I've been fiddling about with a Kuldotha/Goblin deck for a little while now and while it has been fun, the amount of revising the deck has gone through muddled things a bit. So I decided it was time to just start sleeving things up from the scratch instead of looking at what to pull and to put back in. It also allowed me to narrow down the strategy of the deck a little bit, stripping down the aggro side a bit in favor of the general sacrificing strategy that I was more relying on.
So after quite a bit of tinkering around with it, I narrowed it down to the following first draft of the renewed deck.
First of all, the deck runs a very minor black splash with currently only a single copy of Gurmag Angler as just a little back up should we need something big on the board, though there is a second one in the sideboard if it proves to be a more necessary card. Warren Weirding is in the sideboard as an optional removal card, though for the moment Mogg War Marshal seems to offer a tad bit more in the main. The only other card I added is one of SOI that I'm curious to run: Liliana's Indignition. We run a fair bit of creatures so this could pack a punch. What I might change is an increase of Dragonskull Summits just to add more support for the sideboard cards.
Speaking of SOI, since we are running a sacrifice heavy strategy, I felt Skin Invasion/Skin Shedder felt like a nice cheap threat to have as well. It still needs to prove it's worth but when putting the list together I felt that maybe this should actually be a three-of, but not yet sure what to cut for it instead.
Goblin Dark-Dwellers will allow us to recur our bombs (Goblin Grenade/Shrapnel Blast), but because of their CMC I felt I didn't want more than two of them in this deck. The same goes for Pia and Kiran Nalaar, an additional way to push damage through while also bringing on some thopters to scrap, but fairly high on the curve for this deck and might potentially better as just a single copy. Thopter Engineer is there to provide us with more artifacts to scrap, but it's haste enabler might be useful in case we need to push damage through with flyers. Which is why I am considering switching the numbers on Memnite and Signal Pest, just so I can have the additional battle cry trigger if needed, so I tucked the final copy of Pest in the side for that reason.
Cards/Changes Under Consideration Skin Invasion - Likely to become three copies while turning Kuldotha Rebirth to a two-of. Foundry of the Consuls - Just as a one-of to be able to add a few thopters in a pinch. Dragonskull Summit - Maybe an extra copy to support the sideboard a bit better. Read the Bones - As a means of extra card draw
Been giving things more thought since posting the new list here, waiting for cards does give that time after all and well it's a first draft. So, one of the first minor tweaks I intend to make to the list is adding a Foundry of Consuls to the deck, only one in case I need some artifacts to sacrifice in a pinch. I gave Thopter Assembly some thought as well but the CMC of 5 just feels too much in this deck.
I do think that the deck might be better with a tad bit more card draw, for which I'll be trying out Read the Bones for a bit. For what it can do I do feel that Sign in Blood might be the better card in it's place, but the double black just worries me too much. Either way, if I add RtB I'm likely to take out Thopter Engineer.
Have made some slight adjustments to the build, Dragonskull Summit has been bumped up to three copies and am currently waiting on getting Foundry of Consuls in the mail as well when my latest card order comes in.
Wanting to bring the curve down a slight bit, I decided that I would cut the Thopter Engineers for now and am looking into replacing them with some optional card draw. Read the Bones being the primary choice, though I am also considering Dangerous Wager just because it reflects the madness of our goblins. Though the other more option that might be as worthwhile to consider is Pyrite Spellbomb since its an artifact that can help us in a multitude of ways, just draws less.
Made some minor changes to the list after getting in a couple of games with the deck, haven't gotten to test the deck much lately though due to some other decks I've been working with. Also, will note that the games played were quite casual so it's been more about looking at the deck's consistency than efficiency.
So mana base wise I am still at the three Summits, two Hovels, the Foundry and eleven Mountains. It works but that's probably it at the moment as well, I probably want one or two more lands in though to support the more mana intense cards I'm running. (Dark-Dwellers I'm looking at you.)
For the same reason I did cut Pia and Kieran down to just a single copy, the card is effective in the deck but it hinders the pace if you draw too many high drops early on, so for consistency of the deck I felt a single one would be enough. To replace it, I tossed in a Mogg War Marschal as a means to have enough Goblins on the board, but I might turn it to a basic Mountain instead, as the deck might just need that a bit more.
Pyrite Spellbomb has replaced Thopter Engineers for sure now, it's far more efficient in the deck due to the multipurpose that the deck can benefit from. It's burn, card draw or just an artifact to sac. Not to mention it's two mana cheaper to get out.
So after quite a bit of tinkering around with it, I narrowed it down to the following first draft of the renewed deck.
4x Goblin Arsonist
4x Goblin Bushwhacker
2x Goblin Dark-Dwellers
1x Gurmag Angler
4x Memnite
3x Mogg War Marshal
1x Pia and Kiran Nalaar
3x Signal Pest
Instant (4)
4x Shrapnel Blast
Sorcery (7)
4x Goblin Grenade
3x Kuldotha Rebirth
4x Chromatic Star
2x Pyrite Spellbomb
Enchantment (2)
2x Skin Invasion
0x Skin Shedder (Flip Side)
Land (19)
11x Mountain
2x Auntie's Hovel
2x Darksteel Citadel
3x Dragonskull Summit
1x Foundry of the Consuls
2x Dragon's Claw
2x Electrickery
1x Gurmag Angler
1x Leyline of Punishment
2x Liliana's Indignation
1x Signal Pest
2x Skin Invasion
2x Smash to Smithereens
2x Warren Weirding
Speaking of SOI, since we are running a sacrifice heavy strategy, I felt Skin Invasion/Skin Shedder felt like a nice cheap threat to have as well. It still needs to prove it's worth but when putting the list together I felt that maybe this should actually be a three-of, but not yet sure what to cut for it instead.
Goblin Dark-Dwellers will allow us to recur our bombs (Goblin Grenade/Shrapnel Blast), but because of their CMC I felt I didn't want more than two of them in this deck. The same goes for Pia and Kiran Nalaar, an additional way to push damage through while also bringing on some thopters to scrap, but fairly high on the curve for this deck and might potentially better as just a single copy. Thopter Engineer is there to provide us with more artifacts to scrap, but it's haste enabler might be useful in case we need to push damage through with flyers. Which is why I am considering switching the numbers on Memnite and Signal Pest, just so I can have the additional battle cry trigger if needed, so I tucked the final copy of Pest in the side for that reason.
---------- ===== Testing Notes ===== ----------
Cards Currently Being Tried
Thopter Engineer - Might get cut.
Cards/Changes Under Consideration
Skin Invasion - Likely to become three copies while turning Kuldotha Rebirth to a two-of.
Foundry of the Consuls - Just as a one-of to be able to add a few thopters in a pinch.
Dragonskull Summit - Maybe an extra copy to support the sideboard a bit better.
Read the Bones - As a means of extra card draw
I do think that the deck might be better with a tad bit more card draw, for which I'll be trying out Read the Bones for a bit. For what it can do I do feel that Sign in Blood might be the better card in it's place, but the double black just worries me too much. Either way, if I add RtB I'm likely to take out Thopter Engineer.
Wanting to bring the curve down a slight bit, I decided that I would cut the Thopter Engineers for now and am looking into replacing them with some optional card draw. Read the Bones being the primary choice, though I am also considering Dangerous Wager just because it reflects the madness of our goblins. Though the other more option that might be as worthwhile to consider is Pyrite Spellbomb since its an artifact that can help us in a multitude of ways, just draws less.
So mana base wise I am still at the three Summits, two Hovels, the Foundry and eleven Mountains. It works but that's probably it at the moment as well, I probably want one or two more lands in though to support the more mana intense cards I'm running. (Dark-Dwellers I'm looking at you.)
For the same reason I did cut Pia and Kieran down to just a single copy, the card is effective in the deck but it hinders the pace if you draw too many high drops early on, so for consistency of the deck I felt a single one would be enough. To replace it, I tossed in a Mogg War Marschal as a means to have enough Goblins on the board, but I might turn it to a basic Mountain instead, as the deck might just need that a bit more.
Pyrite Spellbomb has replaced Thopter Engineers for sure now, it's far more efficient in the deck due to the multipurpose that the deck can benefit from. It's burn, card draw or just an artifact to sac. Not to mention it's two mana cheaper to get out.