Squad in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Last updated on July 28, 2026

Wasteland Raider | Illustration by Yigit Koroglu

2022’s Warhammer 40k Commander precons were some of the most powerful out-of-the-box decks we’ve ever seen. They introduced Magic to the factions of the 40k universe and included powerhouse cards for Commander. They also created a few new mechanics, including ravenous and today’s focus, squad, which has surpassed its origins in the 40k decks.

Let's see if we've got what it takes to wrangle an entire battalion of troops. Er, wrong mechanic, sorry.

How Does Squad Work?

Space Marine Devastator | Illustration by Games Workshop

When you cast a creature with squad you can pay the squad cost any number of times to create that many copies of the creature when it enters the battlefield. Think of it as a Warhammer-flavored version of multikicker.

Squad is part static ability, part triggered ability. There's no “squad trigger” when you cast the creature. Instead you pay the additional squad cost while you’re paying any other costs for the card. The rest works like your typical enter-the-battlefield effect, triggering on ETB and checking the number of times the squad cost was paid.

The History of Squad in MTG

Squad was introduced in the Forces of the Imperium Warhammer 40k precon, and was limited to Esper colors () for a brief period after that deck’s release. It has since been reused across all colors, though it has only ever appeared in Commander products, never as a main-set mechanic.

Squad was used heavily in the Fallout Commander decks, and it has made appearances in Tales of Middle-earth Commander as well as the Turtle Power! Commander precon for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Is Squad an Additional Cost?

Squad is indeed an additional cost, as indicated by the reminder text. You pay the squad cost at the same time you’d pay other costs for that spell just like you would for a kicker spell.

Additional costs can be paid if a spell or ability instructs you to cast a spell “without paying its mana cost.” If something like Epistolary Librarian instructs you to cast a squad spell for free, you can still pay mana for the squad cost as many times as you’d like.

What if a Creature Has Multiple Instances of Squad?

Squad stacks in the sense that if a spell gained multiple instances of squad, you could pay for each individual instance as much as you’d like. There aren’t any cards that grant squad to other spells at the moment, but you could envision a card that does this, in which case you could pick and choose which squad abilities you wanted to pay into, if any.

As for individual instances of squad, you can pay that cost multiple times and create that many token copies of the permanent when it enters the battlefield.

Is Squad the Same as Replicate?

Squad and replicate are functionally similar, but there are a few key differences. Squad can only exist on permanents since the card has to enter the battlefield to make copies. Replicate has been used as a functionally similar version of squad when it appears on permanents. Changing Loyalty, Hatchery Sliver, and Threefold Signal are a few examples.

Replicate spells are harder to counter than squad spells. A single counterspell stops the entire squad since squad works as an ETB ability. But replicate puts a cast trigger on the stack, which then creates copies of the spell. A traditional Counterspell completely stops a squad spell and prevents the copies from being made, but it only counters a single copy of a replicate spell.

Is Squad a Triggered Ability?

Yes, in part. Squad represents two separate abilities, one of which is a triggered ability. The static ability is just the ability “squad” itself, which indicates that you can pay an additional cost when you cast the spell. But there's still an ETB effect that happens when that creature hits the board, and that’s a triggered ability.

To clarify, a card like Stifle can’t prevent someone from paying the squad cost for a card since that’s not an ability that uses the stack. But it could counter the ETB effect and prevent the ability from making any token copies.

What if the Squad Creature Is Countered?

Bad news. If your squad creature is countered then it never hits the battlefield, and the triggered ability never happens. This is exceptionally bad because you’ve already dumped your extra mana into the squad ability before your opponents get a chance to counter it. There’s no mana refund if your creature is countered.

Just like any other ETB ability, the trigger is still on the stack even if the original creature is removed before that ability resolves. If your squad creature resolves and triggers then you still get copies if your opponent kills the creature in response.

Are Squad Tokens Cast?

No. The tokens created by a squad ability aren’t cast, and they don’t use the stack as part of being created. The squad ability itself does use the stack once the creature enters the battlefield, but the tokens don’t.

If you’re looking to functionally counter the tokens then you need a counterspell that stops triggered abilities, like Stifle or Disallow.

What if the Squad Ability Is Removed from the Squad Creature?

Removing squad from a creature may or may not affect whether that creature makes copies, depending on when it lost the squad ability.

If a creature loses squad after its ETB effect triggers, it still produces tokens even if it doesn’t have squad by the time that ability resolves. For example, if your opponent responds to your squad creature entering with Sudden Spoiling then your triggered ability still resolves.

But if there’s a static ability on board that removes all abilities from your creatures before the squad creature resolves, squad won’t trigger upon ETB. Cards like Dress Down and Overwhelming Splendor remove the squad ability the second that creature hits the board, so it never triggers.

What Happens If You Copy a Squad Spell?

If you copy a squad spell while it’s on the stack, the copy is also treated as though you paid the squad cost, equal to what you paid for the original. If you cast Ruthless Radrat and squad it twice, then copy the spell with Double Major, the copy is also treated as though you paid its squad cost twice.

You can also copy the enters ability once a squad permanent resolves to make extra tokens, though that’s copying an ability, not a spell.

Gallery and List of Squad Cards

• Endless Foot Assault
• Gary Clone
• Securitron Squadron
• Ultramarines Honour Guard
• Zephyrim
• Sicarian Infiltrator
• Vanguard Suppressor
• Arco-Flagellant
• Ruthless Radrat
• Wasteland Raider
• Powder Ganger
• Thrill-Kill Disciple
• Galadhrim Brigade
• Roadkill Rodney

Best Squad Cards

#8. Endless Foot Assault

Endless Foot Assault takes the attack trigger that makes Adeline, Resplendent Cathar so fearsome and puts it onto an enchantment you can make multiple copies of. It’s useless on its own, but it has some incredible token output for decks that attack often.

#7. Wasteland Raider

Wasteland Raider is part of the prestigious edict creature club. While this is a mana more than your typical Plaguecrafter, it can also be multiple edicts in one card, and the base stats are a bit higher than these creatures tend to have.

#6. Sicarian Infiltrator

Sicarian Infiltrator doesn’t look all that exciting (Generous Stray with flash, anyone?), but it always overperforms. Flash allows you to react, ambush blockers, and sink your mana into extra bodies and card draw. It feels like an instant speed Mulldrifter that plays well with token synergies.

#5. Galadhrim Brigade

Galadhrim Brigade is more specific than its white astartes counterpart, but also much more powerful for the decks it fits into. Elves make way more mana than the average deck, so I’d expect to get quite a few elf lords from this squad.

#4. Ultramarines Honour Guard

Ultramarines Honour Guard is slightly behind curve as a 4-drop, but it has a strong impact on the board once squaded up even once, and it scales up from there. Note that each instance of an Honour Guard also pumps the other ones.

#3. Powder Ganger

I prefer the broader effect on Space Marine Devastator to the mana efficiency of Powder Ganger, but this is still a great way to smash some artifacts while adding to your board.

#2. Space Marine Devastator

You’re overpaying for Reclamation Sage for the first Space Marine Devastator, but you’re giving yourself the opportunity to upgrade one card into multiple Rec Sages. At 6 mana, two 3/3s that pop two problem permanents is pretty good, and you can go even bigger with more mana.

#1. Securitron Squadron

You could argue that Securitron Squadron’s pretty specific like Galadhrim Brigade, but every deck’s a token deck if you squint hard enough. This is a solid 2-drop for token decks, a great 4-drop, and an excellent 6-drop and above, and squading means the token copies pick up counters from each other.

Squader’s Rights

Vanguard Suppressor | Illustration by Fajareka Setiawan

I was quite fond of squad when it debuted in 2022, and it looks like WotC is also a fan since they’ve revisited it a couple times now. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see it return as a main-set mechanic, since it’s pretty intuitive, and it offers great synergy opportunities for Commander and Constructed while being a solid mana sink for Limited.

How have you liked this mechanic? Do you want to see more of it in the future, or do you prefer replicate? Let me know in the comments below, or if you want to join the squad, head over to the Draftsim Discord. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

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