Guard Duty MTG Card

Neutralizes key threats effectively, tipping the balance of the game to your advantage with minimal cost. Boosts resource efficiency by allowing other strategic plays and maintains your capacity to react to opponents. Due to its flexibility, it’s a must-have for virtually any MTG collection that values control and strategy.

Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
2010-04-23 - Number 23

Iconic Masters (IMA)
2017-11-17 - Number 22

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has defender.

"I was told these were standard issue. Do I look standard to you?"

Cards like Guard Duty

Guard Duty is an interesting card within Magic the Gathering’s vast array of enchantments designed to neutralize threats. It shares similarities with other cards such as Pacifism, which also binds creatures without destroying them. While Pacifism restricts the creature from attacking or blocking, Guard Duty takes it a step further by removing all abilities, rendering any formidable creature a mere defender.

Faith’s Fetters is another card that echoes this immobilizing theme, extending the effect to any permanent and not just creatures, and also granting you life points. Though more versatile, it comes with a higher mana cost compared to the lean one mana of Guard Duty. Another card worth mentioning is Claustrophobia, which taps the creature in addition to preventing it from untapping during its controller’s untap step—effectively a more permanent version of what Guard Duty achieves.

Each of these cards has its own place in a player’s strategic toolbox, but for those looking to add a quick, cost-effective solution to deal with potential threats, Guard Duty provides a simplistic yet powerful option for controlling the flow of the game.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Guard Duty provides a form of card advantage through its ability to neutralize a major threat on the battlefield without having to use multiple cards. This one-for-one answer can effectively remove an opponent’s key creature from the combat equation, maintaining or tilting the card balance in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While Guard Duty itself doesn’t directly accelerate resource generation, it can indirectly contribute to resource advantage. By controlling a potential threat with a single low-cost spell, you allocate your mana efficiently, preserving resources for other strategic plays in your next turns.

Instant Speed: Guard Duty’s nature as an enchantment means it’s not at instant speed, but its low mana cost enables players to cast it while still keeping mana open for other instant-speed interactions within the same turn. This characteristic allows you to remain reactive to your opponents’ moves while establishing control on the board.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Guard Duty may not require discarding, but can compel a player to commit to a defensive strategy, essentially ‘discarding’ offensive opportunities.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a white mana cost, which restricts its inclusion to white or multi-color decks, potentially reducing its flexibility for players running other color combinations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not notably high, any cost commitment to a single removal can be risky, as this could be neutralized or bypassed, leaving the player at a resource disadvantage against opponents.

Reasons to Include Guard Duty in Your Collection

Versatility: Guard Duty transforms any creature into a vigilant defender, seamlessly integrating into decks that focus on control or protecting life totals.

Combo Potential: It can pair with tap/untap mechanics to utilize creatures in ways other than attacking and fits well in enchantment synergistic decks.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-based strategies often dominating the field, having a cost-effective way to neutralize key threats is crucial, making Guard Duty a sharp addition to your arsenal.

How to beat

Guard Duty offers a unique control mechanism in MTG by neutralizing a creature’s ability to attack or block. It’s a simple enchantment that effectively turns any creature into a passive bystander. This type of ability, attaching to a creature as an Aura, can be found on various cards, including Pacifism, which shares a similar disable function without altering a creature’s abilities.

When faced with Guard Duty, cards like Disenchant shine, allowing you to remove such Auras. It operates at an instant speed, providing flexibility within your game plan. Another tactic is to rely on Hexproof or Shroud effects, which prevent Guard Duty from latching onto your creatures in the first place. Cards such as Swiftfoot Boots can provide such protections while giving a creature haste to boot.

Strategically, Guard Duty can bind you to a passive board state if applied at the wrong time. Yet, understanding how to counteract or circumvent its effects, whether through enchantment removal or preemptive protection, can preserve your battlefield presence and offensive capabilities.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Guard Duty MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and Iconic 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 Guard Duty and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Guard Duty Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2017-11-17. Illustrated by Karl Kopinski.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2010-04-23	Rise of the Eldrazi	ROE		23	2003	Normal	Black	Karl Kopinski
2	2017-11-17	Iconic Masters	IMA		22	2015	Normal	Black	Karl Kopinski

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Guard Duty has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal