Originally Posted by
georgjorge
As for Mox vs. Ritual...I've stated my reasons over in the Red Death thread.
Plague vs. Ostracize: I find that the main source of my losses versus Goblins comes from one card - Ringleader. Even with Plague out, a good Ringleader (like...Matron + Piledriver) can cause a loss very fast, especially if he fetches you another one, since you will be facing some big Piledrivers backed up by Incinerators no matter the -1/-1. Since land destruction doesn't always work that well there thanks to Vial, I think it's best to get rid of the Ringleader before it hits play. Also, there are almost no matchups besides Goblins where Plague comes in handy, whereas Ostracize does (basically, most decks playing Vial).
The singleton Crusader...well, the reason is I want to play four in many matchups, but don't have room in the sideboard anymore. Bad reasoning, probably, and it being a shade is probably better.
The singleton Rancid Earth...Obviously worse than Sinkhole, but land destruction gets better cumulatively, since destroying one land does nothing most of the time, while destroying three can give you the game. So, I decided I needed a bit more of that.
Blackmail...it's good. You can even cast it on their first turn, and almost always get some lands offered to you, following up on that with Wasteland or Sinkhole.
Giant - Goyf - Demise: Bad synergy, but it doesn't matter. You don't remove much more than two or three cards with Giants in a game, and I have NEVER had the Goyf getting smaller because of them, as there are always multiple lands/sorceries in the graveyards.