This is what I feel like could be a simple deck to throw together for use in my playgroup, but it's all still a little fuzzy. Here's what I've got already:
So, I know that this probably doesn't look too good to most people. It's mostly just a hobbled together idea. The main things that I'm concerned about are whether or not I've got enough draw power, and if I've got enough of a reason to put red in here as well, or just run it blue. Also, I feel like Negate/Nullify is an outdated set of cards to be running, but it's the only thing that I ever see on most budget suggestions.
Any and all suggestions for cards to add/drop are welcome, but I'd like to keep the end result of this deck to around 30-40$.
Okay, I've been kicking around this idea after watching one of my friends play Warhammer 40k a few years ago, and I liked the look of one of the things they were doing at his hobbyshop. They had a large map on the wall with game pieces showing their locations, and as they moved from region to region on the map they had to play a game in order to take a region that belonged to somebody else. Each player had a capital city to defend, and if they lost that capital and didn't recover it within 10 turns, they would lose the game. The map also had terrain like mountains and bodies of water that restricted player movement. I wanted to try this with MTG and have a similar setup, where we have a map and board pieces to begin taking over the map, and we have to play a game of magic to determine if an attack was successful.
I had an idea to mix it up a little bit, where there would be special locations on the map that gave the player a bonus if they had control of it, but in order to take it they had to complete a game with special rules. For example, one region could be a Hedron Grid, and if you control it you can choose to put a land card into your hand at the start of your turn rather than draw a card. In order to take control of it from another player, there would be a special rule where both players would have a Helix Pinnacle under their control, and have to use it to win. Attacking creatures would be able to target it and remove counters, similar to planeswalkers, and healing effects would add tokens to it. If a player decks out, the pinnacle would be reset.
I've got a few ideas for special games that would be played, and the bonuses that would come with them, but I don't think that I have enough, and I don't think that I know enough about the game to keep the bonus effects and special rules from being overpowered. I'll list short summaries below of the other ideas that I had, but I'd appreciate suggestions for new regions, and ways to keep the others from being overpowered.
Hedron Grid: Players must use a copy of Helix Pinnacle to win the game. Helix Pinnacle can be attacked and healed to affect the number of tokens on it. Decking out results in the Helix Pinnacle resetting. Shroud would be ignored to keep things more balanced, and Helix Pinnacle wouldn't count as a normal card, in order to keep it from being outright destroyed. Players that control this region can choose to put a land card into their hand instead of draw at the start of their turns.
Kher Keep: Players will not only have to defeat each other, but also fight a third neutral deck themed around Kher Keep. If this third deck defeats both players, this region will become uncontrolled again. Players that control this region will start each game with a mountain and Kher Keep in their exile zones that can be played at any time you could normally play a land card.
Chaos Fields: The defending and attacking player both start at twenty life. Each other player on the map can choose to interfere and join the game with ten life, but cannot win the game. When either the attacking or defending player dies, the other wins. Players that control this region can choose to move their board piece twice a turn, starting on their next turn.
Thopter Factory: The attacking and defending player do not fight each other. Instead, they fight a Thopter themed deck and must defeat theirs before the other player, based off of turns taken. The Thopter decks each have 60 life, and be entirely defense oriented, but would not really have any win conditions. The player in control of this region can attack anywhere on the map once every other turn, besides capitals.
War Academy: Both players put all land cards from their decks aside in a "land zone" before the start of the game. Each player may play a land each turn, but may not have more than ten lands under their control. Effects like Gatecreeper Vine would add land to your hand from this zone, and any land that ends up in your hand may be played in addition to a land from this zone. Players in control of this region can choose to mulligan their hand at any time.
A final note is that this project is on a bit of a budget, so I'd like to avoid spending a ton of money on making a themed region, which is why I went with Kher Keep instead of Dark Depths as a region. I'd also appreciate help building the theme decks like Kher Keep Kobolds, but I'll make a separate thread in the Casual subforum when the theme decks are locked in. Thanks for any suggestions!
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys, It's opened my eyes to how goblins can be played. I've made a deck compiled from the different ideas here, and have been playtesting it for the last 20 minutes or so, and I've got to say I'm pretty happy with it. I'm in love with using Impact Tremors and the goblin generator spells, and while it doesn't happen often, Krenko with impact tremors is hilarious. I was also unaware of the ways that you could use Goblin Bombardment, such as turning your chump blockers into ammunition before they die, which is great to know. Thanks for all of the input, you all rock!
So, the idea here is pretty straightforward, I'm trying to think of ideas for a cheap goblin deck that focuses on a mix of burn and aggro, but can still hold it's own (read: be annoying) if I start to go up against people that play more competitively in my area. The budget I'm shooting for is around $20-40, but I may push to $60 if the case is made for certain card combinations. So, that being said, I'm having trouble finding the balance between burn and aggro, and where to make sacrifices in either strategy. So, here are some cards that I've considered adding, that don't break the bank. Please keep in mind that I've only been playing for about a year, in a very small playgroup, so I don't know about most of the cards that I could be using.
Guttersnipe - This has to be one of my favorite goblins, and his effect helps both burn and aggro strategies, in my opinion. He can make stupid cheap burn spells like Lightning Bolt do 5 to the face for one mana if you need to push for a kill later on, or creates a little extra damage if you're going to be rushing in with stuff like Krenko's Command or Dragon Fodder. I've heard there's a general consensus that he's not great in goblin tribal, but I'd like to include him.
Krenko's Command and Dragon Fodder - Two cards that I personally think are pretty great, they let you build up numbers, and combo with other "sacrifice goblin" effects, letting you keep goblins with better effects in play.
Goblin Bushwhacker - I only just found out about this guy today, when he was being used in one of my friend's BRW Aggro decks, and I think he's a great fit, especially if you drop him and one of the summon goblin spells. He's also a good target for sacrifice goblin abilities, since he only has an etb effect.
Goblin Arsonist - I take it back, this is my favorite goblin card. Sorry Guttersnipe. This guy isn't the best goblin, for sure, but he's been the cause of a number of funny wins that I've had, both with people forgetting his effect and blocking him, or when I've used "destroy creature" effects on him and pushed in just one more damage to win. He's become a symbol for shenanigans in my playgroup. Think kuriboh, but with a fire-poker. I'd like to try including one of him in my deck, even if it means bringing the overall effectiveness down.
Browbeat - This card is one that I've had sitting in my normal, not so great burn deck for a while. Both of it's possible effects are pretty awesome for three mana, and it's not too hard to coerce my opponent into choosing the effect I would prefer. It also doesn't have the discard effects that other red draw cards seem to have.
Miracle effects - Cards like Thunderous Wrath and Reforge the Soul seem like good inclusions based on my previous experience with burn decks, because it seems like if I don't rush them down right away, I end up top decking for quite a while, and these cards seem to me like a good way to get back some momentum when you're topdecking.
Most of the problems I'm having are coming down to what I should add for one-drop goblins, since most guides I've found only mention the wallet eating Goblin Guide, and what cards I should add to try and boost mid to late game damage, because there's a real chance of that happening in my area, which is predominantly control decks. Also, while I mentioned sacrifice goblin effects, but I don't know which ones are considered good, and which ones are are considered crap. So, that ends what little input I have, so what would you guys recommend?
Okay, I checked out the Maze's End deck posted above, and playtested it a little bit before replying. It seems like a lot of fun, and right up my alley, but I have a few concerns. It seems like any kind of land removal is a huge threat to me, obviously, and the deck only has two counters that can prevent that, since it could result in losing if they know which gates I've only got one of. What could be changed around/added to help protect against that?
Edit: I refreshed the page after posting to see what else had been put up, and I'm also liking the treasure hunt deck. It seems like a lot of fun, but also something that would get old fast if I tried to introduce it to the people I play with. Maybe I'll keep it in consideration for getting later. Would it be a good idea to sideboard Laboratory Maniac or Serum Powder with that deck?
The Confusion in the Ranks seems fun, but it also seems a little too dependent on my opponent using big drops, and them not getting used to it immediately, which I don't think I'd get away with. It's a cool idea though, for sure.
Thanks for all of the suggestions so far, I'm definitely keeping most of these noted for future use when I've got some spare cash, I love gimmicky stuff like this.
Well, so far I've played what are basically aggro decks, with the exception of my defenders, so I think moving into control would be a nice change of pace.
Alright, so I'm going to be buying the cards for a new deck I made, and I'm going to have a little money left over afterwards. I've been looking for ideas for a new, gimmicky deck that's not going to require building up a bunch more cash, but all of the decks I find or try to make end up too expensive for my meager budget. So, after making several attempts at building a budget deck myself, I'm turning to the people of the internet to ask: Do you have any ideas for a crazy, gimmicky deck with a 20-30$ budget that's not completely awful?
As for information about what might be viable, and what I've already been using: I currently am running B/W Token, G/R Defender Tribal, R/B Burn, and Phylactery Lich decks. The more prominent decks in my local area are (in rough order of power): B/R Minotaur Tribal, Sultai Delve, U/W Stall/Flying, G/U Kraken/Ramp, and B/U Mill. All of these decks are light on artifact removal, and other than the U/W Stall/Flying, they almost all use destroy/damage over exile/bounce/reduce stats, so that's the biggest weakness I can think of. If you can think of something that has synergy with Tormod's Crypt, I'd love it, because I love messing with the Sultai guy.
Also, if you have an idea for a deck, but a few cards are expensive and would push it out of extreme budget range, I'd be willing to consider it if the deck has something so outrageous going on that I can't help but want to try it out when I can put out the cash for it.
1x Ætherling
1x Keranos, God of Storms
4x Guttersnipe
4x Nivix Cyclops
4x Negate
4x Dissolve
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Anger of the Gods
3x Treasure Cruise
24 Land
So, I know that this probably doesn't look too good to most people. It's mostly just a hobbled together idea. The main things that I'm concerned about are whether or not I've got enough draw power, and if I've got enough of a reason to put red in here as well, or just run it blue. Also, I feel like Negate/Nullify is an outdated set of cards to be running, but it's the only thing that I ever see on most budget suggestions.
Any and all suggestions for cards to add/drop are welcome, but I'd like to keep the end result of this deck to around 30-40$.
I had an idea to mix it up a little bit, where there would be special locations on the map that gave the player a bonus if they had control of it, but in order to take it they had to complete a game with special rules. For example, one region could be a Hedron Grid, and if you control it you can choose to put a land card into your hand at the start of your turn rather than draw a card. In order to take control of it from another player, there would be a special rule where both players would have a Helix Pinnacle under their control, and have to use it to win. Attacking creatures would be able to target it and remove counters, similar to planeswalkers, and healing effects would add tokens to it. If a player decks out, the pinnacle would be reset.
I've got a few ideas for special games that would be played, and the bonuses that would come with them, but I don't think that I have enough, and I don't think that I know enough about the game to keep the bonus effects and special rules from being overpowered. I'll list short summaries below of the other ideas that I had, but I'd appreciate suggestions for new regions, and ways to keep the others from being overpowered.
A final note is that this project is on a bit of a budget, so I'd like to avoid spending a ton of money on making a themed region, which is why I went with Kher Keep instead of Dark Depths as a region. I'd also appreciate help building the theme decks like Kher Keep Kobolds, but I'll make a separate thread in the Casual subforum when the theme decks are locked in. Thanks for any suggestions!
Guttersnipe - This has to be one of my favorite goblins, and his effect helps both burn and aggro strategies, in my opinion. He can make stupid cheap burn spells like Lightning Bolt do 5 to the face for one mana if you need to push for a kill later on, or creates a little extra damage if you're going to be rushing in with stuff like Krenko's Command or Dragon Fodder. I've heard there's a general consensus that he's not great in goblin tribal, but I'd like to include him.
Krenko's Command and Dragon Fodder - Two cards that I personally think are pretty great, they let you build up numbers, and combo with other "sacrifice goblin" effects, letting you keep goblins with better effects in play.
Goblin Grenade - Duh.
Goblin Bushwhacker - I only just found out about this guy today, when he was being used in one of my friend's BRW Aggro decks, and I think he's a great fit, especially if you drop him and one of the summon goblin spells. He's also a good target for sacrifice goblin abilities, since he only has an etb effect.
Goblin Arsonist - I take it back, this is my favorite goblin card. Sorry Guttersnipe. This guy isn't the best goblin, for sure, but he's been the cause of a number of funny wins that I've had, both with people forgetting his effect and blocking him, or when I've used "destroy creature" effects on him and pushed in just one more damage to win. He's become a symbol for shenanigans in my playgroup. Think kuriboh, but with a fire-poker. I'd like to try including one of him in my deck, even if it means bringing the overall effectiveness down.
Browbeat - This card is one that I've had sitting in my normal, not so great burn deck for a while. Both of it's possible effects are pretty awesome for three mana, and it's not too hard to coerce my opponent into choosing the effect I would prefer. It also doesn't have the discard effects that other red draw cards seem to have.
Miracle effects - Cards like Thunderous Wrath and Reforge the Soul seem like good inclusions based on my previous experience with burn decks, because it seems like if I don't rush them down right away, I end up top decking for quite a while, and these cards seem to me like a good way to get back some momentum when you're topdecking.
Most of the problems I'm having are coming down to what I should add for one-drop goblins, since most guides I've found only mention the wallet eating Goblin Guide, and what cards I should add to try and boost mid to late game damage, because there's a real chance of that happening in my area, which is predominantly control decks. Also, while I mentioned sacrifice goblin effects, but I don't know which ones are considered good, and which ones are are considered crap. So, that ends what little input I have, so what would you guys recommend?
Edit: I refreshed the page after posting to see what else had been put up, and I'm also liking the treasure hunt deck. It seems like a lot of fun, but also something that would get old fast if I tried to introduce it to the people I play with. Maybe I'll keep it in consideration for getting later. Would it be a good idea to sideboard Laboratory Maniac or Serum Powder with that deck?
The Confusion in the Ranks seems fun, but it also seems a little too dependent on my opponent using big drops, and them not getting used to it immediately, which I don't think I'd get away with. It's a cool idea though, for sure.
Thanks for all of the suggestions so far, I'm definitely keeping most of these noted for future use when I've got some spare cash, I love gimmicky stuff like this.
As for information about what might be viable, and what I've already been using: I currently am running B/W Token, G/R Defender Tribal, R/B Burn, and Phylactery Lich decks. The more prominent decks in my local area are (in rough order of power): B/R Minotaur Tribal, Sultai Delve, U/W Stall/Flying, G/U Kraken/Ramp, and B/U Mill. All of these decks are light on artifact removal, and other than the U/W Stall/Flying, they almost all use destroy/damage over exile/bounce/reduce stats, so that's the biggest weakness I can think of. If you can think of something that has synergy with Tormod's Crypt, I'd love it, because I love messing with the Sultai guy.
Also, if you have an idea for a deck, but a few cards are expensive and would push it out of extreme budget range, I'd be willing to consider it if the deck has something so outrageous going on that I can't help but want to try it out when I can put out the cash for it.