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People do unwise things when they're angry. They can become impulsive, irrational and nonsensical, forced into doing whatever it takes to make sure somebody is punished for what angered them. This is the heart of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic The Gathering's goad mechanic, a nasty tool that lets you turn your opponent's creatures into weapons that can't harm you.In 2022, goad was given the lucrative status of being the game's first-ever "Commander Evergreen" keyword. While we likely won't see it in premiere, Standard-legal sets any time soon, we can expect for it to pop up in Commander products. Here is everything you need to know about goad.Updated April 26, 2022 by Joe Parlock: Goad is now Commander Evergreen, and with Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna's Commander decks all introducing goad cards, it's worth updating the count in this article.
What Is Goad?
Goad is a keyword action, meaning it's a word used as shorthand for a longer rules explanation rather than ♔an ability like Tramplꦏe or Flying.
A goaded creature must attack for as long as it's goaded (usually a single turn, but can be longer), but it can't attack the player🐠 who goaded it in the first place. In one-on-one formats, goad is entirely useless, but in multiplayer formats like Commander, it means that creature has to attack a different opponent.
There are a few caveats to goad, though. First, if a creature is not legally allowed t🃏o tap (such as it being tapped or enchanted with something like Pacifism), goad has no effect. Also, a creature's requirement to attack overrides whether it's you or not:🅺 if you're the last opponent, a creature you goaded must attack you.
There are lots of cards that do similar things to goad without having the actual keyword goad. Some of these, like Pursued Whale or Avatar of Slaughter, still force creatures to attack, but are allowed to attack you. Others, like Kardur Doomscourge, can effectively goad without the keyword – this is usually done when a mechanic is only being used once or twice in a set (in this case Kaldheim), where keywording i✨t would🐷 cause further confusion.
Goad As A Commander Evergreen Keyword
In March 2022, it was announced that goad would be made the first 'Commander Ev🎀ergre🦩en' keyword. Evergreen keywords are mechanics that can be freely used in any Magic product, and form the backbone of its design. Other keywords, like flying, trample, first-strike, and haste, are all evergreen in a wide variety of formats. However, goad is unique in that it likely won't be seen outside of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Commander.
The reason for this is because goad is a powerf⭕ul way of 'unsticking' a♔ game of Commander. If nobody is attacking and are all hunkering down, games can grind to a halt. A quick goad can force the game to progress, making it a unique tool for the balance of the format.
꧙Since its upgrade to Commander Evergreen, we've seen goad in a number of Commander-related products, including the decks released alongside Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna. Though not every deck will have goad in it, we're going to see a lot more of it in the future.
How To Use Goad
Some cards can selectively goad creatures, such as Lucas the Sharpshooter or Jeering Homunculus. These can be a great way to get a big blocker tapped and open up a player's defences, or simply to ensure a scary creature can't come at you next 🌟turn.
On the other hand, mass goad can be absolute chaos. Kardur Doomscourge, Geode Rager and Disrupt Decorum can all goad a large number of creatures at the same time, causing large amountꦦs of damage and shutting down everybody's defences ready for you to hit them with your forces.
The downside ℱto goad is that decks built around it often struggle to close the game out. It's great in the early stages when there a💛re other players for a goaded creature to attack, but in a one-on-one, you're effectively punching yourself in the face. Make sure you've got ways to quickly bring the game to a close when it gets to you and one other player, or else goad quickly becomes a big problem for yourself.
What Colour Is Goad?
Goad (or, rather, its umbrella term 'forced combat') is primarily a red mechanic, being one of the key things that define the colour. However, it is also found in all colours to a c🀅ertain extent.
In mono-colours, red and blue are by far the most common colours. There are only one white, black, ꧙green, and colourless goad card each, while there are 12 red a🌃nd four blue.
Meanwhile, there are nine 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:multicolour goad cards. Including Kardur, Doomscourge, who goads without having the goad keyword, there are two Rakdos (black and red), one Gruul (red/green), one Izzet (blue and red, and is the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Stranger Things Secret Lair card), two Naya (white, red, and green), one Grixis (blue/black/red)🐽, one Jund (black/red/green), and one Bant (green/blue/white). The multicolour goad cards introduced in Streets of 𒁃New Capenna's Commander decks were the first time multicolour cards without red in them were printed.
