Glaive of the Guildpact MTG Card


Glaive of the Guildpact - Guilds of Ravnica
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact — Equipment
Abilities Equip
Released2018-10-05
Set symbol
Set nameGuilds of Ravnica
Set codeGRN
Number236
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byVolkan Baǵa

Key Takeaways

  1. The card provides a creature with superior offense and defense, ideal for maintaining card advantage.
  2. Multicolored decks gain a significant boost, leveraging gate lands to empower creatures.
  3. Equip the Glaive at opportune moments, pairing with your instant speed plays for maximum effect.
Vigilance card art

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.

Text of card

Equipped creature gets +1/+0 for each Gate you control and has vigilance and menace. (A creature with menace can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) Equip (: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Glaive of the Guildpact, the opportunity to bolster your creature’s offensive and defensive capabilities can translate into a sustained lead in card quality on the battlefield. Its ability to provide vigilance and menace ensures that your equipped creature can play an offensive role while still deterring attackers, potentially saving your other creatures and thus safeguarding your hand from needing replacements.

Resource Acceleration: This equipment shines in multi-colored decks, especially those representing the ten guilds of Ravnica. For each gate you control, it grants the equipped creature a tangible power and toughness boost, accelerating your resources on the board by making a single creature a more formidable threat without the need to deploy additional creatures.

Instant Speed: Although the Glaive itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, its inherent synergy with decks that utilize gate lands means that it goes hand in hand with the plethora of instant-speed interactions that gate-focused decks often enable. You can efficiently manage your resources, keeping mana open for instant speed plays, and then equip the Glaive when the timing is advantageous and your opponents are least prepared to handle an enhanced creature.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Holding onto Glaive of the Guildpact might necessitate discarding potentially valuable cards from your hand, which can be particularly detrimental in game states where each card’s value is maximized.

Specific Mana Cost: Although colorless, Glaive of the Guildpact demands a specific alignment with a multicolored deck to fully maximize its potential, which may not always align with your deck’s strategy or the cards at your disposal.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering its mana cost, the investment to cast Glaive of the Guildpact could be steep relative to other equipment cards or game pieces that offer similar or greater benefits for less mana, potentially slowing down your gameplay tempo.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Glaive of the Guildpact is a multi-faceted equipment card that can adapt to various deck strategies, especially those built around multicolored creatures or heavy guild synergies. This makes it a flexible addition that can bolster a wide array of MTG decks.

Combo Potential: With its ability to enhance any equipped creature, Glaive of the Guildpact potentially combines well with cards that capitalize on boosted power or those that thrive on the equipped status, adding a new layer of interaction and synergy to your gameplay.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG environment evolves, certain mechanics gain prominence. Equipment like Glaive of the Guildpact can gain value in a meta with an emphasis on creature-based strategies or the importance of keyword abilities such as vigilance and menace, making it a prudent choice for players looking to stay competitive.


How to beat

Glaive of the Guildpact is a versatile Artifact – Equipment in Magic: The Gathering that can turn any creature into a serious threat on the battlefield. The power of this card lies in its ability to give the equipped creature not only a boost in power and vigilance but also menace, which makes it harder for opponents to block. The enchantment becomes stronger with each Gate you control, which can quickly escalate the threat level.

To counter Glaive of the Guildpact effectively, it’s crucial to focus on a multi-pronged strategy. Keeping creature removal spells in your arsenal is one approach. Simple yet effective spells like Murder or Naturalize allow you to remove either the enchanted creature or the Equipment itself, nullifying the threat. Artifact destruction or bounce spells can also play a key role. Cards such as Disenchant, which can target artifacts or enchantments, give flexibility in dealing with the problem. In addition, managing the number of Gates your opponent controls can limit the power of the Glaive, so land destruction or control cards may also be worth inclusion in your deck.

Overall, by anticipating the enhanced creatures and having a plan to dismantle the components that make the Glaive powerful, you can maintain control over the game and subdue the Guildpact’s advantage.


Cards like Glaive of the Guildpact

The allure of Glaive of the Guildpact lies in its unique ability to both enhance a creature and synergize with a multicolored deck ethos prevalent in MTG. Analogous to cards like Civic Saber, which also gains benefits from the number of colors among the permanents you control, Glaive of the Guildpact stands out with its added perks of vigilance and menace when operating within the rich tapestry of a multicolored setting.

Another paragon in this category is the renowned Cranial Plating, which derives its strength from the number of artifacts you control. While Cranial Plating can dramatically increase creature power, Glaive of the Guildpact’s advantage is two-fold, offering not only power and toughness enhancements but also key strategic combat abilities. This dual utility could be pivotal in multiplayer formats where board presence and evasion are crucial.

Evaluating these analogs shows that Glaive of the Guildpact is a multifaceted tool in MTG, adept at both escalating the power dynamic on the board and providing tactical advantages, especially in decks where diversity in color is a core theme and winning strategy.

Civic Saber - MTG Card versions
Cranial Plating - MTG Card versions
Civic Saber - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Cranial Plating - Fifth Dawn (5DN)

Cards similar to Glaive of the Guildpact by color, type and mana cost

Chaos Orb - MTG Card versions
Winter Orb - MTG Card versions
Amulet of Kroog - MTG Card versions
Nacre Talisman - MTG Card versions
Howling Mine - MTG Card versions
Essence Bottle - MTG Card versions
Emerald Medallion - MTG Card versions
Scrying Glass - MTG Card versions
Cursed Totem - MTG Card versions
Tsabo's Web - MTG Card versions
Millikin - MTG Card versions
Ark of Blight - MTG Card versions
Surestrike Trident - MTG Card versions
Energy Chamber - MTG Card versions
Water Gun Balloon Game - MTG Card versions
Angel's Feather - MTG Card versions
Demon's Horn - MTG Card versions
Elsewhere Flask - MTG Card versions
Dragon's Claw - MTG Card versions
Steel Overseer - MTG Card versions
Chaos Orb - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Winter Orb - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Amulet of Kroog - Rinascimento (RIN)
Nacre Talisman - Ice Age (ICE)
Howling Mine - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Essence Bottle - Tempest (TMP)
Emerald Medallion - Commander Anthology (CMA)
Scrying Glass - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Cursed Totem - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Tsabo's Web - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Millikin - Odyssey (ODY)
Ark of Blight - Scourge (SCG)
Surestrike Trident - Darksteel (DST)
Energy Chamber - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Water Gun Balloon Game - Unhinged (UNH)
Angel's Feather - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Demon's Horn - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Elsewhere Flask - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Dragon's Claw - Duels of the Planeswalkers (DPA)
Steel Overseer - Magic 2011 (M11)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Glaive of the Guildpact MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica, 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 Glaive of the Guildpact and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Glaive of the Guildpact has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-10-05 The equipped creature has vigilance and menace even if you control no Gates.

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