Can goblins rise as one of the first prominent tribal deck in modern? Well, let's see. You have your burn to push the rest of the way with Goblin Grenade and Lightning Bolt, you have your aggressive starts with Goblin Guide, Legion Loyalist, and Goblin Cohort, and you have excellent lords that buff your team, like Goblin Chieftain, Goblin Wardriver, and Goblin King. Goblin Bushwhacker is a more mana efficient "Lord-for-a-turn" card that supplements Goblin Chieftain, because giving your dudes haste and pumping multiple dudes really adds up! You also have your "reach" goblin in Ember Hauler.
This deck was specifically targeting Lingering Jund before the Bloodbraid Elf ban, and since the deck is less of a problem, there is more room to play around in the sideboard!
Blood Moon - This card shuts off Scapeshift and UrzaTron decks, severely damages 3-colour (or more) decks that require a lot of non-basic lands to help them, and combos very well with Goblin King.
Combust - I needed an answer to Restoration Angel and Baneslayer Angel from the U/W/R Geist of Saint Traft lists, but I also needed this piece to deal with Deceiver Exarch and Pestermite in the Splinter Twin combo decks, as well as Restoration Angel and Deceiver Exarch in the Kiki-Pod lists. This card took over the Searing Blaze slot.
Rakdos Charm - Why this instead of Ancient Grudge, Shatterstorm or Shattering Spree? It deals with at least 8 decks in the format, and is the main reason I am splashing black. It fights the affinity decks that are popular right now, (the mono-blue lists that don't carry Shrapnel Blast and Galvanic Blast) by dealing with the three most terrifying cards from their deck (Cranial Plating, Master of Etherium, and Steel Overseer.) Also, Rakdos Charm deals with Unburial Rites reanimating an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, or Iona, Shield of Emeria, as the Gifts Ungiven plan is not only seeing play as a control deck, but as a package in the side-board of mono-blue tron lists. Birthing Pod lists that run the Melira, Sylvok Outcast combo is dealt with. Eggs is dealt with. Living End is dealt with. Goryo's Vengeance reanimator is dealt with. Aggro Loam is dealt with. An unchecked Rakdos Charm on Kiki-Pod lists and Splinter Twin list kills them instantly. The deck shrinks Tarmogoyf and Knight of the Reliquary, steals resources from Deathrite Shamans, and helps us race the Burning-Tree Emissarys, Steppe Lynxs, and Tribal Flames decks when they want to slam as many one-two drops as possible.
Dismember - Specifically kills Tarmogoyf, Wall of Roots, Wall of Omens, or anything that really needs killing. It dies. It dies good. Unless it's Phyrexian Colossus off of Tron mana turn three. Then oops. Also, don't play Phyrexian Colossus.
You have the option to make your spells uncounterable with Cavern of Souls, which drives Remand and Mana Leak players up the wall, and you have the option of running a Lightning Crafter combo with Boggart Shenanigans and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker!
(The Combo: With Boggart Shenanigans in play, and a Lightning Crafter that has already championed a Mogg War Marshal in play, you tap your Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker to make a copy of crafter. the copy has champion, so the copy champions the tapped kiki-jiki. The crafter copy also has haste so it can bolt itself. A goblin dies so it triggers one damage from the shenanigans, and the kiki-jiki comes back into play UNTAPPED. Lather, rinse, repeat.)
While goblins can support a combo, it is also a deck that can be as aggressively costed and splash whatever colours that would fit in the current metagame. Splash white for Path to Exile, Lightning Helix, Boros Charm and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Splash black for Wort, Boggart Auntie, Mad Auntie, Boggart Mob, Darkblast, Extirpate, Terminate, Dismember, Rakdos Charm, Rain of Gore, and Warren Weirding. Splash green for Tin Street Hooligan, Krosan Grip, Signal the Clans, and Creeping Corrosion. There are so many options. Just find the one you want to build. Like if this inspires you to build! Like if you support modern!
