Black Red Goblins in Magic 2010

The arrival of the Magic 2010 core set and the rotation of Tenth Edition in Standard shaped up the current metagame and introduced us to new strategies in deck building. This also meant the return of Lorwyn favorite tribal decks and one of which is the goblins or boggarts in the Lorwyn world. M10 introduced new cards to tune up the deck. Here are some of the choices.

Lightning Bolt – everybody’s favorite burn spell is back. I’m sure this one will get a spot in the deck.

Goblin Chieftain – this goblin will surely become one of the backbones of the deck. Combined with the other Goblin lord black version (Mad Auntie), the deck can have a very explosive start like the scenario below:

Turn 2 Frogtosser Banneret, attack (1 damage)
Turn 3 Goblin Chieftain, attack (4 damage)
Turn 4 Siege-Gang Commander, attack (13 damage)

Goblin Artillery – the exact version of Orcish Artillery, this card gets pretty good use with a chieftain in play.

Doom Blade – this black spot removal deals with the pesky pro-red guys like the forge-tender and Vedalken Outlander.

The Returnees

Some of the forgotten Lorwyn block cards may have a comeback in post-M10 Standard.

Squeaking Pie Sneak – this fear Goblin can effectively do early damage and gets more effective with the eight lord copies.

Mad Auntie – the pre-Shadowmoor goblins that I made had been using this card so there’s a high rate this will get a slot in the deck.

Wort, Boggart Auntie – this Goblin legend gets good use in post-mass removal situations and also reloads the gas of the deck.

Marsh Flitter – I’m thinking of this card as a pseudo-card advantage version of Spectral Procession plus it can also benefit with a lord in play.

Frogtosser Banneret – The deck’s accelerator also speeds up the cost of Marsh Flitter.

The Worth Mentions

Siege-gang Commander – The big guns of the Goblins and the finisher of the deck. Just don’t let this guy untap.

Goblin Outlander – this is definitely a default part of the deck to take care of white guys like the Rhox War Monk (well, a third of it is white) in which big ass err toughness and life gain give trouble to the deck.

Terminate – this instant takes care of critters that Doom blade can’t handle. Yes, I’m looking at you, Putrid Leech and Doran.

The Deck

With all the stuff mentioned now, here’s my initial list of the deck:

Maindeck

Creatures (26)
3 Frogtosser Banneret
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Outlander
2 Mad Auntie
3 Siege-gang Commander
4 Squeaking Pie Sneak
3 Wort Boggart Auntie
3 Marsh Flitter

Spells (10)
3 Doom Blade
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Terminate

Lands (24)
4 Auntie’s Hovel
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Graven Cairns
7 Mountain
5 Swamp

The sideboard is still under construction as the meta hasn’t evolved that yet. I’m actually waiting for decklists from upcoming big tournaments online and offline. Still looking to playtest this on MWS or maybe try some proxy version for actual card testing. Stay tuned for part two of this article as I discuss some matchups and sideboarding guides. Till next time. 🙂