Goblin Sleigh Ride MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Mythic
Type	Sorcery
Released	2006-12-31
Set symbol
Set name	Happy Holidays
Set code	HHO
Number	15
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Silver
Illustred by	Mark Zug

Key Takeaways

Instant-speed play offers strategic flexibility, turning the tide during critical combat phases.
Card’s discard requirement is a costly downside, potentially hindering hand advantage.
Inclusion in decks relies on balancing its unique benefits against its mana demands.

Text of card

Target creature you control climbs into Goblin Sleigh Ride. You slide them on their merry way. If the creature stayed on, it deals damage equal to its toughness to each other creature touched during the slide.

"What fun it is to ride and sing a slaying song tonight!"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Goblin Sleigh Ride represents an excellent opportunity to swing the momentum of the game in your favor by potentially removing a blocker and clearing the path for your other creatures to deal damage. This can disrupt your opponent’s strategy, especially if they rely on key creatures to maintain board control.

Resource Acceleration: Though this card itself doesn’t produce additional resources directly, efficiently removing a critical creature from the opposing side can indirectly lead to resource acceleration by reducing the pressure on your resources and allowing you to allocate mana more effectively in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Goblin Sleigh Ride at instant speed grants you significant flexibility. You can adjust your strategy in response to your opponent’s actions, using it to surprise an attacking creature or creatively as a combat trick during the combat phase, when your opponent least expects it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Goblin Sleigh Ride demands a card discard to be played. This can be particularly penalizing when your hand is already dwindling, forcing you to sacrifice valuable cards that could be crucial for later turns or strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s cost requires a red mana, which can restrict its versatility. Decks that don’t run red or that have a stringent mana base might find it challenging to accommodate such specific requirements, thereby limiting its playability across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that might be considered steep for its effect, Goblin Sleigh Ride competes with other more mana-efficient options. In a game where tempo and resource management are key, using four mana on this card could put a player at a disadvantage against decks that optimize on lower-cost, higher-impact spells.

Reasons to Include Goblin Sleigh Ride in Your Collection

Versatility: Goblin Sleigh Ride is not only humorous but also flexible in its application. This card can be a fun and surprising addition to casual red decks or any collection that appreciates a blend of humor and functionality in gameplay.

Combo Potential: Despite being a whimsical card, it can synergize with decks that capitalize on creature sacrifice. Throwing a creature under the ‘sleigh’ can pave the way for effects that trigger when creatures die, making it more than just a novelty.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where small creatures abound, Goblin Sleigh Ride can serve as an unexpected removal option. Red decks that encounter numerous utility creatures may find this card a useful tool for clearing the way or finalizing a game with its damage-dealing ability.

How to beat

Goblin Sleigh Ride is a novel card that presents a quirky challenge on the battlefield. This red instant offers a surprising twist, allowing a player to use a Goblin to directly deal damage to an opponent’s creature. Despite its initially comical approach, underestimating this card can lead to unexpected setbacks during gameplay.

Counteracting Goblin Sleigh Ride’s effect requires a bit of strategic planning. Ensuring that your creatures have toughness higher than the number of Goblins your opponent controls is a good start. This can mitigate the damage potential from the card. Additionally, having instant-speed removal or damage spells at the ready can disrupt your opponent’s combo, removing their Goblins before they can enact the sleigh ride.

Another angle is to limit the number of Goblins your opponent has on the field. Cards that sweep the board or target multiple creatures can be highly effective here. By keeping Goblin populations low, the card’s impact is significantly diminished. With these strategies, players can confidently navigate around the pitfalls of Goblin Sleigh Ride and maintain control of the game.

Cards like Goblin Sleigh Ride

Goblin Sleigh Ride marks its presence in the quirky and fun realm of red spells from MTG’s vast collection. This card echoes the sentiments of direct damage spells like Shock but offers a unique winter twist. It allows you to utilize one of your creatures to deal damage equal to its power to an opponent’s creature. Unlike Shock, the Sleigh Ride isn’t a direct player-targeted spell, instead focusing on creature collision.

Another similar card in MTG is Goblin Heelcutter, which not only disrupts opponents’ blocking strategies but also has a dash mechanic for reuse. While Goblin Heelcutter offers repeated utility, Goblin Sleigh Ride’s once-and-done trait can be seen as a strategic trade-off or limitation, depending on your game plan. Then there is the Flametongue Kavu, a classic creature card famous for dealing significant damage when entering the battlefield, reminiscent of the Sleigh Ride’s one-time explosive approach yet with a more controlled damage environment.

Despite the differences, Goblin Sleigh Ride holds a festive flavor while still keeping up with the tradition of direct damage spells, offering strategic advantages within the format it’s played.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Goblin Sleigh Ride MTG card by a specific set like Happy Holidays, 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 Goblin Sleigh Ride and other MTG cards: