Lab Rats MTG Card


Lab Rats can shape the game’s dynamics with its repeatable token creation, providing an advantage in creature numbers. The card’s instant speed and Buyback option deliver strategic flexibility and resource management opportunities for players. While strong, Lab Rats requires careful tactical hand and mana management to maximize its potential in gameplay.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Buyback

Text of card

Buyback o4 (You may pay an additional o4 when you play this spell. If you do, put it into your hand instead of your graveyard as part of the spell's effect.) Put a Rat token into play. Treat this token as a 1/1 black creature.


Cards like Lab Rats

Lab Rats opens the door to a unique mechanic of token generation in Magic: The Gathering, presenting a capacity for repeatable creature production. It finds its peers in cards like Dragon Fodder, which creates two Goblin creature tokens for two mana. However, unlike Lab Rats, Dragon Fodder lacks the sustainability of a buyback option. This difference makes Lab Rats a strategic choice for long-term board presence.

Assessing further, we encounter Raise the Alarm as another comparable card, quickly putting two soldier tokens onto the battlefield. Its instant speed allows players to surprise opponents during combat, a tactical advantage that the sorcery-speed Lab Rats does not possess. Yet, Lab Rats compensates for this with the versatility provided by its buyback ability, giving players tokens in a recurrent fashion if mana is available.

Ultimately, while Lab Rats may not offer the immediacy of other token-generating spells in Magic: The Gathering, its buyback feature ensures that it stands out in terms of enduring creature generation, allowing for the persistent deployment of blockers or fodder for other strategic maneuvers.

Dragon Fodder - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Dragon Fodder - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Lab Rats by color, type and mana cost

Raise Dead - MTG Card versions
Mind Twist - MTG Card versions
Contract from Below - MTG Card versions
Spoils of War - MTG Card versions
Tendrils of Despair - MTG Card versions
Bloodcurdling Scream - MTG Card versions
Organ Harvest - MTG Card versions
Duress - MTG Card versions
Bubbling Muck - MTG Card versions
Reanimate - MTG Card versions
Soul Strings - MTG Card versions
Restless Dreams - MTG Card versions
Cabal Therapy - MTG Card versions
Confront the Past - MTG Card versions
Stir the Grave - MTG Card versions
Cry of Contrition - MTG Card versions
Deathmark - MTG Card versions
Call to the Netherworld - MTG Card versions
Raven's Crime - MTG Card versions
Imperial Seal - MTG Card versions
Raise Dead - MTG Card versions
Mind Twist - MTG Card versions
Contract from Below - MTG Card versions
Spoils of War - MTG Card versions
Tendrils of Despair - MTG Card versions
Bloodcurdling Scream - MTG Card versions
Organ Harvest - MTG Card versions
Duress - MTG Card versions
Bubbling Muck - MTG Card versions
Reanimate - MTG Card versions
Soul Strings - MTG Card versions
Restless Dreams - MTG Card versions
Cabal Therapy - MTG Card versions
Confront the Past - MTG Card versions
Stir the Grave - MTG Card versions
Cry of Contrition - MTG Card versions
Deathmark - MTG Card versions
Call to the Netherworld - MTG Card versions
Raven's Crime - MTG Card versions
Imperial Seal - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Lab Rats card allows players to consistently create multiple token creatures. This ongoing potential for creature generation offers a persistent edge in maintaining card advantage over opponents.

Resource Acceleration: With its “Buyback” mechanic, Lab Rats can dramatically alter the pace at which you use your resources. By choosing to invest more mana into the spell, you essentially accelerate your board presence without sacrificing card resources from your hand.

Instant Speed: The ability to summon token creatures at instant speed gives you the flexibility to wait until the most opportune moment within a turn sequence. This can keep opponents guessing and force them to consider the threat of new blockers or attackers unexpectedly entering the battlefield.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Lab Rats creates a need to think strategically about hand management. Repeatedly playing the Echo cost can deplete your hand quickly, leaving you vulnerable to card disadvantage. This can be particularly challenging when you need to maintain other plays or responses in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Lab Rats comes with a black mana cost, which restricts it to decks that have a sufficient black mana base. This condition can be limiting for multicolored decks that may struggle to generate the necessary black mana consistently throughout the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The scalability of Lab Rats using its Buyback ability comes at a significant cost. Having to spend four mana to create just one 1/1 creature token can quickly become costly compared to other token-generating options in the game. Other cards might provide the same or enhanced token generating effects at a lower cost, making them potentially more mana-efficient choices for a deck.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Lab Rats offers a unique approach to deck building with its buyback ability, allowing players to persistently create creature tokens. This adapts well to various strategies, from token swarm to sacrifice synergies.

Combo Potential: As a card that creates creature tokens, Lab Rats can be an integral part of intricate combos. It aligns with decks leveraging the presence of creatures, whether for overrun tactics or using the tokens for other card interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where games draw out, Lab Rats shines by providing a steady stream of creatures. It can be particularly useful against control decks that struggle with multiple recurring threats.


How to Beat

Lab Rats is a unique Magic: The Gathering card that can create an army of tokens over time using its buyback ability. These critters can quickly overwhelm an unprepared opponent. Tackling this deceptively simple spell requires a strategy focusing on removing multiple creatures at once. Cards like Pyroclasm or Night of Souls’ Betrayal can keep the rat population under control, hindering the swarm’s growth. As these tokens are generated one at a time, efficient removal spells that affect all creatures, regardless of size, can neutralize the potential threat posed by a multiplying rat token army.

Alternatively, incorporating enchantments that discourage or punish token generation, like Illness in the Ranks or Virulent Plague, can be equally devastating against an opponent relying on Lab Rats. These enchantments passively suppress the ability to build a token-based board presence. Finally, instant speed removal or counter spells give players the flexibility to disrupt the core strategy behind Lab Rats, allowing them to maintain control of the game and prevent their opponent from gaining the upper hand through sheer numbers.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lab Rats MTG card by a specific set like Stronghold and Tempest Remastered, 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 Lab Rats and other MTG cards:

TCGPlayerBUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer
Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Lab Rats Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-03-02 and 2015-05-06. Illustrated by DiTerlizzi.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-03-02StrongholdSTH 611997NormalBlackDiTerlizzi
22015-05-06Tempest RemasteredTPR 1082015NormalBlackDiTerlizzi

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lab Rats has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal