I know, it's been longer than expected since I last talked to you about our beloved Goblins, but, despite having a couple of updated brews, I preferred to wait for the arrival of Foundations for the possibility that they would add new ones... And so it was!
On top of that, Masters has been confirmed for next month, so there’s a lot going on for Goblins as it becomes buildable in more and more versions!
An example of this is the one we are about to see today, which wasn't among those planned and which I put together just a few days ago, being impressed by one card in particular during the Foundations spoilers.
In the new set, there are three relevant Goblins for Pioneer: Searslicer Goblin, Dropkick Bomber and Krenko, Mob Boss, as well as Goblin Rabblemaster in Jumpstart for Explorer. So which one am I referring to? You may be surprised to hear that today's brew wasn't inspired by any of these, because this card is neither a Goblin nor a red creature... but a white sorcery!
At 4 mana, Raise the Past reanimates all creatures with mana value 2 or less and is essentially an upgrade of Rally the Ancestors, which has already seen play sporadically in the past, including in Pioneer Goblins.
The fact that Raise the Past is a sorcery and not instant like Rally the Ancestors is irrelevant, because the latter had to be done on our turn anyway to be able to attack. As well as its mana value limit up to 2, since regardless 3-drops were avoided to keep the curve low and aggressive.
This card could mark a new era for Reanimator Goblins and could make Rally the Ancestors a memory, just as the latter previously did with Patriarch's Bidding!
Raise Goblins
As the name suggests, Raise the Past is the star of the deck and sees a build around almost exclusively Goblins with a mana value of 2 or less, so that they can be reanimated.
The format is rich in removal spells, and if we add to this the aggressive push of the deck, it’s not difficult to imagine how this spell almost always does its job naturally, finding at least two pieces to bring back to the battlefield.
However, that's not the only reason why I choose to play it, because, together with Skirk Prospector and Battle Cry Goblin, it can put together a winning combo!
Skirk Prospector, in fact, allows you to sacrifice Goblins in exchange for red mana, and you can accumulate it by sacrificing all non-token creatures with mana value 2 or less, including itself. This is because they all will return to the battlefield, along with those already present in the graveyard, using part of that mana to cast Raise the Past.
Then, with the excess mana, you activate Battle Cry Goblin's ability, giving +1/+0 and haste to your entire team, which will then be ready to attack for lethal, dealing a huge amount of damage!
Besides Skirk Prospector, the other two 1-drops I choose to play are Foundry Street Denizen and Exuberant Fuseling, preferring both of them to Cacophony Scamp, which here is less synergistic than the others and has few lords to enhance it.
Foundry Street Denizen is often overlooked, but while I can't say it's phenomenal, it's quite possibly the most aggressive 1-drop that Goblins have available!
It's most of the time the first creature we want to play, so as to best push the first damage, and it is the best suited to trigger Searslicer Goblin on the curve. Just as it's the only 1-drop that on the curve helps to trigger Battle Cry Goblin, followed by Squee, Dubious Monarch.
Furthermore, by bringing the mass of creatures back into play with Raise the Past, its power grows enormously, and in an open field it can easily hit for lethal.
Who is even better with Raise the Past and is not afraid to face enemy blockers thanks to trample is Exuberant Fuseling. It's not aggressive at the beginning, but it grows over the course of the game and gives its best in grinds and heavy-removal matchups.
It's particularly synergistic with Skirk Prospector because you can attack and then decide to increase its power following blocks, perhaps sacrificing some Goblin tokens. Just as it's synergistic with Treasure tokens from Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, since it also triggers when an artifact ends up in the graveyard.
With half a deck made up of Goblins, Conspicuous Snoop and Rundvelt Hordemaster are our first choices to get value and resist the pressure of enemy removals.
Between the two, Rundvelt Hordemaster is generally the one to deploy first, since if it's killed, it still has the possibility of finding another Goblin from the top of your library and cycling.
Conversely, it would be better to cast Conspicuous Snoop later in the match, when your opponent may have run out of removal spells or anyway when you have some untapped lands, so you can immediately cast the revealed creature from the top.
Do not forget Conspicuous Snoop's ability to copy the activated abilities of the Goblin on top of your deck, such as Skirk Prospector but especially Battle Cry Goblin, which can be particularly convenient if you invest those two mana to directly pump the team rather than casting the creature.
And here's a new entry from Foundations: Searslicer Goblin!
For some reason, during the spoiler session I read and heard all sorts of disappointments about how weak this card is, but my opinion is that... It's not bad at all!
All it needs is a medium-aggressive shell and a few 1-drops so it triggers the turn it enters, after which it's all value because Searslicer Goblin triggers on every one of your end steps and potentially adds a 1/1 Goblin token per turn.
You may not have any good attackers, but you can still send a Goblin token to die because it will be replaced by Searslicer Goblin with another one (or even more if you control multiple copies), triggering Exuberant Fuseling and Rundvelt Hordemaster in the process.
Goblin Instigator is very similar, and now we can also say a less strong version of Searslicer Goblin, except perhaps in particular cases with less aggressive Goblin builds that value tokens.
It's still an ok card, which comes into its own especially when the opponent keeps mana open for a removal spell or when you need multiple blockers, but its power level remains quite modest when compared to other 2-drops.
Since value is never enough, in addition to Raise the Past, Conspicuous Snoop, and Rundvelt Hordemaster, we have the ever-present Fable of the Mirror-Breaker!
For curve reasons, it's not advisable to play only 1 or 2 mana drops for the risk of running out of gas, and the Goblin enchantment is a 3-drop that adds a lot of solidity and synergizes well with the deck.
In fact, it allows you to send creatures directly to the graveyard and dig for Raise the Past, as well as post-sideboard cards, in addition to fixing your hand by freeing you from excess lands and everything that is suboptimal at that moment.
Its only flaw is that it's not particularly aggressive, and in some matchups you feel the need to push harder or you risk not being able to win, except with a well-placed combo with Raise the Past.
For this purpose, there is Squee, Dubious Monarch, which is an extremely aggressive 3-drop and is capable of putting boards and pressure, especially if preceded by Rundvelt Hordemaster on turn 2. In fact, its Goblin tokens are powered up and, in turn, power up Foundry Street Denizen in combat, as well as Exuberant Fuseling when they die.
Squee, Dubious Monarch, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker are also synergistic with each other, since the latter allows you to discard it and add cards to the graveyard, useful for its “Escape” ability.
Sideboard
With Red Aggro, in various forms and splashes, extremely present and performing in the format, Redcap Melee becomes very useful, if not necessary, to try to gain time and keep the deck at bay. Goblins are in fact slower and with less aggression, so without removals in the matchup, you don't go far!
In this regard, we also add 4x Lightning Helix, whose life gain is particularly important, especially now that Foundations is out and has made Boros Burn possible in Explorer with the addition of Boros Charm and Boltwave.
Furthermore, since it's a generic removal spell, it can be reused in any matchup where it's needed, and it's great that it can hit both Mayhem Devil and Greasefang, Okiba Boss, which can win the game by themselves, if not removed on the spot.
Just as Redcap Melee often complements Lightning Helix for additional removal, Rending Volley is always a great option in a wide range of matchups, including Spirits, Humans, and Angels.
As graveyard hate, Rest in Peace is an easy inclusion for this time; just be careful to sideboard it as a replacement for Raise the Past, which it clashes with.
Unlicensed Hearse can no longer keep up with the pace of the graveyards, now that Izzet Phoenix has Artist's Talent that allows it to discard cards like never before and easily turn Treasure Cruise into Ancestral Recall. In addition, it does not stop triggered abilities when a creature dies, as Rest in Peace does, so the latter is great even against Golgari Food and Rakdos Sacrifice.
Sadly, this also affects our creatures, denying the triggers of Rundvelt Hordemaster and Exuberant Fuseling, but it's not a big deal, and for the impact it will have on the opponent, it will definitely be worth it!
We then add two additional copies of Squee, Dubious Monarch when we want to set up an aggro plan or when we fear that the opponent can interact with Raise the Past, or it's just too slow. It gives its best against decks with few blockers, such as Control, Transmogrify, or Enigmatic Incarnation.
Lastly, Goblin Chainwhirler is for a defensive purpose as well as to clear the enemy board of various X/1s, such as mana dorks, Spirits, Humans, Ninjas, Mice, and generic tokens.
Unlike Squee, Dubious Monarch, Goblin Chainwhirler is for when our opponent is more aggro than us and we have to defend ourselves, thanks to the first strike that is often enough to stop the race... even Unstoppable Slasher's one!
That's all for today! Foundations has brought a breath of fresh air to Goblins that had been stagnant for a while. I'm having a good time playing this deck, even if I could test it only for one day since Foundations just arrived, so I'm sure there is still room for improvement, especially if set up at its best within the metagame!
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