Goblin(g)s travel to SCG Chicago!
Hello fellow mages! I recently participated in the SCG Legacy Open event in Chicago using a R/g Goblins list. I’d like to share my report here with all of you. Please enjoy my triumphs and my failures (and the failures are pretty groan-inducing, too)!
The Deck
To keep a long story short, I decided to play Goblins because I like to play off the wall decks that still have a decent chance of winning that are not very popular. I spent a few months before the event testing different variations of the deck at our local store’s FNM Legacy event. I eventually settled on the Green splash so that I could make the best use of Tin Street Hooligan and Krosan Grip for my worst matchup (OmniTell).
I spent nearly every day lurking in the Goblins thread here on the Source as well, absorbing information and melding together a decklist that really suited my style of play. Here is the result: a hybrid of the classic ‘AEther Vial Goblins’ and ‘WINstigator’ Goblins lists.
Decklist
Creatures (31)
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Warren Instigator
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Ringleader
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Piledriver
2 Gempalm Incinerator
1 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Skirk Prospector
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Stingscourger
1 Siege-Gang Commander
Spells (10)
4 AEther Vial
3 Chrome Mox
3 Tarfire
Lands (19)
4 Mountain
4 Cavern of Souls
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Taiga
2 Pendelhaven
2 Wasteland
Last Minute Revisions
Right before heading out for the event, I posted the old list I had settled on using in the Goblins thread here on the Source. Some players offered advice in shoring up my Death and Taxes matchup, which I perceived to be not very favorable. I remorsefully took out the two Goblin Rabblemasters which had been doing so well against non creature decks and put in two Gempalm Incinerators. I also swapped my Tuktuk Scrapper to the board and replaced him with Tin Street Hooligan from the side since I removed all of my cost-reducing Warchiefs. I scrambled around the looking for a second Tin Street Hooligan but there were not any for sale at the on site vendor. Right before the event started, I also felt super uneasy without some sort of additional large bodied threat so I decided to slide a Siege Gang Commander in as he also doubles as removal. Neither of these changes would end up being a mistake :)
Please excuse my awful memory, some matches might not make sense with the details I provide.
The Event
Round 1: David with Reanimator
Game 1: I sit down from my first opponent. We introduce ourselves and shake hands. David seems like a cheery guy, so I peg him on something fair right off the bat. He wins the die roll. I keep a powerful hand with 2 lands, a Chrome Mox, a Piledriver, a Matron and 2 Chieftains. David leads with an Underground Sea into a Brainstorm. Now, I’m no Legacy expert yet but that line of play seems a bit suspect, but it didn’t really give any information to me. So on my turn I draw a Gempalm Incinerator, imprint it to the Chrome Mox and cast my Piledriver, fully expecting next turn to be a connect for 6.
David untaps, draws, plays another land, casts Entomb and then Reanimates Iona. Well then. I’m saddened that the first match of the day is a horrific matchup but my sideboard has some decent tech.
IN: 3 Chalice of the Void, 2 Relic of Progenitus, 1 Stingscourger
OUT: 3 Tarfire, 1 Goblin Sharpshooter, 1 Tin Street Hooligan, 1 Gempalm Incinerator
Game 2: I can’t remember my exact opener, but I know it had a Wasteland, Chrome Mox, Matron, Piledriver and Chalice of the Void. I’d like to think that Reanimator will generally board out its Force of Wills versus Goblins of all decks so I unabashedly slam down the Chalice of the Void on 1 on my Turn 1 using Chrome Mox. I visibly seems David react - he must have several, several 1 mana plays in his hand. He thinks for a bit on his turn and goes to discard without playing a land - Grave Titan. On my turn I do not draw another land, so I cast my Goblin Piledriver and pass - I really need another mana source to cast this Matron to find an emergency Stingscourger. David draws, plays a land, and passes. I draw a Chrome Mox. Well, good enough. I pitch one of the other Goblins in my hand (probably an uncastable Ringleader at this point) and cast the Matron tutoring up Stingscourger. David reads Stingscourger and laughs. ‘This is a good card!’ I agree :) On his turn he doesn’t play a land and discards Griselbrand. All sorts of alarm bells are going off in my head - even if I am able to bounce one of them, if he has two 2-mana reanimations I am done for. Luckily on my turn I rip Goblin Chieftain and am able to start bringing the beats - 10 damage in one turn. David’s on a clock now. David draws, plays another land (Tropical Island !!!) and casts Animate Dead on Grave Titan - this gives him some blockers and a way to remove my Piledriver before reanimating the Griselbrand. On my turn I draw another land and am faced with a choice:
Do I play this land and use my 4 total mana to pay for Stingscourger’s Echo Cost to keep him around next turn, or do I waste his Trop and hope he doesn’t have another land to reanimate Grisel? I decide to cast the Stingscourger, bouncing his Grave Titan, and then I Wasteland his Tropical Island. The team, including a hasty Stingscourger, goes in and Piledriver bites the dust to the two zombies. David’s now on three and has to have a land AND a 2 mana reanimate right now in order to live. He draws……. and scoops them up. No 2nd land. He tells me after the match that he did have the 2-mana reanimate in hand and also 6 other 1 mana spells.
Game 3: David leads with a start the makes my heart break - Misty Rainforest, Lotus Petal, Lotus Petal as my life flashes before my eyes. And then he passes. Wait, what? I am so missing something here. I look back to my opener - Oh, right! I have a T1 Relic followed by a T3 Instigator (always leaving that 1 mana open for Relic aye?). I jam the Relic on my first turn and it meets Force of Will pitching Ponder. He only has two cards left in hand at this point. He cracks the Misty at my end step for Underground and casts Entomb fetching Iona. I can only prepare for the worst as he untaps - he plays a land and passes. The Relic of Progenitus saved my life not because it exiled his graveyard - but apparently he had to pitch his only gas to stop my relevant hate. I suppose I understand the play because if I do untap with Relic it is bad for him, but if that was his only cantrip it seemed very iffy to me. Either way, this means I get to jam my Warren Instigator on turn 2 and from there the game is sealed after he bricks his draw step again. I jam in Goblins with the Instigator and cast more from my hand. A chieftain bites it from an Abrupt Decay but it doesn’t matter. The dust settles and the Goblins are victorious!
WIN (1-0 matches, 2-1 games)
Round 2: Nathan with Death and Taxes
Game 1: I sit down with Nathan we introduce ourselves and chat for a bit. The match starts and I look at the following opener: Gempalm, Gempalm, Matron, Matron, Instigator, Cavern, Taiga. This hand is literally godlike against any deck that isn’t playing and using Wastelands right away! Unfortunately for me… I get double Wastelanded immediately and my deck refuses to give me more lands. AND since I had to play the Cavern naming Goblins second, he knows exactly what I’m on as well.
IN: 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Tuktuk Scrapper
OUT: 1 Ringleader, 1 Chrome Mox, 1 Piledriver
Game 2: I open a hand with a pair of Mountains, 2 AEther Vials, a Lackey and a Matron. Great! I won’t get Wastelanded out here. My first two turns are just me playing the Vials while Nathan has nothing on his first two turns. I EoT attempt to use my Vial on 1 - Nathan responds with Containment Priest! I panic and read my Vial quickly - alright, it’s a may trigger. I decide to not send my Goblin Lackey to his doom. I untap and tick my Vials up - still no removal for the Containment Priest and I haven’t draw a land to cast the Matron. This is going to be tricky. I cast the Lackey and pass the turn. Nathan plays another land, Plows my Lackey and gets in for two. Then he plays a Mother of Runes. I’m not exactly sure on the details exactly here but at some point I topdeck a Tarfire. I tarfire the Containment Priest, Vial in Matron immediately, tutor up Gempalm and remove the Mother before summoning sickness comes off. I can’t remember if I’m missing a turn or something there but the rest of the game my life total didn’t change on the pad but I remember taking complete control from there.
Game 3: I keep an opener with some lands, some removal, a Lackey, and Tuktuk Scrapper- perfectly acceptable for hitting either an early vial or equipments. He leads with a Vial on T1, I lead with Lackey. He ticks up his Vial, plays another Vial but doesn’t play another land. Looks like he’s on the Vial plan, then! I attack with Lackey - no Mother of Runes comes down off the Vial to chump so I put in the TukTuk and break his Vial on 1 - still no mother so he must have some 2-drops in his hand. On his turn, still no land but he slams his THIRD (!!!) vial. My notes for the rest of the game are sloppy but it looks like I spend three turns using Two Tarfires and a Pyrokinesis to kill everything at 3 and 2 he puts in with the Vial. Lackey and Tuktuk are followed up with a Cheftain for the final points of damage at the end, I believe.
WIN (2-0 matches, 4-2 games)
Round 3: Russell with BURG Delver
Game 1: I’m at table one with Russell! We shake hands and get right down to business since we’re at the serious table for serious people. The details are this game are foggy but I see Dazes, Deathrites, Lightning Bolts, and a Double Goyf dream team beats me into a pulp. I didn’t see any Delvers this game so I’m actually still uncertain as to what he is playing - I’m sure this is just my newness to the format standing out.
IN: 2 Relic of Progenitus, 1 Krenko, Mob Boss
OUT: 1 Goblin Sharpshooter, 1 Tin Street Hooligan, 1 ???
Game 2: I keep a Warren Instigator, mana, and Goblins. My only notes for this game that I happened to write down were ‘Instigators for days.’ I do remember actually making a mistake here - I believe on the third or fourth turn he has a 2/3 Goyf out, while I have an Instigator with a Pendelhaven out. I attack without fear (I have another Instigator in hand). He blocks and I use Pendelhaven. If I had ACTUALLY done my damn math, the Instigator kills the Goyf and has 1 point of toughness ‘left’ thanks to Pendelhaven. I actually put the Instigator in my yard, expecting a trade. A spectator calls a judge over and the mistake is corrected after some investigation but I am slightly embarrassed that I can’t even do simple math. Whoops! The end result is that my Instigator eventually generates an army and we run him over. Still haven’t seen any Delvers.
Game 3: I keep an opener with ‘The Dream’ of land, Chrome Mox, Instigator, Tarfire and some Goblins. Russell plays a Deathrite on 1, on my turn a draw a second Tarfire and cast the Chrome Mox - here’s where it gets interesting - I absolutely positively need this Instigator to connect so instead of pitching my 2nd Tarfire, I pitch a Goblin Ringleader (holding onto a Matron) because if things go awry, the Matron can get me back into the game even if I only have 3 mana. I get SO rewarded for this because his second turn is Ponder into another Deathrite Shaman. HOLY SH-!! I untap, draw ANOTHER Ringleader, pray that he doesn’t have Daze, and cast the Tarfires one after the other. They resolve! Two Deathrites down and Instigator gets in there and dumps the Ringleader with the first strike trigger who reveals KRENKO (and some other gobs) I jam Krenko into play.
The middle part of this game is a bit hard to remember. At some point he kills my Instigator, somehow (oh and he still isn’t on green mana at all at this point, too) and when I activate Krenko for the first time with him and Ringleader out he does have the Bolt for Krenko (shucks!) so I only get 1 free Goblin. I get a Vial online and things start to go south, quickly. He Ancient Grudges my Vial, is able to find a Tropical Island for Green mana, casts a Goyf and a Delver! He was only Delver the whole time and I don’t have Pyrokinesis to save me. I believe my Goblins get picked off by Bolts and counterspells and I start drawing turds - lands and both of my other Chrome Moxen. It’s the price we pay for playing them, I suppose.
At one point we have a stalled board where i have Two Chieftains in play, an Instigator, and two Chrome Moxen in hand with 4 lands. He has a Goyf, two flipped Delvers and no cards in hand. If I attack with everything I can get him to three but I have no gas and the crackback will be at least for 6 a turn (huge Goyf) after he trades with all my guys. I sit patiently as he only cracks for 3 a turn with a single delver - I draw Siege Gang Commander! This is huge, but I only have 4 lands (at one point he cracked my on board Mox with flashback Grudge) and the two Moxes in my hand. I have to wait for another red card before I can go all in. I draw a Gempalm Incinerator and I think here is where I make my first gigantic mistake of the day. I should have used the Gempalm to pick off a Delver and draw an additional card - I was still at 11 life at that point, I think? So it would have been one less blocker for the Chieftain + Siege Gang attack. I am feeling the pressure though, so I go for it - Cast Chrome Mox exiling Gempalm, cast Siege Gang for exactly 5 - gets Dazed. Damn! He then continues to hit me down for three a turn - on the very last turn before I die I draw Cavern of Souls for the ultimate feel bads.
Had I cycled Gempalm, I probably could have made it there before the end. Oh well! Russell played very well and was able to stabilize and out grind me, I only wish my deck would have been more forthcoming with the gas! Russell and I chat for a bit after the match and discuss what could have gone differently and how I could have avoided the mistakes I made. Nice guy!
LOSS (2-1 matches, 5-4 games)
Round 4: Noah with Miracles U/W/r
Game 1: I sit down with Noah and chat for a little bit, he feels like he’s been playing poorly all day but I think 2-1 still isn’t a bad record. I catch him trying to sneak a peek at my deck while I’m shuffling (naughty, naughty ;) )so I try harder to conceal what I’m playing. It apparently works because while he leads with Sensei’s Divining Top off of an Island and I lead with Mountain into Goblin Lackey he looks very, very surprised.
Unfortunately, in this game, I’m the one who plays poorly. While I can’t quite remember this opener, I know that at one point I have a Chrome Mox out as well, and have put some number of Goblins on the board, making sure to avoid getting blown out by Terminus. A Goblin Matron found a Goblin Ringleader but I only have 3 mana sources - one of them is a Cavern, luckily. My board gets Terminused a second time and I start to sweat a little bit. I have a Tin Street, Ringleader, and something else in my hand and I need to reestablish some sort of clock - he’s at 7 or so.
Here comes the facepalm moment. I cast the Tin Street with G mana from Cavern of Souls, intending to force him to flip his Top back to the top of his deck (now that I think about it, I’m not sure what this accomplishes.) He thinks for a bit, reads Tin Street, and flips his Top back to the top. Then >I< read my Tin Street. That is absolutely NOT a >MAY< ability - I’m forced to blow up my own Chrome Mox! The Tin Street gets plowed and I am unable to find a 4th mana source for the Ringleader in my hand (I drew another land right after I blew up my Mox, typical) and he Entreats me for dead 3 turns later.
REMEMBER KIDS, TIN STREET HOOLIGAN IS NOT A ‘MAY’ ABILITY! ;_;
IN: 3 Chalice of the Void, 2 Krosan Grip, 1 Pyrokinesis
OUT: 3 Tarfire, 1 Goblin Sharpshooter, 1 Chrome Mox, 1 Tin Street Hooligan (screw you, guy)
Game 2: Chalices come in droves to stop the Brainstorm/Ponder/Plow/Top menace. I don’t remember my opener for this game but I know that Noah has boarded in Meddling Mages and beats me around for a bit early (no Top or CB) before I land a Chalice of the Void on 1, which locks out his removal and then, on the life total pad, he goes from 20 to 18 to 5 so I can only assume I jammed him with some number of Piledrivers at one point. I really should take better notes.
Game 3: Noah opens again with Meddling Mage. Before he names a Goblin, he calls a judge over for Oracle text, and then names ‘Goblin Warchief’ - I have to try really, really hard to poker face as I have none in my 75 (Thanks, Sandro!). I play a Matron and fetch up a Ringleader to compliment the first one in my hand. He then plays a SECOND Meddling Mage naming Goblin Ringleader. Crap!
The sequence of events here is hazy but I think I remember that I play a Warren Instigator, he attacks with the ‘Warchief’ Mage and leaves the ‘Ringleader’ Mage back to block. On my turn I attack with the Instigator, he blocks with the Ringleader Mage, I then go to my second main phase, cast a Ringleader, draw 3. Despite this error, he is able to assemble a Monastery Mentor with Sensei’s Top out. Luckily, I drew my Pyrokinesis at after the Meddling Mages but before the Mentor so I was able to take it out. I cast a second Ringleader and draw 3 more cards and that’s the end of the game.
WIN (3-1 Matches, 7-5 Games)
Round 5: Devin with Death and Taxes
Game 1: Devin seems like a cool guy, we sit and talk for a bit before the round starts as we were both nearby before the round started. I’ll be honest, this was my worst match that I played all day as I was super tired so my memory is going to be at its worst, as was my play.
I think I have a hand with a Vial, Lackey, Instigator, Matron and 3 lands. Pretty good, I start with Vial, then play Instigator, Vial Lackey EoT, then Lackey connects next turn (can’t remember if Devin just didn’t have plays or what). I drop Matron in and search up Gempalm Incinerator. I know he’s on D and T because I think he led Plains -> Vial but I’m not sure. At any rate, I get excited that I’m so far ahead (as I also have a Tarfire in my hand to go with the Gempalm) that I FORGET TO PLAY MY LAND. I just STRAIGHT UP forgot to play my land. Now, for the rest of the match I didn’t actually draw any threat Goblins - I think just another Instigator and Lackey so meh, but the land that I didn’t play was a Wooded Foothills, meaning that if I had played it there and fetched it COULD have changed my draws for the game. But alas, we’ll never know.
Here’s why missing that land drop was so critical: On Devin’s turn, he calls a judge over, asks him about a ruling, and then casts Phyrexian Revoker. He names ‘Gempalm Incinerator.’ Well, that sucks, but no big deal, right? I can just Tarfire it and then have Gempalm at the ready then after. Nope. He then activates his Vial on 2 and puts in Serra Avenger. Since I only have 2 mana, I’m not able to do both of them at end of turn. Either way, I Tarfire the Revoker at EoT, then untap, play my 3rd land on the 4th turn, and then Gempalm the Avenger. Sadly, I have drawn no other gas so I get just in with the 4 damage I have on board. The rest of the games ends when I have no pressure and he resolves a Stoneforge Mystic into Umezawa’s Jitte. Feel bads. Again, there’s no way to know if fetching away the dead card I drew a turn earlier and using both removals at EoT changes my game, but missing that land drop will haunt me forever (and I’ll never do it again!)
IN: 2 Pyrokinesis, 1 Tuktuk Scrapper, 1 Krosan Grip (?) Not sure why I did this, but I’m going to be running another Tin Street here in the 75 soon I think)
OUT: 2 Chrome Mox, 1 Goblin Piledriver, 1 Goblin Ringleader
Game 2: I keep a good hand that’s bad versus Death and Taxes - double Piledriver with a Chieftain and some lands, no Lackey or Instigator. It looks like I have him on the ropes after I attack him to 9 in a few turns, but a Mirran Crusader and Thalia block my path. I draw lands, lands, lands even after fetching 3 times. He lands a Batterskull, and I topdeck Tuktuk Scrapper like a champ. Then I make another brutal mistake. I attack with my team (I think one of the Piledrivers got Sword’s or something earlier) of 4 Goblins - Tuktuk, Chieftain, Piledriver, and ??? - completely forgetting that with first strike damage he can take out my Chieftain, and then Piledriver will die as a state based effect before regular combat damage. Ugh. The attack takes him to 5 but the damage is done as he resolves a Stoneforge Mystic for X equipment and I die like a chump.
Devin and I discuss the match after and we both decide that even if my draws change in the first game and I keep the upper hand, there’s no guarantee that 1) I draw anything good and 2) that the 3rd game could still go either way, so I’m not too miffed about losing, just mad at my horrible play. I resolve to kick it up a notch for the remainder of the tournament.
LOSS (3-2 matches, 7-7 games)
Round 6: Bryce with Omnitell
Game 1: Shake hands with Bryce, compliment his Vault Boy custom Fallout 3 mat which is very entertaining and we get to playing. I keep a bitchin’ aggressive hand with some number of Vials, Lackey and other Goblins. He wins the die rolls and leads with Gitaxian Probe. I’m not sure if this is Storm or something else but I’m afraid. He casts Ponder and passes. I cast a Vial and pass.
City of Traitors, Show and Tell?
Oh. Omni into play, Emrakul makes me scoop them up. Frustrating to run into this matchup while I’m on the cusp of my record not being good enough for prize. I’m determined to make it somewhere into the top though so it’s time to bring in the big sideboard beaters.
IN: 3 Trinisphere, 3 Chalice of the Void, 2 Krosan Grip, 1 Stingscourger (sometimes Omni players Show in Emrakul versus us, so it’s good if you have extra, in my opinion)
OUT: 3 Tarfire, 1 Goblin Sharpshooter, 1 Tin Street Hooligan, 2 Gempalm Incinerators, 2 Goblin Ringleader.
Game 2: I shuffle very, very, very, very thoroughly. The outcome of this match depends on my sideboard. Bryce cuts and hands me literally the most perfect hand against Omnitell in existence.
Wasteland, Taiga, Wooded Foothills, Trinisphere, Krosan Grip, Goblin Matron, Goblin Ringleader
Outside of awful circumstances, I am 99 percent certain I am going to win this game. I lead with the fetchland, pass. He lands with a cantrip. I draw something, play the Taiga, pass again. I’m sure that alarm bells should be going off in anyone’s head when this is what Goblins opening looks like, but again, I’m not a great Legacy player yet. On turn 2, Bryce yet again lands the City of Traitors into Show and Tell, except this time I’m ready. I flip the Trinisphere into play, he flips Omniscience. Gotcha! Bryce is confused - I let him know that the Trinisphere will, infact, make all of his spells costs 3 through Omniscience. I tell him to call a judge for a final ruling if he wants to be 100 percent sure. He does, the judge clarifies that this is the case, and Bryce passes the turn looking confident.
I untap, play my Wasteland, and crack his Omniscience open with the fiery justice of one thousand burning hot suns from my Krosan Grip! Bryce plays a few 3-mana cantrips as I jam Goblins onto the table and overwhelm him.
Game 3: I keep an opener with Trinisphere, some lands and Goblins. This hand isn’t as good without a Krosan Grip since he can still cast an Emrakul in hand for 3 BUT there’s not reason to mull away a perfectly good 7 with a Trini versus OmniTell. Bryce cantrips for a bit, and I don’t get Showed on Turn 2 or 3. My deck trolls me by handing me a Lackey on my 2nd turn but it’s good enough to drop a Chieftain in next turn to start lighting him up with damage. Then, I draw a card that makes me giggle like a schoolgirl (in my head). Siege-Gang Commander - Bryce is at 18 - my Lackey + Chieftain connecting will put him to 14, and when I put in Siege-Gang the total damage on board will be 13 plus any Siege-Gang activations.
It seems I have the game in the bag with Trinisphere waiting in the wings for Show and Tell when Bryce casts a Dig Through Time, leaving Volcanic Island and Island open - seems he is looking for Pyroclasm. Luckily, I have 1R and Pendelhaven open so even if he does so, I will be able to toss my Chieftain at his face with Siege-Gang, and then use Pendelhaven to save my Goblin Lackey from Pyroclasm. Bryce is not very happy with his Dig, as he only finds Lightning Bolt, which he uses on my Chieftain, which I use to Shock him instead. Next turn, I drop in the 2nd Chieftain I had been sandbagging with Cavern and finish the job.
WIN (4-2 matches, 9-8 games)
Round 7: Joe on U/R Delver
Game 1: Lose the die roll, one lander with no Lackey or Vial, Mull to 6, garbage, Mull to 5.
Vial, Vial, Lackey, Ringleader, Mountain.
Well, if it’s going to happen it’s going to be glorious. He leads with Fetch, Volcanic, Gitaxian Probe into Delver of Secrets. Ah, well then. This will be over very quickly one way or another. I draw a Piledriver for turn, cast a Vial (no Daze, woot!) and pass. He untaps, doesn’t flip Delver, plays another Delver, cracks me for 1 and doesn’t play another land. Innnnnteresting. I untap, tick Vial up, draw a Gempalm Incinerator, put in my 2nd Vial (still no Daze?) and pass. He untaps, flips both Delvers from the top on a cantrip (not Bolt, phew), cracks me for 6 (12) and passes without another land. I Vial in Lackey EoT and it doesn’t get Bolted. I untap, draw a land (sick!) play it, attack with Lackey. Still no Bolt. I’m not sure if he just wanted to race or what, but I drop in Ringleader and flip both a Piledriver AND a Lackey.
Holy crapbaskets, this was literally one of the best Ringleader flips I’ve ever seen (Vials are on 2 and 1 respectively). I respect potential Stifle - I vial in both creatures, then Gempalm Incinerator one of his bugs. I can’t remember what I drew exactly but I know I have a 2nd Piledriver waiting in the wings. On his turn he cracks me to 9. Unfortunately I don’t remember the exact details from here but I drop him from 16 to 4 in a single attack (Chieftain or somethin?), still with a Piledriver waiting (there was a reason for this and I can’t remember why, sorry). He bolts me at EoT (6). I’m crossing my fingers that there isn’t another bolt. Joe attacks me to 3 - and doesn’t Windmill Slam Lightning Bolt. Looks like I’m in the clear, he plays a Swiftspear to block my Piledriver and another Delver to block my Ringleader but I vial in the Piledriver I had been sitting on and it was all over.
IN: 3 Chalice of the Void, 2 Pyrokinesis
OUT: 1 Tin Street Hooligan, 1 Chrome Mox, 1 Stingscourger, 2 Goblin Ringleader)
Game 2: I open the nut draw of 2 lands, Chrome Mox, Chalice of the Void and Goblins. Since I know I saw Brainstorm, Delver, Swiftspear, Bolt, Ponder, and Gitaxian Probe last game, I know that if this Chalice resolves the game will be all but decided. He leads with a Swiftspear and attacks. I lead with Taiga into Chrome Mox - which he DOES Daze. Now I can’t say for sure what the thought process was here - maybe he didn’t have a second land and just wanted to tempo me, or what, but he doesn’t save it for whatever I was going to play with the Mox. Either way, I pay for the Daze so I can create a large gap in our mana advantage and pass the turn. He replays the Volcanic Island and plays Pithing Needle and names Chrome Mox right away. I look at Pithing Needle and inform him that it will not stop mana abilities, but since he has already named a card and we are at a competitive event he cannot take it back. The prowessed Swiftspear gets in for two.
On my turn, my deck trolls me again and gives me Goblin Lackey. I HAVE to play it prior to the Chalice or I can’t cast it (no Cavern) so I run the Lackey out, which resolves, and then the Chalice on 1. It resolves. The rest of the game was uneventful as Joe was locked out of the game and I flooded the table with Goblins.
WIN (5-2 matches, 11-8 games)
While I don’t want to fault Joe for using Daze on the Chrome Mox, having never played any variant of Delver myself, I can’t imagine what else had been in his hand to prompt him not just waiting for what I was going to use the Mox for. He was very surprised the Goblins was running Chalice and I let him know that it was a very good sideboard card, especially since we get to run out Lackey’s through it with Cavern if need be. It’s also even better with Chrome Mox so that we can jam it on turn 1 if need be.
Round 8: David on Loam Pox
Game 1: I win the die roll and lead off the final Swiss round with the explosive turn 1 Chrome Mox, Warren Instigator play. David looks very taken aback, he leads with Bayou and passes. Good for me, very, very bad for him as I drop Matron, tutor up Ringleader and drop in Ringleader for some more Goblins. David casts Smallpox cutting me down to one mana on the Mox, but Instigator is able to keep dumping the Goblins into play and I’m able to overwhelm him.
We get deck checked randomly this round and chat while we wait. I think that Pox is a really cool archetype that is underrepresented in Legacy - people think it’s unfun to play against but I just think it makes you play your deck on a different axis than you would normally. It’s a good thought exercise on making decisions differently - and even in this off-the-wall matchup, it’s still true. We get our decks back and proceed to Game 2.
IN: 2 Relic of Progenitus, 1 Krenko, Mob Boss
OUT: 1 Tin Street Hooligan, 1 Goblin Sharpshooter, 1 Skirk Prospector
Game 2: This was probably one of the grindiest games I’ve played in awhile. David is able to play a Pernicious Deed on turn 2 with the help of Mox Diamond, preventing me from attempting to alpha strike him with my team. I also have a Relic of Progenitus that I will have to pop early in order to get value before it gets Deed’ed. I had Lackey’d in a Ringleader and flipped into 3 Goblins. Good enough, now I just need to force him to pop the Deed early. I attack, he pops it, so I use the Relic to draw and cast another Relic (I think?). On his turn, he plays a Liliana and makes us both discard. I dump a Goblin, play a Chieftain, attack his Liliana, and then Tarfire it. He plays another Liliana and edicts me. I play another Chieftain and attack that Liliana. He Innocent Blood’s me, then casts Smallpox.
My resources have been drained at this point but I continue the assault. At some point, I make a favorable attack into a single Mishra’s factory, but David Crop Rotations into a 2nd factory and does a double pump on a block to blow me out. I’m left with very little to do. He starts beating me with double Factory, but I’m eventually able to Tarfire one, and then get enough Goblins on board to Gempalm the other.
The game ends with I hit another Ringleader and flip into a bunch of Warren Instigators. The final attack seems me dropping in another Ringleader, followed by Krenko and Chieftain and the game ends there.
WIN (6-2 matches, 13-8 games)
Summary
R1: 2-1 versus Reanimator
R2: 2-1 versus Death and Taxes
R3: 1-2 versus BURG Delver
R4: 2-1 versus U/W/r Miracles
R5: 0-2 versus Death and Taxes
R6: 2-1 versus OmniTell
R7: 2-0 versus U/R Delver
R8: 2-0 versus Loam Pox
6-2 was good enough for 14th place out of 170ish players! While I feel I did very well, many of my wins were just through some opponent’s misplay (Daze the Chrome Mox), while both of my losses were because of my own ineptitude.
The Good
-Chrome Mox and Warren Instigator were straight beast mode. It’s very easy to regain lost card advantage playing Chrome Mox - even if your Instigator dies right away, the Mox allows you to drop a Matron turn 2 which allows you to be right back where you were in terms of cards - if your Instigator doesn’t die you create a nigh-impossible to defeat advantage in terms of board presence, mana advantage, and cards in hand.
-Gempalm Incinerator was a card that I put in last minute. Several Goblins players stood fast that it was not good enough to run considering you might not have a board, but I never had an instance where it wasn’t good enough. Running these and Tarfire gives Goblins the best chance versus decks like Death and Taxes, Elves, and Delver variants. I don’t know if I’ll leave home without Gempalm ever again unless I’m testing a new crazy variant.
-Siege-Gang Commander - even though I only ever saw him twice in the tournament, both times he showed the game COULD have ended in my favor (double Chieftain out versus BURG) and DID end in my favor (lethal with Chieftain versus Omnitell). I think that a single large threat like that in the main deck is very, very important.
-Tarfire. Seriously, this card is nuts. Shock that is Tutorable and that you can draw with our synergistic draw engine, Ringleader is not a bad card. Killing Deathrites, Mother of Runes, Stoneforges, Elves, Delvers and other like things is so so so so important. Nothing in this format (save, like, Serra Avenger) doesn’t die to Tarfire that doesn’t also die to Lightning Bolt. Run 3, minimum.
-Pendelhaven is nutso with Warren Instigator and Lackey. I might not run 2 anymore after getting Wastelanded pretty hard some games, but I never regretted having it. Though, maybe Wasteland is a reason to run more than one. I’m not sure.
-The sideboard. Trinisphere, Krosan Grip, Chalice, and Pyrokinesis are all must haves. The graveyard hate and the rest is to taste I’m sure but there are so many ‘unwinnable’ or ‘bad’ matchups that these cards fix.
The Bad
-Not finding a 2nd Tin Street Hooligan. Seriously, I wanted two in the main board but couldn’t find one before the tournament. Seriously sad :(
-Goblin Sharpshooter not showing his face all tournament. How am I supposed to tell if you’re good if you’re never around???
-Drawing multiple Chrome Mox. Obviously this CAN happen when you run this card, but the upside is so so so worth it. I might try to drop to two Chrome Mox and see what happens, but you can lose sometimes by drawing too many of them.
-Skirk Prospector did nothing all day. Considering cutting him and just using maindeck artifact destruction to deal with Jitte’s and company instead of trying to be cut with a ‘utility’ card.
-Making bad plays. I’m sure many of you reading this report are cringing at my misplays (or lack of land plays). I’m going to keep working on tightening up my play with the deck but though bad plays were really the worst.
The Future
Going forward, I think I’m going to try with some additional maindeck artifact hate. I might also try a singleton Subterranean scout - there were many times were sneaking a Warren Instigator through something like a Goyf or just a chump blocker would be absolutely devastating, and we get a body afterwards. Not a bad deal. I think I’ll also take the artifact hate out of the sideboard and make more room for graveyard hate of some sort. Relic is very, very good but it requires two mana to actually beat something like Reanimator and sometimes you just don’t have that much before the game is over.
I hope you enjoyed my (entirely unproofread) report with Goblins. I hope to play at some of the closer Legacy events in the future and do even better!
Thanks for reading! Questions, comments, concerns, and insults regarding missing lands drops like a pro are encouraged!
Goblins was my first Legacy deck 10 years ago back in high school so I'm always happy to see someone do well with it. Especially when it's "dead".
I've only ever tested against it once since I picked the game back up a couple months ago, but your build looks really cool. I think it's interesting to cut the Warchief, something I never considered. I always thought Instigator was an awesome card, but I don't think he really had a good place to shine until somewhat recently. I only ran him as a one- or two-of and wasn't impressed. I've been out of the game for 4 years, so the meta looks completely different now.
Tarfire and Incinerator are awesome, with all the X/1s and X/2s around. Everyone talks about Bolt range, but like 95% of things in Bolt range are also in Shock range, so you aren't losing much with the missing damage. The advantage of having a tutorable Shock is so much more worth it.
Pendelhaven is nice too. I always ran the black splash, but honestly, green is better. Especially with a +1/+2 spell on a land in your arsenal.
Congrats!!
Grats on the finish, and nice to play you (I'm Russ from R3).
Some comments on our match:
Yes, very serious, especially the people standing next to us talking about their "big-titted" sexual conquests - I clearly could overhear, but not sure if you did. I've never been closer to asking a judge to move a spectator further. Ironically, this is the same person that saw the Goyf-Instigator trade in G2.Originally Posted by Dan Pyre
My notes have me on the play, going t1 Deathrite, While you go T1 Mox -> instigator. It looks like the only damage I took was a fetch, and then I chumped with DRS after getting Goyf, gaining two life, and Getting the entire way done with two 3/4 Goyfs. I was way too scared when I saw that mox - I was expecting something like Stompy with a Chalice or Blood Moon, and I didn't have a T1 Daze (I think I grabbed that T2 or 3), only a Decay or two.The details are this game are foggy but I see Dazes, Deathrites, Lightning Bolts, and a Double Goyf dream team beats me into a pulp. I didn’t see any Delvers this game so I’m actually still uncertain as to what he is playing - I’m sure this is just my newness to the format standing out.
This was double Piledriver game. I think I fended off decently, but I was behind the entire time and needed to basically draw removal while you bricked. You played a ringleader and revealed more gas (Including a tarfire, but why would I play around that G3?) and I scooped it in.Game 2: I keep a Warren Instigator, mana, and Goblins. My only notes for this game that I happened to write down were ‘Instigators for days.’ I do remember actually making a mistake here - I believe on the third or fourth turn he has a 2/3 Goyf out, while I have an Instigator with a Pendelhaven out. I attack without fear (I have another Instigator in hand). He blocks and I use Pendelhaven. If I had ACTUALLY done my damn math, the Instigator kills the Goyf and has 1 point of toughness ‘left’ thanks to Pendelhaven. I actually put the Instigator in my yard, expecting a trade. A spectator calls a judge over and the mistake is corrected after some investigation but I am slightly embarrassed that I can’t even do simple math. Whoops! The end result is that my Instigator eventually generates an army and we run him over. Still haven’t seen any Delvers.
As I said many times yesterday, that was an incredible game. My opener was UG Sea, DRSx2, Bolt, Ponder, Wasteland, Goyf. I had to play it out (and well, I'm not NOT going to play a DRS into a tarfire as usually it seems pretty okay, especially when I know I have another). However, because there wasn't a fetch, I can't get the red mana, so my options are waste targetting itself, or Ponder, hope to hit one, and if not, hit DRS instead. I didn't hit a fetch/Volc (I believe I had Snap, Brainstorm, Golgari Charm, which I kept as Snap is one of the best cards I can have there as long as I can get a red mana).
Game 3: I keep an opener with ‘The Dream’ of land, Chrome Mox, Instigator, Tarfire and some Goblins. Russell plays a Deathrite on 1, on my turn a draw a second Tarfire and cast the Chrome Mox - here’s where it gets interesting - I absolutely positively need this Instigator to connect so instead of pitching my 2nd Tarfire, I pitch a Goblin Ringleader (holding onto a Matron) because if things go awry, the Matron can get me back into the game even if I only have 3 mana. I get SO rewarded for this because his second turn is Ponder into another Deathrite Shaman. HOLY SH-!! I untap, draw ANOTHER Ringleader, pray that he doesn’t have Daze, and cast the Tarfires one after the other. They resolve! Two Deathrites down and Instigator gets in there and dumps the Ringleader with the first strike trigger who reveals KRENKO (and some other gobs) I jam Krenko into play.
I think the sequence went I brainstorm the next turn, and am able to finally hit a fetch, getting bolt, bolting instigator, taking 2 from the ringleader as you elect to keep krenko up to get a couple goblins. I don't remember the exact details, but there was also a snap -> bolt, where I went and blocked ringleader and bolted another dude (Lackey? I think this means I had to have had a second bolt to get to this state, but I don't remember that). You then follow up with a Matron and I sweep her and the token with the golgari charm.The middle part of this game is a bit hard to remember. At some point he kills my Instigator, somehow (oh and he still isn’t on green mana at all at this point, too) and when I activate Krenko for the first time with him and Ringleader out he does have the Bolt for Krenko (shucks!) so I only get 1 free Goblin.
You did have a stingscourger when I first played to goyf to get the instigator in, dropping the two chieftans. I'm clearly missing another turn. that happened here, as I do remember the next part vividly, but not the turn where I would have had a delver (as they did flip in different turns, 2 apart, but with both revealing abrupt decays).
At one point we have a stalled board where i have Two Chieftains in play, an Instigator, and two Chrome Moxen in hand with 4 lands. He has a Goyf, two flipped Delvers and no cards in hand. If I attack with everything I can get him to three but I have no gas and the crackback will be at least for 6 a turn (huge Goyf) after he trades with all my guys.
I think this is where the issue was with the game, and why I won. The state is actually one flipped delver, one unflipped, and a goyf. I'm at 9 life. You're at 20. A crackback requires you to take 6, but I then probably lose on your next turn, especially if you have any goblins drawn. I had already cast the first abrupt decay at this point (I think you played something before this swing)
Say you attack with everything, I have three options:
Goyf Blocks Instigator, I take 6 from Chieftans - I go to 3, I have two delvers and a Goyf out. If I don't flip the second delver there, I'm unfavorably trading, and I can have only a goyf if you hit my delver, or best case you draw another goblin and I just straight up die.
Goyf blocks Instigator, Flipped Delver trades with a chieftan - I go to 6, you have a Chieftan vs my unflipped delver and not really much pressure as you're still at 20, and an unflipped delver that is going to be blind. There's not really a clock there, I'm still dead to a lot of draws.
Goyf blocks Chieftan, unflipped delver chumps Instigator, I go to 6, but I have two creatures that can kill either of yours - This is likely what I would have done had you attacked, as the turn after Then I can clean the board accordingly.
There is also the unflipped chumps instigator, goyf and aberration eat the chieftans, but I then only have a Goyf vs Instigator - too risky as I don't know what you have there.
Because you don't attack, I'm able to stall out, and run away with the game, especially once I get a second decay flipping the second delver, while you brick on those next two draws.
Not even sure if you get anywhere from cycling incinerator - you get a possibly quicker cavern, but there's also the feel bad possibility where I have a removal (That I can just hold as there's no pressure) and it actually does nothing, in which case my clock is pretty big.I sit patiently as he only cracks for 3 a turn with a single delver - I draw Siege Gang Commander! This is huge, but I only have 4 lands (at one point he cracked my on board Mox with flashback Grudge) and the two Moxes in my hand. I have to wait for another red card before I can go all in. I draw a Gempalm Incinerator and I think here is where I make my first gigantic mistake of the day. I should have used the Gempalm to pick off a Delver and draw an additional card - I was still at 11 life at that point, I think? So it would have been one less blocker for the Chieftain + Siege Gang attack. I am feeling the pressure though, so I go for it - Cast Chrome Mox exiling Gempalm, cast Siege Gang for exactly 5 - gets Dazed. Damn! He then continues to hit me down for three a turn - on the very last turn before I die I draw Cavern of Souls for the ultimate feel bads.
Had I cycled Gempalm, I probably could have made it there before the end. Oh well! Russell played very well and was able to stabilize and out grind me, I only wish my deck would have been more forthcoming with the gas! Russell and I chat for a bit after the match and discuss what could have gone differently and how I could have avoided the mistakes I made. Nice guy!
Overall, great games, especially that game three, as it was an incredibly tough game to figure out, as you connected with instigator twice (with of course, two goblins each time).
Hey man! Good to see you post here. Our games were really great.
Yeah I heard them next to us. I was trying to ignore it and just focus on playing but I suppose asking them politely to quiet down would have been an option as well.
As for the game, thank you for filling in the gaps! I really want to try to take better notes on games since my memory can't seem to hold every single detail like that, but there's not much time with only 50 minutes per match :(
Game 3 was great, I'll remember that one forever and make sure to just go for the attacks next time! My draws won't be that bad ever again, right? ;_;
Congratulations again!
This is the first time I've seen a list involving warren instigators that actually looked good and worth playing. Maybe I'm biased, but I just never saw the appeal of putting a chieftain and warchief into play on turn 2, in the absolute best case scenario. The generally poor results those decks have put up and your really good result may be testament to this.
As for your sideboard it is absolutely beautiful. I really would like to find a way to fit 2 chokes somewhere, but for now I'm probably going to copy your sideboard.
I haven't had time to give your report a full read (at work atm) but from what I have read it's all very impressive. How would you feel about putting a 2nd Siege Gang Commander somewhere in the 75? I've always thought Krenko stunk, and I saw when you managed to activate him he only managed to make one 1/1 token. Sgc always makes 3, and if krenko makes 3 you're probably winning anyway.
Last edited by Stevestamopz; 07-21-2015 at 03:54 AM.
Oh my, so good to see Goblins doing well. Thanks man.
Have lots of comments, so brace yourself.
But firstly, regarding your said punts, you did a very good job overcoming anxiety. It's really easy to beat yourself up after a couple of mistakes and just throw a tournament in the bin. You recovered from it very well which is hard to do. Nice one.
So, on to game and sb choices, this are my thoughts:
SBing against DnT is tricky. Even though you're running the Gator version, you should be able to take the control role here. They only have 4 cards to provide CA - Stoneforge Mystic - and you have loads. So if the game goes long, and you're able to take care of his equipments, you'll win. That's why I like leaving all the Ringleaders in, and not cutting the Mox. You need the mana, specially fast one, since he has Wastes and Ports. Piledriver is right to be taken out, and I'd go as low as 1 after board. Without a board presence, which is hard do get against them, he is just a squire. Once you have a board presence, you should be ahead. He just doesn't do enough in the game.
Is kinesis brought in because of Mentor? I haven't tested against the card yet, so it might as well be correct. I do like though to leave 1 artefact hate in, Tuktuk in this case. There are some random cards that he's good against, like Needle, E.E., Shackles, and coming of the Vial his eot to get rid of his Top and stop him from doing any shenanigans in your kill turn. Think it's a good 1of.
If this is what really happened, why not get Ringleader and get him down of other Lackey/Gator trigger? Even if you didn't had another trigger, you had vial ticking up, lands and no more gas, so Ringleader imo was the right choice.
No T1 play against DnT is rough, but the follow up being a T2 Piledriver is very bad, even with the Chieftain T3, since he may have plow or any first striker, or be setting up a Batter or Jitte to kill your board. I know that mulliganing on the play is rough, but I'd have gone to 6 cards here.
Mulliganing Trini would have been a mistake. Try not to orry too much about the Emrakul Scenario. Lists nowadays only use 1-2 Emrakuls in the deck, so it is highly unlikely. Good keep.
Again, I feel like you're taking out Ringleaders way too much. You can always win the long game against these decks IF you allow your deck to do so. Keep them in, cut Shooter and Prospector or a Piledriver.
I'm guess I'm reading right and he only turned one Factory into a creature, correct? If he turns the Factory that just came into play into a creature, it'll have summon sickness and won't be able to pump anything.
This is another tricky one. Firstly, the deck tries to control your resources, both mana hand. Imo taking out Prospector is wrong. I also think keeping at least 1 artifact hate goblin in is correct, and I'd have kept both. Not only you can delay him getting his Mox Diamond, but one of the kill con of some of this decks is Cursed Scroll. Other than that, sometimes they use Ensnaring Bridge or Trinisphere, and my most hated from their side, Pithing Needle. Vial is of great help in this MU, and having an answer for Needle is great. One last thing, they also kill animated Factories. All that said bringing in K.Grip would have been wrong. I'd have taken out 2 Tarfires, Shooter and Sting for 2 Relics, Tuktuk and Krenko.
Thanks again for the report. Hope you'll have more opportunities to play in large events.
Cheers.
Super Bizarros Team. Beating everything with small green dudes and big waves.
Warren Instigator is great so long as you're playing Chrome Mox for the explosiveness. Granted, you don't ALWAYS have the Turn 1 Instigator but getting two run eight 'effective' copies of Goblin Lackey was insane. If you lead with a Lackey and it gets removed, then follow up with an Instigator that they don't have removal for - well, it gets nasty very fast. I never really missed Warchief all day and dropping in Matron + Ringleader on the same turn is such a gigantic advantage.
I think I'd like to run an additional Krosan Grip and piece of graveyard hate (3rd Relic?) somewhere in my sideboard. There really wasn't too much the maindeck can't either ignore and run through, or at least has tutorable answers for. Cutting Skirk Prospector will open up a slot in the maindeck for a 2nd artifact destruction goblin or I'll be able to slide Krenko into the main while upping the amount of matchup specific sideboard cards.
Krenko only ever showed up twice all day - in the BURG matchup which had Lightning Bolt to remove him, and against Loam Pox once that match had already been decided. I'm sure that if I ever went up against a strictly BUG matchup Krenko would be much, much better.
2nd Siege-Gang would be interesting to try - sometimes I feel that with 4 Chieftain main, he has the potential to do more damage than a single Goblin Piledriver. Plus he's not just a single threat that can be removed. Worth trying out, at least.
I believe I cut Moxen thinking that running too many card disadvantage cards (Moxes, Pyrokinesis) would still be very bad for me, plus a savvy opponent can use Revoker to name Chrome Mox. I agree with cutting Piledrivers though - I'll be sure to do that next time!
I brought Pyrokinesis in just in case he was playing Mentor, but also because my opponent was also playing Venser/Snapcasters that I saw in Game 1 at some point. I hadn't thought of Shackles at all... might be worth keeping a TSH in then (though he doesn't work off of Vial).Is kinesis brought in because of Mentor? I haven't tested against the card yet, so it might as well be correct. I do like though to leave 1 artefact hate in, Tuktuk in this case. There are some random cards that he's good against, like Needle, E.E., Shackles, and coming of the Vial his eot to get rid of his Top and stop him from doing any shenanigans in your kill turn. Think it's a good 1of.
Probably because I'm bad. I'm sure if I kept better notes on my hand and the game state I'd be able to answer this with more certainty.If this is what really happened, why not get Ringleader and get him down of other Lackey/Gator trigger? Even if you didn't had another trigger, you had vial ticking up, lands and no more gas, so Ringleader imo was the right choice.
I really considered it, but I though that double Piledriver could potentially go the distance faster than he could react. I'd definitely mulligan that against DnT now though having played through it.No T1 play against DnT is rough, but the follow up being a T2 Piledriver is very bad, even with the Chieftain T3, since he may have plow or any first striker, or be setting up a Batter or Jitte to kill your board. I know that mulliganing on the play is rough, but I'd have gone to 6 cards here.
I think I was gambling on an early Chalice making sure that my Piledrivers wouldn't be removed here but I suppose you're right. Game 1 was too close for comfort so I opted to removed some of the top heavy curved cards.Again, I feel like you're taking out Ringleaders way too much. You can always win the long game against these decks IF you allow your deck to do so. Keep them in, cut Shooter and Prospector or a Piledriver.
I think that the ACTUAL play was that I attacked with a Ringleader into his mostly tapped board, and he Crop Rotated up the 2nd Factory and animated/block/pumped it. Then on HIS turn he double attacked me. Sorry if I didn't make that clearer, I was pretty exhausted at that point.I'm guess I'm reading right and he only turned one Factory into a creature, correct? If he turns the Factory that just came into play into a creature, it'll have summon sickness and won't be able to pump anything.
Prospector seems like it doesn't do anything in this matchup - it generates mana at the cost of the rest of my board? Far better to drop things in with Vial/Lackey/Instigator IMO. I hadn't considered Cursed Scrolls, and I didn't see any Moxen in Game 1 but had I seen them I'm sure I would have kept one in. Ensnaring Bridge is absolutely a reason to keep a Shatter Goblin handy. Trinisphere really doesn't bother me, actually. Paying 3 mana for my 2 mana Goblins does not really feel that bad, and my only one drops at that point are Lackeys, Vials, and Tarfires. While that can slow those cards down, so long as I'm not hellbent just dropping one Goblin a turn doesn't seem that bad especially considering he'll be under the same constraints. I'm not so sure about boarding out Tarfires - sniping Factories seems incredibly relevant.This is another tricky one. Firstly, the deck tries to control your resources, both mana hand. Imo taking out Prospector is wrong. I also think keeping at least 1 artifact hate goblin in is correct, and I'd have kept both. Not only you can delay him getting his Mox Diamond, but one of the kill con of some of this decks is Cursed Scroll. Other than that, sometimes they use Ensnaring Bridge or Trinisphere, and my most hated from their side, Pithing Needle. Vial is of great help in this MU, and having an answer for Needle is great. One last thing, they also kill animated Factories. All that said bringing in K.Grip would have been wrong. I'd have taken out 2 Tarfires, Shooter and Sting for 2 Relics, Tuktuk and Krenko.
Thanks for the analysis! I'll be making some edits coming up here based on the comments and my experience at the tournament. Hopefully I'll have an even higher placing at the next big event nearby :)Thanks again for the report. Hope you'll have more opportunities to play in large events.
Cheers.
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