Goblin WarrensHow it works & interactions with other cards

Sacrificing for the Swarm

The core mechanic of Goblin Warrens is its activated ability, which costs two colorless mana, one red mana, and the sacrifice of two Goblin creatures. Because the sacrifice is part of the cost, these creatures are moved to the graveyard before the ability even goes onto the stack, and your opponents cannot react to the sacrifice itself to stop the ability from being activated.

Resolving the Ability

Once you pay the mana and sacrifice the two Goblins, the ability sits on the stack. When it resolves, you create three 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens. These tokens are identical to the ones created by other Goblin effects. Importantly, once these tokens are on the battlefield, they are valid targets for the ability's cost in the future, allowing you to turn those three tokens into even more tokens if you have the mana available.

When to Use the Warrens

Goblin Warrens is best utilized during your opponent's end step or in response to a board wipe. If an opponent plays a spell to destroy your creatures, you can respond by sacrificing them to the Warrens to ensure you still have a board presence afterward. It is also an excellent tool for triggering 'enters the battlefield' effects multiple times in a single turn.

Common Mistakes

A common mistake is forgetting that you must sacrifice actual Goblin creatures, not just any creature. Also, keep in mind that since the sacrifice is a cost, if the ability is countered (for example, by a Stifle effect), you do not get your sacrificed Goblins back. You must have both the mana and the two Goblins ready to go before you announce the ability.

Interaction examples

Generating Infinite Damage

Impact TremorsGoblin

With Impact Tremors on the battlefield, every time you activate Goblin Warrens, you create three tokens. This triggers Impact Tremors three times, dealing 3 damage to each opponent. Since you now have three Goblin tokens, you can sacrifice two of them to the Warrens again (provided you have the mana) to repeat the process and keep the damage coming.

Token Sustainability

Goblin

If you start with two Goblin tokens, you pay three mana and sacrifice them. Goblin Warrens resolves and creates three new Goblin tokens. You now have a net gain of one creature. You can immediately use two of those new tokens to activate the ability again, effectively turning your mana into an ever-growing army of Goblins.

Navigating the Graveyard

Underworld Breach

While Underworld Breach allows you to cast cards from your graveyard, Goblin Warrens helps fill that graveyard. When you sacrifice non-token Goblins to the Warrens, they go to the graveyard, providing fuel for the escape costs required by Underworld Breach later in the turn.