Three-Headed Goblin MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Goblin Mutant
Power 3
Toughness 3
Un-set :-)This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card advantage, resource acceleration, and instant-speed responses, making it a versatile play.
  2. The card requires careful deck construction due to its specific mana cost and discard requirement.
  3. A valuable collection asset for its flexibility, meta-relevance, and combo potential in various strategies.

Text of card

Triple strike (This creature deals first-strike, regular, and last-strike combat damage.)

It's true that two heads are better than one, but after that you run into diminishing returns.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: With the Three-Headed Goblin, you unlock multiple avenues for gaining card advantage. This creature’s unique abilities can overwhelm opponents by generating additional draw effects or other value-engendering interactions, integral for outpacing the competition.

Resource Acceleration: This card not only acts as a powerful board presence but also offers resource acceleration. Whether it’s generating additional mana, tokens, or other forms of in-game resources, the Three-Headed Goblin can shift the tide of the game by ramping up your available assets quickly.

Instant Speed: The potential to interact at instant speed gives the Three-Headed Goblin an edge, permitting you to react to opponents’ moves promptly. This surprise factor can disrupt their strategy while setting you up for a strong counter-play, ensuring you maintain control of the game’s pace.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Three-Headed Goblin requires you to discard a card upon entering the battlefield. This can potentially set you back by reducing hand advantage, an important strategic resource, especially if your deck is not built to capitalize on discard synergies.

Specific Mana Cost: It demands a unique mix of mana to cast, which can be a challenge to gather in multicolored decks that may need the flexibility to deploy a diverse range of spells. This makes the card a bit rigid, fitting better in mono-red decks or ones with substantial mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the goblin brings potentially powerful effects to the table, the investment is significant. With other creatures and spells competing for a slot in your deck at a similar mana range, this card might be overlooked in favor of those with immediate board impact or lower mana requirements.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Three-Headed Goblin offers flexibility in deck building given its unique ability to grow stronger with each head. Its adaptability in different game scenarios makes it a worthy addition to any collection, fitting well into strategies that capitalize on creature size and combat tricks.

Combo Potential: This creature’s triple threat nature can synergize with effects that double counters, or those that trigger upon damage dealt, allowing for infinite possibilities to build around. Include it in your lineup to discover exciting and powerful interactions.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame evolves, Three-Headed Goblin remains relevant. It can serve as an impactful play against a variety of decks, particularly in metas where board presence and creature superiority can dictate the outcome of a match.


How to beat

Running into the Three-Headed Goblin can be a formidable challenge on the battlefield. This creature card harnesses a unique blend of power, resilience, and unpredictability that can leave opponents scrambling. Nevertheless, seasoned players recommend strategic removal spells as the key to undermining its presence. Timing is everything, so you’ll want to choose your spells wisely to ensure the goblin’s triple threat is dealt with swiftly.

One plausible approach is utilizing damage spells that can handle multiple creatures in a single sweep. Cards like Wrath of God or Damnation can be game-changers in this scenario. Alternatively, direct removal spells such as Path to Exile or Murder are brutally efficient against single targets and can easily take out this troublesome goblin before its effects get out of hand. Also, don’t overlook the utility of countering its ability with spells that negate or bounce creatures back to the owner’s hand, further disrupting their play.

When facing the Three-Headed Goblin, using these strategies can turn the tide in your favor. It’s all about reading the game, planning your mana, and executing your removal strategy at the opportune moment to claim victory over this tri-headed terror.


Cards like Three-Headed Goblin

The Three-Headed Goblin is an intriguing creature card in the realm of Magic the Gathering. When considering its unique aspects, it brings to mind other cards that twist the conventional gameplay. One such comparison is with the card Goblin Rabblemaster, which also centers on generating a plentiful supply of Goblin tokens each turn. Unlike the static token production of the Rabblemaster, the Three-Headed Goblin offers a variable number of tokens, adding an element of surprise and potential for a larger token influx in a single turn.

Another card that echoes the theme of multitudinous creature generation is Siege-Gang Commander. While this card provides an immediate army upon entering the battlefield, the Three-Headed Goblin has the potential for a more sustained stream of creatures, depending on how long it survives in the fray. Additionally, the Commander’s utility lies in its ability to convert Goblins into direct damage, a facility not directly mirrored in the Three-Headed Goblin’s abilities.

Ultimately, Three-Headed Goblin finds its niche among Goblin cards by combining an unpredictable token generation with triple attack capabilities, setting it apart in a manner that hybridizes the intimidating force of token gen cards with the untamed randomness that MTG players often relish.

Goblin Rabblemaster - MTG Card versions
Siege-Gang Commander - MTG Card versions
Goblin Rabblemaster - Magic 2015 Promos (PM15)
Siege-Gang Commander - Scourge (SCG)

Cards similar to Three-Headed Goblin by color, type and mana cost

Fire Elemental - MTG Card versions
Earth Elemental - MTG Card versions
Eron the Relentless - MTG Card versions
Balduvian War-Makers - MTG Card versions
Hivis of the Scale - MTG Card versions
Hulking Cyclops - MTG Card versions
Flame Spirit - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Salamander - MTG Card versions
Ma Chao, Western Warrior - MTG Card versions
Ravaging Horde - MTG Card versions
Covetous Dragon - MTG Card versions
Thundering Giant - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Strike Force - MTG Card versions
Savage Firecat - MTG Card versions
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist - MTG Card versions
Tephraderm - MTG Card versions
Avarax - MTG Card versions
Bonethorn Valesk - MTG Card versions
Frost Ogre - MTG Card versions
Heartless Hidetsugu - MTG Card versions
Fire Elemental - Core Set 2020 (M20)
Earth Elemental - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Eron the Relentless - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Balduvian War-Makers - Alliances (ALL)
Hivis of the Scale - Mirage (MIR)
Hulking Cyclops - Visions (VIS)
Flame Spirit - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Flowstone Salamander - Tempest (TMP)
Ma Chao, Western Warrior - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Ravaging Horde - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Covetous Dragon - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Thundering Giant - Tenth Edition (10E)
Dwarven Strike Force - Odyssey (ODY)
Savage Firecat - Odyssey (ODY)
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)
Tephraderm - Onslaught (ONS)
Avarax - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Bonethorn Valesk - Scourge (SCG)
Frost Ogre - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Heartless Hidetsugu - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Three-Headed Goblin MTG card by a specific set like Unstable and The List (Unfinity Foil Edition), 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 Three-Headed Goblin and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Three-Headed Goblin Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-12-08 and 2022-10-07. Illustrated by Mike Burns.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-12-08UnstableUST 992015normalsilverMike Burns
22022-10-07The List (Unfinity Foil Edition)ULST 312015normalsilverMike Burns

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-01-19 Triple strike is all the strikes (for now). A creature with triple strike deals first-strike combat damage, regular combat damage, and last-strike combat damage. Note that it has to survive each time to deal more damage later. For example, if a 3/3 creature with triple strike is blocked by a 3/3 creature with first strike, the two creatures will take each other out during first-strike combat damage. But if left unblocked, that creature will deal a total of 9 damage to the defending player or planeswalker.

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