Mercenary
Mercenary is a class subtype of creature and tribal cards. Debuted in Ice Age as "Mercenaries" on the card Mercenaries, the creature type was heavily featured in the Mercadian Masques and the remainder of the Masques block as black permanents. Some cards printed prior to Masques block have been amended by errata and are now Mercenaries,[1][2] and some Mercenaries, including red ones, have also been printed since Masques block as well. The class subtype is found beside "race" subtypes including Horror, Human, and Zombie and other "class" subtypes, such as Assassin.
Mercenaries are individuals who sell their services in combat for money.[3] Mercenaries have a reputation for being thuggish brutes or dangerously untrustworthy cads, though some are honorable.
Like many creatures of the Rebel creature type, many Mercenaries have the ability to "recruit" or "hire" other Mercenaries (i.e., allowing a player to search his or her library and putting a Mercenary card from it into play). Due to their generally unsavory and untrustworthy natures, however, Mercenaries can only recruit creatures weaker (that is, with a lower casting cost) than they are.
List of Mercenaries
"Recruiters"
| Card | Set and rarity† | Color and cost | Type | Ability | P/T | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bog Glider | Prophecy (C) | Black 
|
Human Mercenary | Flying , Sacrifice a land: Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
1/1 | |
| Cateran Brute | Mercadian Masques (C) | Black
|
Horror Mercenary | , : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
2/2 | |
| Cateran Enforcer | Mercadian Masques (U) | Black
|
Horror Mercenary | Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.) , : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 4 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
4/3 | |
| Cateran Kidnappers | Mercadian Masques (U) | Black
|
Human Mercenary | , : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 3 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
4/2 | |
| Cateran Overlord | Mercadian Masques (R) | Black
|
Horror Mercenary | Sacrifice a creature: Regenerate Cateran Overlord. , : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 6 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
7/5 | |
| Cateran Persuader | Mercadian Masques (C) | Black
|
Human Mercenary |  , : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 1 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
2/1 | |
| Cateran Slaver | Mercadian Masques (R) | Black
|
Horror Mercenary | Swampwalk , : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 5 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
5/5 | |
| Rathi Assassin | Nemesis (R) | Black
|
Zombie Mercenary Assassin | , : Destroy target tapped nonblack creature., : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 3 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
2/2 | |
| Rathi Fiend | Nemesis (U) | Black
|
Horror Mercenary | When Rathi Fiend enters the battlefield, each player loses 3 life., : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
2/2 | |
| Rathi Intimidator | Nemesis (C) | Black
|
Horror Mercenary | Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.), : Search your library for a Mercenary permanent card with converted mana cost 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
|
2/1 |
- †^ This refers to the set in which a Mercenary was introduced and the rarity at which it was printed at, with "C" referring to common; "U", uncommon; and "R", rare.
In addition to these cards, the black Mercadian Masques sorcery Cateran Summons allows its controller to search his or her library for a Mercenary card and put it into his or her hand.
Notable Mercenaries
Notable Mercenary organizations
See also
References
- ↑ Mark Gottlieb (September 26, 2007). "The Grand Creature TYpe Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ July 14, 2010. "[[Mark Gottlieb]]". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (July 12, 2005). "Renegade from the Mountains". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.