Breeches, Eager Pillager Expands Plane Goblin Culture With Flying

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Breeches, Eager Pillager card art

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Expanding Goblin Pirate Culture on Ixalan’s Planes

Breeches, Eager Pillager lands in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan as a lightning-rod for red aggression and pirate pandemonium. This legendary goblin pirate, cast in red mana for a modest 3 mana cost (2 and R), arrives as a 3/3 with first strike. That alone is a spicy setup for an underdog tribe—the goblins—paired with the relentless tempo of pirates that Ixalan fans have adored since the original explorations of the plane. The artwork by Josu Hernaiz crackles with motion, a snapshot of a goblin captain who knows loot, risk, and glory equally well. 🧙‍♂️🔥

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is a setting built on treasure, exploration, and a clash of cultures—dinosaurs, vampires, merfolk, and of course, goblin pirates who treat loot as both currency and fuel. Breeches embodies this culture with a straightforward yet explosive kit: every time a Pirate you control attacks, you pick one of three powerful options that hasn’t been chosen yet this turn. The result is a dynamic, adversary-testing engine that scales as your board develops, forcing opponents to account for a moving target rather than a single plan. 💎⚔️

Mechanics that spark a new wave of goblin strategy

First strike Whenever a Pirate you control attacks, choose one that hasn't been chosen this turn — • Create a Treasure token. • Target creature can't block this turn. • Exile the top card of your library. You may play it this turn.
  • First strike gives Breeches early pressure, helping to push through damage against slower boards and buy you a taste of tempo that red loves.
  • Treasure on attack turns every raid into a potential mana engine. Treasure tokens are colorless resources that accelerate plays, enabling you to curve out into expensive spells or even threaten an unexpected finisher sooner than your opponent expects.
  • Blocking disruption lets Breeches tilt combat in your favor by making a blocker unable to stop the raid this turn. That single line can open a path to lethal assaults or chain reactions of combat tricks across multiple attacks.
  • Exile and play from the top adds a built-in card-discovery engine. On the turn you attack, you can peek at the top card and potentially cast it, accelerating your game plan or finding a needed answer in the moment. It’s a peek behind the curtain that red decks crave for tempo and reach. 🧙‍♂️

Culture, racing, and the plane’s economics

Ixalan’s goblin pirates aren’t just raiders; they’re crafters of a micro-economy built on treasure. Breeches codifies this culture into a single, menacing board presence. Each attack becomes a negotiation with fate: do you fund another treasure, peel a blocker, or gamble on a top-deck play that may flip the entire table? The Treasure token mechanic not only fuels immediate plays but also creates a long tail of synergy with other red tricks, enabling you to cast different threats in the same turn you generate riches. In a plane where exploration and loot collide, Breeches is a wandering chest—open it, and a new option appears. 🔥🧩

From a lore perspective, goblin pirates in Ixalan are the kind of hasty, loud, and brilliant risk-takers you’d expect to see shouting jokes while plotting a raid. Breeches’ presence as a legendary creature—Goblin Pirate—also signals a leadership moment for goblin culture on a plane where diverse factions clash. The art, the rarity, and the card’s text all reinforce a theme of improvisational genius: you don’t need a single plan when you have a toolkit that adapts with every attack. The result is a deck-building playground where pirates don’t just raid—they orchestrate a mini-economy of treasure and legal card advantage. 🎨💎

Deckbuilding notes: how to lean into Breeches

In practical terms, Breeches slots nicely into a red-leaning pirate or treasure-centric shell. You’ll want a critical number of pirates to maximize the trigger tier—each raid becomes a chance to spawn treasures, pressure the opponent, and sculpt your late-game with top-deck plays. The Treasure tokens pair naturally with other red cards and synergies that reward noncreature mana rocks or spell-based acceleration. Because the exile-and-play option pivots on the top card of your library, you’ll often want to balance your deck with a mix of selection and proactive threats so that any given top card can become a game-changing draw. ⚔️🎲

For a more color-coordinated approach, Breeches thrives in decks that lean into tempo and raid themes. Include some evasion and removal to ensure your pirates can attack with impunity, and consider safeguards to protect Breeches on the board while you assemble your treasure engine. The card’s mana cost—two generic and one red—fits comfortably into midrange and midtempo builds, letting you fuse early aggression with the promise of late-game payoff. The Legendary status also invites Commander players to explore Breeches as a central or thematic commander choice, where pirate tribes and red spell-slinging can co-exist with flavorful lore. 🧙‍♂️

Art, design, and the tactile thrill

Josu Hernaiz’s illustration captures the kinetic energy of Breeches—its rider is a blur of color and menace, a goblin captain who embodies the thrill and danger of Ixalan’s sea-roaming culture. The frame, border, and layout of Breeches sit within the 2015 frame with a 2023-set reprint language, a reminder that this is a card steeped in modern reprints and ongoing love for the pirate-Goblin cross-section. The blend of golds, crimsons, and mechanical gears in the art mirrors the treasure-driven economy the card fosters in gameplay. It’s a vivid celebration of what makes MTG’s flavor text and illustration so enduring: a story you can feel in your hands as you attack. 💎🎨

Whether you’re crafting a spicy casual cruiser or a more competitive tempo list, Breeches invites you to lean into the goblin hustle: raid early, loot often, and let the top-deck surprise become your next victory lap. The card embodies a playful yet precise design philosophy—rewarding an action you’d naturally take in a goblin raid: push forward, seize treasure, and bend the battlefield to your will. ⚔️🔥

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