Highway Robber MTG Card


Highway Robber provides a direct life swing, offering dual benefits for life-based strategies. The card demands specific mana and has a high cost compared to its moderate impact. Effective counterplay includes instant speed removal and leveraging lifelink abilities.
Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Mercenary
Power 2
Toughness 2

Text of card

When Highway Robber comes into play, you gain 2 life and target opponent loses 2 life.

"Tonight, madam, it's your money *and* your life."


Cards like Highway Robber

Highway Robber is an intriguing creature in the realm of Magic: The Gathering. It shares a kinship with cards like Gray Merchant of Asphodel, as both creatures function on the principle of life exchange upon entering the battlefield. However, the Highway Robber differs subtly in mana cost and impact. Gray Merchant, known to players as Gary, can create significant shifts in life totals with its devotion mechanic, potentially offering much greater life swings than the consistent but modest effect of the Highway Robber.

Moving to Shadow Guildmage, another card echoing the Highway Robber’s ability to manipulate life totals but in a more flexible manner. Although the Mage doesn’t provide the immediate life exchange upon entry, it offers repeated use at the cost of mana and a card, enabling a player to whittle down opponents’ life while bolstering their own at key moments in the game. The Falkenrath Noble is also worth mentioning, rewarding players with life drain each time a creature dies, potentially accumulating a larger effect over the course of a game as compared to the one-time impact of the Highway Robber.

Likewise, Highway Robber stands as a reliable option for those seeking an immediate effect on the board state, cementing its role within black’s slice of MTG, favoring direct life total manipulation.

Gray Merchant of Asphodel - MTG Card versions
Shadow Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Falkenrath Noble - MTG Card versions
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - MTG Card versions
Shadow Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Falkenrath Noble - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Highway Robber by color, type and mana cost

Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Cabal Surgeon - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Dirge Bat - MTG Card versions
Gixian Puppeteer - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Cabal Surgeon - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Dirge Bat - MTG Card versions
Gixian Puppeteer - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Highway Robber comes with the direct benefit of decreasing your opponent’s life total while you gain life, which is effectively a swing in life totals. This life gain coupled with damage can be the key to stabilizing your position, especially in longer and more drawn-out matches.

Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly affecting mana resources, the life gained can be a buffer that affords you extra turns to draw into more resources or to deploy more threats. Sometimes the best resource acceleration is simply staying alive long enough to utilize the resources you already have.

Instant Speed: While Highway Robber itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, being a creature, it often interacts favorably with cards that can bring it onto the battlefield unexpectedly. Reanimating or flickering Highway Robber during an opponent’s turn can disrupt their plans by introducing an immediate life swing and possibly even blocking an attack.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Not a concern with Highway Robber as it does not necessitate any discard; however, its lack of this mechanic implies it offers no card filtering advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Highway Robber comes with a demanding color commitment of black mana, necessitating at least two swamp-type lands or equivalent sources, potentially complicating its incorporation into multi-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With Highway Robber’s four-mana cost, players might find the life-point swing it provides underwhelming, particularly when weighed against other cards with similar or lower mana requirements that deliver greater impact or versatility on the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Highway Robber in Your Collection

Versatility: Highway Robber’s entrance effect provides a direct life swing, which can be useful across a variety of deck builds. It’s effective in decks that capitalize on life manipulation or direct damage tactics, offering a dual benefit of life gain and opponent life loss upon entry.

Combo Potential: With its ability to impact life totals, Highway Robber works well with cards that trigger on life loss or gain. This can lead to interesting combos in life-drain strategies or in decks that can repeatedly bounce creatures back to hand to reuse their enter the battlefield effects.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors aggressive strategies, Highway Robber can serve as a stabilizing play. It’s well-suited to thwarting opposing aggro decks thanks to the immediate life total change, posing a small roadblock that also ticks the opponent’s life down, disrupting their tempo.


How to beat

When facing the Highway Robber in MTG, it’s essential to understand its impact on life totals. This creature, immediately upon entering the battlefield, shifts the life balance by dealing 2 damage to you while giving your opponent a 2 life increase. Although the Robber comes with a modest 2/2 body, the real threat lies in its enter-the-battlefield effect.

To mitigate the Highway Robber’s influence, it’s advisable to have removal spells like Doom Blade or Shatter ready to dispatch it before the life swing can significantly affect the game’s outcome. Additionally, cards with lifelink can help to negate the life loss, while instant-speed removal can ensure that the Robber has little to no time on the field to be leveraged by abilities that trigger from a creature entering the battlefield or dying.

Strategically, it’s wise to hold onto your removal until your opponent plays the Highway Robber, ensuring you aren’t prematurely drained of resources. In summary, while Highway Robber poses a potential threat with its life-altering ability, with proper planning and the right cards in hand, overcoming this card is well within any skilled player’s grasp.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Highway Robber MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Ninth Edition, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Highway Robber and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Highway Robber Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2014-03-14. Illustrated by Kev Walker.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 1391997NormalBlackKev Walker
22005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 138★2003NormalBlackKev Walker
32005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 1382003NormalWhiteKev Walker
42007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 1502003NormalBlackKev Walker
52014-03-14Duel Decks: Jace vs. VraskaDDM 612003NormalBlackKev Walker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Highway Robber has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal