Tyrant Guard MTG Card


Tyrant Guard secures creatures and influences combat, deterring opponents from attacking your valuable board presence. Despite its defensive strength, Tyrant Guard’s specific mana and discard requirements may restrict its playability in certain decks. Its substantial defense and board impact make Tyrant Guard a strategic addition to any MTG player’s collection for meta resilience.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Tyranid
Abilities Ravenous,Shieldwall
Power 3
Toughness 3

Text of card

Ravenous (This creature enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it. If X is 5 or more, draw a card when it enters.) Shieldwall — Sacrifice Tyrant Guard: Creatures you control with counters on them gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.


Cards like Tyrant Guard

Tyrant Guard is an interesting entry in creature cards within Magic: The Gathering, bearing resemblance to other formidable defenders. Comparable to the likes of Loyal Guardian, Tyrant Guard provides robust protection for your other creatures and can be a key part of strategies focused on creature-based defense. While Loyal Guardian may not share the exact abilities, it too offers a substantial presence and comes with the added boon of bolstering your entire team with +1/+1 counters, provided you control your commander.

Likewise, there’s Guardian of the Ages, another fierce protector that turns into an offensive threat once it gets activated. Tyrant Guard, unlike Guardian of the Ages, starts out as a defensively-oriented card without any condition to become a threat. Another similar card is Silent Arbiter, which limits combat to a single creature per combat much like Tyrant Guard’s influence over the battlefield can restrict your opponent’s options. Silent Arbiter’s effect is different in scope but both greatly impact combat dynamics.

Analyzing the role each of these cards plays, Tyrant Guard certainly earns its spot in decks that favor a strong defensive stance. Its straightforward approach to safeguarding your creatures makes it a dependable choice in MTG matchups where resilience is needed.

Loyal Guardian - MTG Card versions
Guardian of the Ages - MTG Card versions
Silent Arbiter - MTG Card versions
Loyal Guardian - MTG Card versions
Guardian of the Ages - MTG Card versions
Silent Arbiter - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Tyrant Guard by color, type and mana cost

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Rysorian Badger - MTG Card versions
Sabertooth Cobra - MTG Card versions
Quirion Druid - MTG Card versions
Hungry Hungry Heifer - MTG Card versions
Titania's Chosen - MTG Card versions
Taoist Mystic - MTG Card versions
Femeref Archers - MTG Card versions
Steel Leaf Champion - MTG Card versions
Realmwalker - MTG Card versions
Topiary Stomper - MTG Card versions
Territorial Scythecat - MTG Card versions
Wirewood Savage - MTG Card versions
Reki, the History of Kamigawa - MTG Card versions
Timberwatch Elf - MTG Card versions
Pincher Beetles - MTG Card versions
Awakener Druid - MTG Card versions
Brindle Boar - MTG Card versions
Wood Elves - MTG Card versions
Rot Wolf - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Tyrant Guard card can potentially generate card advantage by preserving valuable creatures on the battlefield. Its ability to act as a resilient blocker often forces your opponent into unfavorable trades or deters attacks entirely, effectively saving your key pieces from harm.

Resource Acceleration: While this card itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources in the traditional sense of providing additional mana, it indirectly contributes to resource acceleration by helping maintain board presence. This allows you to divert resources otherwise spent on defending yourself to furthering your game plan.

Instant Speed: Although the Tyrant Guard does not operate at instant speed, its ever-present threat on the board influences the pace of the game. Opponents must consider the risk of attacking into a potential Tyrant Guard, which can impact their decision-making process much like the threat of an instant speed interaction.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must discard another card to deploy Tyrant Guard which can set you back if your hand is already depleted.

Specific Mana Cost: Tyrant Guard requires a mix of colorless and green mana which may not seamlessly fit into all deck types, potentially limiting its versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost positioned on the higher end of the spectrum, Tyrant Guard faces competition from cards providing similar defensive capabilities at a lower cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tyrant Guard’s robust defensive abilities enable it to shield key creatures and planeswalkers across various deck themes. Whether in a control setup or an aggressive strategy that values crucial board pieces, this card’s adaptability is a significant asset.

Combo Potential: Tyrant Guard complements strategies centered around creature synergies. Its ability to act as a resilient defender can be exploited in combos that require maintaining a stable board state. This makes it a seamless inclusion in decks that revolve around intricate creature interactions.

Meta-Relevance: As the game’s landscape evolves, Tyrant Guard maintains relevance by offering solid resistance against many of the prevalent aggressive strategies. Its presence alone can shift the pace of the game, making it a strategic piece in matchups where endurance is key to outlasting opponents.


How to Beat

Tyrant Guard stands as a formidable creature in the world of MTG. Its robust defense stats and potential to protect other creatures make it a daunting barrier for many strategies. To overcome it, consider employing removal spells that can circumvent its defensive prowess. Spells such as Path to Exile or Doom Blade can effectively remove Tyrant Guard from the game regardless of its size or abilities.

Alternatively, one can sidestep its strength by employing strategies that don’t engage with it directly. Decks that focus on direct damage, evasion abilities, or win conditions that don’t involve combat can render the Tyrant Guard’s defensive angles less effective. Utilizing bounce spells, like Unsummon or Cyclonic Rift, can temporarily remove the guard from the battlefield, thereby providing an opportunity to strike directly at your opponent’s life total.

Establishing a control-heavy strategy also diminishes the Tyrant Guard’s impact on the game. Counterspells, mass removal, or transformation effects, like Imprisoned in the Moon, can mitigate the card’s advantages, allowing for a tactical and satisfying victory against what initially seems like an insurmountable defense.


BurnMana Recommendations

Assessing the Tyrant Guard’s role in MTG, we see a card with strong defensive potential and an influence that can pivot a game’s outcome. It’s vital for players to ponder how this card meshes with their deck’s mechanics and overall strategy. Whether it’s safeguarding your invaluable creatures or posing a robust blockade against adversaries, the importance of such a unique card should not be underestimated. We encourage MTG enthusiasts to further explore Tyrant Guard’s synergies and its place in the current meta. Discover more strategic insights and fine-tune your collection with us, crafting decks that are not only resilient but formidable in the arena.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tyrant Guard MTG card by a specific set like Warhammer 40,000 Commander and Warhammer 40,000 Commander, 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 Tyrant Guard and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tyrant Guard Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-10-07 and 2022-10-07. Illustrated by Xavier Ribeiro.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12022-10-07Warhammer 40,000 Commander40K 103★2015NormalBlackXavier Ribeiro
22022-10-07Warhammer 40,000 Commander40K 1032015NormalBlackXavier Ribeiro

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tyrant Guard has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2022-10-07 A creature with ravenous gets its counters as it enters the battlefield. It doesn’t enter the battlefield first and then get its counters. Any triggered ability that looks for a creature with a certain power or toughness entering the battlefield will see the counters when it checks to see if it should trigger.
2022-10-07 If a permanent spell with ravenous is copied, the copy will have the same value for X, and the token permanent that the spell becomes as it enters the battlefield will enter with X counters.
2022-10-07 If another permanent enters the battlefield as a copy of a creature with Ravenous, it will not enter with any counters from the ravenous ability.
2022-10-07 The triggered ability that checks to see if X is 5 or greater refers to the value of X that was chosen as the spell was cast, which may be different from the number of counters it entered with if there are replacement effects involved. This is also true for any other ability that it has which refers to X and triggers when it enters the battlefield.