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Putrid Goblin

Creature — Zombie Goblin

Persist (When this creature dies, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it.)

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
common
Set
Jumpstart: Historic Horizons
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#4053
Buy on TCGplayer
Putrid Goblin card art
Putrid Goblin enters as a 2/1 with persist, meaning the first time it dies it comes back with a -1/-1 counter — and that recursive loop is exactly what combo decks want. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed removes the counter on the way back up, and Celes, Rune Knight turns every death-and-return into a payoff; either way, Putrid Goblin is doing real work for a two-mana investment.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Celes, Rune Knight

Celes, Rune Knight

54.0% of decks · synergy 0.52

Celes, Rune Knight is the highest-volume home for Putrid Goblin — Celes rewards repeated creature deaths with rune counters and card advantage, and a persist creature that keeps dying and returning is exactly the loop she wants to fuel.

02
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

53.6% of decks · synergy 0.52

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed is the canonical combo partner: Mikaeus grants +1/+1 to non-Humans and overwrites the -1/-1 counter persist leaves behind, letting Putrid Goblin bounce between zones indefinitely with a free sacrifice outlet.

03
Gev, Scaled Scorch

Gev, Scaled Scorch

27.8% of decks · synergy 0.26

Gev, Scaled Scorch cares about creatures dying and triggering payoffs from below, and Putrid Goblin's two trips to the graveyard per life cycle double the triggers Gev can leverage.

04
Shattergang Brothers

Shattergang Brothers

25.7% of decks · synergy 0.24

Shattergang Brothers demand a steady supply of sacrifice fodder across all three permanent types, and Putrid Goblin's persist means it refills the goblin slot automatically after each activation.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Putrid Goblin earns its keep — persist loops with free sacrifice outlets are a well-documented combo axis, and the goblin type adds tribal upside in decks that want it. In Pauper it's a legitimate recursive threat at common, though the format's fast enough that a two-mana 2/1 needs a clear engine to justify the slot. Legacy and Vintage both allow it, but neither format is hunting for a persist goblin when faster redundancy exists. Outside of specific combo decks, Putrid Goblin is a Commander card through and through.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Putrid Goblin isn't currently available in this listing, so check Scryfall or your preferred retailer for a live number. Given its role as a combo piece in high-synergy commanders, demand stays fairly steady, but it has never been a high-dollar card.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.