Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier
Legendary Creature — Goblin Mercenary
Whenever another outlaw you control enters, Vial Smasher deals 1 damage to target opponent. (Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks are outlaws.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BR
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction
- Price
- $0.10
- EDHREC rank
- #9527
Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier throws a free damage trigger at an opponent every time you cast an instant or sorcery, and it does it for two mana with a 2/2 body attached. Laughing Jasper Flint is the natural home, where the spell-slinging engine turns every removal spell and cantrip into incidental face damage — but the card earns its slot in any Rakdos or Mardu shell that casts more than a handful of spells per game.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Laughing Jasper Flint
Laughing Jasper Flint is built to cast spells off the top of opponents' libraries, which means Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier is firing damage triggers on cards you didn't even pay full price for — the synergy is so tight that Vial Smasher shows up in over 72% of Jasper lists.
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw
Olivia, Opulent Outlaw rewards attacking with Vampires and triggering on combat damage, and Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier layers a separate spell-damage pressure axis on top — so Olivia decks can threaten life totals from two directions at once.
Marchesa, Dealer of Death
Marchesa, Dealer of Death already wants to be in opponents' faces with chip damage and political leverage, and Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier converts every instant or sorcery into an additional poke that helps Marchesa close games before anyone can stabilize.
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad stacks counters by targeting enemies with spells and abilities, and Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier turns those same targeting spells into burn, making every assassination trigger pull double duty on the life-total clock.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier does its real work — 40-life totals make incremental burn look slow, but in spell-heavy decks the triggers stack fast enough to matter, especially when multiple opponents are taking hits. In Legacy and Vintage the competition at two mana is brutal and there's no 40-life cushion to drain, so the card isn't seeing competitive play there. Modern and Pioneer are similar: Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier is too fragile and too slow compared to dedicated burn or tempo options in those formats. Standard is legal and theoretically usable, but the same ceiling applies — it's a value card that needs a critical mass of spells to justify the slot.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.10 bulk tier
At $0.10, Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier is pure bulk — pick it up without thinking about the price. Demand is Commander-specific and narrow enough that there's no realistic pressure to push it off the floor.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.