Instigator and Chieftain haven't lead to awkward hands in my experience...Quote:
Originally Posted by Amon Amarth
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=34739
I was running 3 Chieftains and 2 Instigators AND 3 Ports and 4 Wastes when I placed 4th in Minneapolis (bragging, sorry). They worked fine together for me. This is because I almost always mulled to a 1 drop, which is hugely important in that your Vial or Lackey allows you to play everything else for free. Yes it's sometimes awkward trying to cast Chieftain or Instigator, but that's not the point of the deck! You're not supposed to be casting them, you're supposed to cheat them into play while you use your lands to disrupt and slow down your opponent. If you're keeping hands full of 2 and 3 drops you're doing it wrong. I like Instigator over MWM because MWM just isn't a threat. The way I see it, MWM is just 2 goblins for 2 mana if you're on the offensive. Clearly you're not going to pay the echo cost, so unless you used the MWM as a blocker then it's just 2 goblins for 2 mana. That isn't bad per se, but it isn't very threatening. It's actually a pretty defensive play, which against most of the decks in the field is a mistake. Instigator on the other hand is a very threatening creature that either requires removal or a blocker to negate. If he connects even once it's game over. Instigator also allows you to keep more opening hands, especially if you're on the play. My play style has generally been to pressure my opponent as much as possible, which works perfectly with Instigator. Also, in situations where you're paying for a Tabernacle or attacking through a Propaganda Instigator has obvious advantages over MWM. For the offensive game, having more damage in 1 body is generally advantagous. If they don't have an answer they're screwed. Chieftain I like because the haste and pump are huge. He negates E Plague while being an offensive force. Let's see KGrip do that. Having more 3cc Vial possibilities is strong for the deck, and the pump is amazing with SGC or a dominant board position.
Goblins don't need MWM (or Perish) to beat Zoo. Just use your goblins intelligently. You know that you can and will outdraw Zoo, so create 1-2 and 1-1 situations. Chieftain is great against Zoo because his pump allows you better exchanges and gives you a hastey speed factor that Zoo can't match. Pyrokinesis allows you to spread damage around and makes for big swings. Against Zoo (as against most decks) having a 1 drop is crucial. Vial is generally better than Lackey, but Lackey allows trickier play. If they don't flat out burn Lackey, and instead drop a Nacatl, you have the opportunity to Weirding or Stingscourger it away and get a free goblin cheated in. Also, if they're sitting on a 2/2 Nacatl with a Taiga in play you can attack into the cat with your Lackey, then Waste their dual after damage to kill the cat (as it becomes a 1/1 with 1 damage on it). I see no point in keeping a Lackey around that can't get damage through, so you might as well try to trade with it. If you can't trade with it don't use it to block until your life total is dropping to under 10. Eat the first 10 damage while building a horde. Zoo can burn you out if you drop under 10 life, but above 10 you'll be OK. This is good to know when your opponent casts burn on your goblins instead of you, because it lets you know what's in their hand. Case in point- I was playing against a very skilled Zoo player once, and the game was going deep. I finally had developed a superior board position, but at this point was down to 4 life. I wanted to give up, since I knew it was only going to take 1 Pyroblast to kill me, or any 2 other burn spells, but I told myself to play it like I might win it. When I sent my Lackey through an open board my opponent tossed back his head and sighed, then Bolted my Lackey. I was thrilled because I now knew that he could only draw into a Pyroblast to burn me out, and that I would win if I could dodge that for another few turns. And I did, winning the match. So keep your life total out of burn range. Build up at least 3 goblins on your side so you can start Gempalming Cats away. Better yet, use Gempalm when you block. Since Gempalm replaces itself you are getting a 1-1 trade. Since we can draw cards and they can't this situation will work out for us in the long run. I generally try not to Waste their lands unless they've missed a land drop and I can keep them off 2 or 3 lands. Zoo runs on such a low curve that it can overcome Wastelands pretty easily otherwise. Play out your hand as quickly as possible. 95% of the time when you Matron you'll want it to be for Ringleader to refill your hand. Don't allow them to get Lavamancer online. Do what you can to negate Jitte by bouncing or burning the equipped creature, or blocking and sacking your goblin to Skirk Prospector before damage so Jitte gets no counters. Once you've gained board position THAT"S when you start sending through attackers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vandalize
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by ScatmanX
