Hi everyone! My name is Newton and I want to share my very potent 1v1 Grenzo Goblin deck. I've seen 3 types of Grenzo builds in Duel Commander: Doomsday combo, value/high-CMC drops, and Goblin tribal. I love Doomsday but felt my specific build was more versatile and can win against a variety of decks. I'm also not a fan of value-Grenzo since the deck folds pretty hard to disruption and relies more heavily on RNG.
The mana base is optimized to open with 3 lands in hand as often as possible (3/7*99=42.4 -> 43 lands). Despite being an aggro deck, the deck is very mana hungry (CMC ~2.5) and absolutely cannot afford to miss land drops. Also, flooding out isn't necessarily bad due to Grenzo's ability.
The mana base was rebuilt in order to utilize Tainted Pact as another tutor option. Because of "free win" cards such as Blood Moon and Living Death, the trade-off of having fewer basic lands is worth the potential of "cheesing" a free win.
Because the deck wants to navigate on both the aggro and combo axis, every land besides the 4 Scry / Hideaway lands (see Grenzo combos below) comes into play untapped. An example of a land that did not make the cut is Smoldering Marsh as it does not consistently come into play untapped.
The scarcity of double black cards enables the deck to easily play through our Blood Moon effects. As a result double black cards must have the potential to win games all their own (see Living Death).
Mesmeric Fiend effects were in previous incarnations of the deck but were removed in order to increase deck speed and reduce awkwardness with Blood Moon.
The high density of creatures (> 40%) ensures that Grenzo activations miss as little as possible. As a general rule of thumb, non-creature spells generally have to win the game or have an enormous impact to be included.
With the exception of a few very high impact goblins (i.e. Goblin Trashmaster), the creature base is optimized for X=0 (Grenzo).
Combos Stock List
Mana Echoes + Grenzo (see Murderous Redcap combo below)
Scry / Hideaway Effects - Save fetch lands and other shuffle effects in order to reset the bottom of the library if it's a bad Grenzo flip
Mana Echoes - With each Mana Echoes trigger on the stack, you can activate Grenzo / Aether Vial in response to net more mana
Mana Echoes - For Mogg War Marshal and Siege-Gang Commander, stack triggers such additional tokens are generated first to net more mana
Mana Echoes - After Goblin Rabblemaster or Legion Warboss creates a token at the beginning of combat, activate Grenzo with new available mana
Contamination - With the Contamination trigger on the stack, activate Grenzo in response to dig for additional creatures to sacrifice
Kiki-Jiki - Activate ability on opposing end step to create a token copy that will last until your next end step (useful for generating more damage during a single combat phase)
Possible Flex Cards
Value cards:
Patriarch's Bidding - Second Living Death without sweeper effect
I got some initial testing with the upcoming London Mulligan and the change is pretty big for this deck. The deck is able to recoup the card disadvantage fairly easily if Grenzo untaps. Also, I've added a few additional tutors and high impact cards to increase the consistency and power level of the deck.
- Reworked mana base in order to fit Tainted Pact
- Added Gamble as another tutor
- Added Earwig Squad as a tutor-able way to deal with problematic cards/combos
- Added Springleaf Drum and Mox Amber as efficient mana acceleration
- Added Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin from the upcoming War of the Spark expansion
- Cut Warren Instigator and Goblin Wardriver since they're bad top decks
- Cut Lightning Bolt since Barbarian Ring and Ramunap Ruins fulfill the same need
- Cut Adaptive Automaton since it's the worst of the lords (3 mana, weak to artifact destruction, and no secondary ability)
- Cut 43rd land due to addition of Springleaf Drum and Mox Amber
I just finished first in January's DCM double elimination tournament! The main changes I made heading into the tournament include:
- Cutting discard / Mesmeric Fiend effects for Warren Instigator, Goblin Wardriver, Mogg War Marshal, RR Grenzo, Lightning Bolt, and Chain Lightning
- Cutting Foreboding Ruins / Smoldering Marsh (inconsistently enters play untapped) for 9th Mountain and Barbarian Ring
The list felt solid with the exception of two cards: RR Grenzo and Mausoleum Secrets.
- RR Grenzo wants you to spend mana post-combat, which is opposite of what the deck wants to do
- Mausoleum Secret's floor of being a 3 mana Demonic Consultation happens pretty often
Going forward, I'm adding Judith, the Scourge Diva (new addition from Ravnica Allegiance) and Adapative Automaton in place of the two under-performing cards. Also, I didn't think the life loss of Barbarian Ring was worth it. I'll be adding Shizo and Shinka in place of 9th Mountain and Barbarian Ring going forward since there's very little downside to both. Without the discard / Mesmeric Fiend effects, the deck was able to play through Blood Moon much easier and had more synergy with the rest of the deck due to 3 additional relevant goblins.
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Hi everyone! My name is Newton and I want to share my very potent 1v1 Grenzo Goblin deck. I've seen 3 types of Grenzo builds in Duel Commander: Doomsday combo, value/high-CMC drops, and Goblin tribal. I love Doomsday but felt my specific build was more versatile and can win against a variety of decks. I'm also not a fan of value-Grenzo since the deck folds pretty hard to disruption and relies more heavily on RNG.
Deck List
My Current List
Vokotek's Latest List
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Free Wins
1 Æther Vial
1 Blood Moon
1 Contamination
1 Living Death
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Mana Echoes
Draw & Tutors
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Gamble
1 Goblin Matron
1 Goblin Recruiter
1 Goblin Ringleader
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Moggcatcher
1 Skullclamp
1 Tainted Pact
Removal
1 Fire Covenant
1 Gempalm Incinerator
1 Goblin Cratermaker
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Goblin Vandal
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Munitions Expert
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Pashalik Mons
1 Pyrokinesis
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Sparksmith
1 Stingscourger
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Lord Effects
1 Frogtosser Banneret
1 Goblin Bushwhacker
1 Goblin Chieftain
1 Goblin King
1 Goblin Trashmaster
1 Goblin Warchief
1 Judith, the Scourge Diva
1 Mad Auntie
1 Metallic Mimic
1 Reckless Bushwhacker
1 Duress
1 Goblin Chirurgeon
1 Goblin Lackey
1 Goblin Piledriver
1 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Goblin Sledder
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Legion Loyalist
1 Legion Warboss
1 Mogg Raider
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Skirk Prospector
1 Thoughtseize
1 Unearth
1 Warren Instigator
Dual Lands
1 Auntie's Hovel
1 Badlands
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
1 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Graven Cairns
1 Mana Confluence
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Shadowblood Ridge
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Tainted Peak
1 Unclaimed Territory
Fetch / Shuffle Lands
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Marsh Flats
1 Polluted Delta
1 Prismatic Vista
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Howltooth Hollow
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Temple of Malice
1 Zhalfirin Void
Miscellaneous Lands
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Great Furnace
1 Hammerheim
1 Mountain
1 Mutavault
1 Ramunap Ruins
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Wasteland
Quick Overview
Deck Choices Explained
- The mana base is optimized to open with 3 lands in hand as often as possible (3/7*99=42.4 -> 43 lands). Despite being an aggro deck, the deck is very mana hungry (CMC ~2.5) and absolutely cannot afford to miss land drops. Also, flooding out isn't necessarily bad due to Grenzo's ability.
- The mana base was rebuilt in order to utilize Tainted Pact as another tutor option. Because of "free win" cards such as Blood Moon and Living Death, the trade-off of having fewer basic lands is worth the potential of "cheesing" a free win.
- Because the deck wants to navigate on both the aggro and combo axis, every land besides the 4 Scry / Hideaway lands (see Grenzo combos below) comes into play untapped. An example of a land that did not make the cut is Smoldering Marsh as it does not consistently come into play untapped.
- The scarcity of double black cards enables the deck to easily play through our Blood Moon effects. As a result double black cards must have the potential to win games all their own (see Living Death).
- Mesmeric Fiend effects were in previous incarnations of the deck but were removed in order to increase deck speed and reduce awkwardness with Blood Moon.
- The high density of creatures (> 40%) ensures that Grenzo activations miss as little as possible. As a general rule of thumb, non-creature spells generally have to win the game or have an enormous impact to be included.
- With the exception of a few very high impact goblins (i.e. Goblin Trashmaster), the creature base is optimized for X=0 (Grenzo).
CombosStock List
- Mana Echoes + Grenzo (see Murderous Redcap combo below)
- Mana Echoes + Pashalik Mons
- Metallic Mimic + Murderous Redcap + sac outlet / Goblin Sharpshooter / Pashalik Mons / Judith
- Contamination + Grenzo = hard lock
- Contamination + Goblin Rabblemaster / Legion Warboss = hard lock
- Contamination + Aether Vial / Goblin Lackey / Warren Instigator / Moggcatcher = hard lock
- Scry or Hideaway lands / Goblin Ringleader (non-Goblins) + Grenzo
- Goblin Chirurgeon + Goblin Rabblemaster / Legion Warboss
- Goblin Sharpshooter + sac outlet + extra Goblins
- Pashalik Mons + sac outlet + extra Goblins
- Judith + sac outlet + extra Goblins
- Blood Moon / Magus of the Moon + Goblin King
- Skullclamp + sac outlet / Stingscourger / Mogg War Marshal
- Kiki-Jiki + almost any creature
Flex Cards- Kiki-Jiki + Lightning Crafter + sac outlet / Goblin Sharpshooter / Pashalik Mons / Judith = infinite damage
- Goblin Recruiter (see Kiki-Jiki combo above)
- Moggcatcher (see Kiki-Jiki combo above)
- Goblin Chirurgeon + Krenko, Mob Boss / Boggart Mob
- Contamination + Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
- Conjurer's Bauble + Grenzo
Goblin Recruiter PilesNote: Each of the following piles include Goblin Ringleader as the first draw step and assumes a second draw step.
Stock List
- 5 mana; blockers: Frogtosser Banneret + Piledriver + Legion Loyalist + Reckless Bushwhacker (14 damage courtesy Vokotek)
- 5 mana; no blockers, potential removal: Goblin Chirurgeon + Frogtosser Banneret + Piledriver + Reckless Bushwhacker (13 damage)
- 5 mana; no blockers, potential counterspell: Frogtosser Banneret + Piledriver + Mogg War Marshal + Reckless Bushwhacker (18 damage courtesy Vokotek)
- 6 mana; no blockers, potential removal: Frogtosser Banneret + Piledriver + Goblin Rabblemaster + Reckless Bushwhacker (23 damage)
Common Moggcatcher TargetsNote: Make sure to wait for a relevant opposing play or opposing end step before activating.
- Siege-Gang Commander
- Kiki-Jiki (high value copy target on board)
- Murderous Redcap / Stingscourger / Munitions Expert / Pashalik Mons
- Goblin Trashmaster (lord effect needed / artifact destruction)
- Goblin Chieftain (lord effect + haste)
- Goblin King (Blood Moon effect present)
- Sparksmith / Goblin Sharpshooter (haste effect present)
- Kiki-Jiki + whatever you need (6 mana)
Sequencing / Stack Tips To Remember- Scry / Hideaway Effects - Save fetch lands and other shuffle effects in order to reset the bottom of the library if it's a bad Grenzo flip
- Mana Echoes - With each Mana Echoes trigger on the stack, you can activate Grenzo / Aether Vial in response to net more mana
- Mana Echoes - For Mogg War Marshal and Siege-Gang Commander, stack triggers such additional tokens are generated first to net more mana
- Mana Echoes - After Goblin Rabblemaster or Legion Warboss creates a token at the beginning of combat, activate Grenzo with new available mana
- Contamination - With the Contamination trigger on the stack, activate Grenzo in response to dig for additional creatures to sacrifice
- Kiki-Jiki - Activate ability on opposing end step to create a token copy that will last until your next end step (useful for generating more damage during a single combat phase)
Possible Flex CardsValue cards:
- Patriarch's Bidding - Second Living Death without sweeper effect
- Hellraiser Goblin / Rushblade Commander - Additional haste effects
- Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin / Sling-Gang Lieutenant / Beetleback Chief / Marsh Flitter / Loyal Apprentice - Great token generators
- Collective Brutality / Kolaghan's Command / Fiery Confluence - Flexible Swiss-Army Knives
- Liliana, the Last Hope / Liliana of the Veil / Chandra Torch of Defiance - Additional Planeswalkers for control match-ups
- Yawgmoth, Thran Physician - Flexible additional sacrifice outlet
- Cabal Pit - Late-game removal
Hate cards:- Mesmeric Fiend Effects - Anti-control/combo cards
- Earwig Squad
- Faerie Macabre / Bojuka Bog - Graveyard hate
- Phyrexian Revoker - Commanders with activated abilities
Notable Omissions- Krenko, Mob Boss / Wort, Boggart Auntie - CMC 4 with no immediate impact
- Lightning Crafter / Boggart Mob - Liability with only 1 creature on board
- Goblin Settler / Tuktuk Scrapper - Tutor targets are nice but CMC 4 and not necessary good when drawn
- Goblin Guide - Deck resembles a mid-range deck more than a straight RDW / burn deck
- Shared Animosity / Coat of Arms / Purphoros, God of the Forge / Cabal Slaver - Win more
- Fatal Push / Flame Slash / more removal - Dead draw against most control decks
More Links- MTGTop8: Top 8 Deck Lists
- Duel Commander Discord Server: Discord Link
Thanks in advance!1
- Reworked mana base in order to fit Tainted Pact
- Added Gamble as another tutor
- Added Earwig Squad as a tutor-able way to deal with problematic cards/combos
- Added Springleaf Drum and Mox Amber as efficient mana acceleration
- Added Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin from the upcoming War of the Spark expansion
- Cut Warren Instigator and Goblin Wardriver since they're bad top decks
- Cut Lightning Bolt since Barbarian Ring and Ramunap Ruins fulfill the same need
- Cut Adaptive Automaton since it's the worst of the lords (3 mana, weak to artifact destruction, and no secondary ability)
- Cut 43rd land due to addition of Springleaf Drum and Mox Amber
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I just finished first in January's DCM double elimination tournament! The main changes I made heading into the tournament include:
- Cutting discard / Mesmeric Fiend effects for Warren Instigator, Goblin Wardriver, Mogg War Marshal, RR Grenzo, Lightning Bolt, and Chain Lightning
- Cutting Foreboding Ruins / Smoldering Marsh (inconsistently enters play untapped) for 9th Mountain and Barbarian Ring
The list felt solid with the exception of two cards: RR Grenzo and Mausoleum Secrets.
- RR Grenzo wants you to spend mana post-combat, which is opposite of what the deck wants to do
- Mausoleum Secret's floor of being a 3 mana Demonic Consultation happens pretty often
Going forward, I'm adding Judith, the Scourge Diva (new addition from Ravnica Allegiance) and Adapative Automaton in place of the two under-performing cards. Also, I didn't think the life loss of Barbarian Ring was worth it. I'll be adding Shizo and Shinka in place of 9th Mountain and Barbarian Ring going forward since there's very little downside to both. Without the discard / Mesmeric Fiend effects, the deck was able to play through Blood Moon much easier and had more synergy with the rest of the deck due to 3 additional relevant goblins.