crucial tactical advantage on the battlefield.

In the same classification, we encounter cards such as Apostle’s Blessing which gives protection from a color or from artifacts until end of turn. While Apostle’s Blessing is more flexible, being an instant, and also offering a smaller mana investment with the Phyrexian mana option, it lacks the permanence of Guildscorn Ward’s effect. Another contender in the protective enchantment category is Brave the Elements, which shields multiple creatures from a single color but for only a turn, whereas Guildscorn Ward delivers sustained defense against a broader range of threats for as long as it remains on the field.

Conclusively, Guildscorn Ward stands out as a durable safeguard in player decks, especially in formats where multicolored creatures are prevalent, thus validating its inclusion when crafting a defense-oriented strategy in Magic the Gathering.

Shield of Duty and Reason - MTG Card versions
Apostle's Blessing - MTG Card versions
Brave the Elements - MTG Card versions
Shield of Duty and Reason - Apocalypse (APC)
Apostle's Blessing - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Brave the Elements - Zendikar (ZEN)

Cards similar to Guildscorn Ward by color, type and mana cost

White Ward - MTG Card versions
Green Ward - MTG Card versions
Holy Strength - MTG Card versions
Lance - MTG Card versions
Consecrate Land - MTG Card versions
Animate Wall - MTG Card versions
Black Ward - MTG Card versions
Blue Ward - MTG Card versions
Holy Armor - MTG Card versions
Red Ward - MTG Card versions
Land Tax - MTG Card versions
Brainwash - MTG Card versions
Green Scarab - MTG Card versions
Blue Scarab - MTG Card versions
Spirit Link - MTG Card versions
Armor of Faith - MTG Card versions
Kithkin Armor - MTG Card versions
Flickering Ward - MTG Card versions
Limited Resources - MTG Card versions
Mask of Law and Grace - MTG Card versions
White Ward - Revised Edition (3ED)
Green Ward - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Holy Strength - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Lance - Revised Edition (3ED)
Consecrate Land - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Animate Wall - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Black Ward - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Blue Ward - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Holy Armor - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Red Ward - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Land Tax - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)
Brainwash - The Dark (DRK)
Green Scarab - Ice Age (ICE)
Blue Scarab - Ice Age (ICE)
Spirit Link - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Armor of Faith - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Kithkin Armor - Weatherlight (WTH)
Flickering Ward - Tempest (TMP)
Limited Resources - Exodus (EXO)
Mask of Law and Grace - Urza's Destiny (UDS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Guildscorn Ward MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash, 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 Guildscorn Ward and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Guildscorn Ward has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-01-24 Hybrid spells and permanents in the Return to Ravnica block are multicolored, even if you cast them with one color of mana.
2013-01-24 The enchanted creature can’t be enchanted or equipped by multicolored Auras and Equipment, it can’t be blocked by multicolored creatures, it can’t be targeted by multicolored spells or abilities from multicolored sources, and all damage dealt to it by multicolored sources is prevented.

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