Mobile Garrison MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeArtifact — Vehicle
Abilities Crew
Power 3
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Mobile Garrison provides pseudo card advantage by doubling permanent use per turn.
  2. It amplifies resource acceleration by reusing mana artifacts or creatures.
  3. The ability to untap at instant speed offers both offensive and defensive flexibility.

Text of card

Whenever Mobile Garrison attacks, untap another target artifact or creature you control. Crew 2 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 2 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mobile Garrison’s ability to untap another target artifact or creature can be utilized as a form of pseudo card advantage. By refreshing your resources, you can effectively double the use of a permanent within your turn, keeping you one step ahead of the opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This may not directly generate additional mana, but it contributes to resource acceleration by allowing you to reuse mana artifacts. By untapping a creature like “Palladium Myr” or an artifact like “Gilded Lotus”, you essentially gain additional mana within your turn, which can be pivotal for casting high-cost spells earlier than usual.

Instant Speed: Although the Mobile Garrison itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it gives creatures that normally wouldn’t have vigilance an opportunity to be used defensively even after attacking. This flexibility in your combat strategy can be a surprise element, allowing you to be aggressive while still having a strong defense postures ready.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Mobile Garrison does not require a card to be discarded, it’s important for players to note that including cards without direct synergy could result in an indirect need to discard valuable cards later in the game due to suboptimal hand management.

Specific Mana Cost: Mobile Garrison demands a precise combination of mana to cast, which includes generic mana that could potentially interfere with tight mana curves in more aggressive or color-demanding decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Mobile Garrison may not always be the most economical choice for a deck’s vehicle slot. Its effect, while useful, does not necessarily overshadow cheaper or more impactful alternatives available in the format.


Reasons to Include Mobile Garrison in Your Collection

Versatility: Mobile Garrison offers a flexible approach for various deck types. This artifact vehicle caters to decks that favor creatures, allowing vigilance-like effects and consistent board presence.

Combo Potential: With its ability to untap another target artifact or creature, Mobile Garrison opens the door for combo interactions. This can set the stage for repeated activations of abilities or enhance synergy with tap-and-untap strategies.

Meta-Relevance: As the competitive landscape evolves, artifact-centric decks or those that can capitalize on untap mechanics may find Mobile Garrison to be a utilitarian addition, adapting well to shifts in the meta while offering strategic advantages.


How to beat

Mobile Garrison presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its untapping ability in Magic: The Gathering. When you’re up against this artifact, understanding its mechanics is crucial to overcoming it. It’s not just about power, but also savvy strategy. Unlike other vehicles, this card can become a recurring threat thanks to its ability to untap another target artifact or creature whenever it attacks. This can create a constant cycle of blockers or enable activations of abilities that require tapping.

To dismantle the effectiveness of Mobile Garrison, consider using removal spells that can bypass its untapping potential. Spells that exile artifacts or prevent them from untapping in the next untap step are especially valuable. You can also handle it by employing control elements to prevent it from becoming crewed in the first place. Should you lack direct answers, keeping a robust line of defense can mitigate the impact, ensuring that the advantage Mobile Garrison provides is minimized. Balancing your offense while keeping an eye on such disruptive artifacts is key to dominating the game.

Altogether, though Mobile Garrison can be a thorn in your side, there are multiple approaches to neutralize its presence, secure your battlefield position, and march towards victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re keen on taking your MTG deck to the next level, considering the inclusion of Mobile Garrison could offer you a tactical edge. The ability to untap a creature or artifact provides not only a form of pseudo card advantage but also heightens your potential for combo plays and resource acceleration. Keep in mind, however, that it’s essential to weigh this against the specific makeup of your deck to ensure optimal synergy and mana curve. Unveil more strategic tips and deep dives into MTG’s vast array of cards to sharpen your gameplay by joining us on our journey through the heart of Magic the Gathering. Expand your deck’s capabilities, adapt to the evolving meta, and secure your next match with finesse.


Cards like Mobile Garrison

Mobile Garrison is a unique piece in the grand chessboard of artifact vehicles in Magic: The Gathering. Akin to fellow vehicles such as Untethered Express, it delivers the ability to become a creature, though with a more modest power and toughness balance. What makes Mobile Garrison stand out is its ability to untap another target artifact or creature whenever it attacks. This contrasts Untethered Express, which lacks this tactical flexibility, focusing instead on scaling power via its +1/+1 counter ability.

Looking at Ovalchase Dragster, we detect similarities in haste but differ in durability. The Dragster boasts a swifter impact but doesn’t offer the recurring utility that the Garrison’s untap ability provides. Renegade Freighter also enters the fray, sharing a combat-centric design but instead of enhancing board position through untapping, it escalates its offensive potential with each attack.

Ultimately, Mobile Garrison may not be the most powerful vehicle on the surface, but the strategic depth it provides can certainly drive a deck’s functionality forward. The synergy it can generate with other artifacts or creature tap abilities potentially pivots a game’s momentum in your favor.

Untethered Express - MTG Card versions
Ovalchase Dragster - MTG Card versions
Renegade Freighter - MTG Card versions
Untethered Express - Aether Revolt (AER)
Ovalchase Dragster - Kaladesh (KLD)
Renegade Freighter - Kaladesh (KLD)

Cards similar to Mobile Garrison by color, type and mana cost

Celestial Prism - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Celestial Prism - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Runed Arch - Ice Age (ICE)
Clay Pigeon - Unglued (UGL)
Ashnod's Altar - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Jalum Tome - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Patchwork Gnomes - Odyssey (ODY)
The Stasis Coffin - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Captain's Hook - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)
Spellweaver Helix - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scale of Chiss-Goria - Mirrodin (MRD)
Lightning Coils - Mirrodin (MRD)
Loxodon Warhammer - Commander Legends (CMR)
Sword of Feast and Famine - Judge Gift Cards 2014 (J14)
Training Drone - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Pristine Talisman - New Phyrexia Promos (PNPH)
Alloy Myr - Jumpstart (JMP)
Guardians of Meletis - Magic Origins (ORI)
Vedalken Shackles - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Herald's Horn - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Manalith - Hour of Devastation (HOU)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mobile Garrison MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt and Kaladesh Remastered, 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 Mobile Garrison and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Mobile Garrison Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2020-11-12. Illustrated by Cliff Childs.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-01-20Aether RevoltAER 1652015normalblackCliff Childs
22020-11-12Kaladesh RemasteredKLR 2532015normalblackCliff Childs

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mobile Garrison has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-02-09 All attackers are chosen at once. You can’t attack with Mobile Garrison, untap a tapped creature, and then attack with that creature.
2017-02-09 Untapping an attacking creature doesn’t remove it from combat.
2017-09-29 Any untapped creature you control can be tapped to pay a crew cost, even one that just came under your control.
2017-09-29 Creatures that crew a Vehicle aren’t attached to it or related in any other way. Effects that affect the Vehicle, such as by destroying it or giving it a +1/+1 counter, don’t affect the creatures that crewed it.
2017-09-29 Each Vehicle is printed with a power and toughness, but it’s not a creature. If it becomes a creature (most likely through its crew ability), it will have that power and toughness.
2017-09-29 For a Vehicle to be able to attack, it must be a creature as the declare attackers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to attack with it is during the beginning of combat step. For a Vehicle to be able to block, it must be a creature as the declare blockers step begins, so the latest you can activate its crew ability to block with it is during the declare attackers step. In either case, players may take actions after the crew ability resolves but before the Vehicle has been declared as an attacking or blocking creature.
2017-09-29 If a permanent becomes a copy of a Vehicle, the copy won’t be a creature, even if the Vehicle it’s copying has become an artifact creature.
2017-09-29 If an effect causes a Vehicle to become an artifact creature with a specified power and toughness, that effect overwrites the Vehicle’s printed power and toughness.
2017-09-29 Once a Vehicle becomes a creature, it behaves exactly like any other artifact creature. It can’t attack unless you’ve controlled it continuously since your turn began, it can block if it’s untapped, it can be tapped to pay a Vehicle’s crew cost, and so on.
2017-09-29 Once a player announces that they are activating a crew ability, no player may take other actions until the ability has been paid for. Notably, players can’t try to stop the ability by changing a creature’s power or by removing or tapping a creature.
2017-09-29 Vehicle is an artifact type, not a creature type. A Vehicle that’s crewed won’t normally have any creature type.
2017-09-29 When a Vehicle becomes a creature, that doesn’t count as having a creature enter the battlefield. The permanent was already on the battlefield; it only changed its types. Abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield won’t trigger.
2017-09-29 You may activate a crew ability of a Vehicle even if it’s already an artifact creature. Doing so has no effect on the Vehicle. It doesn’t change its power and toughness.
2017-09-29 You may tap more creatures than necessary to activate a crew ability.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks