Mage's Guile MTG Card

Mage’s Guile ensures continuous hand supply and unexpected game tactics by replacing drawn cards. It enables instant-speed play, allowing players to disrupt opponents and shield crucial creatures effectively. Despite versatility, its blue mana requirement and discard cost can limit usage across different decks.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Cycling
Released	2002-10-07
Set symbol
Set name	Onslaught
Set code	ONS
Number	91
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Edward P. Beard, Jr.

Text of card

Target creature can't be the target of spells or abilities this turn. Cycling o U (o U, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.)

"Next time, don't bother."

Cards like Mage's Guile

Mage’s Guile finds its niche within the realm of instant-speed spells in Magic: The Gathering that offer protective measures for creatures. It shares common ground with cards like Emerge Unscathed, which also provides protection to a creature but with the added ability to rebound, possibly safeguarding the same creature or another on a subsequent turn. Mage’s Guile, while lacking recursion, compensates with the flexibility of targeting any permanent, not just creatures.

Another card in close kinship with Mage’s Guile is Mizzium Skin. This instant spell affords not only protection from the color of your choice but also boosts a creature’s toughness. Contrarily, Mizzium Skin limits its guard to only creatures and doesn’t shield other permanents, which clearly delineates its applications from Mage’s Guile.

Assessing the capabilities of similar spells, Mage’s Guile stands out as a versatile shield that provides comprehensive coverage against multi-colored threats. Its ability to target any permanent gives players an edge in safeguarding key pieces on the board, a trait that positions Mage’s Guile as a valuable asset in MTG decks focused on defense and strategy.

Cards similar to Mage's Guile by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mage’s Guile lets you replace itself by drawing a card, keeping your hand full and ensuring your strategies are unpredictably versatile.

Resource Acceleration: It can potentially unlock mana in colors that might be constrained in your deck, smoothing out your game and giving you the edge in casting more demanding spells sooner.

Instant Speed: Mage’s Guile can be cast during your opponent’s turn, offering tactical flexibility to disrupt their plans and protect your key creatures from targeted removal or unfavorable interactions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mage’s Guile obligates players to discard another card, which could strain hand resources especially in tight game situations.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s requirement for blue mana restricts it to decks that support this color, potentially excluding it from a variety of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of two, including a blue mana, Mage’s Guile’s ability to only grant hexproof until end of turn can be deemed costly when compared to other protective spells in the MTG universe.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mage’s Guile offers any deck an instant way to protect prized creatures or key spells. It’s perfect for decks that require a safeguard for their important plays, maintaining momentum against disruption.

Combo Potential: In decks built around combo executions, Mage’s Guile acts as an affordable shield for crucial moments, ensuring that your combo pieces survive to execute their winning conditions.

Meta-Relevance: With frequent control and removal spells in competitive play, having Mage’s Guile in your collection means being prepared to counteract these threats, keeping your board presence secure and your strategies uninterrupted.

How to beat Mage’s Guile

Mage’s Guile is a captivating card with the ability to give a creature hexproof until the end of the turn, making it a useful tool in protecting key creatures from targeted spells or abilities. While hexproof can certainly be a thorn in an opponent’s side, it doesn’t make a creature invincible. One effective way to deal with creatures protected by Mage’s Guile is through the use of board wipes. Cards like Wrath of God or Damnation can clear the field without targeting, bypassing the hexproof safeguard.

Another strategy is to play around the potential casting of Mage’s Guile. This means tactically choosing when to deploy removal spells. By applying pressure and forcing your opponent to use Mage’s Guile defensively, you can aim to exhaust their resources and gain an advantage. Counterspells are also a solid approach, waiting to negate Mage’s Guile itself when it’s cast.

Lastly, you can employ non-targeted removal effects that attach to the creature at a later time or at the beginning of upkeep, such as Pacifism, which once in place, will not be affected by hexproof granted after the fact. Patience and timing, coupled with board-management spells, generally provide a strong backbone in outmaneuvering the protection abilities of cards like Mage’s Guile.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mage's Guile MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught, 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 Mage's Guile and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mage's Guile has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-10-01	Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.