[Deck] Vial Goblins

@Dan:
I get you logic, but I really don't think it would work. with Piledriver we get games that we can win T3. Even if (and it isn't) we could win 75% of the games T3, we'd still be unfavourable against all those combo decks, and against the rest, there are better cards. So even though I get your point, I think is better to go either all in to beat combo, or don't bother at all and pray to dodge or that they fizzle or their deck suddenly burst into flames.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kinda

Is 4 lackey and 3 instigator necessary? I bet 1/2 earwig squad could get squeezed into the main.

---

For the sake of what I want this version to do, yes. Even 4 Instigators could be played. And yes, Squad would be cool MD. I just didn't want to cut any of my bombs, or flex, or any cards. It was the last card to be put on the sb to get to 60 tbh, so feel free to cut anything to squeeze it in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sagratho

Why run Pithing Needle, if u have 3 artifact hate on SB?

---

Needle can stop Sneak and Grizzle as mentioned, but also stops: Top (Miracles) Wirewood Symbiote (Elves), Grindstone before it's too late (Painter), Many cards in Lands, and has quite a few application in lots of other MU's, but those 4 are probably the main reason to play at least 2 nowadays.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ScatmanX

Needle can stop Sneak and Grizzle as mentioned, but also stops: Top (Miracles) Wirewood Symbiote (Elves), Grindstone before it's too late (Painter), Many cards in Lands, and has quite a few application in lots of other MU's, but those 4 are probably the main reason to play at least 2 nowadays.

---

Ok, cool. i see that needle its usefull in Warren Instigator Build. Cuz i run 4 rishadan and 3 blood moon to try to stop lands and Painter i hav a lot of artifact hate.

I hav another question.

I was running the instigator list... but it always brick when get wasted and double red mana is an permanent issue. So i start read some articles and watch videos on youtube from Jim Javis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYbnisCh7pI) and i think the classic build is better than any other, as Max Tieze and Jim Davis always play with that build.

So whats the main trouble that classic build cant deal that force us to play with a different build or an hibrid one like yours?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sagratho

Ok, cool. i see that needle its usefull in Warren Instigator Build. Cuz i run 4 rishadan and 3 blood moon to try to stop lands and Painter i hav a lot of artifact hate.

I hav another question.

I was running the instigator list... but it always brick when get wasted and double red mana is an permanent issue. So i start read some articles and watch videos on youtube from Jim Javis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYbnisCh7pI) and i think the classic build is better than any other, as Max Tieze and Jim Davis always play with that build.

So whats the main trouble that classic build cant deal that force us to play with a different build or an hibrid one like yours?

---

The classic build is slow. That's literally it. Any attempt to run Warren Instigator is an attempt to skip the curve even harder, running 12 ways to ignore your own mana (Lackey, Instigator, Vial). I personally don't like how all in it feels, and have had success piloting any other Classic build comparatively, where I've had volatile success with WInstigator builds. Like I'll 4-0 or 0-4. It doesn't feel as consistent to me, and I value consistency over pretty much everything else when going to a larger event.

---

Can I get a show of hands of people heading to Louisville; perhaps we could meet up? So far I see Dan Pyre.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Olaf Forkbeard

Can I get a show of hands of people heading to Louisville; perhaps we could meet up? So far I see Dan Pyre.

---

In! :)

Also, there's a Legacy Goblins Facebook page here: It'll be pretty easy to organize a meetup from that group during the event, what with notifications and group chat and all. (I'm Brennan in the group)

Legacy Goblins Facebook

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ScatmanX

@Dan:
...and pray to dodge or that they fizzle or their deck suddenly burst into flames.

---

Hopefully the last one :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Pyre

Guys and gals, while Brainstor- er I mean Ringleader'ing on my final decklist to bring to Louisville, I think I've had an epiphany.

I've been on 'Piledriver sucks' plan for a few months now and I've had decent results. Driver just doesn't match up well versus Eldrazi, Death and Taxes, Elves, Angler decks, Pyromancer chumps, Abrupt Decay, Swords to Plowshares, Lightning Bolt, Dismember... you catch my drift. The 4x Mogg War Marshal + 4x Gempalm Incinerator plan has been my go-to removal and card advantage suite and I haven't missed Piledriver compared to them at all.

Except...

There's only so much room in the sideboard for combo hate, if at all; There's a school of thought that relies entirely around 'dodge combo' as our way to win events. In reality, we DO want Piledriver in our deck versus Combo as a way to race them down before they have a chance to kill us. But, running Piledrivers against Thalias and removal all day doesn't seem very helpful.

WHAT IF

Piledriver IS the sideboard combo hate? You don't maindeck any so that your matchups against 'fair' decks doesn't suffer randomly ('Man, I have to go all in against this Angler and hope he doesn't Decay or I'm dead either way' as opposed to 'I'll just Mogg War Marshal and buy 3 turns' etc etc)

BUT

You get to bring it in against Storm, Sneak n Show, Reanimator(s), Infect, Miracles (to an extent, I suppose), Omnitell, Lands whatever you get the gist
Surely I'll still be running Pithing Needles, Moons and some form of graveyard hate (probably Leyline of the Void, everything else seems too slow really), but that leaves about 5-6 slots and fitting 3 Piledrivers there instead of the maindeck seems like it might be a decent idea.

Feel free to tell me how much of an idiot I am but I would love to see some discussion regarding this idea.

TL;DR: Piledrivers in the sideboard to be fast when we need it, but not lose to creature matchups in Game 1 where we weren't favored to beat combo anyway.

---

I've been on this kind of train of thought for the last month or so (probably pushed into that direction by testing Smuggler's Copter) and it makes sense to me. At my current point, I like having 1 Piledriver maindeck just as a matron target. There are some games where you're just slowly dying to a TNN or something along those lines and you have a warchief in play, you draw matron, and nothing but 'driver wins you the game on the spot. For me, copter is a more consistent damage-dealer across a game. With piledriver, you almost never get more than 1 swing in, and connecting is difficult. Copter smacks in for 3 always, and gets some value through looting (I have had slight issues with looting though, and perhaps I should not loot as often as I do; I don't play with looters often so I suppose it'll come with practice). War Marshal complements Copter well, and crewing is basically a non-issue. I like 2 in any of the War Marshal-heavy builds.

Aside, but do you see a significant benefit of going 4x gempalm over 3x gempalm 1 tarfire? I like having the 1of tarfire, if for nothing else to have the capability of killing a t1 DRS or Mom on the draw. I rarely have games where I actually churn through 3 gempalms, so the 4th seems a little unnecessary.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 1GoblinLackey

Aside, but do you see a significant benefit of going 4x gempalm over 3x gempalm 1 tarfire? I like having the 1of tarfire, if for nothing else to have the capability of killing a t1 DRS or Mom on the draw. I rarely have games where I actually churn through 3 gempalms, so the 4th seems a little unnecessary.

---

My reasoning has been this:

As much as a problem Deathrite and company have been for our Turn 1 Lackeys, in reality we should not be banking on them connecting versus ANY fair deck the first turn (1/2 creature or otherwise). A smart rule of thumb for playing against Goblins is 'always block the Lackey, don't NOT block the Lackey.' Naturally, Tarfire is a great way for us to circumvent this particular strategy to enable to to connect, especially on the draw as you say.

However, the emergence of Eldrazi in particular has made Tarfire a far less appealing choice for me:

-Chalice on 1
-Doesn't replace itself
-Doesn't scale
-Awkward interaction when trying to double up on Reality Smasher
-Can't kill Thought-Knot or a big enough Endless One

Our whole game plan against Eldrazi hinges on creating a board state and attacking their mana. By default, we should be running out our creatures as quickly as we can against them and then use the Gempalm Incinerator to create 0 for 1 exchanges while they only draw one card a turn.

Another minor point is that it is not counterable by conventional countermagic (against Delver and Infect decks, for example) so it is easier to pull kills off with Gempalm than Tarfire.

However, I'd say in the WINstigator version of Goblins that Tarfire is irreplaceable as it is entirely designed to drop one of 8 Lackey effects on the first turn, so connecting with that version of the deck immediately is important. However, for my current Classic version with 4x Mogg War Marshal and 4x Gempalm, the constant card advantage, board presence and nigh uncounterable removal has been a huge blessing. YMMV :)

TL;DR: I plan to out grind DRS/Mother decks anyway so I'm not worried about Tarfire on the first turn, I'd rather create 0 for 1 exchanges. Also Eldrazi.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Pyre

In! :)

Also, there's a Legacy Goblins Facebook page here: It'll be pretty easy to organize a meetup from that group during the event, what with notifications and group chat and all. (I'm Brennan in the group)

Legacy Goblins Facebook


Hopefully the last one :)

---

Consider me behind the times. I do not have, nor intend, to have a Facebook account. Mind if I get in contact a different route?

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Pyre

My reasoning has been this:

As much as a problem Deathrite and company have been for our Turn 1 Lackeys, in reality we should not be banking on them connecting versus ANY fair deck the first turn (1/2 creature or otherwise). A smart rule of thumb for playing against Goblins is 'always block the Lackey, don't NOT block the Lackey.' Naturally, Tarfire is a great way for us to circumvent this particular strategy to enable to to connect, especially on the draw as you say.

However, the emergence of Eldrazi in particular has made Tarfire a far less appealing choice for me:

-Chalice on 1
-Doesn't replace itself
-Doesn't scale
-Awkward interaction when trying to double up on Reality Smasher
-Can't kill Thought-Knot or a big enough Endless One

Our whole game plan against Eldrazi hinges on creating a board state and attacking their mana. By default, we should be running out our creatures as quickly as we can against them and then use the Gempalm Incinerator to create 0 for 1 exchanges while they only draw one card a turn.

Another minor point is that it is not counterable by conventional countermagic (against Delver and Infect decks, for example) so it is easier to pull kills off with Gempalm than Tarfire.

However, I'd say in the WINstigator version of Goblins that Tarfire is irreplaceable as it is entirely designed to drop one of 8 Lackey effects on the first turn, so connecting with that version of the deck immediately is important. However, for my current Classic version with 4x Mogg War Marshal and 4x Gempalm, the constant card advantage, board presence and nigh uncounterable removal has been a huge blessing. YMMV :)

TL;DR: I plan to out grind DRS/Mother decks anyway so I'm not worried about Tarfire on the first turn, I'd rather create 0 for 1 exchanges. Also Eldrazi.

---

I'm probably going to end up on a 3/3 split between Gempalm and Tarfire. I really like naturally drawing Tarfire, but it has the mentioned drawbacks. Despite the D&T match-up being a Grind, I do not like the idea of multiple Gempalms being shut off with a Revoker. A diverse kill spell suite seems important to me, and I expect this deck to move up through the ranks this weekend. If Blood Moon is well placed, which I believe it currently is, Mana denial in general is.

---

A new kill spell is going to rear it's head in Legacy.

http://i.tcgplayer.com/126331_200w.jpg

That's going to make the BUG Match-ups harder, as they will have a MB answer to Krenko.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Olaf Forkbeard

Consider me behind the times. I do not have, nor intend, to have a Facebook account. Mind if I get in contact a different route?

---



I'm probably going to end up on a 3/3 split between Gempalm and Tarfire. I really like naturally drawing Tarfire, but it has the mentioned drawbacks. Despite the D&T match-up being a Grind, I do not like the idea of multiple Gempalms being shut off with a Revoker. A diverse kill spell suite seems important to me, and I expect this deck to move up through the ranks this weekend. If Blood Moon is well placed, which I believe it currently is, Mana denial in general is.

---

Create a FB account specifically for the FB group to communicate during the event? :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Pyre

Create a FB account specifically for the FB group to communicate during the event? :P

---

I've begrudgingly joined the hivemind.

http://i.imgur.com/Y5AumKu.jpg

Do you think playing Metallic Mimic with a Murderous Redcap could be an alternate win-con?

You'd need this, Murderous Redcap and Skirk Prospector. Assuming they can't counter/destroy any of the pieces, you'd win on the spot? However a 3 card combo seems like it might be difficult to get on the board.

Goblin Welder could help against some removal? Although it might clutter up the deck with things that take away from the aggro route. In the time it takes to setup, you could have killed them with aggro, but if you're able to secure the pieces in hand in a grindier matchup, you could just drop in the combo.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 16km

http://i.imgur.com/Y5AumKu.jpg

Do you think playing Metallic Mimic with a Murderous Redcap could be an alternate win-con?

You'd need this, Murderous Redcap and Skirk Prospector. Assuming they can't counter/destroy any of the pieces, you'd win on the spot? However a 3 card combo seems like it might be difficult to get on the board.

Goblin Welder could help against some removal? Although it might clutter up the deck with things that take away from the aggro route. In the time it takes to setup, you could have killed them with aggro, but if you're able to secure the pieces in hand in a grindier matchup, you could just drop in the combo.

---

Put a list together that can do it, and test it. Always looking for innovation, despite my love for the core. The conversation is almost more important than the result.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Pyre

Guys and gals, while Brainstor- er I mean Ringleader'ing on my final decklist to bring to Louisville, I think I've had an epiphany.

I've been on 'Piledriver sucks' plan for a few months now and I've had decent results. Driver just doesn't match up well versus Eldrazi, Death and Taxes, Elves, Angler decks, Pyromancer chumps, Abrupt Decay, Swords to Plowshares, Lightning Bolt, Dismember... you catch my drift. The 4x Mogg War Marshal + 4x Gempalm Incinerator plan has been my go-to removal and card advantage suite and I haven't missed Piledriver compared to them at all.

Except...

There's only so much room in the sideboard for combo hate, if at all; There's a school of thought that relies entirely around 'dodge combo' as our way to win events. In reality, we DO want Piledriver in our deck versus Combo as a way to race them down before they have a chance to kill us. But, running Piledrivers against Thalias and removal all day doesn't seem very helpful.

WHAT IF

Piledriver IS the sideboard combo hate? You don't maindeck any so that your matchups against 'fair' decks doesn't suffer randomly ('Man, I have to go all in against this Angler and hope he doesn't Decay or I'm dead either way' as opposed to 'I'll just Mogg War Marshal and buy 3 turns' etc etc)

BUT

You get to bring it in against Storm, Sneak n Show, Reanimator(s), Infect, Miracles (to an extent, I suppose), Omnitell, Lands whatever you get the gist
Surely I'll still be running Pithing Needles, Moons and some form of graveyard hate (probably Leyline of the Void, everything else seems too slow really), but that leaves about 5-6 slots and fitting 3 Piledrivers there instead of the maindeck seems like it might be a decent idea.

Feel free to tell me how much of an idiot I am but I would love to see some discussion regarding this idea.

TL;DR: Piledrivers in the sideboard to be fast when we need it, but not lose to creature matchups in Game 1 where we weren't favored to beat combo anyway.

---

As you might KNOW, I'm also on the "Driver sucks"-train.
I'm curious what your current list looks like (the one that you will likely bring to the event).

@Olaf: same question to you. What list are you planing to bring to the next event?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoboLord

As you might KNOW, I'm also on the "Driver sucks"-train.
I'm curious what your current list looks like (the one that you will likely bring to the event).

@Olaf: same question to you. What list are you planing to bring to the next event?

---

Depending on board space I'm going to end up with a MB like below:

4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 Cavern of Souls
3 Mountain
1 Taiga
1 Plateau
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Bloodstained Mire
4 Aether Vial
4 Goblin Lackey
1 Skirk Prospector
4 Goblin Piledriver
2 Mogg War Marshal
1 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Stingscourger
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Warchief
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Ringleader
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
3 Gempalm Incinerator
3 Tarfire

The only thing changing is -1 Gem, -1 Tar, +2 Pyrokinesis if I can't find room in my board for everything I want. My board though, that is something I'm coming up as challenging, and it's mostly because this is a 15 round event. The more general the answers, the better here, as even if it doesn't show up in larger numbers, I still should have a plan for fast spell based combo. I will likely play against it if all goes well. Building decks to top 8, means I need to get there.

Now the sideboard is still work in progress. I'll go ahead and spout my entire thoughts on it.

SB 1 - Jim Davis's - Soft to BR Reanimator and D&T
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Reanimator, Storm, S&T
3 Relic of Progenitus - Reanimator, Storm, Goyf
3 Mindbreak Trap - Storm, Omnitell, Elves
3 Pyrokinesis - D&T, Elves, Infect
2 Containment Priest - Reanimator, S&T
1 Tin Street Hooligan - D&T

Jim Davis's board plan actually does everything I want, but in a roundabout way, and quite possibly not fast enough. I'm worried about how slow it's answers to Reanimator actually are, and I'm very worried that it doesn't have enough answers to D&T's newer, more consistent, shell.


SB 2 - My Board currently
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Reanimator, Storm, S&T
2 Relic of Progenitus - Reanimator, Storm, Goyf
2 Surgical Extraction - Reanimator
2 Mindbreak Trap - Storm
2 Pithing Needle - D&T, S&T, Lands
1 Tin Street Hooligan - D&T
1 Stingscourger - Reanimator, S&T
1 Pyrokinesis - D&T, Elves, Infect
1 Krenko, Mob Boss - Goyf

This was my latest play testing SB, and it feels well rounded with one worry. I still want another shatter affect for D&T somewhere. This was run with a 4/2 split on Tar/Gem for reference. I'm thinking of swapping the Tin Street out for an Ancient Grudge, and possibly cutting that Krenko from the board for another Relic. Ultimately though my least favorite thing about this board is the lack of Blood Moon.

Here are some other configurations I've been looking into.

SB 3 - My theoretical board
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Reanimator, Storm, S&T
3 Surgical Extraction - Reanimator
3 Pyrokinesis - D&T, Elves, Infect
2 Containment Priest - Reanimator, S&T
2 Tin Street Hooligan - D&T
2 Blood Moon - Eldrazi, Shardless, Grixis, Lands

SB 4 - My theoretical board
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Reanimator, Storm, S&T
3 Mindbreak Trap - Storm, Elves
2 Surgical Extraction - Reanimator
2 Containment Priest - Reanimator, S&T
2 Tin Street Hooligan - D&T
2 Blood Moon - Eldrazi, Shardless, Grixis, Lands
1 Pyrokinesis - D&T, Elves, Infect

Hey guys. So I finally decided to register for the forum after reading through a decent amount of the old and new thread. I've been playing Goblins since GP Denver in 2013, and I will be in Louisville this weekend playing Goblins again. My maindeck is about where I want it to be, but I'm not sure what to do with the sideboard. Any suggestions are appreciated
Maindeck:

4 x Cavern of Souls
4 x Rishadan Port
4 x Wasteland
3 x Mountain
1 x Badlands
1 x Plateau
2 x Bloodstained Mire
1 x Arid Mesa
1 x Scalding Tarn
1 x Wooded Foothills

4 x Goblin Lackey
4 x Goblin Ringleader
4 x Goblin Matron
4 x Goblin Warchief
3 x Goblin Piledriver
2 x Gempalm Incinerator
1 x Skirk Prospector
1 x Stingscourger
1 x Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 x Goblin Sharpshooter
1 x Goblin Chieftain
1 x Krenko, Mob Boss
1 x Tuktuk Scrapper
1 x Earwig Squad
1 x Siege-Gang Commander

4 x Aether Vial
3 x Tarfire
1 x Pyrokinesis

Sideboard:

3 x Ethersworn Canonist
2 x Pyrokinesis
3 x Chalice of the Void
2 x Wear//Tear
2 x Blood Moon
2 x Surgical Extraction
1 x Faerie Macabre

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WingZero29

Hey guys. So I finally decided to register for the forum after reading through a decent amount of the old and new thread. I've been playing Goblins since GP Denver in 2013, and I will be in Louisville this weekend playing Goblins again. My maindeck is about where I want it to be, but I'm not sure what to do with the sideboard. Any suggestions are appreciated
Maindeck:

4 x Cavern of Souls
4 x Rishadan Port
4 x Wasteland
3 x Mountain
1 x Badlands
1 x Plateau
2 x Bloodstained Mire
1 x Arid Mesa
1 x Scalding Tarn
1 x Wooded Foothills

4 x Goblin Lackey
4 x Goblin Ringleader
4 x Goblin Matron
4 x Goblin Warchief
3 x Goblin Piledriver
2 x Gempalm Incinerator
1 x Skirk Prospector
1 x Stingscourger
1 x Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 x Goblin Sharpshooter
1 x Goblin Chieftain
1 x Krenko, Mob Boss
1 x Tuktuk Scrapper
1 x Earwig Squad
1 x Siege-Gang Commander

4 x Aether Vial
3 x Tarfire
1 x Pyrokinesis

Sideboard:

3 x Ethersworn Canonist
2 x Pyrokinesis
3 x Chalice of the Void
2 x Wear//Tear
2 x Blood Moon
2 x Surgical Extraction
1 x Faerie Macabre

---

I mean, your board seems fine. I think a 1 of Pithing Needle will probably help you more than the second Wear // Tear. It has more uses in more matches. Why Ethersworn over Thalia? Thalia generally does more against storm and has very similar text in other combo match's? Is that a hedge towards elves?

I'm not a huge fan of 22 land builds unless they are heavy on basics personally, but other than that, you've got answers to most things. I'd run the third Gempalm over the third Tarfire in the main, due to the fact that you already have Pyrokinesis as a singleton in the main. Gempalm is very good right now. Lot's of grind.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Olaf Forkbeard

I mean, your board seems fine. I think a 1 of Pithing Needle will probably help you more than the second Wear // Tear. It has more uses in more matches. Why Ethersworn over Thalia? Thalia generally does more against storm and has very similar text in other combo match's? Is that a hedge towards elves?

I'm not a huge fan of 22 land builds unless they are heavy on basics personally, but other than that, you've got answers to most things. I'd run the third Gempalm over the third Tarfire in the main, due to the fact that you already have Pyrokinesis as a singleton in the main. Gempalm is very good right now. Lot's of grind.

---

I'm trying Ethersworn over Thalia right now because of Aluren starting to pick up in popularity and it still impacts the other combo decks in similar ways. Some of the combo decks it just outright shuts down as well since the are stuck at only playing a single spell per turn in most cases. It's something that I've been testing along with another local guy that is playing Nic Fit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WingZero29

I'm trying Ethersworn over Thalia right now because of Aluren starting to pick up in popularity and it still impacts the other combo decks in similar ways. Some of the combo decks it just outright shuts down as well since the are stuck at only playing a single spell per turn in most cases. It's something that I've been testing along with another local guy that is playing Nic Fit.

---

That's fair. I've always just relied on Pyrokinesis in that match-up. That and I've conveniently been running lists with Wear // Tear in board at those times.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoboLord

As you might KNOW, I'm also on the "Driver sucks"-train.
I'm curious what your current list looks like (the one that you will likely bring to the event).

@Olaf: same question to you. What list are you planing to bring to the next event?

---

Hi,

I think I will be using this list for Louisville.

Lands (23)
11 Mountain
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port

Artifacts (4)
4 Aether Vial

Instant (2)
2 Pyrokinesis

Creatures (31)
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Ringleader
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Gempalm Incinerator
2 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Goblin Chieftain
1 Stingscourger
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Goblin Piledriver (other slot? I can't decide on this one)

Sideboard (15)
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Blood Moon
3 Pithing Needle
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Stingscourger

Some notes:
I've decided against the sideboard Piledriver plan - Chalice really does what we want versus a huge swath of decks - especially Burn, which I always forget will be a thing at Legacy events and we do have a difficult time fighting. Of course this card is also great versus most combo and 1CMC decks so I think that it's really hard to go without.

The one Piledriver main seems like it will do more versus the field than the Skirk Prospector, which really is just there to try to stall versus equipments. I can't say I'm a fan. The Piledriver main also gives me a quicker potential clock in combo matchups than the 3rd Krenko would (as various arguments here and on the Facebook page have pointed out).

I've always liked the extra Stingscourger in the board to bring in for various Reanimator and Sneak n Show matches. I've never been sad to see both.

Blood Moons will be great against Eldrazi, Lands, and various 3 color decks.

Pithing Needle is a great catch-all.

Leyline is a nod to the B/R Reanimator deck that is making waves.

I really like the no-fetch mono-red mana base as I can dodge being blown out by opposing Wastelands easily (no color screw and we're trying to play lots of 3 and 4 mana spells).

If you really want to spend 1 slot on a card that is supposed to be a huge damage boost vs no blockers then why not play Goblin Pyromancer?

It's 18 damage with a haste lord and any 2 other goblins, you can argue that at 4 mana it's too slow but to Matron for a hasted Piledriver on turn 3 you have to have Lackeyed in a Warchief turn 2 and have a MWM (and is still not the full 20)

Other hands that don't have lackey also become okay like
Turn 1 Vial
Turn 2 Vial on 1, cast MWM
Turn 3 Vial on 2, cast Matron for Pyromancer, attack for 1
Turn 4 Vial on 3, cast Pyromancer

If your vial on 2 put another MWM into play this is 1 + 16 damage turn 4, or if your vial on 3 can play a haste lord then this is 1 + 22 damage turn 4

In terms of being a dud in the non-combo creature matchups I think I'd rather have overrun than squire.
If you think this suggestion sounds silly then that's obviously reasonable but in that case it seems difficult to also recommend the 1-off Piledriver.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kombatkiwi

If you really want to spend 1 slot on a card that is supposed to be a huge damage boost vs no blockers then why not play Goblin Pyromancer?

It's 18 damage with a haste lord and any 2 other goblins, you can argue that at 4 mana it's too slow but to Matron for a hasted Piledriver on turn 3 you have to have Lackeyed in a Warchief turn 2 and have a MWM (and is still not the full 20)

Other hands that don't have lackey also become okay like
Turn 1 Vial
Turn 2 Vial on 1, cast MWM
Turn 3 Vial on 2, cast Matron for Pyromancer, attack for 1
Turn 4 Vial on 3, cast Pyromancer

If your vial on 2 put another MWM into play this is 1 + 16 damage turn 4, or if your vial on 3 can play a haste lord then this is 1 + 22 damage turn 4

In terms of being a dud in the non-combo creature matchups I think I'd rather have overrun than squire.
If you think this suggestion sounds silly then that's obviously reasonable but in that case it seems difficult to also recommend the 1-off Piledriver.

---

I'd say the downside is the 'destroy all Goblins at end of turn' rider ;) You're only killing your opponent with Piledriver if they didn't have an instant speed removal anyway (the protection is mostly irrelevant), if they do with Pyromancer on board (hit one of your Warchief precombat, for example), they drop fairly low and then get to one-sided Damnation your board. Not so with Piledriver, at least.