Nin, the Pain Artist

[Aggro_zombies]

I've been on a quest for a while to find an EDH-viable aggro deck that is fun to play, and I think I've finally found it:

General: Nin, the Pain Artist

Goblin Bushwhacker
Goblin Lackey
Goblin Sledder
Goblin Soothsayer
Legion Loyalist
Mogg Raider
Skirk Prospector
Bloodmark Mentor
Goblin Lookout
Goblin Piledriver
Goblin Recruiter
Goblin Shortcutter
Goblin Tinkerer
Goblin Wardriver
Mogg War Marshal
Warren Instigator
Arms Dealer
Goblin Chieftain
Goblin King
Goblin Matron
Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Warchief
Squee, Goblin Nabob
Beetleback Chief
Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
Krenko, Mob Boss
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Siege-Gang Commander
Goblin Marshal
Dragon Fodder
Krenko's Command
Goblin Offensive
Goblin Warrens
Goblin Rally

Phyrexian Metamorph
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Urabrask the Hidden

Basilisk Collar
Skullclamp
Swiftfoot Boots
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Light and Shadow

Blustersquall
Cyclonic Rift
Teleportal

Magus of the Moon
Blood Moon
Ruination
Thoughts of Ruin

Gamble
Vandalblast
Goblin Bombardment
Chaos Warp
Shared Animosity
Opposition

Solemn Simulacrum
Sol Ring
Armillary Sphere
Fire Diamond
Izzet Signet
Sky Diamond
Chromatic Lantern
Worn Powerstone
Thran Dynamo
4 Snow-Covered Island
15 Snow-Covered Mountain
Arid Mesa
Bloodstained Mire
Scalding Tarn
Wooded Foothills
Cascade Bluffs
Izzet Boilerworks
Steam Vents
Sulfur Falls
Temple of Epiphany
Volcanic Island
Command Tower
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Minamo, School at Water's Edge
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Dust Bowl
Reliquary Tower

The idea behind this deck is pretty simple: you cast Goblins, attack with them, and when you run out of gas, Nin tortures one to death to draw you a bunch of cards. I've gotten a number of games in with this deck so far and it's actually very resilient to Wraths since Nin allows you to sandbag a ton of threats (and in red, those threats are easily hasty). I'd like to get a Mogg Maniac for this deck, and if I can find an Imperial Recruiter for a not-insane price I'll run that too.

[Davran]

First of all, sweet deck! I'm a goblins player at heart, and this is definitely a unique interpretation of the theme. A couple of suggestions:

Goblin Flectomancer has a pretty unique effect, and I can't imagine that it wouldn't be useful at some point in a multiplayer game.

Goblin General isn't exactly the best lord out there, but in a deck that's looking to get in there for damage I'd think you would want as many lords as you could get. That said, Adaptive Automaton may just be better.

Goblin Settler has a relatively high price tag, but again it's a unique effect.

Moggcatcher seems like a shoe-in, especially if you start stocking up on goblins with unique effects.

If you're looking for another goblin-based win condition, Lightning Crafter goes "infinite" with Kiki-Jiki and a sacrifice outlet.

With all of the tokens running around Goblin Chirurgeon could be helpful...especially if someone has a Day of Judgement or something.

[Aggro_zombies]

I had Flectomancer in an early draft of the deck. When I thought about it a bit, though, I couldn't think of a ton of targeted instants/sorceries that get played around here. I should probably keep track of it in my next few games to see what gets played since it does seem like a fun effect, and may be better than actual Wild Ricochet would be.

Good call on Moggcatcher.

I thought about Goblin Settler, but I decided that if I was going to spend a bunch of money on a card I'd rather save up for Recruiter and have effectively another Matron.

I kind of want to put Mnemonic Nexus in here, since it acts as graveyard hate and lets me get back all my dead Goblins, but maybe it's too cute?

[Davran]

I had Flectomancer in an early draft of the deck. When I thought about it a bit, though, I couldn't think of a ton of targeted instants/sorceries that get played around here. I should probably keep track of it in my next few games to see what gets played since it does seem like a fun effect, and may be better than actual Wild Ricochet would be.

Good call on Moggcatcher.

I thought about Goblin Settler, but I decided that if I was going to spend a bunch of money on a card I'd rather save up for Recruiter and have effectively another Matron.

I kind of want to put Mnemonic Nexus in here, since it acts as graveyard hate and lets me get back all my dead Goblins, but maybe it's too cute?

Fair enough about Settler vs. Imperial Recruiter - I'd much rather have an Imperial Recruiter too.

Mnemonic Nexus is cute, but it also could be quite useful. Graveyard hate is very important (my "main" deck is Karador and my playgroup still hasn't figured this out yet), and this one is likely better for you as the aggro player than it is for everyone else. Doubly so because you've got access to stuff like Matron, Moggcatcher, Goblin Recruiter and eventually Imperial Recruiter. It's also theoretically better with Nin activations since you're hopefully drawing some of the cards you just shuffled in. The drawback is obviously the 4 CMC in a deck that likely wants to be jamming guys onto the board...but I suppose if you leave mana up and end up not needing it there's always drawing 2 off of Nin.

[Yad]

Nin, the Pain Artist loves Stuffy Doll :smile: What do you think about Goblin Wizard?

[Aggro_zombies]

M15 updates! The new Goblin Piledriver Lite from M15 almost made it in, except being forced to attack is a huge liability in this deck and a single Goblin token and a small Piledriver for three aren't enough reward. I tried Aetherspouts for a bit but I never felt like I was in a position to have it live up to its hype as a total blowout.

But what I do have now is an Imperial Recruiter, so I've messed a bit with the maindeck. It now looks like this:

Goblin Bushwhacker
Goblin Lackey
Goblin Sledder
Goblin Soothsayer
Legion Loyalist
Mogg Raider
Skirk Prospector
Bloodmark Mentor
Goblin Lookout
Goblin Piledriver
Goblin Recruiter
Goblin Shortcutter
Goblin Tinkerer
Goblin Wardriver
Mogg War Marshal
Warren Instigator
Arms Dealer
Goblin Chieftain
Goblin King
Goblin Matron
Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Warchief
Squee, Goblin Nabob
Beetleback Chief
Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
Krenko, Mob Boss
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Siege-Gang Commander
Goblin Marshal
Dragon Fodder
Krenko's Command
Goblin Offensive
Goblin Rally

Crimson Mage
Imperial Recruiter
Phyrexian Metamorph
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Mulldrifter
Urabrask the Hidden

Basilisk Collar
Skullclamp
Swiftfoot Boots
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Light and Shadow

Blustersquall
Cyclonic Rift
Teleportal

Magus of the Moon
Blood Moon

Vandalblast
Goblin Bombardment
Mizzium Mortars
Chaos Warp
Shared Animosity
Mnemonic Nexus

Solemn Simulacrum
Sol Ring
Armillary Sphere
Fire Diamond
Izzet Signet
Sky Diamond
Chromatic Lantern
Worn Powerstone
5 Island
15 Snow-Covered Mountain
Arid Mesa
Bloodstained Mire
Scalding Tarn
Wooded Foothills
Cascade Bluffs
Izzet Boilerworks
Steam Vents
Sulfur Falls
Temple of Epiphany
Volcanic Island
Cavern of Souls
Command Tower
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Minamo, School at Water's Edge
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Reliquary Tower

The Mnemonic Nexus spot is up for grabs. I'm not sure whether I want it to be another sweeper, a dedicated graveyard hate card, a land destruction spell, or something else.

[AngryTroll]

Is Squee worth the slot? It jumped out at me as not being super valuable, although I do see several "sacrifice a goblin:" goblins.

Why are the mountains snow-covered but not the islands? I must have missed something.

Did Mogg Maniac and Moggcatcher end up getting cut? They both look like solid slots.

Is Gempalm Incinerator just not good enough for EDH? It seems like there'd usually be a target worth killing, but maybe you can just kill the player with the troublesome creature instead of the creature.

[Aggro_zombies]

Squee is fine. He's good on defense in addition to being a reasonable Nin target, and he gets all the tribal bonuses the deck has.

The Mountains are because I just put in an order for the right amount of Euro Mountains. The Islands are all already the Venice Islands, and when the Mountains get here then all of them will be switched over to the Pyrenees Mountain art.

I don't have Mogg Maniac or Moggcatcher, and my local store is out of both. I don't feel a ton of need for Maniac since it's rare for an opponent to be low enough for the 6-10 damage to matter - usually I attack for 40+ in the late game, so my opponents are either dying or not getting attacked. Maniac also dies to any Nin activation unless I have at least one lord in play, which makes him less attractive (but getting tribal bonuses, being able to attack, and being able to throw the damage wherever still gives him the nod over Stuffy Doll). Moggcatcher would be fine but there aren't a ton of Goblins I'd want to find at the cost of 2RR, then 3 to activate. I could see it in the Recruiter slot if I ever put Animar together and want to move my Recruiter over.

Gempalm would be...okay, I guess. The thing with this deck is that a huge board position always induces someone to Wrath, so it's important to not have too many Goblins out if you're not going for the win within the next turn cycle. Consequently, Gempalm would only do okay-ish damage until I go off, at which point I probably don't need Gempalm since I'm swarming (and in fact, I'd rather cast Gempalm so he can join in the fun). It would be best at picking off troublesome utility creatures but there aren't a lot of dudes that fit that description around here: mostly just mana dorks and big haymakers.