Goblin Lackey MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Goblin
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Goblin Lackey offers card and resource acceleration, rapidly enhancing your goblin army’s board presence.
  2. Its ability for instant speed goblin deployment can be unpredictably game-changing during your turn.
  3. Mana cost and deck specificity challenges may require more strategic utilization and deck building finesse.

Text of card

Whenever Goblin Lackey successfully deals damage to a player, you may choose a Goblin card in your hand and put that Goblin into play.

All bark, someone else's bite.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Goblin Lackey, when successfully connecting with an opponent, allows you to immediately place a goblin card from your hand to the battlefield. This enables you greater board presence and potentially swings the game in your favor quickly, providing an excellent card advantage in any goblin-themed deck.

Resource Acceleration: Using the ability of the Goblin Lackey to directly summon other goblin creatures from your hand, you are essentially casting these cards for zero mana. This accelerates your gameplay by evading the resource restrictions usually required to put those cards into play.

Instant Speed: While the Goblin Lackey itself is a creature, and thus not an instant-speed spell, its ability is triggered instantaneously upon successful damage to your opponent. This makes it an unpredictable and dangerous card because you can change the outcome of the game on your turn, using powerful late-game goblin cards that dramatically enhance your board state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside to Goblin Lackey is that it can potentially inflation your hand size. This could force you into the undesirable situation of having to discard other cards you might need later. Thus, it demands insightful strategy about when and how to play.

Specific Mana Cost: The Goblin Lackey comes with a specific red mana cost requirement. This means it might not be handy in every deck, particularly those that are not based around red mana. This limits its usability and may stunt your strategic flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Goblin Lackey’s efficacy comes at a steep price. For just one creature card, it demands a relatively high mana cost. This can hamper your mana curve, especially in the early game where resources are limited. So, there are times you might find other cards more mana-efficient and thus beneficial.


Reasons to Include Goblin Lackey in Your Collection

Versatility: The Goblin Lackey is a powerful addition to any Goblin-focused deck. With its low casting cost and easy activation, the card rapidly accelerates board state, presenting a significant threat to opponents nervous about dealing with a swarm of angry goblins.

Combo Potential: Goblin Lackey shines when combined with high-cost goblin cards. Thanks to its special ability, you can put any Goblin card onto the battlefield without paying its mana cost. This creates a massive advantage as you can effectively ‘cheat’ costly goblins into play early in the game, turning the tides in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame abundantly filled with tribal decks or those sporting a lot of creature-based strategies, Goblin Lackey stands out. Its unique ability allows you to establish a commanding board presence, forcing your adversaries to rethink their strategy or face an overwhelming goblin army. This keeps it consistently relevant in the MTG universe.


How to Beat

Goblin Lackey is an influential card that thrives in certain Magic: The Gathering strategies. It’s a unique creature, known for its raw power and the ability to place goblin cards from your hand onto the battlefield. However, this doesn’t mean the Lackey is invincible.

Implementing early creature removal spells such as Fatal Push or Shock can instantly dispatch the Goblin Lackey, eliminating its threat before your opponent can make use of it. Similarly, cheap counter spells like Mana Leak or Spell Pierce can serve as effective deterrents and prevent the Goblin Lackey from entering the battlefield in the first place.

Ensnaring Bridge is another effective tool to limit the Lackey’s effectiveness, pushing the opponent’s creatures to a standstill, stopping the Lackey from attacking, and therefore disrupting the playing of free goblins. Strategies revolving around larger creatures also often prove effective as the Goblin Lackey doesn’t stand up well to powerfully stated creatures.

To sum it up, Goblin Lackey’s childhood charm and impressive battlefield potential can be countered with the right strategy—deploying early removal spells, cheap counters, and creature-dominant game plans. Although formidable, the Goblin Lackey is not without its fair share of game-play flaws.


BurnMana Recommendations

Goblin Lackey is a standout card, valued for accelerating goblin decks and shaping MTG battles. Harnessing the power of the Lackey demands tactical acumen, ensuring each attack not only lands but swings momentum in your favor. As you craft your decks and refine your strategies, consider the synergy and potential of cards like Goblin Lackey to construct a formidable presence on the battlefield. MTG is a dynamic realm where knowledge converts into victory. Curious to enhance your gameplay and cultivate an unbeatable goblin horde? Dive deeper with us, dissect proven strategies, and discover how to optimize your MTG deck-building prowess. Let’s journey towards conquering the game together.


Cards like Goblin Lackey

Goblin Lackey is a distinctive gem in the spectrum of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It’s similar to creatures like Mogg War Marshal, which also belongs to the goblin tribe. But what sets Goblin Lackey apart is its powerful ability – it sneakily puts a goblin card from your hand onto the battlefield whenever it deals damage to a player. The Mogg War Marshal, however, only brings along an extra goblin token when it dies.

In the same context, we have Warren Instigator. This creature card shares the exact ability with Goblin Lackey, but it’s a double-strike, making it potentially more potent. It’s pricier though, with a casting cost of two mana. Come Goblin Guide, which doesn’t share its ability to field goblins, but it’s cheaper with only one red mana and has haste, making it a suitable alternative for faster gameplay. However, the card’s drawback reveals the top card of an opponent’s library, leading to possible strategical advantages for the opponent.

To sum up, as we examine the characteristics and estimate the utility of different choices, Goblin Lackey certainly shines in the crowd of goblin themed cards in Magic: The Gathering due to its strategic benefits and gameplay intensity.

Mogg War Marshal - MTG Card versions
Warren Instigator - MTG Card versions
Goblin Guide - MTG Card versions
Mogg War Marshal - Time Spiral (TSP)
Warren Instigator - Zendikar (ZEN)
Goblin Guide - Grand Prix Promos (PGPX)

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

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions
Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions
Hurr Jackal - MTG Card versions
Goblin Digging Team - MTG Card versions
Primordial Ooze - MTG Card versions
Goblin Artisans - MTG Card versions
Gorilla Shaman - MTG Card versions
Goblin Swine-Rider - MTG Card versions
Orcish Conscripts - MTG Card versions
Mountain Goat - MTG Card versions
Roc Hatchling - MTG Card versions
Jackal Pup - MTG Card versions
Mogg Fanatic - MTG Card versions
Flailing Soldier - MTG Card versions
Branded Brawlers - MTG Card versions
Scarred Puma - MTG Card versions
Grim Lavamancer - MTG Card versions
Enslaved Dwarf - MTG Card versions
Kessig Wolfrider - MTG Card versions
Goblin Guide - MTG Card versions
Goblin Balloon Brigade - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Mons's Goblin Raiders - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Hurr Jackal - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Goblin Digging Team - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Primordial Ooze - Chronicles (CHR)
Goblin Artisans - Rinascimento (RIN)
Gorilla Shaman - Coldsnap Theme Decks (CST)
Goblin Swine-Rider - Visions (VIS)
Orcish Conscripts - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Mountain Goat - Portal (POR)
Roc Hatchling - Weatherlight (WTH)
Jackal Pup - The List (PLST)
Mogg Fanatic - Tenth Edition (10E)
Flailing Soldier - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Branded Brawlers - Prophecy (PCY)
Scarred Puma - Invasion (INV)
Grim Lavamancer - Torment (TOR)
Enslaved Dwarf - Torment (TOR)
Kessig Wolfrider - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)
Goblin Guide - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Goblin Lackey MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and From the Vault: Exiled, 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 Lackey and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Goblin Lackey Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 2019-12-02. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-10-12Urza's SagaUSG 1901997normalblackJerry Tiritilli
22009-08-28From the Vault: ExiledV09 52003normalblackChristopher Moeller
32014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1672015normalblackChristopher Moeller
42019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 1311★2015normalborderlessWizard of Barge
52019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 13112015normalborderlessWizard of Barge
62019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 202015normalblackMike Uziel

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Goblin Lackey has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-08-01 A Goblin permanent card is an artifact, creature, land, and/or enchantment card with the creature type “Goblin”. Usually such cards will be creatures in addition to any other types, but they may be tribal instead. For example, you could put Boggart Shenanigans onto the battlefield with this effect.

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