Jackal Familiar MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Jackal
Released	2009-07-17
Set symbol
Set name	Magic 2010
Set code	M10
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	143
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Alex Horley-Orlandelli

Key Takeaways

Jackal Familiar offers board presence and mana efficiency, complementing draw mechanics in MTG.
Its casting cost promotes early play, setting the stage for a potent offense in your deck.
The familiar’s low cost maintains mana flexibility, allowing for instant speed plays.

Text of card

Jackal Familiar can't attack or block alone.

"Let the gray-hairs keep their ravens and drakes. My familiar will be a reflection of me: bloodthirsty, with a predator's instinct." —Taivang, barbarian warlord

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Jackal Familiar, while not a card engine itself, plays well with draw mechanics by maintaining board presence with minimal cost, enabling you to use your mana resources efficiently for spells that do increase your hand.

Resource Acceleration: This one-mana creature allows for early board establishment, which in turn accelerates your resource usage. Deploying a creature early in the game paves the way for high-impact plays sooner, making it a cost-effective addition to your deck.

Instant Speed: Although Jackal Familiar doesn’t operate at instant speed, its low mana cost ensures your mana pool remains flexible for instant speed interactions on your opponent’s turn. This keeps your strategy versatile and unpredictable.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of Jackal Familiar is its inherent dependence on another creature. Without the presence of a fellow creature you control, Jackal Familiar is unable to attack, potentially leading to scenarios where it is merely a passive board presence unable to contribute to your offensive strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Jackal Familiar’s mana requirement is exclusively red, thus it naturally integrates into mono-red or red-centric decks. However, for multicolored deck strategies that require a more diverse mana base, this card could be less desirable due to its strict color alignment.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its seemingly low casting cost, when we consider its restriction in attacking capabilities, Jackal Familiar can be perceived as having a disguised higher cost. This is compounded when evaluating its overall impact on the game in comparison to other one-mana creatures that are unhindered and can immediately affect the board state upon entering the battlefield.

Reasons to Include Jackal Familiar in Your Collection

Versatility: This swift creature is a perfect fit for aggressive red decks that aim to put out a fleet of attackers early on. Its low mana cost makes it an accessible play, synergizing with haste-enabling cards for a quick offense.

Combo Potential: Jackal Familiar works wonders with cards that negate its lone attack limitation, like those granting additional attack phases or enabling multiple creatures to attack. This enhances its effectiveness greatly.

Meta-Relevance: In a playing environment where speed is of the essence, Jackal Familiar holds its own. It can quickly chip away at an opponent’s life total, especially critical in a “race to the finish” style game where every point of damage counts.

How to Beat

Jackal Familiar is an interesting creature card showcasing unique dynamics within the game of Magic: The Gathering. With its inability to attack alone, players often pair it with other creatures to maximize its potential in their deck strategies. To effectively counter Jackal Familiar, removing companion creatures becomes a key tactic. This can be achieved through targeted removal spells or board wipes that clear out multiple threats at once.

Another strategic move against Jackal Familiar lies within controlling the combat phase. Abilities that tap creatures or prevent them from attacking are invaluable. A focused approach would include spells that force the opponent to expend more resources defending their creatures, further diluting their board presence and offensive capabilities.

In essence, overpowering a Jackal Familiar is about outmaneuvering the opponent, ensuring they can’t establish the synergies required for this card to thrive. Adapt your plays, maintain board control, and Jackal Familiar becomes far less formidable, transforming it from a potential threat to an easily managed component of your opponent’s strategy. This creature’s reliance on others makes it vulnerable, and with the right moves, you can exploit this weakness to your advantage in any matchup.

Cards like Jackal Familiar

Jackal Familiar is an intriguing beast in the universe of Magic the Gathering’s aggressive creature cards. It finds its brethren in cards like Goblin Guide, another creature that presents a trade-off for its low cost and high power. Unlike Goblin Guide, which allows your opponent to potentially draw a land card, Jackal Familiar requires you to control another creature to attack. The distinction lies in the cooperative nature of Jackal Familiar, stimulating a strategy that populates the board with allies.

Turning to Raging Goblin, this creature offers an unfettered attack the moment it hits the battlefield, no conditions attached. This makes it simple and straightforward, whereas Jackal Familiar demands some setup to unlock its aggressive potential. In this way, Raging Goblin can be viewed as a more autonomous option for players looking to deal quick damage.

Evaluating these cards highlights Jackal Familiar as a card that shines in a synergistic deck. While it’s not the lone attacker that some of its counterparts may be, it encourages a wider strategy, fostering a sense of teamwork on the battlefield that could pay off with swarming tactics in MTG.

Cards similar to Jackal Familiar by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Jackal Familiar MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2010, 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 Jackal Familiar and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Jackal Familiar has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2009-10-01	An effect may put Jackal Familiar onto the battlefield attacking even if no other creatures are attacking. That’s because it wasn’t declared as an attacker in this case. Similarly, an effect may put Jackal Familiar onto the battlefield blocking even if no other creatures are blocking.
2009-10-01	Once Jackal Familiar has been legally declared as an attacking or blocking creature, how many other creatures it’s attacking or blocking with no longer matters. For example, if Jackal Familiar and Canyon Minotaur both attack, then Canyon Minotaur leaves the battlefield, Jackal Familiar continues to attack even though it’s now attacking alone.
2009-10-01	“Can’t attack alone” means Jackal Familiar can’t be declared as an attacker during the declare attackers step unless at least one other creature is also declared as an attacker at that time (either by you or your Two-Headed Giant teammate).
2009-10-01	“Can’t block alone” has a similar meaning. Note that the other blocker(s) doesn’t have to block the same attacker as Jackal Familiar.