Goblins Could be a Contender?
Modern forum
Posted on July 20, 2015, 2:14 a.m. by WovenNebula
Turns out Goblins got 1st place at a PPTQ in Udine, Italy...(This just happened)
Here's the list from MTGSalvation Goblin Primer
I also heard that Goblins took 1st at a PPTQ in Arizona, USA (Not sure on this one as I heard it from a friend)
What is everyone's thoughts on the horde making waves and will it make a big enough splash? (I understand this is only a PPTQ, but is there hope?)
buildingadeck says... #3
Ugggh. Those are my exact thoughts. As though the format needed more aggro...
July 20, 2015 2:26 a.m.
WovenNebula says... #4
@kmcree I do agree it's easily hated out, but same could be said about Elves. I'd assume they'd already be prepared for that. I'm currently tinkering with a version without Piledrivers and just curious to see how well Goblins hold up in the format now that it has peaked interest and I can see more accurate numbers.
July 20, 2015 2:28 a.m.
JakeHarlow says... #5
Cool list but very unstable. Many decks can trounce this postboard and leave little in the way of a game three solution for the goblins player.
July 20, 2015 3:40 a.m.
Winning a PPTQ is by all means pretty much meaningless, if you don't know how many players attended. If it was like 64 players and they played 7 rounds of swiss with cut to Top8, yeah then it's a great result. However if they were like 15 players and he barely got in with 2-1-1 and somehow luckily beat the Top8... Even mill can take down a FNM sometimes...
July 20, 2015 3:54 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #7
Putrefy: It was a 34-man tournament, but I can't find any links in English or that work, so I'm still waiting to see the actual results.
July 20, 2015 4:24 a.m.
Goblins has always had the ability to win events. Piledriver isn't going to suddenly make it more so or less so.
July 20, 2015 8:49 a.m.
gnarlicide says... #9
The same shit happened when the last core set came out with Sliver Hivelord and the sliver land. How many times do you see that deck?
Honestly, with the exception of merfolk, tribal decks are terrible. I have seen elves, vampires, spirits, slivers and zombies in modern IQ's and PPTQ's. Slivers was the most recent. I was not impressed.
July 20, 2015 9:43 a.m.
WovenNebula says... #10
I understand it was just a PPTQ I was hoping there was a glimmer of hope for it more or less and if anyone has seen or heard things about goblins in the grapevine, but alas it seems to be a pipe dream.
July 20, 2015 10:04 a.m.
Goblins has placed many times over the years I should think. You should check. It has always been a deck.
July 20, 2015 10:04 a.m.
I just remember the lists being fairly common but I don't know at which level they won events.
July 20, 2015 10:08 a.m.
WovenNebula says... #13
@ChiefBell Yeah I looked it up on MtgTop8 and there seems to be only 15 decks total over the last 4 years. (That's using goblin grenade anyways) I'm hoping that it's played more frequently and I can see better numbers with the results. Personally I really want it to work for nostalgic reasons, I played Goblin Lackey when it was in standard. I am trying to see now what version I'd like to play, whether it be a normal tweaked list or a CoCo list etc..
July 20, 2015 10:14 a.m.
buildingadeck says... #14
gnarlicide: Elves is definitely a legitimate deck right now. It gets hit hard by mass removal, but it swings hard early.
Goblins has the opportunity to do the same thing, but unlike Elves, who use mana to produce big pumps and threats, Goblins will use sheer aggro and burn to get through.
It seems like Elves is here to stay, at least for one or two Modern seasons, but Goblins is up in the air. It's just incredibly hyped right now with little result. I think we have to continue watching as the deck goes forward.
July 20, 2015 2:18 p.m.
@gnarlicide you are aware of the fact, that Elves won one of the last three Modern GPs?
July 20, 2015 2:22 p.m.
gnarlicide says... #16
buildingadeck, the modern elves deck plays out very similar to the Legacy version from what I have personally seen. I do play Jund, and have for quite some time in both modern and legacy, and like I said before I am not that impressed with the modern elves list. The only tool that Jund lacks in modern is Perish and Engineered Plague, which I may contend is literally "elf hate" in legacy.
Putrefy, I am aware of the fact that Elves won a recent GP. Honestly, I think it was a fluke. Everyone was preparing for the BGx matchup, and got hammered by an aggro elf pump list. I thought it was kind of odd at best.
This is not to say I don't believe it can be a good deck. I believe that it is a little more resilient than, say Merfolk, as it can have some options to regenerate against some attacks and wraths that I run. I literally have to mulligan opening hands that lack a decent amount of removal when I know I am facing against elves. There has been a guy at my LGS that plays it regularly, so I am familiar with how to board/play against it.
July 20, 2015 6:16 p.m.
I just found the reddit-thread proving my assumption of him luckily getting into top 8: click
July 22, 2015 6:55 a.m.
Goblins could indeed be a thing, or maybe not - it remains to be seen, but Goblin Piledriver makes me hopeful. However, I don't think that this PPTQ list will be representative of what a consistent Tier 2 Goblins list would look like - a bunch of 1-drops can get hated out by sweepers, tokens, bigger creatures, etc. If you ask me, an AEther Vial-centric aggro deck (basically the love child of Merfolk and Burn), a token-based aggro deck with Shared Animosity, or a pump-centric aggro deck which milks Legion Loyalist's first strike and trample for all that they're worth will be the way to go.
July 24, 2015 12:30 p.m. Edited.
Harashiohorn says... #19
The problem with Goblins, and new aggro decks in general is that since Modern is not a "new" format necessarily, there are already established decks that can often dismantle them with stunning efficiency. The key then is for an aggro deck is to have a unique angle of attack, and so far Goblins has really lacked that. While Goblin Piledriver is a great card, it's not adding a new angle of attack so much as doubling down on the old one which hasn't been effective. I certainly think goblins will settle into a more respected slot in tier two, and occasionally make a showing, but the deck hasn't really been changed all that much insofar as what you need to do to stop it. Pyroclasm ad friends will still wipe the board, and Lightning Bolt perfectly kills Goblin Piledriver even with a goblin lord in play.
kmcree says... #2
I mean, this is really just a super aggro version of RDW. It could make a mark on Modern just because of how fast it can apply pressure, but I think the meta will adjust to it pretty quickly. Something like Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, Drown in Sorrow, etc. out of the sideboard pretty much just crushes them. Or even something like Kor Firewalker. I give the deck maybe 2 months before it gets hated out.
July 20, 2015 2:24 a.m.