#5 Goobly Booblies

BR Goblins

3x Mogg War-Marshal
1x Goblin Pyromancer
4x Goblin Matron
4x Goblin Warchief
1x Siege gang Commander
4x Goblin Lackey
3x Goblin Piledriver
1x Skirk Prospector
1x Goblin Sharpshooter
1x Goblin Chieftain
3x Gempalm Incinerator
1x Tuktuk Scrapper
4x Goblin Ringleader

1x Tarfire
1x Warren Weirding
3x Cabal Therapy

4x Aether Vial

3x Scalding Tarn
3x Arid Mesa
4x Badlands
3x Mountain
3x Cavern of Souls
4x Wasteland

SB
3x Tormod’s Crypt
2x Rakdos Charm
1x Cabal Therapy
3x Mindbreak Trap
2x Pyrokinesis
1x Warren Weirding
3x Red Elemental Blast


I have long been infatuated by the humorously grotesque visages of goblins.  Their appearance, coupled with manic personalities revolving around innate berserk episodes and flashes of engineering brilliance, places goblins among the most well-developed and interesting tribes in Magic: the Gathering.  That said, I'd like to share one iteration of the archetype that so interests me with its mechanics as well as its flavor.

This is an aggressive take on the traditional legacy Goblins build.  Goblins tends to play more like a control deck, especially the version(s) that splashes white for Thalia and runs Rishadan port aiming to deny mana in much the same way Death & Taxes does; however, the black splash lends itself to a more proactive game-plan.  Precise legacy knowledge is a must for a deck mainboarding cabal therapies, but in conjunction with a fast clock and (often) plenty of excess creatures to pay its flashback cost, therapy can disrupt the opponent long enough for the green monsters to end the game. In addition to the explosiveness you'd expect from any goblins deck is the silver bullet Goblin Pyromancer, which, in combination with enough goblins, can ignite one monster of a hasty alpha strike.

Due to the introduction of high power level cards such as True-name Nemesis, and more recently Treasure Cruise, which easily matches the card advantage engine of goblins, this archetype has waned in popularity.  Goblins has long since been removed from the list of tier 1 strategies, and in light of these developments is rendered a generally unappealing choice for Legacy tournaments.

However, there is some room for this deck to attack a particular meta in an interesting way.  For starters, the goblins strategy is among the scant archetypes that has a highly favorable matchup against Miracles builds.  Not only that, but legacy has shifted so drastically that many decks mainboard narrow hate cards - graveyard hate a la relic of progenitus, for example - most of which does not affect goblins.  This means you can expect some portion of your opponents' decks will induce dead (or nearly blank) draws.

Goblins' inherent strengths allow them to competently combat other fair (and certain unfair) strategies - anything that is not specifically geared towards defeating aggro will find themselves subject to an onslaught of 2/2s with haste.  Inherently, goblin matron grants the deck flexibility as it may include one ofs and can reliably draw them when it matters most: it provides access to virtually any utility effect.  Defeating a resolved Griselbrand is no easy task, but one I have overcome many times in tournament thanks to the combined efforts of skirk prospector, goblin sharpshooter, and siege-gang commander (*a pseudo-combo, giving you the potential to instantly KO your opponent).  Finally, many forget how much of a powerhouse Goblin Lackey is, whereas its triggered ability leads to some number of "free wins".  Bottom line: though some games may boil down to turning 'em sideways, there is ample room for creative plays, meaning the deck can interact with other strategies in ways that are not superficially apparent.

I hope you will consider commanding an army of gurgling goblins at your next tournament!