House Guildmage MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Wizard
Abilities	Surveil
Released	2018-10-05
Set symbol
Set name	Guilds of Ravnica
Set code	GRN
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	177
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Winona Nelson

Key Takeaways

Surveil ability helps players filter decks and maintain a strategic edge by selecting cards needed for victory.
Instant speed versatility allows reactive plays, disrupting opponents and fortifying your strategic position.
Deck synergy is enhanced with House Guildmage’s tapping ability, valuable for control and combo strategies.

Text of card

, : Target creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. , : Surveil 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: House Guildmage provides a steady flow of card filtering by allowing you to surveil at will. This helps sift through your deck to find the spells and resources you need more efficiently while bolstering graveyard strategies.

Resource Acceleration: Although House Guildmage doesn’t accelerate resources directly, its ability to keep your hand filled with essential cards indirectly accelerates your game plan, letting you deploy your resources more effectively over time.

Instant Speed: The power of House Guildmage shines with its instant speed abilities. This versatility lets you adapt to the game’s evolving board state, using its abilities reactively to disrupt opponents’ strategies or proactively to enhance your own position.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing House Guildmage often comes with the need to toss another card from your hand into the graveyard to activate its abilities. This cost means you’re sacrificing card advantage and could be detrimental in late-game scenarios where every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: House Guildmage’s abilities require blue and black mana. This specificity can restrict the card’s integration into multicolor decks that may not have consistent access to both types of mana, potentially limiting its versatility across various strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the mana cost to utilize House Guildmage’s abilities, players may find it cumbersome compared to other options. There are creatures and spells that can provide similar or better effects for a more efficient mana investment, making it a less optimal choice when constructing a mana curve.

Reasons to Include House Guildmage in Your Collection

Versatility: House Guildmage from the Ravnica set serves a multifunctional role in gameplay. Its ability to lock down an opponent’s creature as well as giving you card advantage makes it a fit for various control and midrange decks seeking to influence the board while digging deeper into their library.

Combo Potential: With its creature-tapping ability, House Guildmage works well in synergistic strategies that capitalize on tapping and untapping mechanics or those that require a tapped creature as a resource for combinations or spells. This flexibility can open up several opportunities to outmaneuver your adversaries.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG landscape evolves, cards that offer control over your opponents’ creatures become increasingly significant in tipping the scales of the game. The House Guildmage can become a strategic piece in decks tailored to combat creature-heavy or tempo-based opponents, remaining relevant in various competitive environments.

How to beat

House Guildmage, belonging to the vibrant family of MTG cards, poses a tactical challenge on the battlefield. Its ability to lock down opponents’ creatures can be a real thorn in any player’s side. To navigate around this, it’s essential to deal with the Guildmage swiftly. Removal spells that can bypass its mana activation are your best friends here. Cards such as Fatal Push or Shock can eliminate the Guildmage before its controller gets a chance to use its abilities.

Alternatively, creature spells with hexproof prevent the House Guildmage from targeting them, thus neutralizing one of its key functionalities. Counterspells are also an effective strategy, not only negating the Guildmage’s casting but also any activation of its abilities if it manages to sneak onto the board. Matching the Guildmage in terms of mana efficiency is also crucial; ensuring you’re able to play your threats while keeping mana open for removal is the delicate balance needed to overcome this foe.

Tackling a House Guildmage involves a mix of proactive and reactive plays, as well as a good read on the opponent’s mana pool and potential to activate its abilities. An active awareness of these elements can help you retain control of the game, even in the face of such a versatile adversary.

Cards like House Guildmage

House Guildmage stands out as an intriguing multiverse operative in MTG, showcasing adaptability akin to creatures like Azorius Guildmage. Both bear the Guildmage title and offer modal abilities, but House Guildmage demands a mana investment to either stall an opponent’s creature or surveil, enhancing deck manipulation. In contrast, Azorius Guildmage focuses on stifling nonland permanents and countering activated abilities, tailored for control strategies.

Dimir Guildmage is another counterpart worth mentioning. It shares the same CMC (Converted Mana Cost) with House Guildmage and proposes different modes – card drawing and opponent’s hand disruption. The choice between these Guildmages can influence the subtle balance between aggressive control and calculated deck filtering. Lastly, there’s the Murmuring Mystic, which does not share the Guildmage moniker but synergizes with House Guildmage’s surveil option by creating a steady stream of flying tokens to bolster your defensive or offensive lines.

In essence, although each of these cards can find a home in similar deck types, the House Guildmage offers a unique blend of control and deck manipulation that can be pivotal in the dance of MTG matches, marking its distinct role within the repertoire of blue-black spells.

Cards similar to House Guildmage by color, type and mana cost

Sygg, River Cutthroat - MTG Card versions

Inkfathom Infiltrator - MTG Card versions

Krydle of Baldur's Gate - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase House Guildmage 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 House Guildmage and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where House 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
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-10-05	House Guildmage’s first ability doesn’t tap the creature. It can target any creature, tapped or untapped. If that creature is already untapped at the beginning of its controller’s next untap step, the effect won’t do anything.
2018-10-05	When you surveil, you may put all the cards you look at back on top of your library, you may put all of those cards into your graveyard, or you may put some of those cards on top and the rest of them into your graveyard.
2018-10-05	You perform the actions stated on a card in sequence. For some spells and abilities, you’ll surveil last. For others, you’ll surveil and then perform other actions.