Goblins are a tiny humanoid race that lives mostly in hilly locations. Goblins come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each with its own set of skills. They are renowned for their agility as well as their bravery. Goblins are also notorious for wanting to annihilate bad beings. Goblins are frequently found in groups alongside other species.
Goblin decks have been popular among casual, competitive, and professional Magic: The Gathering players since the first Orcs & Goblins expansion in Alpha. That hasn’t changed in the new Hextech set, with old favorites like Goblin Arsonist and Rabble-Rouser making a comeback, as well as newcomers like Goblin Trooper and Goblin War Drums.
Avacyn Restored has come, bringing a flood of new Goblin creature cards with her. You’re probably wondering what you can anticipate from these cards at this point. So, I’ve had some time with the new cards and thought I’d compile my ideas into this article so you can get a sense of what to anticipate from them. I believe that a couple of them are amazing, that some have fantastic synergy with other cards, and a few are sheer power. If you want to start a new deck or add some new cards to your collection, these are the goblins to look into.
Tribal decks are one of the most straightforward to construct. All you have to do is pick a creature type from among the many available in Magic: the Gathering and add cards to your deck that supports that creature type. There are several tribes to pick from, but the Goblins are one of the most popular. Are you looking for Goblins to add to your deck? For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of the greatest Goblin cards in MTG.
Goblin Chirurgeon
The vast number of goblins is one of their greatest assets as a tribe. When you play a goblin tribal deck, you’re fully embracing the concept of number over quality as you swiftly assemble a massive swarm of goblins with which to overwhelm your opponents. Because of the sheer number of goblins, you’ll have at your disposal, it’s typical for goblin players to use their lesser goblins as tokens to feed other sources of value. The Goblin Chirurgeon is a goblin who can rejuvenate your more valuable goblins by sacrificing your less valuable goblins.
By sacrificing half of their goblins to keep the other half alive, Goblin Chirurgeon may help goblin players come out of numerous “board wipes” with half of their army still intact!
Goblin Warchief
Warchief is a cheap three-mana goblin, although he’s little, with just a 2/2 power and toughness ratio, like many goblins. Warchief, on the other hand, gives his family two tremendous bonuses: he reduces the mana costs of any goblins you cast by one, and he grants haste to all your goblins (including himself), allowing them to attack or tap the round they enter the field.
The haste is always great, but the cost-cutting is what we’re wanting, moving Goblins from cheap to dirt cheap. Remember that the decrease only applies to colorless mana; Goblins who insist on particular colors for all of their mana symbols will not be penalized.
Goblin Matron
Given her 1/1 body, Goblin Matron can’t accomplish much on her alone, but she’s the backbone of any goblin tribal strategy. In Mono-Red, Goblin Matron is a useful tutor effect that ensures you receive the proper goblin for the job. It combines nicely with strong goblins like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, and Conspicuous Snoop for that combination potential. Then, once you’ve resolved Goblin Matron, she’ll make excellent late-game sacrifice fodder.
You must expose the Goblin you discover on Goblin Matron, but the opportunity to take what you need is too wonderful to pass up.
Zo-Zu, The Punisher
Zo-Zu, the Punisher, is a three-mana mono-red goblin who first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. Zo-Zu delivers two damage to the land’s controller when a land enters the board, which may be extremely severe for opponents.
While two damage may not seem like much at first, especially in a land-heavy format like Commander, it may quickly mount up. Zo-Zu, the Punisher, when combined with red’s access to land destruction spells, can be quite the tyrannical goblin.
Krenko, Mob Boss
Choose Krenko, the boss mob, if you want to overwhelm your opponents with a veritable army of goblins swiftly. X 1/1 red goblin tokens are created when you deploy, where X is the number of goblins you already control. Krenko, in other words, doubles the amount of Goblins on the battlefield. You’ll have to utilize it to do this, but there are a number of cards that can assist you in using permanents. You may construct an unending army of goblins to overwhelm your foes if you combine it with enough of these monsters.
Burn at the Stake
Though a large number of goblins at your disposal will usually make combat damage your primary victory condition, cards like Propaganda and Crawlspace may try to disrupt your intentions by limiting the number of creatures you may attack with. Don’t worry, the card Burn at the Stake is here to help.
Burn at the Stake enables its controller to tap any number of creatures for five mana. The target creature is then dealt damage equal to three times the number of tapped creatures. This spell is a fantastic method to use your goblin army to deal direct damage and remove a player from the game without having to attack.
Skirk Prospector
Skirk is only a 1/1, but he only costs one mana, making him an excellent early play. You can use his ability to contribute red mana by sacrificing any goblin you control (including himself).
Therefore, prospectors can be used as a one-time ramp tool or to feed costly spells with extra goblin tokens. You don’t have to be on your turn or have haste to utilize a sacrifice ability; if you know a removal is coming, you can kill Prospector to acquire mana for a Lightning Bolt counterplay.
Guttersnipe
Guttersnipe is a great example of a card that gets a big boost in a multiplayer game like Commander. You can do a lot of damage with Guttersnipe because it has the all-important “each opponent” clause. If you can fuel Guttersnipe, the damage it delivers will rapidly pile up, and it’s a terrific method to reduce all of your opponents’ life totals at once.
Because you want to fill your deck with creatures, the Goblin Shaman may not fit into a tribal Goblin strategy. However, if you want to move into Izzet for Melek, Izzet Paragon, or Boros for Feather, the Redeemed, Guttersnipe is your best bet.
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden is a legendary Rakdos goblin and a one-of-a-kind Commander option. Grenzo, on the other hand, interacts with the bottom card of a player’s library, whereas many creatures in Magic interact with the top card.
Grenzo enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters for two mana, and X. Grenzo’s controller can dump the bottom card of their library into their graveyard for two mana, which is significant. If the card has a power lower than or equal to Grenzo’s, it is placed onto the battlefield immediately. Grenzo’s enormous size allows its controller to send multiple devastating creatures into play at a considerably reduced rate if a player invests a lot of mana into him!
Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
Is this a flooded country? Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician, may help you produce Goblin tokens by sacrificing lands with its second ability. Ib Halfheart’s finest feature is that it transforms all of your goblins into explosives.
If your Goblins are blocked, sacrifice them and deal 4 damage to the creatures they are blocking. When your goblins attack, your opponents will always have to choose between receiving damage or losing their armies. Krenko, Mob Boss, and Ib Halfheart are also excellent fits. Of fact, nearly any card that creates inexpensive Goblin tokens may be used in this way.
Goblin Bombardment
Like Burn at the Stake, Goblin Bombardment provides goblin players another option for doing harm to their opponents outside battle damage. Goblin Bombardment is a three-mana enchantment that allows its controllers to sacrifice a creature in exchange for one damage to any creature or player of their choice.
Goblin Bombardment is more versatile than the aforementioned Burn at the Stake, enabling its controller to sacrifice their creatures in reaction to kill spells while still being utilized similarly as Burn at the Stake.
Goblin Guide
In general, Goblin Guide performs better in shorter standard matches than in longer EDH encounters. Guide arrives as a powerful 2/2 for just one mana, wielding both the goblin and scout subtypes. Not only that, but he’s also carrying haste, which will allow him to act quickly.
The catch is that when Guide swings, the defending player must reveal the top card of their deck and, if it’s a land, add it to their hand. Sure, possibly giving your opponent a card advantage isn’t ideal, but if it’s not a land, you now know what they’re about to draw, which might help you plan your approach.
Goblin Trashmaster
Although Goblin Trashmaster is a little mana-intensive, its abilities are valuable in a Commander game. Goblin Trashmaster is a great option inside a Goblin tribal strategy since mana rocks and other potent artifacts define the format.
The Goblin Warrior also gives a boost to every other goblin you control, which is the icing on an already potent but repeating impact. It should be simple to keep Trashmaster stocked with Goblins, and it can pose a threat to your opponent’s ramping attempts at any time during the game. Trashmaster may be used reactively, sacrificing itself to remove an artifact in reaction to an opponent’s removal spell.
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Grenzo, Grenzo, Havoc Raiser is a two-mana mono-red goblin from Conspiracy: Take The Crown’s second iteration. Grenzo, who has a cheap mana cost and can be cast early in mono-red decks, has an ability that allows its controller to play cards from their opponents’ libraries.
Grenzo provides an option whenever a creature under Grenzo’s control deals combat damage to an opponent. Grenzo can, for starters, goad a monster into attacking. The second of these choices, on the other hand, exile the top card from the opposing player’s library, enabling Grenzo’s controller to cast that spell with any color mana until the end of the round!
Shared Animosity
Another enchantment, Shared Animosity, makes use of a large number of goblins you’ll be controlling. Shared Animosity gives each creature you control +1/+0 for each other attacking creature you control that shares a creature type with it during your attack phase. This greatly increases the amount of damage you can deliver, allowing your goblins to become lethal far faster than usual.
Dropping a Shared Animosity on the table before assaulting an unwitting opponent may turn the tables in your favor and potentially determine the result of a Commander game.
Goblin Welder
Another 1/1 pipsqueak with a single cost, this goblin artificer has exceptional artifact cycling. Welder allows you to target an artifact that a player controls and is buried in their graveyard by tapping, sacrificing the fielded relic while returning the buried one to the field.
This allows you to trade in cheap tools for huge guns like “Akroma’s Memorial,” which you milled into your graveyard, giving you an early advantage. You can also use opposing cards to replace dangerous enemy supports with something more controllable. All for the price of one mana!
Treasure Nabber
What could be more fun than blowing up artifacts? Taking them for your own personal use!
Treasure Nabber has found a home in Commander, where you’ll have plenty of chances to utilize it. If you combine this card with any artifact sacrifice effect, you can totally shut down your opponents’ mana ramp until they can remove the Goblin Rogue. This is the type of card you want in a red aggressive Commander deck since it slows down your opponent’s ramps while allowing you to use your inexpensive cards to your advantage.
Further, you may use this in conjunction with Kuldotha Rebirth to turn your opponent’s mana rocks into goblin tokens for your Goblin sacrifice effects. Trading Post guarantees that you can transform those stolen artifacts into card draw right away. Then you may use Goblin Welder or Goblin Engineer to bring your artifacts from the graveyard into play.
Muxus, Goblin Grandee
Muxus Goblin Grandee, a Goblin commander who was just introduced in Jumpstart, is a fantastic pick. Some of Magic’s most powerful cards are ones that allow additional spells to be cast for free.
When Muxus enters the battlefield, it allows its controller to look at the top six cards in their library, then puts all goblins with a converted mana cost of five or less into play immediately. This implies that Muxus may summon a small army of goblins in an instant after being cast! As if that weren’t enough, Muxus may also be utilized as an offensive threat, earning +1/+1 for each goblin under its owner’s control whenever it attacks.
Skull Clamp
One of the goblins’ strengths, as previously stated, is their capacity to convert numbers into other forms of value. Converting your numerous goblin tokens into more cards in your hand is possibly one of the most powerful ways to accomplish it.
While the Skull Clamp is technical equipment, it is rarely used as such. Skull Clamp costs one to equip and gives the attached creature +1/-1, as well as a clause that says when the outfitted creature dies, its controller gets two cards. Skull Clamp may just as easily read: “pay one mana and sacrifice a creature: draw a card” when played with tiny creatures like goblin tokens.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
The Mirror Breaker is today’s most costly card with five mana, but we’ll soon discover ways to play goblins for free. Kiki is a disappointingly weak 2/2 goblin shaman, but he likes haste, which allows him to activate his amazing tap ability right away. You produce a token of a nonlegendary creature you control and give it haste by exhausting.
Although you must surrender the token at the end step, this still clones your strongest nonlegendary every round, allowing you to create whatever combinations you choose. Use the free goblin skills of… to aid field Kiki swiftly and avoid paying his fee.
Dockside Extortionist
Dockside Extortionist is a mainstay in any Red Commmander strategy, and it’s one of the most powerful Commander cards in recent memory. In a Mono-Red Commander deck, the ability to ramp up quickly is critical, especially when you want to play Krenko, Mob Boss, or Muxus, Goblin Grandee ahead of schedule. Because artifacts and enchantments are so important in the Commander format, you’ll always be creating Treasures. When you duplicate Dockside Extortionist with a Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, you can get even more value.
Additionally, it helps you to catch up if you are running out of mana early in the game. Overall, Dockside Extortionist is one of the greatest Goblin cards you can play in your Commander deck’s ninety-nine.
Mizzix of the Izmagnus
Mizzix of the Izmagnus is an excellent pick for Izzet Commander players looking to pilot a deck with a number of strong instants and sorceries. Mizzix, a 2/2 goblin Wizard for four mana, is one of the legendary monsters that use experience counters from Commander 2015.
Mizzix’s controller can cast huge instants and sorceries with a significant cost decrease. Every time that player casts an instant or sorcery with a converted mana cost greater than their current number of experience counters, they gain an experience counter. This is critical since the number of experience counters a player has reduces the mana cost of all instants and sorceries they cast!
Coat of Arms
When you fight, remember how Shared Animosity increased the power of each of your goblins by the number of other goblins you control? Coat of Arms is an artifact that has a similar effect, buffing not just your creature’s power but also their toughness. Furthermore, unlike Shared Animosity, the Coat of Arms benefit persists even when you aren’t hitting, making it far more dependable.
The disadvantage of Coat of Arms is that its boost is a global effect that your opponents may take advantage of since it enhances almost all creatures in play in proportion to the number of creatures that share a creature type with them. However, no other player will be able to benefit from this artifact as much as you would, owing to your massive numbers.
Vial Smasher The Fierce
Vial Smasher the Fierce, a 2/3 Rakdos goblin for three mana, is widely regarded as one of the game’s most powerful partner commanders.
When the controller of this goblin plays their first spell each round, Vial Smasher does damage to a randomly picked player equal to the converted mana cost of that spell! This permits Vial Smasher to do massive amounts of damage over the course of a game while its controller does nothing more than cast spells they’d be doing anyway!
Warren Instigator
While Instigator is inexpensive, he requires that both of his mana be red, making him dangerous in multicolor decks and ineligible for Warchief’s reduction. Instigator is likewise only a 1/1, but he has the uncommon double strike trait, which allows him to strike twice when he swings, basically.
Even better, you can play a goblin from your hand for free anytime Instigator does combat damage to an opponent. Furthermore, an unchecked Instigator can field two goblins in a single round! Allow Instigator to swing twice for tremendous harm each round by buffing his stats with auras, artifact equipment, or other goblin enhancements.
