Creature (19)
Instant (16)
Sideboard
Instant (11)
Sorcery (4)
NeoLegacy constructed a great little Pauper deck featuring goblins getting up to no good, and I liked it so much I reappropriated it and made some modifications of my own. Yes, there are multiple different paths to build goblins; sacrifice focused with Goblin Grenade, equipment focused with Goblin Gaveleer and various artifact payoffs etc. but I settled on the ‘hit the gym’ method, focusing on lots of +X/+X spells coupled with various ways to ensure they emerge victorious from battle.
Astute observers will note every single card in the deck costs exactly ; I liked that aspect of the source build and decided to keep it. No suggestions will be accepted should they cost more than a single red pip. All credit to the original, you can find it here: Goblin Tweakers
This was the tricky part of the build. There are a surprising number of costed goblins, and selecting the right ones was tough. I’m not entirely sold on these, and would consider adjustments/replacements if compelling enough reasons were offered.
•Goblin Javelineer is staying, that much I know. Haste plus dealing an extra 1 point of damage to any blocker is a great combination.
•Goblin Arsonist is another keeper. Weak creatures have a tendency to die, so when this guy inevitably falls in service of the greater good feel free to forward his parting gift.
•Goblin Sledder seemed a good fit. There is tactical advantage to be had in eliciting a block, then sacrifcing a Goblin Arsonist to trigger 1 point of damage while further buffing a different attacker to either finish off a particular blocker or else push damage through.
•Reckless Lackey ruins our perfect streak of Goblin ‘Adjective’ named creatures, but what we lose in disruption we gain in offensive capacity. He’s tank-y (…for a one mana goblin) and has built in First Strike and Haste, and we can even save some mana for later if we need to in the form of Treasure Tokens.
•Goblin Cohort is so close to being great. If he were simply a vanilla 2/2 for with no stipulation, he’d be a star. As it stands, we do run enough creatures to fulfill his criteria most of the time so he’s a formidable attacker at best, a decent blocker at worst.
Elephant in the room: Goblins are pathetically weak out of the box. For them to become even worth paying attention to, you’d either need a veritable army of them (which at 19 total and maybe 5 in play at any one time, we won’t have) or else have some way to significantly increase their offensive capabilities. This is the strategy we’re going with.
•Barge In may be the top tier spell in this category. It plays at Instant speed, adds a decent amount to power and toughness, and most importantly grants temporary Trample to all our attackers for that turn.
•Brute Force is like feeding our goblins a plate of Trenbolognia sandwiches—instant gainz!
•Built to Smash is almost as good as the last card! Wait, it is as good as the last card!
•Warlord's Fury is as close to a one mana boardwipe as we’re going to get. An exaggeration, yes, but with First Strike a battalion of our buffed up attackers stands a decent chance of clearing away some of the opponent’s side of the table. Replacing itself with a draw helps tremendously, as the deck’s main weakness is running out of steam because everything is so cheap to cast.
•Crash Through bestows Trample on everything we have, affording us one last, desperate push to try and turn the tides of war. Again, the replacement effect helps out as well.
Even a pumped up chump might not be enough to kill off some ramped in beast, so to that end Lightning Bolt can help finish the job. Mighty useful at chipping away at those last few hit points on the opponent’s health bar too.
•Cast a bunch of goblins.
•Remove anything particularly worrisome with Lightning Bolt.
•Buff said goblins, cast Warlord's Fury to clear some table space or Crash Through if you’re ready to push for lethal.
With that self-imposed ‘every card must cost ’ rule in place, I’ve had to forego some of the more obvious sideboard staples like Relic of Progenitus.
•Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast poke with a needle if they get to close.
•Raze the Effigy pulls double duty and offers the means to destroy artifacts, as well as being a potential buff spell if trinkets and knick-knacks aren’t an issue.
•End the Festivities helps clear the table in combination with a combat phase of buffed up goblins with First Strike
For the budget oriented, take note: The majority of this deck’s total cost is contained within the sideboard. It’s a very generic list meant to address as many potentials as possible, and I went with the artwork/borders I prefer from an aesthetic perspective. A handpicked sideboard with a personal touch appropriate to your own playgroup will likely bring the total deck cost down to the $25~ mark.
”For when I am weak, then I am powerful.”
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Casual
94% Competitive
Revision 2 See all
(21 hours ago)
| +4 | End the Festivities | side |
| +4 | Pyroblast | side |
| +4 | Raze the Effigy | side |
| +3 | Red Elemental Blast | side |