Is Goblin Recruiter good in Commander?

Goblin Recruiter

Creature — Goblin

When this creature enters, search your library for any number of Goblin cards, reveal them, then shuffle and put those cards on top in any order.

CMC: 2
Mana cost
Color identity: R
Rarity: rare
Set: Secret Lair Drop
Price: —
EDHREC rank: #3400

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Goblin Recruiter puts your entire Goblin library on top of your deck in whatever order you choose — that's a one-card setup for a lethal Conspicuous Snoop chain or a guaranteed Muxus, Goblin Grandee trigger. The two-mana cost is negligible; the only real cost is the shuffling time at the table.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

Format	Verdict
commander	legal
legacy	banned
modern	not legal
pioneer	not legal
standard	not legal
vintage	legal
pauper	not legal
oathbreaker	legal

Goblin Recruiter is banned in Legacy, and the reason is straightforward: in a format with free interaction, one-mana tutors, and Goblin Ringleader loops, stacking your deck at instant speed produces deterministic kills on turn two or three. Vintage keeps it legal but the power ceiling there is high enough that it rarely registers. Commander gives Goblin Recruiter a pass for the same structural reason most degenerate tutors are tolerable in the format — you only get one copy, you telegraph the setup to three opponents, and a single counterspell or removal spell on your payoff unravels the whole stack. At two mana in a 100-card singleton format, it's powerful without being oppressive.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

Wort, Boggart Auntie

66.6% of decks · synergy 0.65

Wort, Boggart Auntie recurs Goblins from the graveyard, so Goblin Recruiter's stack doubles as a recovery plan — order your graveyard targets near the top and Wort reloads the engine even after disruption.

Muxus, Goblin Grandee

74.7% of decks · synergy 0.65

Goblin Recruiter is at its most broken here: stack six non-legendary Goblins directly beneath Muxus, Goblin Grandee and the next Muxus trigger puts every one of them into play simultaneously.

Krenko, Mob Boss

57.8% of decks · synergy 0.48

Krenko, Mob Boss wants haste enablers and token doublers on demand, and Goblin Recruiter lines them up in exact draw order so Krenko never whiffs on a critical piece when the combo turn arrives.

General Kreat, the Boltbringer

43.7% of decks · synergy 0.34

General Kreat, the Boltbringer rewards playing multiple Goblins in a turn, so Goblin Recruiter stacking cheap, low-cost Goblins at the top of the library lets Kreat trigger repeatedly off a single draw step.

Grub, Storied Matriarch

35.1% of decks · synergy 0.33

Grub, Storied Matriarch cares about creature types entering in sequence, and Goblin Recruiter turns a random topdeck into a scripted parade of Goblins that maximizes every Grub trigger.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

2,927 decks

Goblin RecruiterConspicuous Snoop Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Torch Courier Mogg Fanatic

Infinite damage; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite sacrifice triggers

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Current pricing data for Goblin Recruiter isn't available in this page's dataset, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number — it's had multiple printings and the price moves accordingly. Given its Legacy ban and Commander staple status in dedicated Goblin builds, it typically sits in the mid-range tutor bracket; worth picking up for any serious Goblin deck regardless of where it lands.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated 2026-05-30. Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.