Lieutenants of the Guard MTG Card
2016-08-26 - Number 16
2019-11-07 - Number 159
2020-09-26 - Number CN2-16
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Human Soldier |
| Abilities | Council's dilemma |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Text of card
Council's dilemma — When Lieutenants of the Guard enters the battlefield, starting with you, each player votes for strength or numbers. Put a +1/+1 counter on Lieutenants of the Guard for each strength vote and put a 1/1 white Soldier creature token onto the battlefield for each numbers vote.
Cards like Lieutenants of the Guard
Lieutenants of the Guard is a unique presence in the realm of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It invites comparison with other cards such as Raise the Alarm. Both cards bring multiple creatures into play. However, Lieutenants of the Guard further offers versatility through its council’s dilemma ability, letting players influence the number of creatures summoned based on their vote.
Analogous to this is the card Deploy to the Front. While Deploy to the Front also creates a number of creature tokens, it bases the quantity on the number of creatures already on the battlefield, which could potentially surpass the Lieutenants of the Guard’s limit. Yet, it requires a significantly higher mana investment and lacks the interactive council’s dilemma feature.
Assessing the similarities and evaluating the strategic nuances, Lieutenants of the Guard shines in its blend of creature generation and engaging political gameplay, ensuring its position as a solid card choice for players looking to leverage the power of numbers with a twist of decision-making.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lieutenants of the Guard offers a unique approach to card advantage by allowing you to gather a multitude of creature tokens with its council’s dilemma mechanic. This can lead to significant board presence, especially in multiplayer games.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, the tokens generated by Lieutenants of the Guard can be a boon for strategies revolving around convoke or other mechanics that utilize creatures to fuel powerful spells and abilities.
Instant Speed: Although Lieutenants of the Guard is cast at sorcery speed, the tokens it creates can be used to surprise opponents during combat or be sacrificed for instant-speed interactions in decks that benefit from such synergies.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While summoning Lieutenants of the Guard onto the battlefield, players must keep in mind the potential need to discard other valuable cards from their hand. This necessity can be particularly burdensome when the player’s hand is already running low, making it a difficult card to play at critical moments without a substantial trade-off.
Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a precise combination of mana types to be played effectively. The need for white mana in its cost can hinder its inclusion in decks that span multiple colors or those that might not always have the right mana available at the crucial time. This can limit the card’s versatility and make it a less optimal choice for many deck builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment for casting Lieutenants of the Guard is on the upper end for the benefits it delivers, which might deter players from adding it to their deck. In competitive play where mana efficiency is key to victory, many might opt for alternatives that provide similar or greater value for a lower mana cost, thereby casting aside Lieutenants of the Guard for more economically viable options.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Lieutenants of the Guard is easily adaptable to various strategies, fitting into token decks or those that capitalize on casting creatures with a myriad of effects.
Combo Potential: This card works well with abilities that benefit from deploying multiple creatures at once, such as battalion or convoke, or in strategies that focus on quantity of creatures rather than individual power.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state that favors wide strategies over tall, Lieutenants of the Guard can serve as a crucial element to outpace control decks and hold off aggressive opponents with an expanding army of tokens.
How to beat
Lieutenants of the Guard offer a strategic layer to the game, providing players with flexibility in their creature counts. One way to effectively navigate against this card is by employing removal spells that target multiple creatures, such as board wipes. These spells negate the card’s advantage by systematically clearing the creatures it might generate.
Another tactic involves utilizing cards that prevent the activation of its ability. Counterspells are quite useful when Lieutenants of the Guard is cast, and can help preserve the balance on the board. Additionally, pinpoint removals are effective for dealing with the initial body of the card without having to address an army of Soldier tokens.
Keeping track of the number of opponents you have and understanding when to hold back removal or when to decisively eliminate a threat is essential. Timing is key; it’s better to have the tools to disrupt the play or minimize its impact before the Lieutenants can significantly alter the battlefield’s state.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lieutenants of the Guard MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown and Mystery Booster, 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 Lieutenants of the Guard and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Lieutenants of the Guard Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-08-26 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Johannes Voss.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-08-26 | Conspiracy: Take the Crown | CN2 | 16 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Johannes Voss | |
| 2 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 159 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Johannes Voss | |
| 3 | The List | PLST | CN2-16 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Johannes Voss |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lieutenants of the Guard has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Lieutenants of the Guard card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2016-08-23 | Because the votes are made in turn order, each player will know the votes of players who voted beforehand. |
| 2016-08-23 | If a creature with an enters-the-battlefield council’s dilemma ability leaves the battlefield before that ability resolves, players can still vote for any option that would put +1/+1 counters on that creature, even though—or perhaps especially because—those votes won’t generate an effect. |
| 2016-08-23 | No player votes until the spell or ability resolves. Any responses to that spell or ability must be made without knowing the outcome of the vote. |
| 2016-08-23 | Players can’t do anything between voting and finishing the resolution of the spell or ability that included the vote. |
| 2016-08-23 | The effects of each council’s dilemma ability happen in the stated order. First the vote occurs, then the first effect, and finally the second effect. |
| 2016-08-23 | Unlike the will of the council cards from the original Conspiracy set, where a majority of votes determined what happened, each vote made for a council’s dilemma card adds to the ultimate effect. |
| 2016-08-23 | You must vote for one of the available options. You can’t abstain. |