B/R Legacy Goblins (Legacy MTG Deck)

B/R Legacy Goblins

Legacy Aggro BR (Rakdos) Competitive Goblins Tribal

loreleaf

Creature (30)

Land (24)

Sideboard

Creature (5)

Instant (4)

Artifact (2)

2x Thorn of Amethyst

Enchantment (2)

2x Blood Moon

Sorcery (2)

2x Cabal Therapy

Maybeboard

Creature (5)

Artifact (2)

Instant (2)

2x Red Elemental Blast

Land (1)

1x Ancient Tomb

Sorcery (2)

2x Cabal Therapy

Legacy Goblins (B/R) V1 - This list includes exciting new Goblin bois (and land) from Modern Horizons.

Also going to B/R allows us to play some additional spicy cards like:

This V1 list is to see what works and what does not for my play style. It is based on a list in the Legacy Goblins Group on FB. With a full report in a pop out below.

I am leaving all of the mono-red list intact as it is by far the most detailed on the how and why of playing Goblins in general.

Yes this list will be foiled out also (except for the Stronghold and Badlands, because they never printed them in foil... yet.

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Legacy Goblins V3 - Post DRS and Git Probe Ban with the new Dominaria and M19 Goblins!

Legacy Goblins V4 - Guilds of Ravnica brings a new boi! Goblin Cratermaker ! Made room for 3 in the main.

This will be a detailed Legacy Goblins build discussing some of the staple core cards to the deck, and why they are played. I hope that newer Legacy Goblins players will appreciate the knowledge shared here. Of course every decklist and especially sideboard will be different, but my goal is to give you a good jumping off point. Some less experienced players will just to jam 4 (now 8) lords in a deck and aggro them out. Now this may work from time to time, but the whole idea of synergy and quite honestly fun, tends to get lost with this method.

If you noticed I said fun above. I mean exactly this! Goblins is a ton of fun! That being said, a highly honed Goblins deck in the hands of a skilled pilot is a very competitive deck that has taken it's share of major tournaments!

So without further adieu let the fun begin!

Why play Goblins?

For years people have treated Goblins in Legacy as a deck for people without skill or money. The money part you can make an argument about however (if you consider $1K cheap), the skill part I absolutely don't agree with.

Goblins is one of the strongest decks in the format that doesn't require a huge commitment to dual or fetchlands. It's an aggro deck that can combo kill on turn 4 or out-card advantage a control deck. It may not be the flashiest 75 cards out there, but it can bring a world of hurt to any opponent.

Also, play Goblins for a love of Goblins, we're not suddenly tier 1.5 due to the recent banlist update, just appreciate your games as there are many paths laid out in each.

Did you know there are over 175 different Goblin type cards? Crazy right?!

Bottom line is that you play Goblins because you love the deck and it's fun! If you're a hard core Spike whom is looking for Tier Zero or Tier One hyper competitive deck, this may not be the deck for you. :)

My Personal Current Build and Notes

V3 Listed Above.

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V2 - Found that I was getting creamed by Sneak/Show, GY Strategies, True-Name Nemesis , and Storm. V3 will shore up the SB to help focus on this. The SB in V2 is good for an unknown meta.

Date: 7/11/18

Creatures: (30)

Instants: (4)

3 Tarfire

Artifact: (4)

4 Aether Vial

Land: (23)

SB:

Deck Changes

In my test games the MWM while it did provide blockers, just didn't seem powerful enough. May have to go back to 3 if the meta become Goyf/Creature flooded. Krenko, Mob Boss has to step up his game :)

Also while the Gempalm is powerful, with 3 Tarfire and 1 less MWM, I think going to 2 is the right number for now. Again if we get Zombie Fish/Goyf heavy, I can revisit.

With 2 Goblin Trashmaster (Lords with a great ability) and 3 Goblin Warchief (allowing for explosive turns by reducing mana cost and providing haste) I wanted 2 more Lords to give more of a punch. To accomplish this, I am adding in the 2 Goblin Chieftain . This will be a good hit off of the Goblin Ringleader or to be tutored for with Goblin Matron if more punch is needed.

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New Goblin Boi in Guilds of Ravnica! Ladies and gentlemen I introduce Goblin Cratermaker see the discussion here.

To facilitate him we have to chop somewhere. I have decided I am heavy on the lords so the following changes will be made to the deck overall:

Why these specific cards?

A lot of people are off Tarfire, and honestly don't really need 3 anymore. So one went to make room for another Piledriver.
1 Chainwhirler went to make room for a Sharpshooter for more diversity and reach with the loss of the Tarfire.
1 Trashmaster and 1 Chieftain out to make room for the 2 Cratermaker

Primer

I. Introduction

II. Maindeck

III. The Two Faces of Vial-Goblins

IV. Matchups & Strategy

V. Outside the Box

VI. Literature

VII. Final Addendum

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I. Introduction

Here is a brief outline of the deck's development.

Vial Goblins exists since the very beginning of the format Legacy. It came to life with the printing of Goblin Warchief, Goblin Piledriver, Siege-Gang Commander, Goblin Sharpshooter and Gempalm Incinerator – all of which were included in the Onslaught block. Later, AEther Vial was released which made the deck one of the most dominant decks in the format. The deck gradually lost it's dominant position with the power-creep that creatures since the Ravnica block are experiencing. In 2011 with the release of Stoneforge Mystic and Batterskull the deck was once again said to be "dead". Goblins faced the problem that any creature-based strategy was more efficient: while Goblins always relied on their synergistic abilities to spam high CMC creatures like Goblin Ringleader and Siege-Gang Commander, other creature-based strategies were able to just play with any combination of cards that were strong in their own rights while having very low mana-costs.

However, people didn't lose interest in Goblins. Less than one year later (spring of 2012) some players were coming up with innovative decklists and strategies to compete in the meta. Then, in May 2012 we were blessed with the printing of Cavern of Souls which initiated a come back for Vial Gob

So what do Goblins do? Goblins have two major strategies: (1) beating our opponents as fast as possible. and (2) grinding out games to win in late game via card- (and board-) advantage. The first strategy is made possible by a combination of Goblin Lackey, Warren Instigator, and Goblin Piledriver, while the latter strategy makes use of the huge card-advantage which the deck can create with cards like Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader and Mogg War Marshal. Which strategy to use is highly dependent from the matchup (MU) and the meta – oftentimes you will find yourself using a mixture of both roles even in the same game.

Most of all, you should play goblins when you are looking for a deck that can beat control decks on a regular basis. In this sense Vial Goblins is a meta deck. You will realize that there are goblin-friendly metas and goblin-hostile metas. Goblins rewards knowledge of the metagame because the deck has a relatively large number of playable cards in the MD as well as in the SB that you can or cannot use to tune your deck for the metagame you are expecting. Goblins is also a deck with many faces: there is not ONE, but at least TWO "stock-lists" all of which have a different strategy and perform differently against the field. This makes it hard for your opponents to get a good grasp on the deck. Next, Goblins is a very old deck and many newer players won't know how to play against it. The deck has a lot of play to it. It is very easy to play the deck wrong, but many of these less than perfect lines can lead to game win. It's similar to Affinity in Modern in this regard, but these decisions come in the mid-game instead of the early game. That is not to say that the deck is so strong that it will beat many decks while your brain is on 'standby-mode'. Furthermore there is a ton of decisions to be made during the deck building process, and they matter as much as your game play. As I said, there are plenty of 'playable' cards, but it is essential that your cardchoices really fit the metagame requirements. This will come back at you when you have to decide whether to play, let's say, Goblin Chieftain or Goblin Warchief. The devil is in the details. So, you should also play Goblins if you are willing to invest some time in working out the details of the deck (the first step has been set once you fought yourself through this deckprimer).

If you enjoy a Midrange strategy that is a bit on the lean side, that has acceptable control AND combo elements to it, this deck is for you.

II. The Maindeck

Let's talk about mana first. Goblins is a very mana hungry deck which needs to be provided with lands in the first three turns to ensure a fast and solid start. The high manacosts of cards like Goblin Ringleader and mana consuming abilities like those of Rishadan Port "force" us to play a number of mana sources: 22-24. (Note that successful attempts have been made to run 20 or 21 mana sources. However those cases are rare and usually only run smoothly in well balanced decklists. So for starters I'd advise to run 23 actual lands.

Mana-denial is an important part of Goblins' gameplan. So what do we do when we are flooding? We attempt to cause our opponent to drought, or screw. This is why a playset of Wastelands + X Rishadan Ports find their way into most Goblin lists. Apart from purely shutting our opponents off a single color, manadenial lands can be used to deal with problematic cards like:

so-called 'manlands': Mishra's Factory, Mutavault and Creeping Tar Pit
Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Grove of the Burnwillows (in combo with Punishing Fire)

Cavern of Souls is an auto-include in every Goblin deck list. The default number if 4 copies. This card simply does so much for the deck, and it does it in a very subtle way.

As far as splash colors are concerned, success has been reported with EVERY additional color. Given the limited space, there is usually room for only 1-3 dual lands to support your splash color. Also, don't hesitate to play a mono red deck. Approximately 95% of the deck is red, even in multicolored lists. Playing Mono Red is not a question of low budget. By default you should build your deck mono-red. Only if you need certain cards (mostly SB cards) that are not red or colorless, you can think about splashing colors.

Other prominent utility lands in Goblins are Pendelhaven (which protects Lackey from Punishing Fire and pumps it to get past early blockers like Deathrite Shaman and Delver of Secrets) and Karakas (which protects your own legendaries like Krenko, Mob Boss and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker; and bounces legendaries commonly played in Legacy, like Iona, Shield of Emeria and Griselbrand).

Aether Vial

AEther Vial is one of the reasons why the deck can run such high CMC creatures. Oftentimes AEther Vial is ticked up every round, whereas one should carefully consider adding more than three counters.

Did you know that... AEther Vial has an upkeep-trigger that reads "you may put a charge counter on AEther Vial." Therefore one should announce the trigger in each and every upkeep (you will NEVER forget that after a while) and then carefully think whether to add another counter or not. E.g.: It's our main phase and we control Vial with 2 counters on it (@2) – we have a Mogg War Marshal, Goblin Piledriver, and Goblin Ringleader on our hand and we want to cheat all of them through our opponent's counterspells. Actually we must leave AEther Vial @ 2 for two rounds to do that. At the end of our opponent's turn we tap it to bring in the 2 drop. In our next upkeep we announce the may-trigger and tap Vial in response to bring in MWM – after that, Vial's trigger resolves and we add another counter. So, in our next upkeep we can decide to bring in any cc3 Goblin or the 4 drop that is waiting in our hand.

Goblin Lackey

Cavern of Souls naming Goblin, Goblin Lackey, Go – is one of the best T1-play our deck has. His threatening, triggered ability enables fast and aggressive starts, even turn-3-kills. On the other hand he does very often not "connect" because opponents will try everything to throw removal, counter or Stifle at him. Placing creatures in his way is oftentimes a plan-B, because the creature in question could be removed to make sure that Lackey gets the party started. It's not uncommon to see Warren Instigator in lists as well, giving a deck 6-8 Goblin Lackeys, but with extra synergy with Lords like Goblin Chieftain, and Pendelhaven. Did you know that?

Lackey's oracle-text reads that he can bring in goblin-permanents, whereas Warren Instigator can only bring in goblin-creatures. This fact is often irrelevant because most goblin permanents have legs anyways. Also there is a nice interaction with Rakdos Charm that doesn't work for Warren Instigator.

Goblin Matron

Goblin Matron, along with Goblin Ringleader, is the backbone of the deck. Most often you will fetch a Goblin Ringleader with her ability, but you can also choose any other goblin, depending on what is needed at the moment she enters the battlefield. E.g. fetch Goblin Chieftain to counter Engineered Plague, or Tuktuk Scrapper to destroy that pesky equipment.

Did you know that... A foil Goblin Matron is only available in the 7th Edition and costs a whole lot of money. It's also good to know that Goblin Matron's triggered ability is obligatory. That means that (1) if you forget to fetch a creature and move on to the next step of the turn, your opponent can be a dick and not allow you to still fetch a creature afterwards. That's not the case with triggers that must be resolved, i.e. such abilities without the word "may". (2) When Matron is the only card in your hand and you have a Vial 3 and your opponent plays a discard spell, like Thoughtseize, you can put Matron into play without having to look for something to put into your hand. Also, you can search your library and declare NOT TO FIND ANYTHING, in case you want to shuffle your library.

Goblin Ringleader

Sometimes Goblin Ringleader just reads "draw 4 cards". Goblin Ringleader has an immediate impact on the game by potentially creating huge card advantage. At the very least he will replace himself (that is: you invest one card to get one card in return), but most of the time he creates raw card advantage. This card advantage ultimately leads to board advantage (most cards you reveal are creature cards), which means that you are winning the game. It is also important to play as many goblins as possible (34 goblins is the maximum number with 22 lands and 4 AEther Vials) in your maindeck to make the best card of the deck even better.

Did you know that... Ringleader never lets you down. Have you ever revealed 4 lands in a row? Yes, almost certainly. Have you ever been disappointed about this fact? You shouldn't! Every time Ringleader reveals 0 Goblin cards, ask yourself how the game would have turned out if you had drawn those cards for the next 4 turns! However he usually should reveal 3 Goblin cards, with 4 and 2 cards lying within standards, while 0 or 1 is highly unlikely.

How you fill the remaining 14 land-slots and which set of spells you choose for the MD is dependent from the metagame you are playing in. In other words: these slots are very flexible. What follows now is an explanation of proven subtypes of Goblin decks as well as a list of playable and un-playable cards.

Goblin Warchief / Goblin Chieftain

Hastey goblins are happy goblins. Both, Goblin Warchief and Goblin Chieftain, make the deck more explosive and much harder to deal with. Players usually spend 3-7 slots on 'haste lords' Goblin Warchief and Goblin Chieftain, whereas Goblin Warchief is the more popular choice due his explosive ability, Goblin Chieftain tends to be a nod to Deathrite Shaman and other Squires.

Suggested reading about Warchief and Chieftain: here. Cards you should NOT run instead: Goblin King, Mad Auntie, Goblin Wardriver, Frogtosser Banneret, Goblin Lookout

Goblin Piledriver

Goblin Piledriver is a common choice for the deck. His insane triggered ability causes heavy damage to opponents lifepoints, when unblocked. However this is often not the case, since opponents place creatures and removal in his way. He supports aggressive strategies and makes the deck more explosive. His triggered ability checks the number of Goblins on resolution. This has two implications: (1) Stifle turn an attacking PD into a Squire and (2) your opponent can destroy (or remove) goblins in response to the triggered ability and still weaken your PD. People usually run 2-4 copies in their decklists, for starters 4 should be the default option. I am in favor of 4 copies as well, as long as you are not expecting to face a ridiculous amount of non-blue creatures.

Mogg War Marshal

Mogg War Marshal is the best ancillary effect the deck has access to. It does exactly 1 thing, and that's put some goblins into play. This has a huge ripple affect across the course of a game: coupled with mana denial and their own ability to just chump for little loss, many creature based decks can be time walked while you set up mana and Vial in creatures; Gempalm becomes inherently more powerful due to the goblin count; and it puts you in a good spot against spot removal. I often joke that "Mogg War Marshal is the glue that holds the deck together." This glue comes at a cost though, and that's against Combo. Many of the creatures in here can battle, and battle rather quickly when unchecked, such as against a creatureless combo deck, but War Marshal is not one of them. 2-4 are very common numbers to see on this card.

Gempalm Incinerator

Gempalm Incinerator is the most common spot removal of choice in Goblin lists and suppliments the other more direct, less grindy, removal spells in a deck. Almost always a 1 off at minimu, but 1-4 copies, meta dependent. It trades 0 for 1 (in the worst case 0:0) with other creatures, can't be countered by ordinary countermagic, and even has a body to block/attack with. One should carefully count all Goblins in play (even Mutavault is a Goblin once in a while) and take opponent's removal into account (which can decrease the number of Goblins in play while Gempalm Incinerator's ability is on the stack) before using cycling. Cycling is an activated ability that can be used at instant-speed. This means that, since it is an ability, not a spell, Force of Will and Daze won't work on Cycling. Cards with cycling usually have an additional triggered ability printed on it, that triggers when you cycle the card (which is the case with this card).

The problem with Gempalm Incinerator is, that you need a board state to kill a targeted creature. In some MUs it is hardly possible to develop such a board position which means that you sometimes need removal spells that are dealing damage more reliably. Tarfire is an alternative for such situations (e.g. when most of the creatures in your metagame are power 2 or less and are to be dealt with immediately and reliably). Additionally Pyrokinesis, a card often in the sideboard of Goblins, is a fine card in the maindeck as well.

By default you should play 3 copies of Gempalm Incinerator. Suggested reading about Lightning Bolt (and Tarfire for that matter), click here. Cards you should NOT run instead: Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Mogg Fanatic

Goblin Sharpshooter / Goblin Chainwhirler

Goblin Sharpshooter is another common choice for Goblin decks. He helps in the mirror-match, against hordes of Elves and counters a lot of strategies that rely on x/1 creatures (oftentimes tokens), such as Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor, Empty the Warrens, every elf but the good one. He also has interactions with Skirk Prospector and echo cards like Mogg War Marshal and Stingscourger. Sparksmith is another, tap-for-damage-spell that you can use multiple times. The downsides are basically the same as with Gempalm Incinerator with the addition that your opponent will oftentimes see him coming. The fact that he eats your lifepoints has surprisingly little impact on the game, especially when you consider what you get in return.

Goblin Chainwhirler is a similar card that has a much better body and a 1 time effect. Chainwhirler will never lock someone out of the game in the same fashion as Sharpshooter, but it still is a pesudo lord in that it allows you to make slightly weaker looking attacks, and it's ability is still powerful. Hurly-Burly stapled on a 3/3 First Striker is no joke in Legacy with Young Pyromancer, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Empty the Warrents. This card's body is not to be trifled with, and is one of the best combat oriented creatures we have access to, losing only to Gurmag Angler, Tarmogoyf, and the rare Hooting Mandrils of the "fair" creatures. Cards you should NOT run instead: Lightning Crafter

Skirk Prospector

Skirk Prospector is an unnassuming little guy that does way more than he looks like.

1) He's a sacrifice source. This allows you to dodge counters from Umezawa's Jitte, and / or lifegain from combat with Batterskll, or Griselbrand. Simply sacrifice your creature after blocks are declared.

2) Prospector produces red mana. This is something that traditional lists actually can have a hard time doing. The power of Wasteland, Rishadan Port, and Cavern of Souls are usually worth the loss in casting consistency for Tarfire, and Gempalm Incinerator. This can come up in games where you can only use AEther Vial as mana source.

3) He is ramp. At his worst, Wild Cantor casts Goblin Warchief, a very important type of card for our deck, on turn 2. Sometimes he produces a lot of mana. Frankly, he enables the most powerful lines available to the deck with this ability. Sometimes you just get to play "everything" into a powerful, hasty, Goblin Piledriver chain for lethal.

4) Goblin Sharpshooter loves this guy. With both out you gain a very powerful form of board control. The rest of your deck just has a pile of synergy by being able to be sac'd to cause Sharpshooter to either remove all of your opponents threats, make them unable to attack, or just outrite kill the enemy player (through a Moat if you are fancy).

Cards you should NOT run instead: There really is no other comparison here.

Stingscourger

Stingscourger is a typical 1-off (or silver bullet), which gives you the flexibility to bounce huge blockers and go for the alpha strike. He is also a popular choice in fields where Sneak & Show and Reanimate decks are around, since it effectively counters their effect. Even Emrakul, the Aeons Torn isn't protected against this card, as the spaghetti monster will be sent back by an ability, not by a spell. Another nice thing about this 'removal' spell is that it usually circumvents countermagic with AEther Vial or Cavern of Souls.

If you want a card that actually handles large creatures permanently you are probably looking for Warren Weirding. It is only comparable to Stingscourger in that it is usually meant to handle the big guys, but other than that the cards are quite different in how you manage them during the game. That is Warren Weirding is usually not run instead of, but in addition to, Stingscourger.

Cards you should NOT run instead: Goblin Tunneler

Shatter Goblins

Goblin Trashmaster / Tuktuk Scrapper / Tin Street Hooligan

Goblin decks usually employ 1 or 2 [cards]Shatter[cards] effects stapled to bodies in the main / side. A singleton Shatter Goblin can be tutored with Goblin Matron and gives us "5" maindeck answers to equipment such as Umezawa's Jitte, or sideboard Pithing Needle. There are a host of other possible targets ancidently all over Legacy (tagging a Lion's Eye Diamond is always nice), but Jitte and Ensnaring bridge type cards are the main reason. The most commonly used shatters are Goblin Trashmaster, Tuktuk Scrapper, and Tin Street Hooligan. Trashmaster at first blush seems like a strict upgrade over Scrapper, and he mostly is, but the reason both are still played is that a single Pithing Needle shuts down Trashmaster's ability in full. Trashmaster is probably the most maindeckable shatter of the options, as his pump ability is still relevant when there are no artifacts to bother. All of that said, Tin Street Hooligan costs 2 mana, has 2 power in a race, and did I mention he costs 2 mana? You can pay for the G with Cavern of Souls for his effect. To note: Goblin Warchief shuts off Tin Street Hooligan as you can't pay a G mana for him if he costs a single R. It normally doesn't matter as Warchief is the first to die when a Jitte is involved.

Cards you should NOT run instead: Goblin Tinkerer, Goblin Vandal

Finisher goblins are the the most impactful creatures the deck can afford to play. These guys usually have an immediate impact on the board and most importantly are must answers from the opponent's point of view due to how fast they tend to end games or accrue advantage. These guys are parity breakers.

You do not need to run them to win a game, and some have eschewed them in certain metas. But Goblin Matron's consistency makes it very tempting to run 1 or more of some of these cards due to their game ending abilities.

Siege-Gang Commander

Siege-Gang Commander was, and perhaps is, the most commonly seen finisher goblin for the deck. At the cost of 5 mana it's hard to run more than 1 or 2 of him, but he hands down gives the most consistent bang for your buck. He creates an instant board state. An early Goblin Lackey putting this guy into play usually puts your opponent so far behind, even if they deal with it, they've spent so many resources the game tends to fall in your favor. He is one of the best available top decks in the late game as he can put you from a losing board to either parity, or close, immediately. He also facilitates a couple of the turn 3 kills available to the deck. But he is more than that, he is also a re-usable burn spell. The cost of paying 2 mana and a goblin to shock target creature or player is the other powerful effect he presents. This kills numerous X/2's in the format, in addition to figuratively lobbing Goblins over a Moat as a way to finish the game without combat damage. Just like Mogg War Marshal he is also rather "good" against spot removal as killing the Commander leaves you with 3 Goblin tokens.

AEther Vial does very little on 5 other than put this man into play though, and this reason alone is why many players eschew him. Additionally he's simply not as powerful as some other options. He requires a mana investment to gain full use, and sometimes he's simply 4 chumps.

This card does many of the things the deck already wants to be doing, and he does most of it "alone." He is a solid, conservative, choice.

Krenko, Mob Boss

Krenko, Mob Boss is one of the other common finisher goblins for the archetype. His ability to put so many tokens into play is by far, and large, one of the more powerful things you can be doing with a Goblin card. His natural resilience to Abrupt Decay, Disfigure, and to some extent Golgari Charm, are some of the main reasons people run the Boss. Many goblin pilots run an increased amount of "Haste Lords" to make sure that he can tap the turn he enters the battlefield. A hasty field with Krenko, Mob Boss can end a game in very, very short order. It should be noted that he is one of the best available tools against Midrange strats such as Shardless and Eldrazi.

His biggest downside is his weakness to all sorts of 1 mana answers (Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares, Fatal Push. He does nothing the turn he comes in, unless you have a haste lord out. Therefore those spells can be Time Walk for 1 mana. Since he does not naturally have haste, it's possible he may die before putting any goblin tokens into play. Additionally if you very few, or just Krenko, Mob Boss in play his first activation might not be enough to change the current game in a meaningful way. The last thing to be wary of when running this finisher is his Legendary status. He can be hit by Karakas, and over the course of a larger tournament, probably will be.

His raw power level is pinning the needle to the edge of the meter, and ends games very, very quickly. But he is bit more vulnerable. At the cost of 4 mana this turns some people off of using him.

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is another Legendary Goblin who's fairly unique ability put's him up as a contender for a Finisher Goblin. Pilots running this finisher are able to boast some of the best card draw available in Legacy as re-abusing the already powerful Goblin Matron and Goblin Ringleader pushes the deck right past cards like Ancestral Visions. Pretty much every goblin that see's play in the deck is worth copying for one reason or another. Multiple Goblin Chieftains push the deck past most blockers, multiple Goblin Lackeys mean more cards put into play for free etc. He is often run alongside Warren Instigator as those builds of the deck tend to be more aggressive and can take the most advantage of the effect. Not to mention his ability with Goblin Settler can cause a total lock-out in some scenarios. He also facilitates a couple of the turn 3 kills available to the deck. He is vaguely resilient to removal if there is any goblin in play worth copying. Thanks to him naturally having haste, it would take 2 pieces of instant speed spot removal to blank him entirely. An important 'trick' for Kiki-Jiki is to use his ability in during a player's end step. After the "beginning of end step" make a copy of a creature and it will stick around until the next "beginning of end step". This way the copy will survive a whole turn. Do it during your own end step to have an extra blocker, or during your opponents for another attacker.

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is rather lackluster on an empty board or one with only tokens. The cost of 2 generic 3 red mana to cast him is nothing to scoff at either, as many lists run Wasteland and Rishadan Port. Since Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is a Legendary creature he has a built in weakness to Karakas, but his natural haste mitigates this some. And lastly an AEther Vial at 5 tends to be turned off for the remainder of a game.

This finisher generates game winning advantages very quickly, but he is ultimately a 2/2, and doesn't really work when you have low board presence.

Some lists run more unorthodox methods to break parity and win though. Just running a high number of Goblin Chieftain or Goblin Trashmaster naturally helps this for instance.

Goblin Chirurgeon appears similar to Skirk Prospector, and is often run in place of him. He's still good at anything that sacrificing a creature is, but with the upside of turning opponents spot removal into Diabolic Edicts instead. He's at his best against damage and destroy based control strategies. Additionally he can sacrifice a goblin to save a non-goblin if that ends up mattering.

Earwig Squad runs a double role of being a rather large creature with a good anti-combo / anti-tutor package ability. This guy is usually run as a combo hoser. He is being mentioned here mostly because he tends to take up the slot of a finisher goblin.

Grenzo, Dungeon Warden can accrue a lot of advantage and can be large, but is very mana intensive, and a little inconsistent. He can be played as a small or large creature at your convenience of mana. He has some anti-synergy with Goblin Ringleaders ability.

III. The Two Faces of Vial-Goblins

In the long history of Goblins, two decklists have been established. In the following section I will discuss them one by one and provide sample-decklists that are as close to the basic of the respective subtype as possible. That means: there is no recipe how to build these two archetypes, neither is there a set-in-stone 60-cards-MD . The lists I present serve as examples to show the advantages and disadvantages of each subtype.

At first we are looking at the lands. The deck is monored and uses the full number of mana-denial lands. This has two important advantages. First, it is hard, if not impossible, for your opponent to mana-screw this deck as you have 10-14 red mana sources, 10 of which are unaffected by any land destruction played in legacy, including Back to Basics and Bood Moon. Second, the lists is very good at punishing greedy, multicolored mana bases – which will sometimes give you free wins just by tapping your lands. Another important element is the choice to play a higher number of Gempalm Incinerator, which goes hand in hand with Mogg War Marshal. Gempalm Incinerator is, provided you have enough Goblins in play, the best removal spell available. It is uncounterable, it draws a card, it occasionally can be a creature and most importantly it is a Goblin. So why not play the best removal spell? Mogg War Marshal makes it possible. Mogg War Marshal works in perfect harmony with your mana denial: tapping lands with Rishadan Port can mean a Time Walk – but only when you keep your opponents creatures in check. MWM does exactly that. Together they support a grindy strategy that gets the deck where it wants to be: turn 5. From that point on your card advantage engine takes over to quickly outperform your opponent on all fronts: the hand and the board. Siege-Gang Commander is just another testament to the fact that the late game will be yours and that you want to play grindy games, preferably with AEther Vial on turn 1. Those four cards I separated from the rest of the deck are silver bullets for your Matron-gun. Since your are going for the mid-and late game it is essential to have answers to a variety of (un-)expected situations. After all this is legacy, which means that unexpected things will happen. Going for mid and late game also has a huge drawback: this list is not as consistent at racing, making this list worse against combo.

The two most defining elements of this list are Chrome Mox and Warren Instigator. Chrome Mox is not only used as a tool to dish out Warren Instigator on turn 1 (which effectively gives you 8 Goblin Lackeys, and who wouldn't want that?). It also enables Goblin Chieftain / Goblin Warchief on turn 2 and Goblin Ringleaders as early as turn 3. It is essential to know which card to put under a Chrome Mox, which can be a real challenge on turn 1 or 2, but less so when you cast it later on. The combination of Winstigator, Chieftain, and the Mox makes the deck much more explosive and aggressive than the Classic version. In contrary to those lists, Winstigator lists do not try to grind out games, but catch people off guard that can't handle early aggression in form of Winstigators. Often Goblin Piledrivers makes an apperance as well, simply so the deck can be the aggressor as often as possible. Goblin Chieftain is played in favor of Goblin Warchief because the cost reducing ability is less relevant: your list in general has more double-red manacosts (which is also a reason to cut / shave onRishadan Ports) and you have Chrome Mox which partly makes up for the mana boost you want to get out of Goblin Warchief. A downside is that Chrome Mox creates card disadvantage, which you should usually be able to make up for. But still, there will be games where your opponent's discard spells and the card you imprint for Chrome Mox add up to a critical degree. Another remarkable feature of those lists is that Gempalm Incinerators are cut to 2, sometimes even down to 0 copies. This is because the list is more focused on pushing through early Goblin Lackey effects, and this strategy is best supported by reliable removal. In a world where 75% of the field is playing either Deathrite Shaman, and/or Stoneforge Mystic and/or Delver of Secrets, Tarfire is more reliable than Gempalm Incinerator. Pendelhaven has recently proven to be a good card for Winstigator-lists for it's ability to get past Squires.

Both lists are viable, and both are powerful for different reasons. It's not uncommon to see the lines blur in brewing for certain metas.

IV. Matchups & Strategy

In this section I will present my view on a number of relevant MUs as well as some suggestions how to play them right. I will try to update this regularly, but please keep in mind the date when I last edited the list. Also, this is but one view that is presented here, so please feel free to test the MUs yourself and work out strategies that are different from what I am presenting here. I am using the following five "ratings" for MUs:

(1) Favorable: most iterations of Goblins will have good chances of winning against most iterations of the deck in question. Usually you don't need to reserve any SB cards for this MU.

(2) Slightly Favorable: your chances of winning range from even to good, depending on your version of the deck as well as some SB cards.

(3) Even: generally chances are evenly distributed. Sometimes the outcome of this is MU decided by certain MD or SB cards that you, or your opponents, are playing. Also, skill and experience will be a relevant factor.

(4) Slightly Unfavorable: your list will need some specific tuning to win this MU. SB cards can turn the tides and drag the odds down to 50%. These MUs are usually what you need your SB cards for.

(5) Unfavorable: most iterations of your opponents deck will have good chances of beating yours. In some cases you can dedicate a lot of SB cards to make this MU even, but sometimes it is better to accept that you can't beat every deck.

Grixis Delver – Slightly Favorable

How the matchups works: Grixis Delver is a tempo deck first, and a midrange deck second. If it can it will try to win the game with an early Delver of Secrets or Deathrite Shaman backed with the lategame power of Young Pyromancer and Gurmag Angler. They are a 3 color deck splashing green for a tiny amount of SB options plus the shaman. The big thing to worry about here is the Black Spells. Deathrite Shaman, Cabal Therapy, and Gurmag Angler are the cards that do the most damage. Therapy makes holding Goblin Ringleader look worse. Deathrite Shaman makes the deck very resiliant to actual mana denial, and is excellent during board stalls (not to mention it's Goblin Lackey stopping power). Gurmag Angler is their true "finisher" against us. The card is bigger than most of our removal, and despite delve cards being "bad" against Stingscourger, it is only a tempo play, not a solution. That said if you can manage to take out their black mana the deck ceases to function in a way that is scary, and is merely a tempo deck. They have a really rough time recouping card advantage sans SB Painful Truths; sticking a Goblin Ringleader, or a finisher goblin do a ton of work here. The fastest way to lose is to let a Gurmag Angler come down when unready, you need chumps for this match. The game is won generally when the fish and the shaman don't do what they were intended to do. Prioritize stopping that. Post board they actually bring in red or black pseudo wipes (Toxic Deluge, Fire Covenant, Electrickery) and whatever spot removal they have over their counterspells. They could also have Umezawa's Jitte or Darkblast, as a heads up. It's also possible to run into builds that run Snapcaster Mage over Young Pyromancer as additional information. Make sure you can get past a 3/3 in Leovold and your card advantage will bury them.

Which version to pick: Their deck operates well with a small amount of mana. In addition to that, grinding out games is not necessary. For these reasons the two major strength of the Classic version don't carry weight. The Winstigator list should be your version of choice, as it brings a very strong early game. Cards that support this strategy: Warren Instigator, Goblin Chieftain, Tarfire, Gempalm Incinerator, Finisher Goblins

Meaningful SB cards: Blood Moon, Pyrokinesis, Goblin Sharpshooter, [cards]Goblin Chainwhirler[cards], Carpet of Flowers (on the draw)

Red Herrings: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (they will aggressively Wasteland you, and if possible shut down AEther Vial, making her hard to get out in the mid-game).

DRS should be higher priority kill than Young Pyromancer. You can beat a ton of x/1S, and have a really hard time with a 1/2 comparitively.

4c Control - Czech Pile – Slightly Favorable

How the matchups works: This is another control deck, but with A healthy dose of Deathrite Shaman, Baleful Strix, and often Snapcaster Mage, and Leovold, Emissary of Trest. Their removal suite truly is a pile, often involving some Abrupt Decay, some Fatal Push, some Lightning Bolt, 2-3 Kaloghan's Command, and 4 Force of Will, some Counterspell, some discard (Thoughtseize, Hymn to Tourach, or even some Liliana of the Veil). I imagine writing their deck list down requires more columns than available to most deck registration sheets. They win with Jace, the Mind Sculptor, or whatever's left of the creature suite in play, and have a rather good end game. On the bright side, this does mean that our decks main gameplan is at full value here. We are very good at accruing cards. Basically, just kill their stuff and chug along. There could be 1, maybe 2 pseudo wipes in their maindeck, but game 1 shouldn't be so bad so long as you don't let them recur Kolaghan's Command. Their mana is rough, so kill Deathrite Shaman, and their Red sources, and the rest should just be a grind fest. After boarding they drop counterspells for more interaction. Goblin Piledriver is rather good in this match, only being blocked by Deathrite Shaman. Do not get too aggressive, they almost certainly have the kill spell to punish you. Builds low on Goblin Piledriver and high on Finisher Goblins have the edge here.

Cards that support this strategy: Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader, Finisher Goblins, Goblin Chirurgeon, Wasteland, Rishadan Port.

Meaningful SB cards: Blood Moon, Goblin Chainwhirler, a small number of Relic of Progenitus (as it can cycle away for no card loss)

Red Herrings: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (looks good at first glance, but is actually worse for our grind plan versus their kill spell plan)

Miracles – Favorable

How the matchups works: This, just like the original Miracles deck, is a breeze. The scary things to watch out for is a late game Entreat the Angels, a mid-game Back to Basics, or an early game Monastery Mentor. Other than that you can just grind as hard as you like and come out ahead in the long run. Don't over commit and keep socking them for 2-4 a turn. They run 2-3 Counterspell, which we beat rather easily. Watch out for SB Supreme Verdict, or more likely a surprise Containment Priest, along with more Vendillion Cliques.

Cards that support this strategy: Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader, Rishadan Port, Finisher Goblins

Meaningful SB cards: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, maybe a Pithing Needle for Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Red Herrings: Overboarding. Goblin Core should handle most of this.

Moon Stompy – Favorable

How the matchups works: This match-up is easy to mis-identify with Mono Red Sneak Attack, figuring this out early is cirtical, as the match-ups difficulty is on opposite spectrums. They will attempt to lock you out with a turn 1 Chalice of the Void, or T2 Blood Moon. Since that really doesn't affect us G1 you take their lunch money usually. G2 and 3 though they will bring in more interaction. Fiery Confluence and Chandra, Torch of Defiance in tandem can cause problems, but usually you can just bury the deck with Good Ol' Ringleader. They will try to lock you under an Ensaring Bridge, and then attack under it on their own turn, but thankfully most of your guys are small to begin with. Shatter it and move on. Post board the shatter's become more powerful as they bring in Needle like effects.

Cards that support this strategy: Goblin Ringleader, Shatter Effects, 3/3 bodies.

Meaningful SB cards: Pyrokinesis, Shatter Effects, Pithing Needle for walkers, Finisher Goblins

Red Herrings: You might play too aggressively thinking this is Mono Red Sneak Attack and get hit by [cards]Fiery Confluence[cards].

Mono Red Sneak Attack – Unfavorable

How the matchups works: This match-up is easy to mis-identify with Moon Stompy, figuring this out early is cirtical, as the match-ups difficulty is on opposite spectrums. They will attempt to lock you out with a turn 1 Chalice of the Void, or T2 Blood Moon. At some point, early or late, they will deploy Sneak Attack or Through the Breach and smash you with some non-discriminant fat creature. The only real answers game 1 is a good bit of luck, and perhaps a Vial on 2 for a Stingscourger. Post board we still don't have much.

Cards that support this strategy: Stingscourger

Meaningful SB cards: Pithing Needle, Demystify effects, Containment Priest

Red Herrings: You might play too defensively thinking this is Moon Stompy and get hit by an [cards]Emrakul, the Aeons Torn[cards].

Storm Combo - ANT (Ad Nauseum Tendrils) – Unfavorable

How the matchups works: You can steal games by killing them on turn 3 or 4. However, your lack of disruptive elements usually makes you an easy target. When you evaluate your opening hands you should aim for a kill on turn 3 or 4. Every piece of hate should delay your opponent by at least 1 turn. If it doesn't then don't play it. Accept the idea of being killed on turn 1 or 2 without any interaction.

Which version to pick: Neither version will have good times here. Winstigator lists are better equipped here as they are more likely to pull off turn-3 kills. Also, Chrome Mox helps casting hate pieces one turn earlier than usual.

Cards that support this strategy: Goblin Lackey, Warren Instigator, Goblin Piledriver

Meaningful SB cards: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Mindbreak Trap, Discard Spells, Chalice of the Void, Amulet of Safekeeping, Thorn of Amethyst, Cabal Therapy, Grafdigger's Cage and less spectacularly Relic of Progenitus.

Red Herrings: Surgical Extraction is 100% playable, but ultimatley worse than Grafdigger's Cage, and Relic of Progenitus, here as they can run Threshold cards in addition to Past in Flames.

Show & Tell (Sneak Attack / Omniscience) – Slightly Unfavorable

How the matchups works: This is the most popular, and best performing, version of Show & Tell right now. Get a Stingscourger or Goblin Matron on your hand as quickly as possible, as this will effectively shut down the creature half of Show and Tell. They are more likely to get you in Game 1 than normal just Sneak & Show due to the spell based combo portion of their deck, but in turn the deck became a bit clunkier and can fall to itself a bit more often. Post board bring in all of your hate for both archetypes and rely on them having the creature portion, as it's 2/3s of their wins. You should be wary of Kozilek's Return in this match, via Cunning Wish. Take note that it is indeed an instant.

Which version to pick: Winstigator's strength is to end the game in a timely fashion, while the classic list has additional manadenial to delay the mana intense win conditions of Sneak Attack and Through the Breach. They are close to even.

Cards that support this strategy: Stingscourger, Goblin Matron, Chrome Mox, Goblin Lackey, Warren Instigator, Goblin Piledriver, Rishadan Port

Meaningful SB cards: Everything that works against either version is good here. Cards that hit both are great. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Damping Sphere, Red Elemental Blast, Demystify Effects, Cabal Therapy, etc. Confusion in the Ranks / Ashen Rider also do the job wonderfully, but are very, very narrow.

Sneak & Show (Sneak Attack / Through the Breach) – Even

How the matchups works: Get an Stingscourger or Goblin Matron in your hand as quickly as possible, as this will effectively shut down Show and Tell. The only card really left to care about is Sneak Attack. As with other combo decks, your plan is to kill them as fast as possible. Due to their lack of interaction with your setup (other than a little countermagic) you can usually go all-in. After Game 1 they will bring in some Pyroclasm / Kozilek's Return, and possibly Through the Breach (which work as additional copies of Sneak Attack). Your gameplan doesn't change much though, only will you replace your spot removal with some hate cards. Generally speaking you have an easy time with Show and Tell and a poor time with Sneak Attack.

Cards that support this strategy: Stingscourger, Goblin Matron, Chrome Mox, Goblin Lackey, Warren Instigator, Goblin Piledriver, Rishadan Port

Meaningful SB cards: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Pithing Needle, Red Elemental Blast, Cabal Therapy, extra Stingscourgers matter a lot here. Confusion in the Ranks / Ashen Rider also do the job wonderfully, but are very, very narrow.

Omnitell (Omniscience) – Unfavorable

How the matchups works: This plays out similarly to Storm variants, but slower. You generally don't have a mainboard out to them going off. They still run Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, so you need to respect that card coming down in the first few turns, but ultimately they are trying to get an Omniscience into play to win with Cunning Wish. They have access to their SB game 1 so be wary of Kozilek's Return or Sudden Shock off of an end of turn Cunning Wish.

Which version to pick: Both are poor in the match, but Winstigator is faster against an empty board. Cards that support this strategy: Stingscourger, Goblin Matron, Chrome Mox, Goblin Lackey, Warren Instigator, Goblin Piledriver, Rishadan Port

Meaningful SB cards: Red Elemental Blast, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Damping Sphere, Mindbreak Trap, Demystify Effects, Cabal Therapy. Confusion in the Ranks / Ashen Rider also do the job wonderfully, but are very, very narrow.

Turbo Depths – Unfavorable

How the matchups works: They try to play a Marit Lage via Dark Depths mixed with either Vampire Hexmage, or Thespians' Stage. They have a good amount of acceleration, and tutors, and are able to assemble on turn 2 rather consistantly, putting us in a very rough spot. If they go off with Vampire Hexmage: let her effect resolve to removed counters from Dark Depths, and then with the trigger on the stack to make a 20/20, and go ahead and Wasteland it. They will not get the 20/20, and instead lose both cards. Similarly if they go off with Thespians' Stage: let them copy Dark Depths, they will put the original in the yard due to the Legend rule, and then a trigger will go on the stack to make a 20/20, and then you Wasteland it. If they manage to go off your only out is racing (good luck), and Stingscourger. If they have Not of This World, or Crop Rotation, for Sejiri Steppe, there really wasn't anything you could do about it. Additionally they run some mainboard Pithing Needle which is rather bad for both our Wastelands, and our AEther Vials. If you can, Stingscourger could get rid of the problem. This is tough as they can do the combo at the end of your turn, but an AEther Vial on 2 will allow you to interact there. It doesn't help that you really don't want many kill spells in the match, but part of their combo involves a 2/1 first striker that needs to go away. I'd strongly consider Pyrokinesis in this match-up to have a 0 mana, instant speed, way to pop the Vampire at a poor time.

Which version to pick: The WIstigator list is faster, and therefore favored. Rishadan Port is too slow to consistantly matter.

Cards that support this strategy: Wasteland, Stingscourger, a shatter affect for Pithing Needle.

Meaningful SB cards: Pithing Needle, Alpine Moon, Blood Moon, Pyrokinesis (for the mentioned reason above)

Red Herrings: Blood Moon (It is the best thing you can do in the match.. and it's too slow.)

Additionally there is a slow version of the deck that runs Sylvan Safekeeper, and some [cards]Dark Confidant[cards]s This version is significantly easier to beat for us, that padded time is welcome. Pyrokinesis is great instead of janky against "Slow Depths.". As is Goblin Chainwhirler.

Death & Taxes – Even

How the matchups works: The worst thing that can happen is that they have an equipment at a moment when you can't deal with it yet. This would be the case when they have Stoneforge Mystic on turn 2 and you can't kill SFM before the equipment comes down. Try to grind them out, make favorable trades (or even one-for-ones). We have a way better draw engine, while they have Recruiter of the Guard + Equipment / Flickerwisp. You do have to respect Flickerwisp interaction with Recruiter of the Guard, as it often generates multiple 3/1 Flying creatures. Thalia, Heretec Cathar is another good card against us, as it prevents haste swarms, in addition to having first strike. Other potentially problematic cards in their deck are Mother of Runes and Phyrexian Revoker (which shuts down a range of valuable cards). All of that said, we have the ability to get 2 for 1'd a few of times and still keep chugging, where as they are generally at the mercy of the non-lands they drew only. This match-up really does come down to a skillful grind, and sideboard choices from both players. You will have a hard time if someone has a Kor Firewalker or Absolute Law, and an easier time against Sword of War and Peace as SB cards for instance. When they want to win fair games they have a plethora of options. Be wary of the rare Brightling, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Mirran Crusader.

The red build of the deck basically only adds Pia and Kiran Nalaar that you have to care about. Just don't be surprised by it.

Which version to pick: Both versions will do equally well. The Winstigator version has easier times going into profitable combat situations, while the Classic list is better at grinding out games until you get key cards on the table. That said builds low on Goblin Piledriver and high on Finisher Goblins / Goblin Chainwhirler have a big edge here. Chainwhirler in particular is high impact, high velocity in this match-up.

Cards that support this strategy: Goblin Chainwhirler, Tarfire, Mogg War Marshal, Goblin Sharpshooter Meaningful SB cards: Shatter Affects, Pithing Needle, Pyrokinesis

Eldrazi Stompy – Favorable with Port and Waste / Slightly Favorable with just Wasteland.

How the matchups works: In this MU your goal is to buy enough time until you can block their way with your hordes. Reality Smasher and equipment stand in the way of that plan. Their major weakness is their manabase. Their best spells cost 4+ mana and demand colorless mana, so any form of mana disruption is effective. Try to read what cards they have in hand. You can read that from the amount of mana they have available and what cards they played last turn. Watch out for some interactions of their spells and lands. A few examples: Eye of Ugin doesn't actually produce mana, but reduces the manacosts. So, no playing Umezawa's Jitte with Eye of Ugin. Make sure that they tap at least 1 colorless mana when casting their spells. Under a Blood Moon they will usually not be able to cast any spell with <> in their manacosts. Over a course of several games you will be favored, as their manabase is shaky and their mulligan decisions are more difficult - their deck is less consistent than yours. It should be noted that games with this deck tend to be lopsided, whether you win or lose.

Which version to pick: The Classic build really shines here as it is able to run 8 manadenial lands. The Winstigator build is better in MUs where you want to win the early game – and Eldrazi Stompy is none of them, since their early game is much better than ours. I often find that a critical part of the game is handling the first Thought-Not Seer, which Pyrokinesis does "alone." Stingscourger tends to be better than Tarfire in this match-up.

Cards that support this strategy: AEther Vial, Wasteland, Rishadan Port, Mogg War Marshal Meaningful SB cards: Pyrokinesis, Blood Moon, Shatter Affects, Damping Sphere

Red Herrings: Kill spells that can't handle a Thought-Knot Seer. Often you can just use your board to handle any non 4 toughness creature. Consider shaving 1 drops on the draw as a hedge against Chalice of the void.

Sideboarding is one of the hardest things to do in competative magic. Specifically figuring out what to take out is usually harder than figuring out what to bring in. The golden rule here is simple: "Your post board deck should be designed to beat their post board deck." That does mean determining what is important from their side, and counteracting it, all before you've even gone to the event. Knowledge is power here. The more lists you look at, main and side, the more likely you are to be less surprised by a sideboarded card from a deck. Step in their shoes, would they board those in? How does it compliment their deck? How does it hurt yours? Do they even need to board anything? What can you do to stop it, combined with their maindeck? For instance Tarmogoyf is a card that has been causing headaches for goblin players since it was legal in the format. Do you intend to Kill it? Ignore it? Perhaps just race it? Whatever the case you need to be able to answer those question long before you are faced with the problem itself, and that's not even a boarded plan. Imagine, now, that the Tarmogoyf is coupled with Toxic Deluge, or Rough // Tumble. That's a lot of pressure that wasn't there game 1. It is entirely possible you will run into situations where there is no good answer, where racing is the only out. And those tend to be the poor matchups, fast combo being the big one. Beyond this point are a small set of shortcuts to make your life easier when figuring things out.

If the match-up is a fair one, don't overboard. Goblin Ringleader is your best out to EVERY FAIR DECK. Make sure that goblin count is high post board, if possible, against fair strats. On the flip side, Board out 3 or 2 Ringleaders against unfair decks. Leaving a small number in gives you an out to dragged out combo match-ups, but removes several 4 drops that do nothing in turns 1, 2, and 3 against combo.

I tend to board out many, to all copies of Goblin Lackey on the draw against decks that are capable of blocking it (read Deathrite Shaman decks). The idea here is that since you are on the play your opponent will have a natural tempo boost, and Goblin Lackey is not very good at recouping tempo against already filled boards. On the flip side, I tend to cut Goblin Piledriver on the play as I don't need his corner turning ability nearly as badly with the natural tempo gained from being on the play. I still try to leave 2 in if possible, as he does hit people, very hard. This advice is true for both versions of the deck.

Goblin Piledriver is not for fair match-ups. He is in the maindeck because he is serviceable in fair match-ups, and one of our fastest clocks against combo. Against decks that have good combat oriented creatures leave 1 in, or take them all out. Obviously Pro-Blue beats out on True-Name Nemesis and Merfolk in general, but otherwise he's often dead against fair decks.

Try to leave in at least 1 Shatter effect against every fair deck. The reason is actually quite simple, and can be narrowed down to 1 card. Pithing Needle is an easily accessible, potent, piece of interaction pretty much any deck using mana wants to run. If they have multiple artifacts of their own they care about you will need more than Goblin Trashmaster as they might name him with needle. Needle is usually brought in due to AEther Vial, but hits several cards in our deck beyond that. After that, you effectivley gain outs to spicy sideboard tech such as Umezawa's Jitte, or Ensnaring Bridge.

I always leave in 1 Gempalm Incinerator or other kill spell, unless I'm positive they have nothing. Storm sometimes sideboards Dark Confidant, Young Pyromancer. Some players just like to have a transformative sideboard from combo, to combo midrange. Long story short, don't get got. If you are able just leave 1 tutorable kill spell in.

Goblin Matron is one of the few bastions of deck consistancy in red. We don't have access to Brainstorm, Ponder, or any other piece of consistancy other than Mama Matron herself. Even if your toolbox happens to have the wrong tools in it, it's still going to be better than using your hands. Try to leave these in in every matchup.

AEther Vial is attrocious against decks that contain multiple Pernicious Deeds, or several Maelstrom Pulses. It's a bit counter intuative, but you will actually hedge on card dis-advantage by moving some or all of these out. With Pernicious Deed in particular Goblin Lackey get's a lot worse as well. I can also see shaving 1, maybe 2, against Chalice of the Void decks on the draw.

V. Outside the Box

This paragraph will focus on the future of the deck inasmuch that I hope to inspire people to test unconventional cardchoices and report their results.

Fecundity
Wort, Boggart Auntie (Deathrite Shaman just outrite trumps her, and she competes with Krenko, Mob Boss for 4 mana)
Goblin Guide (doesn't jive with mana denial)
Brightstone Ritual (better cardchoices: Mountain)
Vexing Shusher (deck design change: Cavern of Souls)
Volrath's Stronghold (better cardchoices: Mountain)
Mutavault (better cardchoices: Mountain)
Smoldering Spires (better cardchoices: any removal spell)
Soaring Seacliff (better cardchoices: any removal spell)
Basilisk Collar (better cardchoices: any removal spell)
Boros Charm (better cardchoices: any removal spell)
Deathrite Shaman (Reference)
Pestermite, Deceiver Exarch and Intruder Alarm (in combination with Kiki-Jiki (Reference)
Mirror Entity
Contested War Zone (better cardchoices: Mountain)
Sensation Gorger
Summoning Trap (outdated due to Cavern of Souls)
Battle Squadron (better cardchoices: Krenko, Mob Boss)
Fodder Launch (better cardchoices: Krenko, Mob Boss)
Shrieking Mogg (better cardchoices: Subterranean Scout)
Cover of Darkness (outdated due to Deathrite Shaman)
Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience (outdated)
Root Maze (better cardchoices: Thalia Heretic Cathar)
Tuktuk the Explorer (too inconsistent)
Bloodmark Mentor (too small a body)
Taurean Mauler (not needed in base gameplan)
Chaos Warp (too expensive)
Caller of the Claw (not a goblin)

Gaea's Cradle
Goblin Trashmaster
Dark-Dweller's Oracle
Volley Veteren
Cheering Fanatic

Ancient Tomb (ramp is ramp)
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden (does what the deck wants, not what it needs)
Murderous Redcap (Usually better against Stoneblade, and match's you need to chump alot. Cheaper than Siege-Gang, ETB effect unlike Krenko)
Subterranean Scout (interesting "Finisher" effect)

VI. Literature

Goblins in 2018 by ScatMan

Goblins Match-up Percentages and performances by Olaf Forkbeard

Leaving A Legacy: Goblins Are Great But Haters Gonna Hate

Funeral for a Friend

Vial Goblins in Legacy

Legacy's Allure - Ep. 12, Goblins with Jim Davis

Hot Topics of Vial Goblins

Introduction to Legacy

An Introduction to Legacy in the Year 2016

Legacy Lessons: Tempo & The Best Delver Deck

Sideboarding in Legacy

Who's the Beatdown?

Synergy Vs. Protect the Queen

Puzzling Improvements

Tips/tricks and things that Legacy players wish that they knew when they started playing Goblins.

These tips/tricks were offered by the fine members of the Legacy Goblins page:

Reference Links

By far this primer is the most in depth primer out there for Vial Goblins where the above primer was taken from.
Goblin Webpage.
A Guide to using Rishadan Port.

Well performing Lists

Stephen Achorn - 4th Place at StarCityGames.com Classic on 7/15/2018

Jonathan Benson - 8th Place at Star City Games Play 4 Power on 6/8/2019

B/R Goblins Core list and breakdown

Guilherme Figueira 15 hrs Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Today we had a 50-player state league qualifier, and I took it down with - you guessed it - BR Goblins!

Main Deck: 4 aether vial 4 goblin lackey 4 munitions expert 4 goblin ringleader 4 goblin matron 2 goblin cratermaker 2 mogg war marshal 1 gempalm incinerator 1 goblin chainwhirler 1 goblin chieftain 1 sling-gang lieutenant 1 pashalik mons 1 earwig squad 1 goblin warchief 1 goblin trashmaster 1 grenzo, dungeon warden 1 mogg fanatic 1 goblin piledriver 1 krenko, mob boss

4 bloodstained mire 4 mountain 1 swamp 1 ancient tomb 1 prismatic vista 2 badlands 2 rishadan port 1 volrath's stronghold 4 cavern of souls 4 wasteland

Sideboard: 2 surgical extraction 3 cabal therapy 2 thorn of amethyst 1 stingscourger 1 plague engineer 3 faerie macabre 1 earwig squad 1 pyrokinesis 1 karakas

I put together this list almost in parallel to Marcelo Scatena, and it seems like we reached a very similar list.I didn't have a second vista, and in hindsight it should've been just another red-fetching land instead of the 4th mountain, but it didn't punish me too bad. Some adjustments to the mana base have to be made for sure, but it still felt reliable, albeit not nearly the same level as the monored list.

Instead of boring you with reports, I'll just mention some highlights of the most interesting cards:

Munitions Expert Oh boy, this was a house. It destroyed Elves during the Top 8, making Lackey connect through Nettle Sentinel with ease. It killed Cliques against Miracles in response to their trigger, with an empty board during the draw step, no vial. It dealt 3 damage to a Liliana, the Last Hope in response to her ticking up to kill a duder. It dealt with Arcanist in ways Gempalm would never do. A+.

Sling-Gang Lieutenant This was great as well. The cheaper cost in addition to the no-cost sacrificing meant the win was inevitable once it reached critical mass. It "Tendrils'd" my opponent in response to his exactsies Tendrils for a G3 win against ANT. It gained me 2 life against burn, which meant the game would obviously end with me being at 2 life. It closed the gap against Miracles once he seemed to be stabilizing, making him keep mana up at the late stages of the game once he had no blue cards and/or life to spare for FoW. Sick card, felt better than SGC.

Pashalik Mons You know, it was fine. It meant UR Delver couldn't kill my creatures once he had some in play as well, but that was about it. I never had a good opportunity to land it, and in times it felt a bit too underwhelming. I could see myself cutting it for some fat, like Kiki.

Grenzo, Dunegon Warden This was a great card. Managed to stick it as a 4/4 against UR Delver, gained me card advantage against UB Thief (sick deck, by the way!). Downside was being Pushed around a lot, but so is the way of the 2-drop. Would still run it for sure.

Earwig Squad Another house. This duder got me a huge clock against Burn, dealt with all red sources Sneak and Show had available to cast their Sneak Attack, Extraction'd my ANT opponent out of wincons on g3, brought the beats against UR Delver after extracting 3 of their 4 Arcanists and leaving them without true card advantage. Welcome back, my old friend.

Volrath's Stronghold Grinded my way through g1 against UR Delver in a way no card would. That was its only showing, but it absolutely ruined them. I'd be hard pressed to cut it, but I could see it going if the mana base got too tight.

That's about it for new-ish cards.

The silver bullets felt pretty good over all. Every card performed as well as expected, with Chainwhirler overperforming against almost all matchups. Tomb was great in a lot of cases, and not a burden to the color requirements as I feared. Warchief was the only exception. I couldn't find myself needing it in any situation, so that's a card that could be replaced for something else. I felt that, whenever I was tutoring for something, and haste was needed, Chieftain would be doing a hell of a better job. Otherwise, the 1-of felt too inconsistent to actually be able to take advantage of its power.

Sideboard had everything I needed. Plague Engineer ruined Elves, as well as the second Earwig Squad for THOSE matchups. Faeries didn't show up, but I didn't face any reanimator decks, so it's a wash.

For the next one, I'd play 6 fetches, a Kiki, and maybe a second Chieftain. Other than that, main deck felt great. I could see cutting Ports to ease the mana base, but they performed so well that I'd rather run the risk.

Thanks for reading!

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Revision 6 See all

(5 years ago)

+1	Cabal Therapy	side
-1	Faerie Macabre	side

Date added	5 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Legacy legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 10 Rares 13 - 2 Uncommons 3 - 3 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.47
Tokens	Goblin 1/1 R, Goblin Rogue 1/1 B
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