Goblin Engineer MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Goblin Artificer
Power 1
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Enables card advantage and artifact recursion, crucial for synergistic deck strategies.
  2. Demands tactical discard, challenging players to balance resources and plays.
  3. Its role as both a card and utility invites diverse deck-building approaches.

Text of card

When Goblin Engineer enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an artifact card, put it into your graveyard, then shuffle your library. , , Sacrifice an artifact: Return target artifact card with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Goblin Engineer’s ability to search your library for a key artifact card and put it into your graveyard sets up advantageous interactions. This subtle form of card advantage can lead to powerful plays, putting the right tools at your disposal when you need them.

Resource Acceleration: Offering more than just a tutor effect, Goblin Engineer also facilitates resource acceleration by enabling you to swap a small artifact from your battlefield with the powerhouse artifact you need from your graveyard. This mechanism can significantly ramp up your board presence.

Instant Speed: Whilst Goblin Engineer itself is not an instant, the card it retrieves can be activated or reanimated at instant speed by other cards in your deck. This synergy creates dynamic plays that can be adapted to respond to an opponent’s threats even outside your own turn, thereby increasing the flexibility and unpredictability of your strategy.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Goblin Engineer, while packing utility, demands that you discard a card upon activation. This cost can deplete your hand, preventing you from maintaining card advantage and potentially leaving you in a tough spot if you lack sufficient card draw mechanisms.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that specifically requires red mana, Goblin Engineer’s integration is primarily limited to red or multicolored decks. This restriction can complicate deck building for formats that value color flexibility, potentially reducing the card’s overall versatility in various archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When assessing its initial impact on the game, Goblin Engineer carries a somewhat hefty cost for its ability to search and recur. Other cards in the same mana range could offer immediate board presence or more substantial effects, making the Engineer’s cost-effectiveness a point to consider during deck construction.


Reasons to Include Goblin Engineer in Your Collection

Versatility: The Goblin Engineer adds value to various archetypes by offering artifact retrieval alongside a reliable creature presence on the battlefield. Its ability to repeatedly set up pieces for key interactions makes it a well-suited addition to decks looking to leverage their artifact components.

Combo Potential: This card thrives in environments that take advantage of artifact synergies. Its capacity to tutor a crucial artifact to the graveyard and then reanimate it offers numerous avenues for creative and powerful combos, particularly in decks that can use and reuse the artifacts it targets.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame shifts, the Goblin Engineer remains a pertinent choice, particularly in formats where artifact strategies are prevalent. It enables decks to adapt on the fly, recover from setbacks, and exploit weaknesses in the current metagame, ensuring that any collection boasting this card can stay competitive.


How to Beat Goblin Engineer

Goblin Engineer is a versatile tool in the MTG world, especially known for its ability to retrieve key artifacts from the graveyard. To effectively counter this card, you need a strategy that disrupts graveyard interactions or one that prevents artifacts from hitting the board in the first place.

Graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace can completely neutralize the Engineer’s abilities by exiling artifacts before they can be retrieved. Alternatively, control strategies that include counterspells or instant-speed removal can thwart the Engineer’s plans by eliminating it before its triggered ability is used or by dealing with the artifacts it retrieves directly.

Finally, facing the Goblin Engineer requires an awareness of your opponent’s graveyard. Keeping it sparse with targeted removal can limit the Engineer’s effectiveness and keep the game in your favor. This way, even if the Engineer resolves, its impact will be greatly diminished, allowing you to maintain control of the match.


BurnMana Recommendations

As MTG players seeking to refine their decks and sharpen their tactics, consider the Goblin Engineer’s potential to revolutionize your gameplay. This clever MTG card offers both versatility and strategic depth to artifact-centric decks. Its tutoring and reanimation capabilities can be the cornerstone around which you build game-winning combos, or a means to consistently access crucial artifacts. Analyzing the pros and cons highlights the importance of synergistic deck design. Embrace the challenge of balancing the Goblin Engineer’s strengths with its limitations and you may uncover new paths to victory. Elevate your collection and visit us for insights on optimizing your MTG deck with Goblin Engineer.


Cards like Goblin Engineer

Goblin Engineer is a notable player in Magic: The Gathering’s suite of creature cards with utility effects. It bears semblance to the function of artifact tutors like Fabricate, which allows for the direct search of any artifact card. However, Goblin Engineer restricts the search to artifacts with a converted mana cost of three or less, delicately balancing its tutoring ability with a power limit.

In the realm of red artifacts manipulation, we also have Trash for Treasure. This card shares the concept of sacrificing an artifact to bring another from your graveyard into play, echoing the second ability of Goblin Engineer. But it skips the tutor aspect and goes straight for reanimation, costing three mana for an immediate effect without the creature body. Meanwhile, Goblin Matron presents a kinship by tutoring for goblin cards, fostering synergetic deck building with Goblin Engineer. Both champion the focused recruitment of aligned tribe members or tools to orchestrate stratagem.

Comparing these cards showcases Goblin Engineer’s unique role in enabling artifact strategies while offering a body for board presence, making it a versatile choice for MTG deckbuilders intrigued by artifact synergies.

Fabricate - MTG Card versions
Trash for Treasure - MTG Card versions
Goblin Matron - MTG Card versions
Fabricate - Mirrodin (MRD)
Trash for Treasure - Mirrodin (MRD)
Goblin Matron - Portal Second Age (P02)

Cards similar to Goblin Engineer by color, type and mana cost

Rock Hydra - MTG Card versions
Ironclaw Orcs - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Weaponsmith - MTG Card versions
Goblin Rock Sled - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Lieutenant - MTG Card versions
Goblin Recruiter - MTG Card versions
Heart Sliver - MTG Card versions
Mogg Flunkies - MTG Card versions
Goblin Elite Infantry - MTG Card versions
Fireslinger - MTG Card versions
Skittish Kavu - MTG Card versions
Rage Weaver - MTG Card versions
Minotaur Explorer - MTG Card versions
Sparksmith - MTG Card versions
Goblin Lookout - MTG Card versions
Skirk Marauder - MTG Card versions
Goblin Raider - MTG Card versions
Hellspark Elemental - MTG Card versions
Utvara Scalper - MTG Card versions
Storm Entity - MTG Card versions
Rock Hydra - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Ironclaw Orcs - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Dwarven Weaponsmith - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Goblin Rock Sled - The Dark (DRK)
Dwarven Lieutenant - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Goblin Recruiter - Visions (VIS)
Heart Sliver - Tempest (TMP)
Mogg Flunkies - Stronghold (STH)
Goblin Elite Infantry - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Fireslinger - Duel Decks Anthology: Jace vs. Chandra (JVC)
Skittish Kavu - Invasion (INV)
Rage Weaver - Invasion (INV)
Minotaur Explorer - Odyssey (ODY)
Sparksmith - Onslaught (ONS)
Goblin Lookout - Legions (LGN)
Skirk Marauder - Legions (LGN)
Goblin Raider - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Hellspark Elemental - DCI Promos (PDCI)
Utvara Scalper - Dissension (DIS)
Storm Entity - Future Sight (FUT)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Goblin Engineer MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Modern Horizons, 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 Engineer and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Goblin Engineer Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Jehan Choo.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 912791997normalblackJehan Choo
22019-06-14Modern HorizonsMH1 1282015normalblackJehan Choo
32020-09-26The ListPLST MH1-1282015normalblackJehan Choo
42021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 3451997normalblackJehan Choo
52021-06-18Modern Horizons 1 TimeshiftsH1R 161997normalblackJehan Choo
62021-08-26Jumpstart: Historic HorizonsJ21 4582015normalblackJehan Choo

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Goblin Engineer has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
GladiatorLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-03-19 Because targets are chosen for activated abilities before costs (such as “Sacrifice an artifact”) are paid, Goblin Engineer’s second ability can’t target the artifact that will be sacrificed to pay its cost.
2021-03-19 If a card in a player’s graveyard has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.

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