Originally Posted by
jrw1985
My State of the Union for Gobbos on MTGO:
I've been playing a lot online recently and have refined my list quite a bit. For starting reference, here's the list I 5-0'd with right after I started playing online.
Creatures [33]
1 Goblin Chainwhirler
1 Goblin Chieftain
1 Goblin Settler
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Goblin Trashmaster
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Siege-Gang Commander
2 Goblin Warchief
2 Stingscourger
3 Gempalm Incinerator
3 Goblin Cratermaker
3 Goblin Piledriver
3 Goblin Ringleader
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Goblin Matron
Artifacts [4]
4 Aether Vial
Lands [23]
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Rishadan Port
4 Wasteland
11 Mountain
SIDEBOARD
1 Goblin Trashmaster
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Pithing Needle
2 Pyrokinesis
3 Sphere of Resistance
I really liked this list to begin with. I've always preferred toolbox builds and loved having all the options and interactions that all the singletons provided. When I 5-0'd it was against a slew of midrange decks which I managed to out-grind. The final match was against Manaless Dredge which I beat by just mulling to Leyline G2&3. It was a great run and I was quite pleased. However, when I played the next few leagues with it the wheels kinda fell off the old Goblin cart. Grixis and 4c Control decks had my number. The weakness in the build became obvious- Not enough Card advantage. You might wonder how that could be the case, what with all the standard CA goblins (Matron, Ringleader, Gempalm) along with the potential CA cards (Sharpshooter, Kiki, Trashmaster). But those cards were not the problem, it was the Piledrivers and Lords that were bringing me down. The control decks of the format right now pack a bunch of x/1s that give them immediate CA (Strix, Snapcaster) and those cards are really good at taking out creatures that are just beatsticks. Another problematic card turned out to be Cratermaker. Cratermaker is a very good card that is quite versatile, but it doesn't help you grind against control decks. It's great that is can kill Bridges and Eldrazi and flipped Delvers, but those are all 1-1 trades. So he's lethal, but he doesn't help you win the CA war. There are also times when you're using him to kill equipment which was tutored via SFM, or you're cracking him to kill a Snapcaster, and in both scenarios you're losing CA by running Cratermaker. CA is the crucial key to beating control decks, and Cratermaker just doesn't seem to cut it.
I changed up the build considerably and just tried something whacky: a 19 land build running both the RR and RB Grenzos and a ton of 2-drops. I hadn't quite hit upon the CA aspect, so i was still trying to jam Cratermakers and Piledrivers.
4 Vial
4 Lackey
4 Fanatic
2 RR Grenzo
2 RB Grenzo
3 Piledriver
3 MWM
3 Cratermaker
1 Weirding
2 Stingscourger
3 Gempalm
3 Matron
3 Ringleader
1 Trashmaster
3 Chainwhirler
1 Settler
19 lands (0 Ports)
SIDEBAORD
1 Thoughtseize
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Faerie Macabre
2 Pyrokinesis
1 Trashmaster
2 Blood Moon
2 Pithing Needle
1 Sphere of Resistance
Playing versions of this Rb list felt great at times. Ringleaders hit 4-goblins all the damn time. I could operate off of 2 lands and did not really miss playing Port. Best of all this list had much more game against control decks. The matches against Miracles, though, felt unwinnable. With so few lands and no haste lords it felt impossible to regain initiative after a sweeper. Having such a low curve made me cut Chalice from the SB, and Chalice is an MVP card against Miracles. The Grenzos were mediocre against Miracles and generally just ate removal before they could do anything. RB Grenzo was especially disappointing. He blanked all too often even in a 19 land build.
The 19 land experience convinced me I needed to go back to a more traditional manabase. I also realized that I didn't want RB Grenzo, but that RR Grenzo was pretty incredible against Goodstuff decks. When you set him up correctly he allows you to draw several free cards per attack off of the top of your opponent's deck. This can be huge if your opponent is playing efficient cards like Brainstorm and Bolt, and I realized that RR Grenzo is a really powerful CA Goblin in the 2-drop slot, which is exactly where I wanted a better CA goblin to be.
Here's where I'm at with my list...
23 Lands
6 Fetch
3 Badlands
3 Mountain
4 Cavern
4 Waste
3 Port
4 Vial
4 Lackey
3 Mogg Fanatic
1 Prospector
(Vial and Lackey are obvious. Fanatic has been incredible and though it does not give CA it does provide value. It's not been uncommon for a Fanatic to deal 2-3 points of combat damage over a game and also kill and X/1. Prospector is great with the high MWM count.)
2 Warren Weirding
3 Mogg War Marshal
1 Stingscourger
3 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
1 Cratermaker
(WW has been very good. Obviously it's great against Reanimator and other fatties, but it's also very good at killing annoying Prowess creatures that are difficult to kill with Gempalms. MWM is very very good against Grixis and 4c Control decks as it trades with Strix and Snap without losing CA. Stingscourger is a concession to the Reanimator and Dark Depths decks. Sometimes you just need to park Vial on 2 if you're going to have a chance to win. RR Grenzo is a fucking house against Goodstuff decks and when you hit with 2 or 3 creatures off of him you're getting a pseudo-Brainstorm off the top of your opponent's deck. It's a very powerful effect. Cratermaker is a concession to Equipment and Eldrazi)
3 Gempalm
3 Matron
3 Chainwhirler
(Gempalm is still great and the ability to Cycle when you just need to hit a 3rd land is extremely helpful. 3 Matron is enough. I cut Matrons and Ringleaders down to 3 because the deck needs space for utility Gobbos. The format requires it. And the curve gets too high when you're running extra 3 and 4-drops. 3 Chainwhirler has been amazing. Being a one sided sweeper is pretty great on its own, but it also beats like a drum.)
3 Ringleader
1 Settler
1 Trashmaster
1 Krenko
(3 Ringleader: See Matron. Also, you don't need the CA from Matron and Ringleader quite so badly when you have so much CA from MWM, RRG, Chainwhirler. 1 Settler is a concession to Dark Depths. Trashmaster is amazing and if you're not playing him you're not doing it right. Krenko is a concession to Eldrazi stompy, but also has huge CA potential)
1 Earwig Squad
(Concession to Miracles and Combo)
SIDEABOARD
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Faerie Macabre
1 Tormod's Crypt
(For GY and combo decks where you need T1/T0 protection. Also playable against grindier recursion strategies like Lands and P Fire. Faerie and Crypt allow you to keep great hands that don't have GY interaction because you can actually draw into them)
1 Trashmaster
1 Pyrokinesis
(Both are great against midrange decks and anything packing Equipment. Trashmaster #2 also comes in against E Plague and Elesh Norn)
2 Pithing Needle
(In theory these are for Planeswalkers. In practice they're not very good. I'm seriously considering trying REB instead)
3 Chalice of the Void
(Combo and Miracles and Delver)
1 Sphere of Resistance
(Combo)
1 Blood Moon
(Lands and Depths)
Note on Omissions:
Piledriver - Just a beatstick. Best in multiples. No room for that these days. Also needs hastelords to be really lethal.
Haste Lords - Just a beatstick. No CA. Too high on the curve. I would love to see them print a 2-drop Lord. That could give Goblins the advantage to play the beatdown. The reality though is that the format has combo decks that kill T2. 3 drop Lords are not fast enough to serve a purpose there, and they give up CA while raising our curve too much against midrange and control.
Sharpshooter - Not better than Chainwhirler.
SGC/Kiki-Jiki - Too high on the curve. And yes, Earwig is a 5-drop, but his Prowl is 3.