The other five guilds
Ravnica Allegiance is the second half of the guild pair, covering the five Guilds of Ravnica left out: Azorius, Orzhov, Rakdos, Gruul and Simic. Between the two sets, all ten guilds got a mechanic in the same Standard.
The structure is the appeal. One mechanic per guild, no sharing, so the guild you draft tells you exactly what your deck does. It is the same clean mapping Streets of New Capenna used three years later, on a plane built for it.
Themes
Addendum
Azorius. An instant gets a bonus effect if you cast it during your main phase. It asks you to give up the ambush in exchange for something better, which is a real decision rather than a free upgrade.
Afterlife
Orzhov. When the creature dies, create that many 1/1 white and black Spirit tokens with flying. It makes a body that trades up and still leaves something behind, which is exactly what a grindy deck wants.
Spectacle
Rakdos. An alternative cost you can pay if an opponent lost life this turn. Any life loss counts, not just combat damage, so it turns on more often than it first appears.
Riot
Gruul. As the creature enters, choose a +1/+1 counter or haste. A choice made on arrival rather than in deckbuilding, so the same card is a bigger body or an immediate attack depending on the board.
Adapt
Simic. Pay the adapt cost and, if the creature has no +1/+1 counters, put that many on it. The condition is what keeps it from being a plain mana sink: you cannot adapt the same creature twice unless something removes the counters.
Where You Can Play It
Ravnica Allegiance has left Standard, but that is the only format it left. Here's where each code is legal now.
A bonus-sheet printing doesn't change a card's legality, so each card is legal wherever that card already was. The sheet itself is a Commander, Legacy and Vintage product.
Not Standard-legal. Standard only ever holds the last few years of sets, so everything this old has long since left it. These cards are still playable in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Limited
Five two-color guilds rather than ten pairs, so the format is unusually legible: pick a guild and you have picked a deck.
Azorius
White-blue, addendum
Flyers and tempo, holding up instants and choosing when to cash them in at sorcery speed.
Orzhov
White-black, afterlife
Grind and drain, with bodies that leave Spirits behind when they trade.
Rakdos
Black-red, spectacle
Aggression, where getting an opponent's life total moving unlocks cheaper spells.
Gruul
Red-green, riot
Large creatures early, choosing haste or a counter as the board demands.
Simic
Green-blue, adapt
Counters and mana, the slowest guild and the one with the biggest late game.
FAQ
No. Standard only holds the last few years of sets, so a 2019 release left it long ago. RNA cards are still legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
Azorius, Orzhov, Rakdos, Gruul and Simic. Guilds of Ravnica had covered the other five a few months earlier, so between the two sets all ten guilds had a mechanic in the same Standard.
It is an alternative cost you may pay if an opponent lost life this turn. Any life loss counts, not only combat damage, so a single drain effect or a shockland turns it on.
Riot is a choice made as the creature enters: a +1/+1 counter or haste. Adapt is a cost you pay later, and it only works if the creature has no +1/+1 counters already, so you cannot adapt the same body twice.
The Guild Kits (GK2) are a reprint product, and a reprint does not change a card's legality. Each card is legal wherever that card already was.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Ravnica Allegiance released on Jan 25, 2019; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
TurnZero HQ keeps deck records, MMR, and moments for every Commander night, so you can see which new cards are actually earning their slot.
Create Free Account