Miner's Guidewing MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Bird |
| Abilities | Explore,Flying, Vigilance |
| Released | 2023-11-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Set code | LCI |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 24 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Allen Douglas |
Text of card
Flying, vigilance When Miner's Guidewing dies, target creature you control explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
Cards like Miner's Guidewing
Miner’s Guidewing brings a fresh twist to the creature lineup in Magic: The Gathering. It sits alongside cards like Faerie Miscreant, which shares the ability to draw a card upon entering the battlefield. However, unlike the Miscreant, Miner’s Guidewing requires another creature with the same name to be on the battlefield or in the graveyard to activate this ability. This both limits and expands strategic play depending on your deck setup.
Delving into the realm of flying creatures, we encounter Cloudkin Seer. This card draws you a card without any additional prerequisites, but it does come at a higher mana cost than Miner’s Guidewing. Additionally, Squadron Hawk offers a unique drawing mechanic as well, allowing you to search for other copies of it when it lands on the field. While not a direct card draw, it effectively increases hand access to similar creatures.
Ultimately, Miner’s Guidewing garners a distinct position among its peers by incentivizing deckbuilding around creature-specific synergies, adding layers of strategy to the gameplay within Magic: The Gathering. Its nuanced requirement sets it apart, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity to the discerning player.
Cards similar to Miner's Guidewing by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Miner's Guidewing. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Azorius Midrange | Standard | Azorius Flash | Store Championship - The Mythic Store |
 | Decklist | Free form | UOL LCI Sealed League | |
 | Five-color | Free form | Torino Tournament - Lost Caverns of Ixalan | |
 | Naya Aggro | Gladiator | Sword and Sandals Showdown: AM Week 08 2024 | |
 | Boros Convoke | Standard | Boros Convoke | Standard League 2024-02-12 |
 | Boros Control | Free form | Standard Pauper Tournament Feb 2024 | |
| Azorius Aggro | Standard | Azorius Aggro | Standard League 2023-12-04 |
 | Esper Aggro | Gladiator | Gladiator Games: We're Back | |
| Azorius Tempo | Standard | Azorius Flash | The Pizza Box Open: Standard |
| Azorius Flash | Standard | Azorius Flash | Standard Challenge 64 2023-12-03 (1) |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Miner’s Guidewing offers players the ability to accumulate card advantage by replacing itself in your hand when it dies, ensuring you don’t lose out on resources.
Resource Acceleration: This nimble flyer excels at ramping up your resources, as it generates a Treasure token upon death, giving you an extra burst of mana for future turns.
Instant Speed: Its ability to block an attacker and then provide an additional card at instant speed during the combat phase can subtly shift the momentum in your favor without missing a beat.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Miner’s Guidewing necessitates the player to discard another card as part of its activation. In tight situations, when hand preservation is critical, this can be a substantial drawback, forcing players to make potentially harmful trade-offs.
Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a precise combination of one generic and one red mana to play. This specificity restricts its inclusion in multi-colored decks that might struggle with mana consistency, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck archetypes.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a 3/1 flyer, the cost to get Miner’s Guidewing on the battlefield is notably higher than some other options available. Players might find that the initial mana investment does not yield proportional strategic advantage, especially when there are alternative cards that could offer more immediate or impactful board presence.
Reasons to Include Miner’s Guidewing in Your Collection
Versatility: Miner’s Guidewing provides a multi-faceted role in decks keen on flying creatures and graveyard synergy. As a flier, it can be a consistent threat in the air while its graveyard recursion ability helps you bring back key cards to your hand, ensuring your resources are never wasted.
Combo Potential: This creature’s ability to return another nonland card from your graveyard when it dies means it’s an excellent piece in combos, playing nicely with strategies that revolve around self-mill or sacrifice for greater gains.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state where graveyard interaction is common and valuable, Miner’s Guidewing finds its place. It’s a solid card that interacts well within various metagames that appreciate iterative value and the resilience of flying creatures.
How to beat
Miner’s Guidewing is a creature that has quickly found a niche within MTG’s vast array of flying cards. Its ability to work as a stepping stone to card advantage while hovering on the board makes it a card worth considering in strategies revolving around flying synergies. To effectively counter Miner’s Guidewing, it’s crucial to understand both its strengths and timing.
One approach is to employ instant speed removal spells that can target Miner’s Guidewing before its controller has the opportunity to take advantage of its graveyard-to-library ability. Cards with Flash that can block and defeat it in combat are also useful, as they can catch an opponent off guard. Additionally, cards that strip away flying or leverage reach can neutralize Miner’s Guidewing’s evasion. Board wipes are another avenue, clearing the way regardless of flying creatures, but it’s important to note the window between Miner’s Guidewing’s introduction to the battlefield and an opponent’s end step, as that is when it’s most vulnerable to sorcery-speed interactions.
Ultimately, a combination of timing, disruption, and creature control can keep Miner’s Guidewing at bay, maintaining the balance of play and preventing your opponent from gaining that all-important card advantage.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Miner's Guidewing MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 Miner's Guidewing and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Miner's Guidewing has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Miner's Guidewing card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-11-10 | If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate. |
| 2023-11-10 | If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard. |
| 2023-11-10 | If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.) |
| 2023-11-10 | Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again. |
Guide to Vigilance card ability
In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.