Goblin Recruiter

Standard	Rotated out on May 1, 2001
Pioneer	Not Legal
Modern	Not Legal
Legacy	Banned since September 20, 2004
Vintage	Never Banned
Commander	Never Banned
Pauper	Never Banned
Oathbreaker	Never Banned
Extended	Rotated out on October 20, 2005

View on Scryfall

Timeline

• February 3, 1997 - Released
• January 1, 2004 - Status changed to Banned in Extended
• September 20, 2004 - Status changed to Banned in Legacy
• October 20, 2005 - Status changed to Rotated in Extended

Rationale

Goblin Recruiter was designated as banned in the Extended format due to its capacity to enable goblin-based combo decks to reach critical mass and secure premature victories. Specifically, the card's ability to stack an arbitrarily large portion of the deck was deemed too efficient, accelerating the game to a degree that was unsustainable for a healthy environment. This rationale persisted, resulting in its inclusion on the banlist for the Type 1.5 format, where it was restricted for the same reason: its potential to facilitate rapid and game-ending turns.

This summary was generated by gemma4 on September 14, 2026. It has not yet been reviewed by a human editor and may contain some inaccuracies. Learn more.

Does this look accurate? | Yes • No • Submit a Correction • Don't ask me again