Longshot Squad MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Longshot Squad grants you the ability to consistently bolster your creatures, building a more formidable board presence over time which can eclipse your opponents’ defenses.

Resource Acceleration: With its Outlast ability, the Longshot Squad enables strategic use of mana. This helps you utilize resources efficiently, improving your position to advance your strategy at a moment’s notice.

Instant Speed: While it doesn’t act at instant speed, the flexibility of the Outlast mechanic allows you to activate it whenever you have idle mana, especially at the end of your opponent’s turn to minimize risks and maximize efficiency.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Longshot Squad does not mandate a card discard, but in developing a strategy around it, one may find themselves at a disadvantage when faced with rival cards that necessitate discarding as a means to optimize their own abilities, disrupting synergistic plans centered around the Squad.

Specific Mana Cost: Deploying Longshot Squad means delving into a heavy green mana investment, which can constrain the deck-building options. Players need to ensure a stable green mana base to cast the creature, potentially limiting the Squad’s inclusion only in green-centric or dual decks able to sustain such a cost.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Squad requires a notable sum of mana at four to summon to the battlefield. When considering efficiency and game tempo, this could be a critical factor as there are other creatures that come into play at lower costs or with more impactful abilities for the same mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Longshot Squad offers a flexible role in numerous deck types with its ability to grant your creatures reach. This can be a game-changer against flying heavy decks, allowing for more strategic defensive plays.

Combo Potential: With Outlast as a built-in mechanic, Longshot Squad can not only bolster itself but also synergizes with other cards that benefit from +1/+1 counters. It’s great for decks that capitalize on counter manipulation or proliferate strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where flyers dominate, having a stable card like Longshot Squad that can provide consistent aerial defense could be essential. This gives it a place in sideboards and maindecks alike, especially in the green-centric builds looking to improve their resilience against popular flying threats.

How to beat

Longshot Squad, with its outlast ability, can be a tricky opponent in Magic: The Gathering. It allows the squad not only to grow stronger but also grants reach to itself and other creatures you control with +1/+1 counters. To effectively counter this strategy, focus on removal spells that can target creatures regardless of counters or abilities. Spot removal cards like Murder or Path to Exile are excellent choices, as they can handle the Squad before the opponent has a chance to utilize their ability.

Another tactic is to use board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation, which can clear all creatures off the board, eliminating the benefits provided by Longshot Squad’s counters. Ensuring you have these forms of disruption ready can prevent the Squad from posing a substantial threat. Additionally, playing aggressively and keeping the pressure on your opponent will limit their ability to spend mana and turns outlasting, which can disrupt their game plan. Remember that timing is crucial. Aim to disrupt Longshot Squad’s enhancements before the opponent can fully take advantage of their power-boosting mechanics.