I attended a Legacy tournament a while ago and finished 4th with the following deck (report). I have to say that I am impressed with Earwig Squad, but would probably remove Goblin Settler from the mainboard. I'll be going to more legacy tournaments next week and at the start of december, will report back.
Round 1: Lost in 3 turns to Belcher. Nothing much to report, except that Thalia sucks here. Thoughtseize or Therapy would have given me game G2, which I lost on a mulligan with Thalia in hand.
Round 2: Bye... Lol 2 rounds in and I've played 1 turn.
Round 3: Enchantress. He never finds solitary and I kill him t4 and then t5. Piledriver seemed very important here, and I wished I had warren weirding for enchantress.
Round 4: 12 post eldrazi. Game one went very long and grindy, I was able to pick it up off of triple sharpshooter killing everything (made with Kiki Jiki.) Game 2 wastelanded early and ground the game out. T1 wasteland probably saved this game. Tuktuk is great, being able to copy it with Kiki is so strong.
Top 4 (small event)
Semis- Reanimator. G1 he made T2 Gristlebrand, and when I bounced it drew 7, discarded Elesh Norn, won. G2 Won off T1 Lackey, T2 Grafdiggers, T3 Chalice. G3 he mulled heavily and I played lackey into uncouterable Thalia into quick win. He never found reanimation spell casting 2-mana cantrips.
Finals- Maverick. T1 lackey into tarfire on mana dork is really good. Not much else to say except that Pyrokinesis is very strong.
I really felt the lack of discard this tournament, and think that I'm going to drop Thalia in favor of Thoughtsieze and Therapy. T1 interaction seems more important, as well as actually permanently answering cards. I also think Warren Weirding is going to find 2-3 slots in my 75, as an answer to Reanimator and S+T that also helps my lackeys connect.
I see that most people are playing Skirk Prospector, how do people feel about dropping it?
Im buying into Goblins atm, but i still only got Mountains+fetches+Vials.
My thought was to go Lackey+Warren Instigator (had playset) and some Krenko and Kiki, Moxe's, as a start of.
Id be glad to hear updates.
Goblin is a pretty conservative deck...
You will read here about most winning decks around, I normally avoid to edit too much my deck according to news in legacy that are not going to last.
You have to choose then if you play goblins only to win or to win but having fun.
I really liked the deck, and I think that it's within maybe 3 cards of my ideal list. I waver around a bit about the sideboard, but every card in it proved critical at some point in the event. My biggest questions are: doesgoblin settler belong in the main or sideboard, how many of which discard spells to play, is Red Elemental Blast worth it, and how many goblin piledriver to run.
Tournament Report:
Round 1: 12post, 2-0 win. Wasteland was good in both games, and I got out early and stayed ahead. Opponent resolved zero threats either game, although pithing needle on both wasteland and port were cast. Goblin SettlerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker on T3 (off of lackey) sealed the deal game 2. I feel like this is a good matchup, much better than MUD or Eldrazi. Sideboard: In 3 TS, 2 Therapy, 3 Surgical, 1 Tuktuk. Out 4 incinerator, 1 Krenko, 1 Pyrokinesis, 1 Tarfire, 2 Ringleader.
Record 1-0.
Round 2: Burn, 2-0 win. I feel like this matchup shouldn't be great, but I always seem to win it. I think that this has to do with us having some good removal spells, and must-kill creatures. Opponent got me down to 4-8 both games, but couldn't finish the kill. Game two he flooded pretty hard (5 lands), which made that game a lot easier. Pyrokinesis is the MVP of this matchup, as it kills 2 creatures, and dodges eidolon of the great revel. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Warren Wierding, 2 Cabal Therapy. Out 1 Goblin Settler, 1 Kiki-Jiki, 1 Tuktuk, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Ringleader. Record 2-0.
Round 3: Colorless Eldrazi, 0-2 Loss. I feel like this is a close matchup, maybe 45-55. My opponent had excellent starts, with T2 TKS both games, as well as Jitte and multiple revokers. I got off slow on Mana, and was never able to really get going. My vials got needled or revokered both games, which really sealed the deal. Sideboard: In 1 Wierding, 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk. Out 1 Piledriver, 1 Siege-Gang, 1 Tarfire, 1 Ringleader.
Record 2-1.
R4: Death and Taxes, 2-0 Win. This is an excellent matchup, I wish I'd played it more. Our removal is a lot more efficient than theirs, and we have good answers to their equipment in Scrapper and killing creatures. Sideboard: In 1 Wierding, 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk. Out 2 Piledriver, 1 Settler, 1 Ringleader.
Record 3-1.
R5: Black-Red Reanimator 2-1 Win. I was sure I would lose this, but it went surprisingly well. Game 1 he thoughsiezed a warchief out of my hand, and then cast Exhume. He only got Tidespout Tyrant, and couldn't immediately bounce the warchief. I went off on the mana reduction, and killed him Turn 3. Game 2 he won, but the game was very close. Sire of Insanity got me down to 1, before a topdeck matron vialed in, found wierding, and stalled, even landing a grafdigger's cage. I got him to 8 before he topdecked collective brutality for the win. Game 3 I drew multiple surgicals and thoughtsiezes, and just locked him out. Sideboard: In 3 thoughtsieze, 3 Surgical, 2 Therapy, 1 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 Warren Wierding. Out 4 Incinerator, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Settler, 1 Kiki-Jiki, 2 Ringleader, 1 Tuktuk, 1 Siege-Gang. I also sided in +2 Pyrokinesis, -2 Ringleader game 3, because my opponent had entombed for Sire of Insanity game 2, which has 4 toughness.
Record: 4-1.
R6: Miracles 2-1 Win. I kept a very speculative game 1 hand with only 1 land on the draw, failed to draw another and lost. I should have mulliganed, but was intimidated, as this was my first SCG Tour opponent I recognized from coverage, and hoped to get lucky. Game two and three I buried him in card advantage, beating 3 Terminus and game 2, and destroying all of his white mana in game 3. Cavern of Souls, Aether Vial, and Ringleader were all excellent in this matchup, as was Kiki-Jiki. Sideboard: In 1 Red Elemental Blast, 3 Thoughtsieze, 2 Cabal Therapy. Out 1 Pyrokinesis, 1 Tarfire, 2 Warren Wierding, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Incinerator.
Record 5-1.
R7: Omnitell 2-1 Win. Game 1 went as you'd expect, with him comboing on T2, total stomp. Game 2 I tore his hand apart with Thoughtsieze, 2 therapy, 2 flashback therapies. Game 3 wasteland destroyed his first land, and he was stuck on 2 mana for several turns. That gave me time to draw some discard spells and lock up the game. I think we're pretty unfavored in this matchup, but we can fight the non-nut-draw hands post-board very well. The fact that they use intuition makes surgical extraction much better than you would think, often surgical can completely fizzle their combo turn. Sideboard: In 3 Thoughtsieze, 2 Cabal Therapy, 3 Surgical Extraction, 1 Red Elemental Blast, 1 Warren Wierding. Out 4 Incinerator, 1 Tarfire, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk, 1 Pyrokinesis, 3 Ringleader.
Record 6-1
R8: Elves 0-2 Loss. I think this matchup is elves favored, heavily in G1 and slightly postboard. maybe 60-70% overall. Game 1 he comboed turn 3, and game 2 turn 4. I saw removal spells, but no pyrokinesis, which I think is our only real way to pull ahead. I was 1 turn off of sharpshooter both games, which is our best way to lock out the matchup. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Wierding, 1 Grafdigger's Cage. Out 1 Tuktuk, 1 Settler, 3 Ringleader.
Record 6-2.
R9: Merfolk 2-0 Win. This was my Day 2 win-and-in. On game 1 he got me to 4 with running lords, but I was able to clean up with my maindeck pyrokinesis and a Siege Gang Commander. Ended up piledrivering in for 11 the turn True Name Nemesis came in on Vial, go PRO BLUE! Game 2 I had multiple pyrokinesis and sharpshooter, total blowout. Both are amazing against Phantasmal Image as well. I think this matchup is in our favor, maybe 75%. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Warren Wierding, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk. Out 1 Settler, 1 Lackey, 1 Stingscourger, 2 Ringleader.
Record 7-2
DAY 2!
Round 10: BR Reanimator 0-2 Loss. This hurt! Both games he T1 reanimated Gristlebrand, with Chancellor of the Annex protection. There wasn't any real game here. See Sideboard from Day 1.
Record 7-3
Round 11: Colorless Eldrazi, 2-0 Win. Vindication! I made my land drops, and got to wasteland and rishaden port him pretty hard. While he managed some revokers and pithing needles, I was able to tutor up Tuktuk and Kiki-Jiki, clearing all of the artifacts. He landed TKS both games, but not Turn 2, and I was able to find removal, once pyrokinesis killed it with it's trigger on the stack. Same sideboard plan as Day 1.
Record 8-3.
Round 12: Food Chain Combo, 0-2 Loss. Game 1 I made the mistake of using several removal spells on Leovold, instead of just going wide, and drew him into the combo on his Turn 4. He was on the play, and I certainly had lethal on the way back if I had been on the play. Game two he played Engineered Plague, slowing me down immensely. I was a turn off of a lethal piledriver turn through it when he comboed off. I think this is a bad matchup, we don't have any real interaction for the combo. If I had drawn discard post-board it might have helped, but I think it's a 40% matchup at best, maybe as low as 30#. Sideboard: In 1 Pyroblast, 3 Thoughtsieze, 2 Cabal Therapy. Out 2 Ringleader, 1 Settler, 1 Stingscourger, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tarfire.
Record 8-4.
Round 13: Elves, 2-1 Win. Game 1 I got sharpshooter online after a couple of scary turns, and killed everything. Game 2 I couldn't kill his DRS with sharpshooter, and he Natural Ordered into Progenitus, with me at 9. Game 3 I landed lackeyed out a Siege-Gang, and it killed everything, with Grafdigger's cage blocking 3 tutors in his hand. Sideboard: Same as Day 1 Except +3 Thoughtsieze, -3 I don't remember. I felt that I needed more disruption for the spell component of the deck.
Record 9-4.
Round 14: Death and Taxes 2-1 Win. Game 1 he trashed me with a fast Jitte and many creatures, couldn't kill enough creatures or find Tuktuk Fast enough. Games 2 and 3 I had plenty of removal, and ground him into the dirt. Same sideboard as Day 1.
Record 10-4
Round 15: Infect 2-1 Win. Game 1 I had lot's of kills spells, incinerator is great, because they can't spell pierce, force, or daze it. Game 2 he T2 killed me with berserk. Game 3 I ground him out again, with pyrokinesis/tarfire/warren wierding. I think our combination of edicts, uncouterable removal, land destruction makes this matchup much closer than people commonly believe. I would put it at about 55-45 in our favor. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Wierding, 1 Red Elemental Blast, 1 Sharpshooter. Out 4 Ringleader, 1 Tuktuk.
FINAL Record 11-4. 21st of 700+.
I felt this was a very strong finish, and I could easily have made top 8 if I'd played Miracles more often. I think that only 1-2 other players were on goblins, and one of those finished day 1 at 6-3, which puts them in the top 150. That's a darn good showing for the deck, and I think it's very good. I liked the combo sideboard plan of going into a bunch of discard, and I think I want to take out the Red Blast for a 3rd Therapy, but I'm not sure. Thoughts?
I prefer the 3rd Therapy also, Red Blast I think is too reactive for a deck that wants to go proactive, also the biggest fear isn't actually blue, but combo decks, which some do run blue as the main color (Show and Tell), others also do, but are just secondary (Storm) and others simply doesn't even have blue at all and it is a dead card (MonoR Sneak), but all of them can be crippled from Therapy, so I consider it much better overall, also its more redundant having 3 therapies than 2 and 1 REB, and having extras on the hand is actually very good, different from other hate cards.
Anyway very nice report! I only disagree a little on the elves matchup, depending on the main deck, goblins can have at least 50-50, or even be favored on the match, but yeah, looking at your list it looks more devoted to fighting other types of deck than elves, some decks run 3-4 tarfire or an extra pyro depending on the meta, and those decks increase a lot the matchup against elves, but the whole rest I think it was perfect! Nice job at the tournament, you got a great result!
Wierding pulls a ton of weight, I like it a lot. It kills Mother of Runes, True Name Nemesis, Tarmogoyf and non-gristlebrand fatties. It's also great against Infect, because it dodges the hexproof protection spells. I often can cast it for 1 off of Warchief.
I agree on the Therapy > REB argument. I think REB is a holdover from when Omnitell was the deck to beat.
@Lio.
I think 4c control is a fine matchup. Any match where we're both playing creatures and removal spells, and our opponent isn't on a hard combo is going to be pretty good. Leovold is really the only big concern, and we can try to just go wide around him. I would take out tuktuk and sharpshooter, and bring in a few thoughtsieze, but I think our MD is pretty well suited to the matchup. If we can get goblin settler/kiki going (which is immune to abrupt decay), then we can shut them down hard.
I haven't played against it much, but I think that, like stoneblade, we should do just fine.
<...>My biggest questions are: doesgoblin settler belong in the main or sideboard, how many of which discard spells to play, is Red Elemental Blast worth it, and how many goblin piledriver to run.<...>
Instead of REB, with your list, a 3rd Cabal Therapy or 2nd Grafdigger's Cage seems more consistent. Can I ask you how Goblin Settler was in general? We have Wastelands and Rishadan Port to denial their manabase. Except the rare Kiki-Jiki/Settler destroy land combo, having just 1 Settler seems an expensive slot. Against Match-ups where we really want to attack their manabase, like Eldrazi, BUG or 4C decks, Piledriver would do more work here, don't you think?
Why run a 2nd Sharpshooter in the sideboard? In which MU could you bring both onto the battlefield and wouldn't have you won with only one?
What about Krenko? Did you prefer him over Piledriver? When he came onto the battlefield, could you activate his ability right away or did he just take a Fatal Push, Stifle or Sword? Would you recommend him?
And most of all, I would like to know what forced you to play only 3 Caverns and 3 Warchief? What was your secret plan?
Thanks for representing Goblins and I hope to see your list in a SCG top8 soon.
I agree about the REB, I am planning to go up to a 3rd Therapy.
I haven't played a lot with Settler, but I think he's worth it. I find that the big mana matchups are not where I want piledriver super early, I'd rather disrupt mana. He lets me switch from a Port gameplan to playing creatures without losing mana denial. I never was in a position where Settler felt totally dead.
Particularly vs. Eldrazi, I find that piledriver is fairly bad, as they often have early blockers. I think of piledriver as a "combo" finish card more than a beater, although he can race in our bad combo matchups. Piledriver is my least favorite goblin if I'm not winning that turn.
2nd Sharpshooter: That's a fairly good point about redundancy. I feel like most creature decks are very heavy on 2-toughness creatures. I often am kiki-jiking my sharpshooter to kill bigger threats, so I felt that a 2nd would do well. He also gets swords/pushed alot, so having a 2nd can put the nail in after removal.
Krenko does a lot of what Piledriver does, but better. He's really hard for other midrange decks (D+T, Eldrazi), to beat because he chups forever. Also he combos with Piledriver for the OTK. I didn't want to play him initially, but now always have 1, and often a 2nd in the sideboard. He's really good. Better than most goblins against STP if you have a warchief.
I didn't play 4th cavern because I wanted another black source, and I feel like our counterspell matchups are fine.
4th war chief should be played, I regretted having only 3.
I think that people really overvalue piledriver. It's the only "vanilla" creature in the deck. Early he doesn't do much, I usually tutor it up with matron
Thanks a lot for you reply. I think I^ll give Goblin Settler another try. What's really impressive with your list is all the discard you had in the SB. According o your report, it helped you a lot. This BR Goblin list has probably a good future in front of it.
Maybe can you motivate some other goblins players to make the first step at an event. By the way, are you on The Source? There is an active goblins community there and we share tactics, reports, lists and thoughts about goblins. One of us, Jon Lenz a.k.a. Olaf Forkbeard on The Source, made Top8 in SCG Indianapolis last year: SCG Indianapolis Legacy Goblins.
It would be nice to welcome you and have your insights about the deck. There we are: Vial Goblins.
If I may ask, since I'm just starting to make goblins and I don't know a whole lot about the legacy format(I played oops all spells for a time but that doesn't technically have a "bad or "good" matchup if you have a t1 lol) but how does this beat sneak and show(or reanimator for that matter)? I feel as a fair deck we can't race a t2 grislebrand. Any ideas?
Goblin Matron - ive spent a long time mostly playing a B and U control deck. i'm even sick of watching me search and shuffle my library. Im trying to avoid single cards, and ones that i basically NEED to have resolve for me to win the game (i.e Time Vault or Tinker) id really rather have this deck work to bum rush my opponent and over run them with goblins, rather then search and find goblins with specific skills for specific situations.
Goblin War Strike - i know its an unusual card to include, and once in a while its a bummer with the ringleader, but i like the surprise of a little direct damage. if the 3 for 1 of lightning bolt is the gold standard of direct damage, then this card is sick. if i donit have at least 3 goblins in play when i cast war strike, something is seriously wrong. its easy to get 5 or 6 damage out of this and ive even had it hit for 10 damage on occasion.
Skirk fire marshal - i like it, but i dont think id want too many of them in the deck, and without matron, i dont think i can reliably count on cards that i have less then 3 of.
Gempalm Incinerator - wow do i wish i could change one word on this card. "...X damage to one target..." instead of "...X damage to target creature...." id like to include it, but i dont know what to cut for it. i dont feel like it would be consistently reliable if i only include 1 or 2 or them.
thanks in advance for your ideas.
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My decks. Feel free to make suggestions. The Precious B___U___G___R___W
It's been doing alright. I would love to get more rabblemaster. Also with the current decks I've been seeing I'm leaning more towards dropping the MD loyalist. I really can't recommend the 0 non-land/non-goblin cards. Ringleader is insane like this. I agree that the wasteland/port build should have the vials, but since this build, for me at least, was just to play gobos while those were all in D&T I can say the decks can be played without them. Also I understand if you don't want 1-ofs in the deck, but leaving out Matron just all around is a mistake. with instigator you can drop her on the first trigger and grab a ringleader which doesn't take long to find and drop it off the second trigger. The biggest problem I've been having is the all basic mana base with no card sifters leaves me either mana flooded or mana screwed too often. Otherwise the deck runs fine. it laughs at board wipes and even going full rabbit and dropping 1-3 guys a turn I rarely have less than 3 goblins in hand. I've heard people complain in the past that rabblemaster and piledriver both fill the same slot but I'm telling you they play great together. As well as the two make it more likely for a lackey/instigator to get through.
Hows it going?
Im looking for more one drop goblins.
In my opinion, goblin guide and goblin lackey are the 2 best one drops. But after that im not sure.
Can you guys give me some ideas for 1 drops?
Thanks
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Goblins isn't really about the 1-drops. Skirk Prospector is a pretty good utility card esp. if you have tokens to feed it, but usually only 1 ofs. Otherwise the 4x Aether Vial is your 1-drop, and 1-4 Tarfire for cheap removal. Legion Loyalist is also there for say Young Pyromancer/Lingering Souls tokens I'd say and makes many trades favorable.
On another note what do you guys think about Chalice of the Void? I imagine they'd help a lot for many matchups, as I see many lists have it in board and some in main. Chalice for 1 gets rid of many threats and cheap removal, while Chalice for 2 is also quite viable given that most Goblins are 3cmc plus. Of course there is a lot of artifact destruction, it can be countered, and it messes with the Goblin Ringleader triggers as downsides though...
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Legacy: BBBPox RRRGoblins
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1 Earwig Squad
2 Gempalm Incinerator
1 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Goblin Matron
3 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Ringleader
1 Goblin Settler
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
3 Goblin Warchief
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
2 Mogg War Marshal
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Skirk Prospector
1 Stingscourger
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
4 AEther Vial
1 Tarfire
Lands (23)
1 Badlands
2 Bloodstained Mire
4 Cavern of Souls
3 Mountain
4 Rishadan Port
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Taiga
4 Wasteland
2 Wooded Foothills
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Krosan Grip
1 Pyroblast
3 Pyrokinesis
1 Red Elemental Blast
3 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tarfire
1 Tin Street Hooligan
2 Warping Wail
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Ringleader
4 Goblin Incinerator
2 Mogg War Marshal
2 Siege-Gang Commander
2 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Warchief
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Kiki Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Stingscourger
1 Tarfire
1 Pyrokinesis
4 Wasteland
3 Rishaden Port
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Plateau
1 Badlands
4 Mountain
7 Fetchlands
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Pyrokinesis
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
2 Chalice of the Void
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
Round 1: Lost in 3 turns to Belcher. Nothing much to report, except that Thalia sucks here. Thoughtseize or Therapy would have given me game G2, which I lost on a mulligan with Thalia in hand.
Round 2: Bye... Lol 2 rounds in and I've played 1 turn.
Round 3: Enchantress. He never finds solitary and I kill him t4 and then t5. Piledriver seemed very important here, and I wished I had warren weirding for enchantress.
Round 4: 12 post eldrazi. Game one went very long and grindy, I was able to pick it up off of triple sharpshooter killing everything (made with Kiki Jiki.) Game 2 wastelanded early and ground the game out. T1 wasteland probably saved this game. Tuktuk is great, being able to copy it with Kiki is so strong.
Top 4 (small event)
Semis- Reanimator. G1 he made T2 Gristlebrand, and when I bounced it drew 7, discarded Elesh Norn, won. G2 Won off T1 Lackey, T2 Grafdiggers, T3 Chalice. G3 he mulled heavily and I played lackey into uncouterable Thalia into quick win. He never found reanimation spell casting 2-mana cantrips.
Finals- Maverick. T1 lackey into tarfire on mana dork is really good. Not much else to say except that Pyrokinesis is very strong.
I really felt the lack of discard this tournament, and think that I'm going to drop Thalia in favor of Thoughtsieze and Therapy. T1 interaction seems more important, as well as actually permanently answering cards. I also think Warren Weirding is going to find 2-3 slots in my 75, as an answer to Reanimator and S+T that also helps my lackeys connect.
I see that most people are playing Skirk Prospector, how do people feel about dropping it?
Goblin is a pretty conservative deck...
You will read here about most winning decks around, I normally avoid to edit too much my deck according to news in legacy that are not going to last.
You have to choose then if you play goblins only to win or to win but having fun.
H/W - Website
4 Goblin Lackey
2 Goblin Piledriver
1 Stingscourger
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Matron
3 Goblin Warchief
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Ringleader
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Goblin Settler
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
2 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
4 Aether Vial
1 Tarfire
2 Warren Weirding
1 Pyrokinesis
23 Lands
7 Fetchlands
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Mountain
2 Badlands
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Cabal Therapy
2 Pyrokinesis
1 Warren Weirding
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Red Elemental Blast
I really liked the deck, and I think that it's within maybe 3 cards of my ideal list. I waver around a bit about the sideboard, but every card in it proved critical at some point in the event. My biggest questions are: doesgoblin settler belong in the main or sideboard, how many of which discard spells to play, is Red Elemental Blast worth it, and how many goblin piledriver to run.
Tournament Report:
Round 1: 12post, 2-0 win. Wasteland was good in both games, and I got out early and stayed ahead. Opponent resolved zero threats either game, although pithing needle on both wasteland and port were cast. Goblin Settler Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker on T3 (off of lackey) sealed the deal game 2. I feel like this is a good matchup, much better than MUD or Eldrazi. Sideboard: In 3 TS, 2 Therapy, 3 Surgical, 1 Tuktuk. Out 4 incinerator, 1 Krenko, 1 Pyrokinesis, 1 Tarfire, 2 Ringleader.
Record 1-0.
Round 2: Burn, 2-0 win. I feel like this matchup shouldn't be great, but I always seem to win it. I think that this has to do with us having some good removal spells, and must-kill creatures. Opponent got me down to 4-8 both games, but couldn't finish the kill. Game two he flooded pretty hard (5 lands), which made that game a lot easier. Pyrokinesis is the MVP of this matchup, as it kills 2 creatures, and dodges eidolon of the great revel. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Warren Wierding, 2 Cabal Therapy. Out 1 Goblin Settler, 1 Kiki-Jiki, 1 Tuktuk, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Ringleader. Record 2-0.
Round 3: Colorless Eldrazi, 0-2 Loss. I feel like this is a close matchup, maybe 45-55. My opponent had excellent starts, with T2 TKS both games, as well as Jitte and multiple revokers. I got off slow on Mana, and was never able to really get going. My vials got needled or revokered both games, which really sealed the deal. Sideboard: In 1 Wierding, 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk. Out 1 Piledriver, 1 Siege-Gang, 1 Tarfire, 1 Ringleader.
Record 2-1.
R4: Death and Taxes, 2-0 Win. This is an excellent matchup, I wish I'd played it more. Our removal is a lot more efficient than theirs, and we have good answers to their equipment in Scrapper and killing creatures. Sideboard: In 1 Wierding, 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk. Out 2 Piledriver, 1 Settler, 1 Ringleader.
Record 3-1.
R5: Black-Red Reanimator 2-1 Win. I was sure I would lose this, but it went surprisingly well. Game 1 he thoughsiezed a warchief out of my hand, and then cast Exhume. He only got Tidespout Tyrant, and couldn't immediately bounce the warchief. I went off on the mana reduction, and killed him Turn 3. Game 2 he won, but the game was very close. Sire of Insanity got me down to 1, before a topdeck matron vialed in, found wierding, and stalled, even landing a grafdigger's cage. I got him to 8 before he topdecked collective brutality for the win. Game 3 I drew multiple surgicals and thoughtsiezes, and just locked him out. Sideboard: In 3 thoughtsieze, 3 Surgical, 2 Therapy, 1 Grafdigger's Cage, 1 Warren Wierding. Out 4 Incinerator, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Settler, 1 Kiki-Jiki, 2 Ringleader, 1 Tuktuk, 1 Siege-Gang. I also sided in +2 Pyrokinesis, -2 Ringleader game 3, because my opponent had entombed for Sire of Insanity game 2, which has 4 toughness.
Record: 4-1.
R6: Miracles 2-1 Win. I kept a very speculative game 1 hand with only 1 land on the draw, failed to draw another and lost. I should have mulliganed, but was intimidated, as this was my first SCG Tour opponent I recognized from coverage, and hoped to get lucky. Game two and three I buried him in card advantage, beating 3 Terminus and game 2, and destroying all of his white mana in game 3. Cavern of Souls, Aether Vial, and Ringleader were all excellent in this matchup, as was Kiki-Jiki. Sideboard: In 1 Red Elemental Blast, 3 Thoughtsieze, 2 Cabal Therapy. Out 1 Pyrokinesis, 1 Tarfire, 2 Warren Wierding, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Incinerator.
Record 5-1.
R7: Omnitell 2-1 Win. Game 1 went as you'd expect, with him comboing on T2, total stomp. Game 2 I tore his hand apart with Thoughtsieze, 2 therapy, 2 flashback therapies. Game 3 wasteland destroyed his first land, and he was stuck on 2 mana for several turns. That gave me time to draw some discard spells and lock up the game. I think we're pretty unfavored in this matchup, but we can fight the non-nut-draw hands post-board very well. The fact that they use intuition makes surgical extraction much better than you would think, often surgical can completely fizzle their combo turn. Sideboard: In 3 Thoughtsieze, 2 Cabal Therapy, 3 Surgical Extraction, 1 Red Elemental Blast, 1 Warren Wierding. Out 4 Incinerator, 1 Tarfire, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk, 1 Pyrokinesis, 3 Ringleader.
Record 6-1
R8: Elves 0-2 Loss. I think this matchup is elves favored, heavily in G1 and slightly postboard. maybe 60-70% overall. Game 1 he comboed turn 3, and game 2 turn 4. I saw removal spells, but no pyrokinesis, which I think is our only real way to pull ahead. I was 1 turn off of sharpshooter both games, which is our best way to lock out the matchup. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Wierding, 1 Grafdigger's Cage. Out 1 Tuktuk, 1 Settler, 3 Ringleader.
Record 6-2.
R9: Merfolk 2-0 Win. This was my Day 2 win-and-in. On game 1 he got me to 4 with running lords, but I was able to clean up with my maindeck pyrokinesis and a Siege Gang Commander. Ended up piledrivering in for 11 the turn True Name Nemesis came in on Vial, go PRO BLUE! Game 2 I had multiple pyrokinesis and sharpshooter, total blowout. Both are amazing against Phantasmal Image as well. I think this matchup is in our favor, maybe 75%. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Warren Wierding, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tuktuk. Out 1 Settler, 1 Lackey, 1 Stingscourger, 2 Ringleader.
Record 7-2
DAY 2!
Round 10: BR Reanimator 0-2 Loss. This hurt! Both games he T1 reanimated Gristlebrand, with Chancellor of the Annex protection. There wasn't any real game here. See Sideboard from Day 1.
Record 7-3
Round 11: Colorless Eldrazi, 2-0 Win. Vindication! I made my land drops, and got to wasteland and rishaden port him pretty hard. While he managed some revokers and pithing needles, I was able to tutor up Tuktuk and Kiki-Jiki, clearing all of the artifacts. He landed TKS both games, but not Turn 2, and I was able to find removal, once pyrokinesis killed it with it's trigger on the stack. Same sideboard plan as Day 1.
Record 8-3.
Round 12: Food Chain Combo, 0-2 Loss. Game 1 I made the mistake of using several removal spells on Leovold, instead of just going wide, and drew him into the combo on his Turn 4. He was on the play, and I certainly had lethal on the way back if I had been on the play. Game two he played Engineered Plague, slowing me down immensely. I was a turn off of a lethal piledriver turn through it when he comboed off. I think this is a bad matchup, we don't have any real interaction for the combo. If I had drawn discard post-board it might have helped, but I think it's a 40% matchup at best, maybe as low as 30#. Sideboard: In 1 Pyroblast, 3 Thoughtsieze, 2 Cabal Therapy. Out 2 Ringleader, 1 Settler, 1 Stingscourger, 1 Sharpshooter, 1 Tarfire.
Record 8-4.
Round 13: Elves, 2-1 Win. Game 1 I got sharpshooter online after a couple of scary turns, and killed everything. Game 2 I couldn't kill his DRS with sharpshooter, and he Natural Ordered into Progenitus, with me at 9. Game 3 I landed lackeyed out a Siege-Gang, and it killed everything, with Grafdigger's cage blocking 3 tutors in his hand. Sideboard: Same as Day 1 Except +3 Thoughtsieze, -3 I don't remember. I felt that I needed more disruption for the spell component of the deck.
Record 9-4.
Round 14: Death and Taxes 2-1 Win. Game 1 he trashed me with a fast Jitte and many creatures, couldn't kill enough creatures or find Tuktuk Fast enough. Games 2 and 3 I had plenty of removal, and ground him into the dirt. Same sideboard as Day 1.
Record 10-4
Round 15: Infect 2-1 Win. Game 1 I had lot's of kills spells, incinerator is great, because they can't spell pierce, force, or daze it. Game 2 he T2 killed me with berserk. Game 3 I ground him out again, with pyrokinesis/tarfire/warren wierding. I think our combination of edicts, uncouterable removal, land destruction makes this matchup much closer than people commonly believe. I would put it at about 55-45 in our favor. Sideboard: In 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Wierding, 1 Red Elemental Blast, 1 Sharpshooter. Out 4 Ringleader, 1 Tuktuk.
FINAL Record 11-4. 21st of 700+.
I felt this was a very strong finish, and I could easily have made top 8 if I'd played Miracles more often. I think that only 1-2 other players were on goblins, and one of those finished day 1 at 6-3, which puts them in the top 150. That's a darn good showing for the deck, and I think it's very good. I liked the combo sideboard plan of going into a bunch of discard, and I think I want to take out the Red Blast for a 3rd Therapy, but I'm not sure. Thoughts?
Anyway very nice report! I only disagree a little on the elves matchup, depending on the main deck, goblins can have at least 50-50, or even be favored on the match, but yeah, looking at your list it looks more devoted to fighting other types of deck than elves, some decks run 3-4 tarfire or an extra pyro depending on the meta, and those decks increase a lot the matchup against elves, but the whole rest I think it was perfect! Nice job at the tournament, you got a great result!
How has Warren Weirding been for you on the other matchups?
Wierding pulls a ton of weight, I like it a lot. It kills Mother of Runes, True Name Nemesis, Tarmogoyf and non-gristlebrand fatties. It's also great against Infect, because it dodges the hexproof protection spells. I often can cast it for 1 off of Warchief.
I agree on the Therapy > REB argument. I think REB is a holdover from when Omnitell was the deck to beat.
I think 4c control is a fine matchup. Any match where we're both playing creatures and removal spells, and our opponent isn't on a hard combo is going to be pretty good. Leovold is really the only big concern, and we can try to just go wide around him. I would take out tuktuk and sharpshooter, and bring in a few thoughtsieze, but I think our MD is pretty well suited to the matchup. If we can get goblin settler/kiki going (which is immune to abrupt decay), then we can shut them down hard.
I haven't played against it much, but I think that, like stoneblade, we should do just fine.
Congrats for your very good result in Worcester.
Instead of REB, with your list, a 3rd Cabal Therapy or 2nd Grafdigger's Cage seems more consistent. Can I ask you how Goblin Settler was in general? We have Wastelands and Rishadan Port to denial their manabase. Except the rare Kiki-Jiki/Settler destroy land combo, having just 1 Settler seems an expensive slot. Against Match-ups where we really want to attack their manabase, like Eldrazi, BUG or 4C decks, Piledriver would do more work here, don't you think?
Why run a 2nd Sharpshooter in the sideboard? In which MU could you bring both onto the battlefield and wouldn't have you won with only one?
What about Krenko? Did you prefer him over Piledriver? When he came onto the battlefield, could you activate his ability right away or did he just take a Fatal Push, Stifle or Sword? Would you recommend him?
And most of all, I would like to know what forced you to play only 3 Caverns and 3 Warchief? What was your secret plan?
Thanks for representing Goblins and I hope to see your list in a SCG top8 soon.
Fourbirr
I agree about the REB, I am planning to go up to a 3rd Therapy.
I haven't played a lot with Settler, but I think he's worth it. I find that the big mana matchups are not where I want piledriver super early, I'd rather disrupt mana. He lets me switch from a Port gameplan to playing creatures without losing mana denial. I never was in a position where Settler felt totally dead.
Particularly vs. Eldrazi, I find that piledriver is fairly bad, as they often have early blockers. I think of piledriver as a "combo" finish card more than a beater, although he can race in our bad combo matchups. Piledriver is my least favorite goblin if I'm not winning that turn.
2nd Sharpshooter: That's a fairly good point about redundancy. I feel like most creature decks are very heavy on 2-toughness creatures. I often am kiki-jiking my sharpshooter to kill bigger threats, so I felt that a 2nd would do well. He also gets swords/pushed alot, so having a 2nd can put the nail in after removal.
Krenko does a lot of what Piledriver does, but better. He's really hard for other midrange decks (D+T, Eldrazi), to beat because he chups forever. Also he combos with Piledriver for the OTK. I didn't want to play him initially, but now always have 1, and often a 2nd in the sideboard. He's really good. Better than most goblins against STP if you have a warchief.
4th war chief should be played, I regretted having only 3.
I think that people really overvalue piledriver. It's the only "vanilla" creature in the deck. Early he doesn't do much, I usually tutor it up with matron
Maybe can you motivate some other goblins players to make the first step at an event. By the way, are you on The Source? There is an active goblins community there and we share tactics, reports, lists and thoughts about goblins. One of us, Jon Lenz a.k.a. Olaf Forkbeard on The Source, made Top8 in SCG Indianapolis last year: SCG Indianapolis Legacy Goblins.
It would be nice to welcome you and have your insights about the deck. There we are: Vial Goblins.
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Goblin Piledriver
3 Warren Instigator
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Ringleader
3 Krenko, Mob Boss
3 Goblin War Strike
23 Mountain
Goblin Matron - ive spent a long time mostly playing a B and U control deck. i'm even sick of watching me search and shuffle my library. Im trying to avoid single cards, and ones that i basically NEED to have resolve for me to win the game (i.e Time Vault or Tinker) id really rather have this deck work to bum rush my opponent and over run them with goblins, rather then search and find goblins with specific skills for specific situations.
Goblin War Strike - i know its an unusual card to include, and once in a while its a bummer with the ringleader, but i like the surprise of a little direct damage. if the 3 for 1 of lightning bolt is the gold standard of direct damage, then this card is sick. if i donit have at least 3 goblins in play when i cast war strike, something is seriously wrong. its easy to get 5 or 6 damage out of this and ive even had it hit for 10 damage on occasion.
Skirk fire marshal - i like it, but i dont think id want too many of them in the deck, and without matron, i dont think i can reliably count on cards that i have less then 3 of.
Gempalm Incinerator - wow do i wish i could change one word on this card. "...X damage to one target..." instead of "...X damage to target creature...." id like to include it, but i dont know what to cut for it. i dont feel like it would be consistently reliable if i only include 1 or 2 or them.
thanks in advance for your ideas.
The Precious
B___U___G___R___W
4 Goblin Lackey
1 Legion Loyalist
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 warren instigator
4 goblin matron
1 goblin Rabblemaster
1 goblin sharpshooter
3 gempalm Incinerator
4 goblin warchief
4 goblin chieftain
4 goblin ringleader
20 Mountain
1 legion loyalist
2 blood moon
4 goblin king
1 sparksmith
2 goblin sharpshooter
2 krenko, mob boss
1 tuktuk scrapper
2 stingscourger
It's been doing alright. I would love to get more rabblemaster. Also with the current decks I've been seeing I'm leaning more towards dropping the MD loyalist. I really can't recommend the 0 non-land/non-goblin cards. Ringleader is insane like this. I agree that the wasteland/port build should have the vials, but since this build, for me at least, was just to play gobos while those were all in D&T I can say the decks can be played without them. Also I understand if you don't want 1-ofs in the deck, but leaving out Matron just all around is a mistake. with instigator you can drop her on the first trigger and grab a ringleader which doesn't take long to find and drop it off the second trigger. The biggest problem I've been having is the all basic mana base with no card sifters leaves me either mana flooded or mana screwed too often. Otherwise the deck runs fine. it laughs at board wipes and even going full rabbit and dropping 1-3 guys a turn I rarely have less than 3 goblins in hand. I've heard people complain in the past that rabblemaster and piledriver both fill the same slot but I'm telling you they play great together. As well as the two make it more likely for a lackey/instigator to get through.
Legacy:
RGWBUDredgeUBWGR
:symrg:Belcher:symrg:
WD&TW
Affinity
WGriffinsW (pauper)
U/thopter comboU/ (peasant)
:symbg:Moosebite:symbg: (peasant)
RGobo tokensR (peasant)
R slide R (peasant)
:symur:pingers:symur:
Im looking for more one drop goblins.
In my opinion, goblin guide and goblin lackey are the 2 best one drops. But after that im not sure.
Can you guys give me some ideas for 1 drops?
Thanks
The Precious
B___U___G___R___W
On another note what do you guys think about Chalice of the Void? I imagine they'd help a lot for many matchups, as I see many lists have it in board and some in main. Chalice for 1 gets rid of many threats and cheap removal, while Chalice for 2 is also quite viable given that most Goblins are 3cmc plus. Of course there is a lot of artifact destruction, it can be countered, and it messes with the Goblin Ringleader triggers as downsides though...
BBBPox
RRRGoblins