No matter how far Magic: The Gathering strays from its original style, some constants remain. It’s rare to see a set with no Dragons, for example, and even rarer to see a set with no Goblins. For as long as Magic, and fantasy in general, has been popular, these little green guys have been omnipresent. They mainly serve as flavorful comic relief, not typically delivering much on the competitive front. Howlsquad Heavy, a new Goblin just revealed for MTG Aetherdrift, however, may flip this script.
This isn’t just the best Goblin support card in the set; it’s one of the best Goblin support cards of all time. The card is a veritable Swiss Army knife, fulfilling several key functions that could finally push Mono-Red Goblins into Standard dominance. For those sick of pricey multicolored manabases and turns that involve thinking things through, your time has come.
Howlsquad Heavy MTG
- Mana Value: 2R
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Goblin Mercenary
- Stats: 2/3
- Card Text: Start your engines!
Other Goblins you control have Haste.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, create a 1/1 red Goblin creature token. That token attacks this combat if able.
Max Speed — Tap: Add R for each Goblin you control.
Howlsquad Heavy is definitely a product of modern MTG design philosophies. You can tell from the sheer volume of text on the card alone. In the past, we would’ve been satisfied by just one or two of the four abilities this card brings to the table.
First of all, Howlsquad Heavy starts your engines. Given how lackluster this mechanic is as a whole this is mostly only relevant for the card’s own Max Speed ability, which we’ll get to shortly. Getting your speed started on turn three feels fairly slow. Luckily Heavy can immediately kick it up a notch with its other abilities.
Heavy is also a ‘lord’ for Goblins, granting them all Haste when it’s in play. This is actually a pretty major deal. The only other card with this line of text in MTG history is the all-time classic Goblin Warchief. This plays very nicely with Heavy’s third ability, which creates a 1/1 Goblin for you at the start of combat. That Goblin has to attack, which can be a downside, but most of the time you’ll want to anyway. Getting in with a 1/1 will push your speed up to two if you started your engines that turn, after all.
Finally, the most exciting part of Howlsquad Heavy by far is the Max Speed effect. Generating a red mana for each Goblin you control, itself included, is absolutely massive. It’s trivial for Goblin decks to swarm the board, which means this ability can easily add an extra five or more mana to your pool when used. With enough card draw, and the right mana outlets, this can be a serious game-ender.
Allies In Aetherdrift
Howlsquad Heavy may be a fantastic support piece, but one card does not an MTG Goblin deck make. Other cards are necessary, and thankfully Aetherdrift brings some great options into the fray.
We’ve talked about Burnout Bashtronaut before, but it really is one of the best new Goblins in the set. Just being a 1/1 Goblin for one that starts your engines is pretty solid on its own. This makes it possible to get Heavy’s mana generation online as early as turn four, which can then power huge early swings. Bashtronaut’s evasion helps greatly here too. It’s also a nice mana outlet if you find yourself empty-handed when Heavy comes online. You can spend all your mana pumping Bashtronaut’s power, then swing in for a huge Double Strike hit.
Speaking of mana sinks, Draconautics Engineer has two of them. If you have five mana to spare this card can put a 4/4 flier into play with Haste, and grant Haste to the rest of your board too. This is a great way to spend your Howlsquad Heavy mana all at once, but also a solid Goblin to play early and activate further down the curve. While Bashtronaut seems to be getting the respect it deserves, I think Engineer is flying under the radar at the moment.
Unless you want to branch into Gruul, which I don’t think is worth it, that’s really all she wrote in terms of good Goblin support in Aetherdrift. That said, you can support the strategy in other ways. Hitting Max Speed is important for both Heavy and Bashtronaut, so throwing in a Start your engines! piece like Kickoff Celebrations could be an idea. The card selection and hasty boost on here are both great for the deck, too.
Stacked Standard Support
These great Aetherdrift Goblin support cards don’t stand alone. They join a surprisingly strong lineup of Goblins already in MTG Standard, which Howlsquad Heavy may finally make into a successful deck.
In the crucial one drop slot, there are some great options to supplement Burnout Bashtronaut. Reckless Lackey is a great pick that can draw you some cards with Heavy’s mana later, but Fanatical Firebrand feels like the stronger card to me. Being able to sacrifice it to ping your opponent makes it easy to build speed with, and it’s a fine turn one play on its own merits.
Firebrand also gets a lot better with lord effects, of which we have two in standard right now. Rundvelt Hordemaster is pretty outrageous, as a two mana anthem that also provides card advantage. This gives you an easy way to spend your extra mana from Heavy if need be, and it also applies a ton of extra pressure.
Dropkick Bomber is similar. It’s a more standard three-cost lord, but it’s also a mana sink that can grant the rest of your board Flying in a pinch. With Heavy out, you can easily swarm your opponent to death with hasty fliers and not worry about the sacrifice clause. It’s worth noting that sacrificing your Goblins this way plays nicely with Hordemaster, however.
On top of these options, we have cards like Searslicer Goblin, Dragon Fodder, and even Krenko, Mob Boss for going wide. It really feels like we’re hitting a critical mass of Goblin support in Standard, and that a Mono-Red Goblin deck could do real work in the format. There are certainly obstacles, Temporary Lockdown and Sunfall chief among them, but it definitely seems like a deck worth testing post-Aetherdrift.
