goblin cohort is a good budget replacement to goblin guide. Not much else besides forking over the doe to get them.
The problem is that Goblin Cohort is 4 damage by T3, and Monastery Swiftspear (or any other 1cc haster) is 3 damage. So SS plus one spell is at least as good as any other 2/* without haste.
So when the game plan was to go from a T2 Krenko's Command/Dragon Fodder into a T3 overrun effect, SS was 5 damage. Now that all the overrun effects will come from goblins, SS becomes less desirable. Time to go back to the drawing board.
A question: SSG is always that good? I'm testing him but sometimes It just feels awkward. When you draw 2 on initial hand + 1~2 lands It feels... awful. You need luck on your next draws or you're already out of gas. I really don't like him as a creature also ( 3 mana for a 2/2 without haste :S )
It's not much different from drawing ~3-4 lands in your initial hand, and the likelihood should be about the same. The way I see it, when SSG is good, it's good. When it's bad, it's not (much) worse than a land.
Also, a hypothetical question (yes, I know there is a budget forum): if I'm not to shell out for Goblin Guides, what are some other options for the all-in version? I used to run Monastery Swiftspears, but with the new bushwacker, I'm running low on noncreature spells to feed prowess.
T1 Foundry Street Denizen
T2 BTE War Marsal
T3 Bushwhacker and grenade.
That's 19 damage right there. This has happened a few times in my experience, and in all sorts of variations. Spirit guide gives a lot of sequencing options - and sometimes making the correct call is tough...
Everyone I faced commented on how fast this deck was, and how surprised they were that goblins could do such a thing in modern. It is hilarious when you drop a FSD and here your opponents sigh of relief that it wasnt a goblin guide. LOL - they quickly realize how much nastier he can be. Untapping with a FSD is even more amazing in this deck with BTE.
I could do 19 damage in the first three-four turns with a good level of redundancy. There were some very long faces on the table, occasionally. I'd try to replicate this in Modern, but I just felt that with virtually everyone packing Lightning Bolts, there are way too many ways of sniping floating around.
I'm not sure that a deck that sports a full set of fetches and dual lands (a cool $200 on the secondary market) can be classified as budget. But I digress.
You want to bump the Dryads to 4, swap the green pump spells (they don't pump your Dryad) for blue permission, and dispense with the Tome Scour (plain bad), Manamorphose (doesn't fix your mana or manipulate the library), and Artful dodge (2/3 of your creatures already have evasion).
I have found the mana dorks whether birds or mystics helpful to get online faster. Rage Forger is our win condition and getting him or more shamans out on turn 2/3 to swing on turn 4 or get a blood moon on turn 2 or use it when that 3rd land doesn't come on time. They provide stability even if they aren't the best. You could try Treefolk Harbingers if you want a shaman. 0/3 creature could be useful especially if buffed by rage forger as a 1/4. that is a lot of blocking power and can still turn once rage forger is one the field. If you have the mana, it can also tutor a bosk banneret late game if needed or a leaf-crown elder if you have one.
However, try it and see if it works. If it does, let me know.
I would expect the Fauna Shaman list to be a bit more mana-hungry (I just realized you run it).
You do in fact need to ramp up sooner. There are no 1CMS good options to ramp that are shamans (treefolk harbingers and the snake shaman aren't good options, but can do). Well, mystics trigger wolf-skull shamans ability. The other option would be Birds of Paradise but they are out of budget. If you had Fauna Shaman, you oculd sac late game mystics for more relevant creatures and they can always chump block or chump attack. However casting more creatures on turn 2/3/4 are useful especially for things like lead the stampede etc.
I understand there are no better 1-drops for mana than Elvish Mystic/Llanowar Elves. However, I've always considered the logic of the deck to be empty your hand -> swing -> reload with LtS -> repeat.
The problem I have with the attrition-oriented version with mana dorks and Wolf-Skull Shamans (which is probably well-suited for Ire Shaman, too) is that I find it somewhat counterproductive to build board that dies in its entirety from every single of the conventional board wipes (Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, etc.).
I almost wonder whether it would be a better approach to toss in 4 Rakdos Cacklers for the mana dorks, 4 Burning-Tree Shamans for the Wolf-Skull Shamans and call it a day. Sure, the Cackler doesn't get pumped, but still comes in with a counter for the attack trigger.
Are the mana dorks really necessary here? I know we don't really seem to have too many good, aggressive tribal drops, but with BTW and 4-8 three drops total, they seem like a waste.
The problem is that Goblin Cohort is 4 damage by T3, and Monastery Swiftspear (or any other 1cc haster) is 3 damage. So SS plus one spell is at least as good as any other 2/* without haste.
So when the game plan was to go from a T2 Krenko's Command/Dragon Fodder into a T3 overrun effect, SS was 5 damage. Now that all the overrun effects will come from goblins, SS becomes less desirable. Time to go back to the drawing board.
It's not much different from drawing ~3-4 lands in your initial hand, and the likelihood should be about the same. The way I see it, when SSG is good, it's good. When it's bad, it's not (much) worse than a land.
Also, a hypothetical question (yes, I know there is a budget forum): if I'm not to shell out for Goblin Guides, what are some other options for the all-in version? I used to run Monastery Swiftspears, but with the new bushwacker, I'm running low on noncreature spells to feed prowess.
This is the original version:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/developing-competitive-modern/220256-goblins?page=90#c2275
This is one of the later versions:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/developing-competitive-modern/220256-goblins?page=93#c2348
I'm pretty sure the current version includes Kytheon and some other weird crap
I'm way worse off, my wallet has ended up the Goblin Guide debate. Trying to brew a build that will reasonably replace him with Monastery Swiftspear
I ran with a similar idea in an old standard format:
T1 Foundry Street Denizen
T2 Burning-Tree Emissary + Lightning Mauler / Krenko's Command / Kruin Striker
T3 Dynacharge / Thatcher Revolt
I could do 19 damage in the first three-four turns with a good level of redundancy. There were some very long faces on the table, occasionally. I'd try to replicate this in Modern, but I just felt that with virtually everyone packing Lightning Bolts, there are way too many ways of sniping floating around.
You want to bump the Dryads to 4, swap the green pump spells (they don't pump your Dryad) for blue permission, and dispense with the Tome Scour (plain bad), Manamorphose (doesn't fix your mana or manipulate the library), and Artful dodge (2/3 of your creatures already have evasion).
For feeding Become Immense, obviously...
I would expect the Fauna Shaman list to be a bit more mana-hungry (I just realized you run it).
I understand there are no better 1-drops for mana than Elvish Mystic/Llanowar Elves. However, I've always considered the logic of the deck to be empty your hand -> swing -> reload with LtS -> repeat.
The problem I have with the attrition-oriented version with mana dorks and Wolf-Skull Shamans (which is probably well-suited for Ire Shaman, too) is that I find it somewhat counterproductive to build board that dies in its entirety from every single of the conventional board wipes (Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, etc.).
I almost wonder whether it would be a better approach to toss in 4 Rakdos Cacklers for the mana dorks, 4 Burning-Tree Shamans for the Wolf-Skull Shamans and call it a day. Sure, the Cackler doesn't get pumped, but still comes in with a counter for the attack trigger.