Mercenary
| Mercenary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creature Type | |
| (Subtype for creature/kindred cards) | |
| Introduced |
Ice Age (updated) Mercenary (printed) |
| Last used | Aetherdrift |
| Beeble Scale | 7[1] |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
|
81 cards  1.2%  9.9%  2.5%  44.4%  17.3%  4.9%  19.8% | |
|
17 token creation cards 29.4% 29.4% 17.6% 23.5% | |
Mercenary is a creature class. Mercenaries are individuals who sell their services in combat for money.[2] Mercenaries have a reputation for being thuggish brutes or dangerously untrustworthy cads, though some are honorable.
History
The class debuted in Ice Age as "Mercenaries" on the card Mercenaries, with the creature type being heavily featured in Mercadian Masques and the remainder of the Masques block as black creatures.
Some cards printed prior to Masques block have been amended by errata and are now Mercenaries.[3][4] The type was used very rarely since then, with only five printed between 2003 and 2023. Mercenaries returned in the Universes Beyond: Fallout commander decks to represent the antagonist forces of Conrad Kellogg
Like many creatures with the Rebel creature type, Mercenaries from the Masques block have the ability to "recruit" or "hire" other Mercenaries (i.e., allowing a player to search their library and putting a Mercenary card from it onto the battlefield). Due to their generally unsavory and untrustworthy natures, however, Mercenaries can only recruit creatures weaker (that is, with a lower mana value) than they are.
Outlaws of Thunder Junction saw the first premier set Mercenaries since 2005's Sellsword Brute. They were batched as Outlaws and were spread across all five colors. A number of cards also created Mercenary tokens with the ability “{T}: Target creature you control gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.”[5]
Notable Mercenaries
- Unknown
- Conrad Kellogg (Fallout - Card)
- Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy - 3 cards)
- Deadpool (Marvel - Card)
Notable mercenary organizations
- Cateran Guild
- Robaran Mercenaries
- The Assassins of the Ochran
Tokens
| Token Name | Color | Type Line | P/T | Text Box | Source | Printings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercenary | Red | Creature — Mercenary | 1/1 |  : Target creature you control gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.
|
||
| Wasteland Raider | Black | Creature — Human Mercenary | 4/3 | When Wasteland Raider enters the battlefield, each player sacrifices a creature. | ||
| Thrill-Kill Disciple | Red | Creature — Human Mercenary | 3/2 | When Thrill-Kill Disciple dies, create a Junk token. |
| Token Name | Color | Type Line | P/T | Text Box | Source | Printings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercenary | Red | Creature — Mercenary | 1/1 | This creature can’t block. |
Trivia
- The black Mercadian Masques sorcery Cateran Summons allows its controller to search their library for a Mercenary card and put it into their hand.
- Some printings of Black Market Connections feature the flavor word Hire a Mercenary, but the card creates a Shapeshifter token with changeling rather than a Mercenary.
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (2019-12-29). "Where is rebel and mercenary on the beeble scale?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Magic Arcana (July 12, 2005). "Renegade from the Mountains". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Mark Gottlieb (September 26, 2007). "The Grand Creature Type Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Gottlieb (July 14, 2010). "July 2010 Update Bulletin". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 15, 2024). "Outlaw of Thunder Junction Vision Design Handoff Document, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
