Combine Guildmage MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Merfolk Wizard
Released	2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica Allegiance
Set code	RNA
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	163
Frame	2015
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Yeong-Hao Han

Key Takeaways

Enables constant card draw, ensuring players maintain momentum and options during play.
Facilitates faster adaptation of creatures, optimizing mana and board presence.
Instant speed ability grants significant tactical flexibility and reactive plays.

Text of card

, : This turn, each creature you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. , : Move a +1/+1 counter from target creature you control onto another target creature you control.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Combine Guildmage has the ability to manipulate the top of your library, potentially drawing you into more options and better control of your game. This can keep your hand filled with useful spells and creatures, ensuring you don’t lose momentum.

Resource Acceleration: Its first ability can assist with early-game board presence by allowing you to adapt creatures sooner. By lowering the cost of adaptation, the guildmage accelerates your resource usage, letting you deploy threats and utilize your mana efficiently.

Instant Speed: Combine Guildmage’s second ability works at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to adjust your strategy based on the flow of the game. Whether it’s giving a creature trample to close out the game or setting up favorable blocks, the instant speed of this ability means you can react swiftly to changing board states.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To fully utilize Combine Guildmage’s abilities, players must often forgo valuable cards in hand, which could otherwise contribute to strategic advances on the battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: Tailored for Simic Synergy, the Guildmage demands both green and blue mana, potentially straining mana bases not dedicated to these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing two mana can be quite the commitment, especially when that cost only activates one of the Guildmage’s abilities, which can be less impactful without a board to support it.

Reasons to Include Combine Guildmage in Your Collection

Versatility: This Guildmage from the Simic Combine commands adaptability, easily fitting into a plethora of deck builds where manipulating +1/+1 counters is a strategic advantage.

Combo Potential: With abilities to both hasten the growth of your creatures and to draw you cards, Combine Guildmage’s skill set can synergize with countless combos, especially in a deck that thrives on +1/+1 counters.

Meta-Relevance: Given the current landscape, where strategies often revolve around creature-based synergies, Combine Guildmage can serve as a pivotal piece in bolstering your board presence and maintaining card flow advantage over opponents.

How to beat

The Combine Guildmage card presents a strategic challenge in any MTG game, boasting of the ability to tweak creature strength and play with the stack by untapping another target creature. To effectively counter this card, timing and disruption are key. Players are advised to leverage removal spells that can target the guildmage before its controller gets the opportunity to fully utilize its abilities.

An effective strategy includes employing instant-speed removal spells that can disrupt the guildmage’s abilities mid-combo. Cards like Murder or Lightning Bolt provide an efficient solution as they can be cast in response to the guildmage’s activation, ensuring it never gets a chance to influence the board. Thoughtseize is another excellent preemptive option to remove the guildmage from your opponent’s hand, thus derailing their planned synergies.

Board wipes can also be formidable tools, wiping clean the slate of all creatures and negating the guildmage’s influence in one fell swoop. Ultimately, understanding the right moment to strike and having the appropriate countermeasures in your deck can turn the tide against a Combine Guildmage and any synergistic strategies it aims to support.

Cards like Combine Guildmage

Combine Guildmage stands out as a versatile option among creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. With the ability to control the flow of the battlefield by manipulating +1/+1 counters and the adaptability of creatures, it shares similarities with other guildmage cards such as Zegana Guildmage. Zegana offers card draw perks and also focuses on +1/+1 counters, yet lacks the same level of board manipulation that Combine Guildmage provides.

Diving deeper into the similitude, Merfolk Skydiver from the War of the Spark set echoes the synergy with +1/+1 counters, offering both proliferation and a counter increase upon entering the battlefield. While Merfolk Skydiver excels in enhancing the power of individual creatures, Combine Guildmage applies a more strategic approach by granting additional utility through its abilities. Biomancer’s Familiar is another related card, reducing the activation cost of abilities, which complements the Combine Guildmage’s tactics by making its abilities more accessible during play.

Ultimately, Combine Guildmage offers a unique blend of control and augmenting creatures that makes it a cornerstone in counter-centric decks. The card’s flexibility and strategic depth create opportunities that distinguish it within the multiverse of creature-based Magic: The Gathering cards.

Biomancer's Familiar - MTG Card versions

Merfolk Skydiver - War of the Spark (WAR)

Biomancer's Familiar - Ravnica Allegiance Promos (PRNA)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Combine Guildmage MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Combine Guildmage and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Combine Guildmage has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2019-01-25	If a creature would normally enter the battlefield with no +1/+1 counters on it, Combine Guildmage’s first ability causes it to enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.
2019-01-25	If either target creature is an illegal target by the time Combine Guildmage’s second ability tries to resolve, nothing happens. No creature loses or gets a +1/+1 counter.
2019-01-25	If the first target creature for Combine Guildmage’s second ability has no +1/+1 counters on it as the ability resolves, nothing happens. The second target creature doesn’t get a +1/+1 counter.