Lizard EA MT5

Quick Summary:
Lizard for MT5 by Marco Scherer is a XAUUSD-only Expert Advisor built around a multi-strategy swing breakout system. The architecture runs nine independent strategies in parallel — each with its own entry timeframe (M1 to D1), stop loss, take profit, trailing logic and risk weighting. Entries are taken only when a real breakout triggers a pending stop order placed at calibrated distance from a swing-high or swing-low structure. The system uses no martingale, no grid, no averaging, with a defined stop loss and take profit on every trade. A real-money MQL5 live signal published by the developer has been running since May 2026.

Official MQL5 Listing:
Lizard — MQL5 Marketplace

Developer’s Live Signal:
Lizard VT STP — MQL5 live signal (VTMarkets)

Why Lizard

• Gold specialist — built exclusively for XAUUSD on a multi-strategy architecture
• 9 independent breakout strategies — running in parallel across M1 to D1 timeframes, each individually optimised with its own SL, TP, trailing logic and risk weighting
• Real-breakout entry logic — pending stop orders trigger only on confirmed momentum, filtering price-touch fakeouts
• No martingale, no grid, no averaging — explicitly excluded from the design; every trade carries defined SL and TP
• Multi-layered exit system — break-even, trailing SL, trailing TP, magic trail (step-based SL progression), and a virtual SL that closes positions in software independently of the broker
• NFP filter — automatically pauses trading before and after Non-Farm Payrolls releases
• Market-close protection — pending orders removed before the daily market close window
• Prop firm compatible — built-in maximum daily drawdown input for challenge-account compliance
• Dynamic price scaling — entry offsets, stop losses and take profits scale proportionally with the current gold price
• Smart time filter — kill-hours blocked per strategy based on historical GMT performance analysis
• Public MQL5 live signal — real-money monitoring on VTMarkets at the developer’s published minimum balance

How Lizard Works

Lizard continuously scans the XAUUSD chart for significant swing highs and swing lows across multiple timeframes. When a valid structure forms, the EA places a pending buy stop or sell stop order at a calibrated distance from the level. The order triggers only if price actually breaks out through that level with confirmed momentum — not on a price touch, which is a common entry weakness in less-disciplined breakout systems.

Beneath this single description sits the actual engine: nine independent strategies running in parallel. Each has its own internal timeframe (from M1 short-term intraday setups through to D1 multi-day swings), its own stop loss and take profit logic, its own trailing system, its own magic number, and its own risk weighting. Strategies activate automatically based on account balance and the selected frequency mode. This is what allows the EA to operate across different gold market conditions rather than being tuned for a single regime.

The exit side is where most breakout EAs fall apart, and Lizard’s multi-layered approach addresses that directly. Break-even moves the stop loss to entry once profit hits a defined threshold. Trailing SL follows price to protect gains. Trailing TP dynamically adjusts the take profit. A magic trail allows step-based SL progression. And a virtual SL runs in software independently of the broker — useful when broker-side SL handling is suspect. Combined with the NFP filter and market-close protection, the system is built to manage risk continuously rather than just opening and closing positions.

Live Signal & Backtest Snapshot

• Live signal: VTMarkets, real money, ~4 weeks tracked at the time of writing
• Live growth: ~+29% from a $250 starting deposit (the developer’s published minimum)
• Live win rate: 84.4% — closely matching the backtest’s 85% (an important alignment signal)
• Live maximum drawdown: 18.3% — higher than the backtest’s 6.30%, partly a small-account amplification effect
• Backtest period: January 2025 – May 2026 (~17 months), real-tick data, default settings
• Backtest result: Profit factor 3.56, 85.32% win rate across 879 trades, 5.29% balance / 6.30% equity drawdown, LR correlation 0.96

The live signal is encouraging — particularly the win-rate alignment with the backtest — but it’s only four weeks old, and the realistic live drawdown will sit closer to the 18% on the live account than the 6% on the backtest. Our full review explains why and what to size around.

EA Setup at a Glance

• Platform: MetaTrader 5
• Instrument: XAUUSD only (Gold)
• Host chart timeframe: H1 (the nine strategies run their own internal timeframes M1-D1)
• Strategy: Multi-strategy swing breakout — pending stop orders, real-breakout filter, no grid or martingale
• Account: Hedging account, ECN or Raw Spread preferred
• Leverage: 1:500 used on live signal; 1:100 minimum recommended
• Minimum deposit: $250 (the developer’s published minimum, also the live signal balance)
• VPS: Strongly recommended low-latency VPS for continuous operation
• Frequency modes: Auto, Extreme Conservative, Conservative, Moderate, Intense, Extreme, Manual

What You Receive

• Lizard for MT5 — available file
• Developer’s recommended settings and presets, where supplied

Risk Disclaimer

Trading XAUUSD involves significant volatility (NFP, CPI, FOMC, geopolitical events) and a breakout strategy can produce consecutive losses when gold consolidates or fakes out against the breakout direction. The developer’s live signal is young at the time of writing, and the realistic live drawdown experienced on real accounts will likely sit closer to the live signal’s 18% than the backtest’s 6%. The frequency mode you select directly affects both return and drawdown — Extreme mode is not appropriate for new buyers. Match risk settings to your account size, give the account meaningful headroom, test on demo on your intended broker first, and never deploy capital you cannot afford to lose. Past performance — backtest or live — does not guarantee future results.

Full Review & Analysis

📖 Read our complete Lizard EA review →

An honest editorial breakdown: how the 9-strategy breakout architecture actually works, the live signal examined including the live-vs-backtest drawdown gap, the realistic Sharpe interpretation, the frequency-mode settings that matter most, the prop firm question, and our verdict.