Goblin Caves MTG Card

The Dark (DRK)
1994-08-01 - Number 64

Masters Edition IV (ME4)
2011-01-10 - Number 119

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Goblin Caves enhances goblin survivability, turning a single enchantment into a wide-reaching protective measure.
It indirectly accelerates resources by preserving goblins, which are pivotal for activating abilities or synergies.
The enchantment’s static effect acts like an instant, making adversaries wary of targeting your bolstered goblins.

Text of card

If target land is a basic mountain, all Goblins gain +0/+2.

The stench of countless generations of unspeakable activities was enough to loosen both our footing and our stomachs.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Goblin Caves offers a unique form of card advantage by potentially protecting numerous creatures with a single enchantment. Once on the battlefield, it can make a swarm of goblins tougher to remove, saving you from using multiple cards to protect them individually.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing extra mana, Goblin Caves can indirectly accelerate your resources. By enhancing the survivability of your creatures, it preserves the goblins that could be used for various abilities or sacrificed for other effects, which in turn, can generate further in-game advantages.

Instant Speed: While Goblin Caves itself is not an instant, its enduring effect on the battlefield provides an ever-present buffer that operates much like an instant-speed response. It deters opponents from attacking or using spot removal, forcing them to consider the fortified state of your goblins at all times.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Goblin Caves requires you to discard another Goblin card. This prerequisite can deplete your hand and resources, particularly detrimental in gameplay scenarios where maintaining card advantage is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Goblin Caves is locked into red mana. If your deck isn’t heavy on red or is a multi-color deck that struggles for mana fixing, it could be challenging to summon this enchantment when needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At three mana, including two red, the cost to get the defensive boost from Goblin Caves is significant, considering the pace of the game. Other cards in this mana range could potentially provide more immediate board impact or versatility.

Reasons to Include Goblin Caves in Your Collection

Versatility: Goblin Caves offers a unique enhancement for any goblin-based deck, bolstering its defenses which is often unusual for the archetype known for its aggressive playstyle. This can be especially useful in multi-player games where your swarm of goblins needs to survive multiple turns against several opponents.

Combo Potential: When combined with other cards that benefit from buffs to your creatures, Goblin Caves can be a part of devastating combos. It can turn your army of goblins into a resilient force that can withstand board wipes and surprise your adversaries with an unusual defensive stand.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that highly values creature-based strategies, providing your creatures with that extra layer of protection could be the difference between victory and defeat. Goblin Caves fits well into such scenarios, giving player’s goblin decks an edge over the creature-targeting spells and abilities that often dominate the battlefield.

How to beat

Goblin Caves is an enchantment that can be a thorn in the side of many players. With its ability to fortify a horde of goblins, turning even the most humble token into a substantial threat, it’s no wonder it can feel overwhelming. The key to outmaneuvering this card lies in effective removal. Sweepers like Wrath of God can clear the table before those buffs become problematic. Alternatively, targeted enchantment removal such as Naturalize offers a more precise answer, dismantling the defense boost directly.

Playing around Goblin Caves also includes limiting the goblins’ ability to swarm. By utilizing cards like Culling the Weak or Mizzium Mortars, you can hinder their numbers advantage, making the enchantment’s effect far less impactful. It’s about pacing and knowing when to strike. Subsequently, countering it upon casting can save you from the headache it presents, thereby spells like Counterspell or Negate become invaluable tools in your arsenal.

Ultimately, while Goblin Caves can create an imposing presence, the right mixture of creature control and enchantment destruction can dismantle this defensive stronghold. Strategic planning and prompt responses are your roadmap to overcoming this obstacle in your path to victory.

Cards like Goblin Caves

The Magic: The Gathering landscape teems with thematic enablers, and Goblin Caves is a memorable entrant in the realm of creature enhancement. Its closest relatives include goblin-specific buffs like Goblin King, which, rather than reducing damage, bolsters the strength and resilience of your goblin horde by granting an outright +1/+1 boost and the advantageous mountainwalk ability. By contrast, Goblin Caves focuses on defence, specifically cushioning your goblins from harm.

Analogous in spirit is the card Madcap Skills. This enchantment echoes the theme of empowerment but steers towards offence by providing a significant +3/+0 increase and making the creature harder to block. Goblin Caves diverges by nurturing a defensive strategy, fortifying your goblin allies without seeking to speed up the offence. Then there’s the likes of Shared Animosity, which shines in a deck teeming with goblins. It amplifies the attack power for each other creature that shares a type with it, thereby elevating the swarm’s assault potential rather than its survivability offered by Goblin Caves.

Assessing the utility in different game situations, Goblin Caves emerges as a uniquely firm support for the goblins, enabling a strategy that ensures your creatures remain a constant, nagging presence on the battlefield, fortressed against your opponents’ onslaughts.

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

Curse of Hospitality - MTG Card versions

Anax, Hardened in the Forge - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Goblin Caves MTG card by a specific set like The Dark and Masters Edition IV, 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 Caves and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Goblin Caves Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-08-01 and 2011-01-10. Illustrated by Drew Tucker.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1994-08-01	The Dark	DRK		64	1993	Normal	Black	Drew Tucker
2	2011-01-10	Masters Edition IV	ME4		119	1997	Normal	Black	Drew Tucker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Goblin Caves has restrictions

Format	Legality
Oldschool	Legal
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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