guile? good?

[Zelow]

how do you make a good monoblue guile deck? this card has really been on my mind and i have been wondering how good it could be? got any deck lists. and how would top counterbalance be in there?

[Rock Lee]

A great move in vintage, when considering new card choices, is to think of:

A: What is this better than?
B: Why is it better than A?
C: Am I just smoking crack and deceived by myself in thinking that B is true?

Most people get caught up on the "C" of that process.

When looking at Guile, I would personally say that Future Sight fills the role better and for less mana. You can even give it legs if you want in the form of a Magus.


Don't smoke crack kids.

[GrandpaBelcher]

This is Jerry Yang's mostly mono-blue list from the recent 23 person tournament in Sandusky, Ohio.  He made top eight.

4x Brainstorm
4x Counterspell
4x Fire & Ice
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
3x Isochron Scepter
3x Rhystic Study (lol, so good)
2x Misdirection
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Boomerang
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Echoing Truth
1x Guile
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Time Walk
1x Tinker
1x Black Lotus
1x Lotus Petal
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
10x Island
2x Flooded Strand
2x Polluted Delta
2x Volcanic Island
1x Library of Alexandria

Sideboard
4x Coast Watcher
4x Energy Flux
4x Sower of Temptation
3x Back to Basics

In talking to him about Guile he points out that there are a lot of Vintage decks that don't have an answer to a resolved 6/6 nearly unblockable guy, especially not one that makes all your counterspells (12 in this deck) into 2-for-1s.  Of course, you also need to be able to judge threats and be able to out-Magic your opponent like Jerry Yang can.

I'm not sure how Guile gets compared to Future Sight, but when you're talking about cards with UUU in the mana cost, the difference between UUU3 and UUU2 isn't that much.  Plus, Guile is an on-board game winning beater, whereas Future Sight is an enchantment, and Magus of the Future is a creature less than half the size of Guile.

[TopSecret]

I don't have a list right now,
but I think that Guile has potential in a slower mid-range blue deck.

I like the idea; it reminds me of the Platinum Angel control deck.
Perhaps they could be hybridized? Pact of Negation is pretty good when you tap out for Guile.

Oh, and Guile + Chalice of the Void (@ 0) + a Mox = Infinite Storm (I think, please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Similarly, if the above example works, then playing Chalice @ two and then replaying Brainfreeze could be nuts.
It wouldn't have to be maindeck, either; it could be Cunning Wished for.
Hightide&Guile.dec... That would make my day.
Oh, also, Remand is good with Guile. 1U, counter a spell, draw a card. That sounds pretty good to me.
Coincidentally, Remand is also good with Brainfreeze.
The only problem with playing Chalice in a Brainfreeze deck is the deckbuilding constraints it would create,
depending on what kind of combo-kill you wanted to focus on.
I'll let you know if I can make a working combo-curve for that. It would probably prove complicated.

The main problem is getting Guile into play.
The best two ways I can think of are Hightide and/or playing a control deck that slows down the game.
Other methods, like Oath of Druids or Show and Tell are probably not worth it.

Yeah, I've been considering Guile as well, so any ideas are welcome.

You could always just plop him into a Fish deck as a one 'of.
I have limited testing with it, but so far it's been fairly effective. He pitches to Force!

Another idea would be to play him in a Trinket Mage deck.
Trinket Mage can search out a Lotus or a Mana Crypt to play Guile the following turn.
Trinket Mage would also open up more potential lines of play with Counterbalance, by fetching Sensei's Top, which is also synergistic with Guile.
Heck, Trinket Mage could fetch the Chalice for the infinite combo!

[LotusHead]

Another idea would be to play him in a Trinket Mage deck.
Trinket Mage can search out a Lotus or a Mana Crypt to play Guile the following turn.
Trinket Mage would also open up more potential lines of play with Counterbalance, by fetching Sensei's Top, which is also synergistic with Guile.
Heck, Trinket Mage could fetch the Chalice for the infinite combo!

I just played a random Future Sight in my Salvagers deck because Salvager players (with Trinket Mage) ALWAYS see a Black Lotus in every game.  Anytime Future Sight hit the field, I won.

The Trinket Tech works to get your fatty spell into play.