Squad is a keyword that appears on creatures, will always be written with a number next to it, and represents two abilities. First, when you cast a creature with the mechanic, as an additional cost, you may pay the Squad cost (that number written next to it) as many times as you like. Then, when the creature enters the battlefield, you create a token copy of that creature for each time its Squad cost was paid.
Fairly straightforward – you get more copies of the creature the more you pay the extra cost. A few notes, but nothing too wild here:
- The creature has to resolve for you to get the trigger to make the tokens.
- The tokens aren’t cast, they are just created, so while you can Stifle the trigger, you can’t counterspell it.
- If the creature were to enter the battlefield without the Squad ability (say, if there’s already a Humility on the battlefield), you won’t make the tokens no matter if or how many times you paid the Squad cost.
Squad has so far only appeared in the Warhammer 40K Commander Decks, but it’s flexible enough and named in such a way where it could make an appearance in a Standard-legal set someday. For now, all cards with the mechanic have an extra cost of 2, but that could change if it needs to someday – it worked for Cycling, anyway!
If you want Squad in your decks, head on over to cardkingdom.com!