Goblins and Gangsters

Commander / EDH* Aggro Competitive Goblins Mono-Red Tribal

GoblinWizard

Gas (15)

• 1x Brightstone Ritual
• 1x Dark-Dweller Oracle
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Goblin Matron
• 1x Goblin Recruiter
• 1x Goblin Ringleader
• 1x Goblin Wizard
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Light Up the Stage
• 1x Moggcatcher
• 1x Muxus, Goblin Grandee
• 1x Sensation Gorger
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Slate of Ancestry
• 1x Wheel of Fortune

Combo Pieces (8)

• 1x Conspicuous Snoop
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1x Lightning Crafter
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Skirk Fire Marshal
• 1x Skirk Prospector
• 1x Splinter Twin
• 1x Thornbite Staff

Haste (6)

• 1x Fervor
• 1x Goblin Chieftain
• 1x Goblin Warchief
• 1x Hammer of Purphoros
• 1x Mass Hysteria
• 1x Thousand-Year Elixir

Removal (13)

• 1x Arms Dealer
• 1x Blood Moon
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Gempalm Incinerator
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Goblin Cratermaker
• 1x Goblin Sharpshooter
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Mogg Infestation
• 1x Ruination
• 1x Siege-Gang Commander
• 1x Stingscourger
• 1x Vandalblast

Lackeys & Flunkies (11)

• 1x Goblin Assassin
• 1x Goblin Chirurgeon
• 1x Goblin Lackey
• 1x Goblin Piledriver
• 1x Goblin Rabblemaster
• 1x Goblin Settler
• 1x Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1x Legion Loyalist
• 1x Mogg War Marshal
• 1x Warren Instigator
• 1x Zo-Zu the Punisher

Buffs (3)

• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Goblin King
• 1x Goblin Trashmaster

Other (3)

• 1x Obelisk of Urd
• 1x Quest for the Goblin Lord
• 1x Shared Animosity

Commander (1)

Mana (36)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Castle Embereth
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 25x Mountain
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Wasteland

Direct Damage (4)

• 1x Boggart Shenanigans
• 1x Goblin Chainwhirler
• 1x Impact Tremors
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge

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Sideboard

Other (10)

• 1x Aftershock
• 1x Banefire
• 1x Bonfire of the Damned
• 1x Burst of Speed
• 1x Decree of Annihilation
• 1x Goblin War Strike
• 1x Mizzium Mortars
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Shattering Spree
• 1x World at War

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Maybeboard

Other (35)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Barbarian Ring
• 1x Beetleback Chief
• 1x Chasm Guide
• 1x Citadel of Pain
• 1x Cryptic Gateway
• 1x Crystal Chimes
• 1x Ensnaring Bridge
• 1x Goblin Caves
• 1x Goblin Dark-Dwellers
• 1x Goblin Replica
• 1x Illicit Auction
• 1x Instigator Gang  ^Flip
• 1x Invasion Plans
• 1x Keldon Megaliths
• 1x Outpost Siege
• 1x Pandemonium
• 1x Patron of the Akki
• 1x Quest for the Goblin Lord
• 1x Reckless Bushwhacker
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Scrying Sheets
• 1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
• 1x Shivan Gorge
• 1x Stoneforge Masterwork
• 1x Stranglehold
• 1x Sulfuric Vortex
• 1x Tectonic Edge
• 1x Uphill Battle
• 1x Vanquisher's Banner
• 1x Voracious Dragon
• 1x Warping Wail
• 1x War's Toll
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Winding Canyons

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Goblin tribal based partly off Legacy Goblins. There is no shortage of combo iterations of Krenko and, to be fair, this list has many combos in it as well. However, I have designed this list to focus more on a tribal strategy. Combo Krenko may be faster, but it is far more brittle, easily folding to a Pithing Needle/Cursed Totem/Phyrexian Revoker, a Null Rod/Stony Silence or even an effect as simple as Night of Souls' Betrayal (until a pump effect comes out).

These may appears to be surmountable problems, especially in the most artifact-hating color; however, Red lacks reliable solutions to enchantments and, as is especially the case in any Krenko deck, shines early and fades fast. You can get around a Needle or a Null Rod with a good grip or draw, it's true, but this drains resources from the tight early game and forces you to either slow down or wait until you can deal with the thing in your way. This usually means that wins, while still very possible, become much harder to secure, especially in multiplayer games. Having played combo Krenko and my tribal variant, I can say that the latter is much stronger on average, because the deck itself works wonderfully on its own and only gets better with Krenko active; this cannot be said for combo lists.

Combos

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Conscripts

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Lightning Crafter + Skirk Prospector (or any other sac outlet)

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Thornbite Staff + Any goblin with an ETB + Skirk Prospector (or any sac outlet)

Splinter Twin + Zealous Conscripts

Splinter Twin + Goblin Sharpshooter + Skirk Prospector (or any sac outlet)

Krenko, Mob Boss + Thornbite Staff + Skirk Prospector (or any sac outlet)

Krenko, Mob Boss + Skirk Prospector + Goblin Warchief (Phyrexian Altar also works, as does any haste enabler. This combo requires that you have enough goblins that the tokens Krenko produces will cover his casting cost + tax. Ashnod's Altar makes this combo easier.

Important Tips

-Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader and Imperial Recruiter all are like fine wines: enjoyable if used immediately but exquisite if allowed to age. Don't play them right away for a little value--use them to rebuild after a board wipe or to find the last piece of a combo. Playing aggro doesn't mean playing mindlessly; no matter what color your deck is, always think like a Blue player.

-Don't just make a huge stack on top of you deck with Goblin Recruiter. Unless you have a Ringleader, Skullclamp or Slate of Ancestry to dig you out, you are just locking yourself into a specific set of draws until you get past whatever you recruited. This might sound good since you're always drawing gas, but it sucks if you get blown out by an Armageddon or even lose a land to Strip Mine. Goblin Recruiter can be a beast that wins you a game just by resolving--but its a beast you need to use with care.

-Goblin Lackey and Warren Instigator lose value over the course of a game. Turn one they can put you so far ahead your opponents may never catch up; turn three and beyond they will rarely be able to sneak through to cheat in a goblin. Once you are reasonably certain you won't be able to get more value out of them, don't be afraid to sacrifice them to an outlet or otherwise exploit them as you would a token. As stated below, they also make for an excellent Champion target.

-Lightning Crafter is excellent for tucking a goblin away for later. Whether you are sacrificing Crafter to an outlet or an opponent is playing a board wipe, either way you should have something good to bring back in after he dies. Siege-Gang Commander, Ringleader and Goblin Settler are each fantastic for this very reason, but any goblin with a decent ETB will do. Even a Lackey is better than a token--if they wipe you are ready to come out swinging!

-Play around board wipes. Krenko is great because of the free, snowballing army he can raise; use this and a single buff to pressure opponents into wiping sooner than they'd like. Red has no card advantage, really, and we need to eek out every bit of value we can from the deck. On a similar note: play around targeted removal or counters. Coat of Arms, Obelisk of Urd and Thornbite Staff should all be played (ideally) the same turn you plan to win. Play smart, wait for the right opening and, if you're in a group, try to get political and incite a war against another player.

-Don't be afraid to destroy lands (this includes Blood Moon). This deck has a very low curve and, unless you are staring at a hand with nothing but five-drops, you should almost always come out the other side in better shape than your opponents. Note that Blood Moon and Goblin King are amazing together!

-Lastly, try to have fun! This is EDH after all. Sometimes people play Iona or Elesh Norn on turn four and all you can do is shrug. I never made this deck to be a goodstuff deck with an answer to everything out there. Iona hurts. Norn hurts. Ghostly Prison (and its wretched cousins) hurt. But you can either outrun these or go out in a blaze of glory. After all, "If you're gonna lose, at least make sure they don't win as much."

Date added	10 years
Last updated	4 years
Exclude colors	WUBG
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 1 Mythic Rares 44 - 5 Rares 16 - 1 Uncommons 7 - 3 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.76
Tokens	Copy Clone, Enchantment Golem 3/3 C, Goblin 1/1 R
Folders	EDH, its cool, Commanders, EDH Ideals, DECKS I WANT TO BUY RIGHT NOW!, Favorites