Howlsquad Heavy – Aetherdrift
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Goblin Rabblemaster – in a death van. I’m honestly not sure the card really needs any more hype than that. It’s not quite a strict upgrade, especially if you care about complexity, but it fulfills a similar role in the current environment and it has some small, easy-to-miss strengths. For example, three toughness is surprisingly relevant against some decks that rely on particular 2/2 creatures or that have access to two-damage spells. The max speed thing is not easy to overlook: in fact, any opponent who’s familiar with Magic will likely be very afraid of what a goblin deck could do with an Elvish Archdruid, as well they should be.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4 (even if it’s just a second Rabblemaster, it’s worth a look)
I last mentioned this in an Outlaws of Thunder Junction review, but I really like that they’re “rehabilitating” creature types that previously had disadvantageous mechanical or flavor baggage. Dominaria did a really good job of making thallids more interesting and less annoying to play with; rebels and mercenaries are much too broad and much too usable in fantasy to be tied to Rath.
faster faster go go go
Howlsquad Heavy is certainly an interesting Goblin lord of sorts, sending more Goblins screaming into the fray and making them charge in faster…a sort of hybrid of Goblin Warchief and Legion Warboss, albeit with a bit of a fun twist. The speed mechanic lets you generate a lot of mana in a turn for an explosive play…but the kicker of sorts is that this will take a while to get going, with the upside of this trying to get you there on its own. While it’s not the kind of card that’ll win you the game quickly or alone, Howlsquad Heavy is a good bit of octane for a late-game Goblin push in a pinch.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4
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