Krank yo' up a Goblin Mob!
At the start of the year, I will admit I already got a bit flustered with how things were progressing with our various playgroups regarding EDH / Commander. Before the end of the previous year, nearly every deck were set up abusingly fast while sparing no combo unturned. But then it hit me. Instead of whining about it, why not just build a fun deck that has always been hated in every other format?! So I figure I'd go ahead with translating my legacy RDW / Goblin deck to Commander seeing that I already do have the cards to go with it. I've always had fun with the puzzle piecing aggressiveness of it all and knew a well thought out deck can also be awesome in this format.
You'll Like This Deck If...
You love Goblins.
You enjoy funny antics.
You like aggro strategies.
You like creature synergies.
You like puzzle solving for a combo win.
You like blowing stuff.
You like making a token horde.
You Won't Like This Deck If...
You hate tribal decks.
You're a control player.
You feel mass destruction is "unfun."
You don't like a cluttered battlefield.
You don't have a sense of humour.
Deck Deconstruction
Goblins, burn, destruction, chaos, and more goblins are the cornerstones of the deck. You will be able to create and attack with 100 or more li'l goblin tokens in a single turn. You also will be able to generate massive direct lethal damage to more than one opponent. I know I have.
After your first game doing this within a playgroup, you may have to play more cautiously. Their eyes will be upon you and they will do whatever it takes to kill your creatures. If they have the means, they will try to render the activated abilities of Krenko and your talented goblins useless. Worst of all, they will lay in wait to "tuck" away your Commander into your library.
Subtlety, however, is not in the menu for a goblin's appetite for mischief. From the first goblin you cast, start an attack. If there is an opening somewhere, attack. If there are potential blockers, kill them and attack. If there is nothing else you do for the entire game, you destroy their stuff and attack. It is what it is. Do not apologize. Do not make friends. They will understand.
There are minor drawbacks for playing this kind of a deck in a multiplayer setting. In a format filled to the brim with mass creature kill, abusive combos, effective enchantments, and unfair timmy creatures, the Goblins and Red will have a very hard time punching through. However, I find this deck is a powerhouse on 1vs1 Commander. Besides, you have to simply make your adjustments depending on the battlefield you will have to face. Check out the card highlights below for some ideas into how.
Card Highlights
As with my EDH / Commander elf deck, cards that are both in the EDH Multiplayer and French Meta banned lists are automatically excluded from my deck. I do this so that I can fairly play against whatever deck in whatever format my friends bring to the table or to wherever I may go. Italizied cards are currently borrowed from friends or in proxy while I look for the real deal.
During my card selection process, I ran into a great number of Goblins that are really enticing to add. If you feel there are better or more fun cards that should have been included then please add them. By all means, this is not a definitive Goblin deck. There are obviously a lot of ways to build on this; but, the deck can give you a good idea on what can work should you decide to start one for your own.
Make Haste!
"Everybody but me - CHARGE!" - Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
Haste does not make waste. At least, not for this deck. If anything, the goblins take full advantage on one of Red's greatest strengths. Plop one down and start attacking where you can. If you wait long enough, you'll miss the opportunity. This is especially true with all the mass creature kill lurking in your opponent/s' decks. Be relentless in turning your opponent/s into mush fit for a footbottom feast.
[ Goblin Bushwhacker, Goblin Chieftain, Goblin Warchief, Hellraiser Goblin, Lightning Greaves, Fervor ]
Burn, baby, burn!
"First, do some harm." - Goblin Medics
40 is simply another 20. It is twice as much and seems a bigger number; but, it can be fastly whittled down just the same. Every point counts so just keep bringing it. Shoot and ping to your heart's delight. Don't ever look back. Don't rest 'til they're smokin' dead.
[ Goblin Sharpshooter, Siege-Gang Commander, Skirk Fire Marshal, Tok-Tok, Volcano Born, Zo-Zu the Punisher, Goblin Charbelcher, Boggart Shenanigans, Goblin Bombardment, Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle ]
The Art of War
"The path of a goblin shaman is a journey through a thousand ways of hurting people." - Spikeshot Goblin
Sun Tzu they ain't. Goblins will make him proud, though, with an arsenal of destruction, ammunition, and a few good combat tactics in hand. You can be picky with what to blow up starting from troublesome artifacts. From there, just destroy and kill anything you can.
[ Goblin Assassin, Goblin Grenadiers, Goblin Replica, Goblin Ruinblaster, Goblin Tinkerer, Goblin Vandal, Ib Halfheart, Goblin War Drums, Stranglehold ]
Setting up the win
"I order you to volunteer." - Skirk Drill Sergeant
The plan is to kill your opponent/s through a raw burst of speed and skirting mana acceleration. If those tricks do not stick, which happens, the deck transitions into its grindy mode. Your best friends will come in the form of goblin card draw, goblin tutoring, and goblin mana skirting to get yourself back on track. Through the cards listed below, you can either try to rebuild a battalion of goblins or...
[ Goblin Lackey, Goblin Matron, Goblin Recruiter, Goblin Ringleader, Goblin Warchief, Goblin Wizard, Moggcatcher, Sensation Gorger, Skirk Prospector, Warren Instigator, Æther Vial, Slate of Ancestry, Battle Hymn, Brightstone Ritual ]
When all else fails...
"It's easier to just aim at everything." - Lobber Crew
Granted, the amount of firepower the deck can deal through combat and direct damage can be overwhelming for most, there will still be instances when all your efforts will fail. When that happens, pull out all the stops and perform your own unbearable combo moves listed below. Or simply blow everything up and start over. *grins*
[ Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Lightning Crafter ]
[ Goblin Recruiter, Goblin Charbelcher ]
[ Krenko, Mob Boss, Skirk Prospector / Phyrexian Altar, Haste, and a few goblins to get things rolling ]
Affinity for Metalcrafting
"There's always room for one more." - Goblin Matron
There is another avenue you can try and include in your deck to stir it up a bit. Goblins and Artifacts have a simple synergy between them. You cast an artifact and you let the goblins eat 'em up. Spine of Ish Sah is the bomb for this strategy.
[ Goblin Welder, Krark-Clan Stoker, Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer ]
[ Great Furnace, Ichor & Mycosynth Wellspring, Krark-Clan Ironworks, Spine of Ish Sah, Trading Post, Phyrexia's Core, various mana and ramp artifacts ]
[ Galvanic Blast, Molten Psyche ]
|
Krank yo' up a Goblin Mob! Format: EDH / Commander Commander: Krenko, Mob Boss |
| Creatures [40] Akki Lavarunner (Tok-Tok, Volcano Born) Bettleback Chief Chancellor of the Forge Gempalm Incinerator {Cycling 1R} Goblin Assassin Goblin Bushwhacker {Kicker R} Goblin Chieftain Goblin Flectomancer Goblin Grenadiers Goblin King Goblin Lackey Goblin Matron Goblin Piledriver Goblin Rabblemaster Goblin Recruiter Goblin Replica {Artifact Creature} Goblin Ringleader Goblin Ruinblaster {Kicker R} Goblin Sharpshooter Goblin Tinkerer Goblin Vandal Goblin Warchief Goblin Wizard Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Krenko, Mob Boss {Commander} Lightning Crafter {Champion a Goblin or Shaman} Mogg War Marshal {Echo 1R} Moggcatcher {Human Mercenary} Purphoros, God of the Forge {Devotion} Pyrewild Shaman {Bloodrush 1R} Sensation Gorger {Kinship} Siege-Gang Commander Skirk Fire Marshal {Protection from Red} Skirk Prospector Squee, Goblin Nabob Tuktuk the Explorer Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre Warren Instigator {Double strike} Zo-Zu the Punisher |
Artifacts [7] Æther Vial Darksteel Ingot Goblin Charbelcher Lightning Greaves Phyrexian Altar Slate of Ancestry Skullclamp Enchantments [8] Aggravated Assault Boggart Shenanigans {Tribal Goblin} Goblin Bombardment Goblin War Drums Goblin Warrens Hammer of Purphoros Quest for the Goblin Lord Stranglehold Sorceries [4] Goblin Grenade Jokulhaups Mizzium Mortars {Overload} Obliterate Instants [6] Battle Hymn Brightstone Ritual Reverberate Richochet Trap {Trap} Sudden Shock {Split Second} Urza's Rage {Kicker} Lands [35] Arid Mesa Bloodstained Mire Cavern of Souls Darksteel Citadel Gemstone Caverns Goblin Burrows Keldon Necropolis Mutavault Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx {Devotion} Reliquary Tower Scalding Tarn Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle Wasteland Wooded Foothills Mountains - 21 |
Annotations
Notes: 06:00 PM 04/27/2013 [ + Pyrewild Shaman / - Mudbutton Torchrunner ]
Notes: 06:00 PM 09/21/2013 [+ Hammer of Purphoros, - Fervor ]
Notes: 06:00 PM 09/21/2013 [+ Purphoros, God of the Forge, - Warp World ]
Notes: 06:00 PM 09/21/2013 [+ Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, - Temple of the False God ]
Notes: 06:00 PM 09/30/2013 [+ Mutavault, - Shivan Gorge ]
Notes: 07:00 PM 07/13/2013 [+ Goblin Rabblemaster, - Hellraiser Goblin ]
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