Why Wort?
Out of all of the Legendary Goblins, why Wort? Why not Kiki-Jiki, Krenko, or one of the other 10 Legendary Goblins?
The answer lies in her color and abilities. Of the 11 legendary goblins that have been printed to date, only two have colors outside of red. Wort, the Raidmother is a great general and while she can be played as a tribal commander, generally does better conspiring big, bomby red and green spells.
Wort, Boggart Auntie adds black! With black’s tutoring and card draw capabilities, combos are more easily assembled. When you add that to her ability to bring a goblin card back to your hand from the graveyard every turn, she stands out as the best choice for a goblin tribal combo general. Add in the fact that she has a reasonable sized body and fear and a kill through General damage is not out of the question.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Krenko, Mob Boss are also very good goblin tribal combo commanders, mainly due to the fact that they feature heavily in many of the combos and running them as your commander means that you will always have access to them. However, as mono-red goblins they lack the unlimited tutor capabilities that black brings and deny access to some of the combo pieces that involve black. Besides, there are a ton of ways to tutor up goblins, so these guys are never far away. If they go to the graveyard, recur them with Wort. If they get exiled, move on to the next combo.
You might enjoy playing this deck if: 1) You like infinite combos 2) You aren’t ashamed of winning before turn 6 3) You like goblins and/or tribal decks
You might NOT enjoy playing this deck if: 1) You or your playgroup hate infinite combos 2) You prefer long, drawn-out games. 3) You are not a fan of goblins or tribal decks
Deck History
Four years ago when my sons and I started playing EDH, one of my sons had a goblin tribal 60 card casual deck that enjoyed playing more than any other deck. He wanted to convert it for EDH so we sat down and picked Wort, Boggart Auntie as the General so we could add black for card draw and tutoring. At that time, the deck was pretty much tribal aggro and won by throwing relentless waves of goblins at the opposition and occasionally comboing with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Lightning Crafter.
As our playgroup grew and matured and new sets were released, he noticed that there was not a lot of love for Goblins and felt that his deck was being left behind while other people's decks were getting stronger and stronger. The deck still won the occasional game, but he never really felt competitive with a lot of decks that other people were playing.
I asked him what he would like to do to fix the issue and after some thought he came to the conclusion that he would like to focus more on combos while staying true to the tribal nature of the deck and not completely abandoning the possibility of winning through swarm aggro. At the time, I thought that this was a pretty tall order to fill, but set about doing some in-depth research. Fortunately, this was just about the time that Krenko, Mob Boss was spoiled for M13.
When I asked him how many new combos he would like in the deck, he replied, “As many as you can fit in, I guess.” When I first posted the resulting deck here at MTGSalvation, it was billed as having 20+ infinite combos in it. Since that time, it has grown to over 40. Most of the new combos were discovered through actual game play, although a few are the results of new additions to the deck. It has now become a game within the game to see how many infinite combos we can identify/fit into this deck while staying true to the theme.
Mana Base
The foundation of any deck is it’s mana base. You need to be able to drop enough mana producers of the correct colors to enable your game plan without flooding your hand and denying you access to the cards you actually use to win. This deck runs slightly fewer lands than normal because of the low curve. The highest CMC in the deck is 6 with the average CMC being 3.19 and the mode being 4.
Since we chose our general because she includes black, it is important that we are able to access both red and black quickly. To that end, we include 11 (almost a third of the total) lands that can produce either. While this is not a complete list of red/black dual lands, it is the best of them as only 4 of these will come in tapped and only if you fail to meet their requirements.
Bloodstained Mire – I only run one fetchland as , statistically, the thinning effect of fetches is negligible in a 60 card deck, let alone 100. Since we also do not engage in manipulation of the top of the library, the shuffle effect is also not needed not to mention not having any landfall triggers.
Bojuka Bog – While I hate to describe ANY card as an auto-include, this comes as close as any in decks that run black. It has been my experience in the time I have played EDH that NO deck runs enough graveyard hate. Most EDH decks will run graveyard recursion to one degree or another and this can be used on players that have particularly juicy targets in the yard or are running generals that regularly use the yard as an extension of their hand. All of that being said, it sucks when you get this in your opening hand.
Buried Ruin – A backup plan for Goblin Welder.Use this to recur any artifact combo pieces that end up in the yard if Welder is not available.
Hammerheim – To be honest, this is not strictly needed. I can count on one hand the number of times it has been truly useful. That being true, it still taps for red and does not come in to play tapped. It can also be used politically to remove landwalking from creatures attacking other players, buying you friends until you can combo out. If you don’t see a lot of landwalking in your meta, feel free to swap this out for a basic Mountain.
Urborg – Much like Hammerheim, I have found this to be of limited use. Occasionally, removing First Strike is relevant, but feel free to swap this out for a basic Swamp.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth – This is a great color fixer, making all lands tap for black in addition to anything else. It combos with Temple Bell to turn EVERYONE’S lands into 1/1 creatures (see Combo section below). Be careful if you are playing against a mono-black deck though. Most of them will be running Cabal Coffers and you can really ramp them if you are not careful. Honestly, if you have all of the red/black lands listed above, you can probably cut this and replace it with a basic Swamp. The secondary reason for running it; destroying other players’ Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, has been nullified by the new Legend Rule change in M14.
Volrath's Stronghold – backup plan for Wort. Should Wort not be available for some reason (tucked or too expensive), this can be used to recur your creatures.
Creatures
Creatures are the usually the bulk of the non-land cards in any tribal deck and this one is no different.
Anger – Haste enabler. With one of the many infinite token combos, this usually means game over. I have been wavering over replacing this with either Fervor or Urabrask the Hidden. They all have their good and bad points. Feel free to experiment and report your findings.
Army-in-a-Box - Beetleback Chief, Goblin Marshal, Mogg War Marshal, & Siege-Gang Commander all bring friends with them to the party. This makes them great combo enablers as well as adding bodies for old-fashioned goblin swarming. As a side benefit, Siege-Gang also provides some direct damage potential.
Boggart Harbinger – Goblin tutor. Not as good as some of the others, but one more way to make sure we get the goblins we need to win.
Boggart Mob – Combos with Kiki-Jiki and Goblin Bombardment for infinite damage or champions a goblin that will come back after a wrath effect and enables token generation.
Caterwauling Boggart – A leftover from when the deck was more focused on aggro swarming. It is still in as a backup plan should aggro present itself as a viable wincon. Could easily be cut for another goblin that enables more combos.
Frogtosser Banneret – Cheap guy with haste that makes your other goblins cost less. You should never be sad to see this guy in your opening hand
Goblin Assassin – This guy is good. VERY good. Not always consistent, but good. When this guy hits the board, bad things happen to your opponent’s creatures. Since it is a sacrifice, it gets around pesky things like shroud, hexproof, and indestructible. Couple with Kiki-Jiki and/or one of the Army-in-a-box goblins and watch the board clear. The very worst that can happen is you lose the first coin flip and sac him to his own trigger. Just remember, Wort brings ‘em back!
Goblin Chieftain – Another haste enabler. The fact that he also pumps can be both good and bad. On the plus side, he helps with an aggro win and protecting your guys from things like Crovax, Ascendant Hero and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobyte. On the minus side, he makes it harder to draw with Skullclamp and makes your guys more vulnerable to Meekstone.
Goblin Lackey – So good that he was banned in Extended. This is the best first turn play in this deck and can lead to explosive starts. With a God Hand, this guy can let you combo for the win on Turn 3. After about turn 4, he’s just another goblin body, but can occasionally sneak in a hit for a free goblin.
Goblin Matron – Another goblin tutor. Often, the best thing for her to fetch is Kiki-Jiki, who can then copy her every turn to tutor up more goblins.
Goblin Recruiter – One of the best goblin tutors, provided you can wait a turn. Coupled with Goblin Ringleader, he lets you draw an entire game winning combo in one go. Just stack Ringleader, Kiki-Jiki, Lightning Crafter and Skirk Prospector. I will also often include Goblin Warchief and Krenko, Mob Boss as a backup plan. Goblin Recruiter is also a great target for Boggart Mob or Lightning Crafter’s Champion ability if you are not comboing for the win. When the inevitable wrath clears the board, he comes back into play, allowing you to stack a whole string of goblins to rebuild your board presence.
Goblin Ringleader – Great at putting goblins in your hand! Since the deck is slightly more than a third goblins, don’t be afraid to run him out as early as possible and refill your hand. Sac and recur him with Wort or copy him with Kiki-Jiki for more fun!
Goblin Settler – Loves to destroy Cabal Coffers, Gaea’s Cradle, and other problem lands in play. Combine with Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin to destroy a land every turn. Add in Thornbite Staff and a sac outlet for shenanigans that won’t make you any friends.
Goblin Sharpshooter – There is a reason that the artwork for the card shows him with a machine gun. This guy mows down 1/1s with impunity. Add Basilisk Collar or Gorgon Flail to clear the board. Combos with Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin to win the game through infinite direct damage.
Goblin Warchief – Best haste enabler as he also makes your goblins cheaper. Pair with Frogtosser Banneret for dirt cheap goblins. Kiki-Jiki for 1RR anyone?
Goblin Welder – Here mainly to recur artifact combo pieces from the graveyard. He is also good at removing your opponents’ problem artifacts like Darksteel Forge, Akroma’s Memorial, etc.
Goblin Wizard – Dropping goblins into play for free is good. Giving them Protection from White is also good. This guy also makes combos easier to play by cutting the mana costs of getting all of your pieces into play on the same turn, giving opponents less time to answer them.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker – This is, arguably, the best red card ever printed. With all of the ETB abilities in this deck, at worst he allows you to copy the best one once a turn. Couple him with a few other cards however and he becomes a potent infinite combo enabler.
Krenko, Mob Boss – Second only to Kiki-Jiki in his ability to create infinite combos. Lacking any other combo pieces, he can quickly generate a token swarm large enough to take down almost any player or, in some cases, any table.
Lightning Crafter – Pinging for 3 is good. Most utility creature will die to 3 points of damage. His Champion ability will allow you to bring back one of your goblins after a wrath. Finally, He combos with Kik-Jiki and a free sac outlet to do infinite direct damage.
Mad Auntie – Brings another Anthem effect and, more importantly, allows you to regenerate a goblin, protecting a combo piece.
Mogg Fanatic – Looks underwhelming in a multiplayer format with 40 life and would be if he didn’t combo in multiple ways for infinite direct damage.
Moggcatcher – Best goblin tutor EVER! Search out and play any goblin in your deck for 3
Murderous Redcap – Kills utility creatures and features in a couple of infinite damage combos
Necrotic Ooze – The last of the 3 non-goblin creatures in the deck. Good on his own. Game winning with Kiki-Jiki and Mogg Fanatic in the yard.
Rummaging Goblin – One of Red’s biggest drawbacks is a lack of card draw. While looting is certainly not the best way to draw cards, it is not entirely bad for this deck with its many ways of recurring cards from the graveyard. With the right setup, this guy can draw your deck in a single turn, setting you up for a combo finish.
Sensation Gorger – Not only can he help refill your hand, but he can also mess up combo and control players.
Skirk Prospector – Best free sac outlet in the deck. Only one R to play him and every sacrifice nets you a R.
Stingscourger – Bounce is a great way to swing the tempo in a game and not something that people expect from Red or Black. Particularly good if used just before an effect that causes people to discard their hand, such as Wheel of Fortune. Combos for infinite bouncing of all opponents’ creatures.
Tuktuk Scrapper – Utility creature useful for getting rid of most troubling artifacts. Couple with Liquimetal Coating to destroy almost anything.
Weirding Shaman – Cheap goblin body with an expensive ability. Can make infinite tokens or infinite mana under the right circumstances.
Enchantments
Aggravated Assault – Included mainly for its ability to go infinite with Krenko, it can also help out the aggro backup strategy.
Goblin Bombardment – Fantastic free sac outlet that turns sacrifices into direct damage. In addition to fueling combos, it is also a great way to answer wraths; sacrificing all of your creatures in response to deal damage.
Goblin Warrens – The activated ability is much more affordable than Weirding Shaman and is able to achieve infinite goblin tokens and/or infinite mana. At worst, it adds more bodies to the field.
Mana Echoes – Can generate huge amounts of colorless mana, especially with one of the Army-in-a-box creatures. Goes infinite with the right cards.
Phyrexian Arena – More card draw. Don’t worry about the cost in life. You should have won before it makes a difference.
Splinter Twin – This is, essentially, a second copy of Kiki-Jiki. Any combo that features Kiki-Jiki copying another creature can use this instead. As an aura, you face the possibility of losing two cards to a well-timed removal spell, but it also costs R less than Kik-Jiki, making it better in certain circumstances.
Stranglehold – If you did not get one of the Commander precons that contained this card, you might have trouble finding it. If you DO have one, you already know how good it is and how backbreaking it can be for some decks. It completely shuts down one of the pillars of EDH (tutor effects) and one of the popular strategies for winning (taking unlimited number of turns). It is also relatively long-lasting since, if opponents didn’t already have an answer in hand they cannot tutor one up and enchantment removal tends to be fairly uncommon in EDH decks compared to other types of removal.
Gemstone Array – Turn your infinite colorless mana into whatever color you need
Kormus Bell – Makes everyone’s Swamps into 1/1s. This deck does not require a lot of black mana and has plenty in the form of non-basics. Be careful if you decide to play this with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, as a Wrath of God will double as an Armageddon. Add Goblin Sharpshooter for mass land destruction.
Liquimetal Coating – Originally put in because I mistakenly thought it would enable infinite destruction loops when coupled with a way to make infinite Tuktuk Scrappers. Left in because it is one of the few ways this deck can deal with enchantments. I toyed with the idea of replacing it with Mycosynth Lattice but decided to keep it as it can also provide a blocker against Intimidate creatures or save one of our creatures from a Terror effect.
Nim Deathmantle – Goes infinite with an Army-in-a-Box and Ashnod’s Altar. Outside of that, simply reusing an ETB creature every turn is good.
Staff of Domination – Recently unbanned and added to the deck as something to do when you make unlimited mana. Doubles as Umbral Mantle in some combos.
Thornbite Staff – Goes infinite with Kiki-Jiki and a sac outlet.
Umbral Mantle – Another way to untap Kiki-Jiki and/or Krenko
Sorceries and Instants
Beseech the Queen, Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, Gamble, & Vampiric Tutor – More ways to search out your combo pieces. Beseech the Queen is the worst of them and would really like to be Grim Tutor or better yet, Imperial Seal, but the cost is too prohibitive for me to buy those. Gamble is obviously best when you have a full hand but the drawback is not too bad in our deck where creatures recur easily from the graveyard and artifacts can be retrieved as well. If this is the only card in your hand and you have Wort in play, it can always double as an Entomb.
Living Death & Patriarch's Bidding – These can be an instant win with the right creatures in the graveyard (Kiki-Jiki, Skirk Prospector, Lightning Crafter). With Living Death, use your sac outlets in response to keep and recur ALL of your creatures.
Like any dedicated combo deck, the plan is to assemble a combo and win as quickly as possible. The fact that the combos are disguised by a goblin tribal theme means that a lot of people will never see it coming. A lot of the combo pieces are perfectly valid choices in their own right and will not raise any red flags in your opponent's minds.... right up to the point where you win.
The main thing in playing this deck is to be very familiar with the known combos and card interactions. I don't try to force any particular combo and let the deck tell me how it wants to win any given match. Often, your opening hand will include one or two different combo pieces and a tutor. There really aren't any 2-card combos, so I will either hold the tutor, waiting to get the last piece, or use it to preemptively get a piece that is good in multiple combos such as Thornbite Staff or Umbral Mantle. As there are plenty of ways to tutor up goblins specifically, I will usually not use an unlimited tutor to get a goblin unless it is the final piece of a game-winning combo.
Unlike other combo decks, don't be afraid to play your combo pieces early. As I mentioned before, a lot of them are good on their own and will not necessarily draw removal immediately. If they do, it is not that big a deal. You have ways to recur both creatures and artifacts from the graveyard (or win BECAUSE they are in the graveyard) and there are many more combos available should a piece be exiled. The fact is, most EDH decks only run so much removal and they are expecting to spread that between multiple opponents. Also, you are much less likely to look like the the strongest or most threatening player unless your opponents are very familiar with this deck. Even then, after all the time my son has played this deck in our playgroup (He plays it almost exclusively), people still underestimate the fact that this deck can go from zero to win out of nowhere.
I must point out that there are many cards that will really hose this deck. However, in all the time it has been played, we have not seen many of them. It might be a meta thing, but a lot of decks in my area don't seem to run those cards and those decks that do don't see them consistently.
Notable Exclusions
There are a TON of cards that could go into Goblin Tribal build that are not represented in this deck. Most of them were probably in the deck before it made the transition to the combo monster it is today. However, they do not further the aim of the deck, which is to assemble an infinite combo and win as early as possible. That does not mean that they are not good cards, just that they don't advance this deck's game plan. That being said, here are a few combo pieces that are not included.
Sword of Feast and Famine - Great card and works well with Aggravated Assault if you are going to attack repeatedly. However, Aggrevated Assault was included as way to untap Krenko repeatedly without having to attack.
Conjuror's Closet - Tested and found to be too slow to do anything exciting in this deck. Cloudstone Curio does this job much better.
Shared Animosity - Not included as this is not primarily an aggro deck.
Gempalm Incenerator - Fantastic card in Goblin tribal decks and was in here before the move to combo.
Notable Combos
I am sure that this is not a comprehensive list, because I keep finding new and convoluted combos in here all the time. Most are simply variations of the ones below, but occasionally, I find a totally new one. Feel free to point out any that I have missed!
Land Destruction
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Goblin Settler + Thornbite Staff + Sac outlet = Mass land destruction
Goblin Settler + Nim Deathmantle + Sac outlet + Mana Echoes + 4 other goblins + 4 mana = Mass Land Destruction
Goblin Sharpshooter + Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth = Mass Land Destruction
Goblin Settler + Goblin Wizard + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Mana Echoes + Cloudstone Curio + 1 goblin in hand = Mass Land Destruction
Infinite Tokens
Necrotic Ooze +( Kiki-Jiki in graveyard) = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Ashnod’s Altar + 2 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Krenko/Kiki-Jiki + Mana Echoes + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + 2 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Thornbite Staff + Goblin Sharpshooter/Sac outlet = Infinite Tokens
Weirding Shaman/ Goblin Warrens + Mana Echoes + Gemstone Array + 2 goblins = Infinite Tokens
Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang Commander + Nim Deathmantle + Ashnod’s Altar = Infinite Tokens
Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang Commander + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Sac Outlet = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Skirk Prospector + Aggravated Assault + any 4 goblins = Infinite Tokens (and Infinite attacks with a haste enabler)
Kiki-Jiki + Mana Echoes + Nim Deathmantle + Sac outlet + 2 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Any Goblin + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Illusionist’s Bracers + Thornbite Staff + Sac outlet = Infinite Tokens
Goblin Wizard + Thornbite Staff + Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang + Cloudstone Curio + sac outlet = Infinite Tokens
Kiki-Jiki + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang + Ashnod’s Altar = Infinite Tokens
Kiki-Jiki + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang+Mana Echoes = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Cloudstone Curio + Skirk Prospector + haste + any 3 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Tutor every Goblin and Play them
Goblin Matron + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Skirk Prospector
Moggcatchcer +( Mana Echoes and 6 goblins)/infinite mana combo + Umbral Mantle
Infinite Bounce Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Thornbite Staff + Stingscourger + Sac outlet = Bounce all opposing creatures to owner's hand.
Stingscourger + Nim Deathmantle + Mana Echoes + Sac Outlet + 3 other goblins = Bounce all opposing creatures to owner's hand.
Draw Your Deck
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Thornbite Staff + Rummaging Goblin + sac outlet = draw and discard goblins until you get Living Death/Patriarch’s Bidding. Hopefully, you have Goblin Warchief/Goblin Chieftan in play or in the graveyard. Alternatively, Anger in the graveyard works if you use Patriarch’s Bidding. Swing with lots of hasty goblins.
Krenko + Umbral Mantle/Thornbite Staff + Skirk Prospector/Ashnod’s Altar + Skullclamp + Enough Goblins to net 1 per Krenko Activation
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Umbral Mantle + Mana Echoes + Siege-gang Commander + Skullclamp
Goblin Warrens + Mana Echoes + Gemstone Array + Skull Clamp
Play all Goblins in your Hand for Free
Goblin Wizard + Thornbite Staff + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + free sac outlet = Play all goblins for free
Infinite ETB Triggers
ETB Goblin + Nim Deathmantle + Mana Echoes + Sac outlet + 3 other goblins
ETB Goblin + Goblin Wizard + Umbral Mantle + Mana Echoes + Cloudstone Curio + 1 other goblin and 1 in hand
ETB Goblin + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Thornbite Staff + Sac outlet
ETB Goblin + Kiki-Jiki + Mana Echoes + Nim Deathmantle + Sac outlet + 2 other goblins
ETB Goblin + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Umbral Mantle +( Mana Echoes+1 other goblin)/infinite mana
Infinite Mana
Ring of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith
Skirk Prospector + infinite token combo
Ashod’s Altar + infinite token combo
Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
Gemstone Array is used with Mana Echoes to fuel infinite token making with Goblin Warrens and/or Weirding Shaman.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
I played this deck the other night against Mayael and Olivia and was amazed at how fast it wins. I believe it was a turn 4 win off Patriarch's Bidding with Kiki-Jiki and Lightning Crafter in the yard and Goblin Bombardment in play.
Here is the question I am wrestling with right now....
Liquimetal Coating is primarily in the deck to work with Tuktuk Scrapper. Between sac outlets and Wort recursion, Kiki-Jiki, and Conjuror's Closet, it is possible that I can destroy one permanent per turn.
If I replace it with Mycosynth Lattice, I will not drop the lattice unless I have a way to infinitely copy Tuktuk Scrapper that turn.
So.... good, reapeatable removal or just win when cast?
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
In my humble opinion and to answer your above question I think for the reason you would run either Liquimetal Coating or Mycosynth Lattice, Liquidmetal Coating just has more value in all resepects than Mycosynth Lattice because its not entirely a bad draw. How ever I belive it also depends on how much the people you play with put into there decs if the are running cards like Doom Blade then Liquidmetal Coating can save a creature (I understnad this is extermly circumstantial).
Basically I'm saying i would personally run Liquidmetal Coating just because you don't have to have an entire combo running just to find use for it.
Interesting take on Wort, Boggart Auntie. I've been looking to upgrade my own Wort deck it to keep it competitive in my playgroup and you've given me some interesting ideas. Ever consider running Shared Animosity or Skirk Fire Marshal and Mogg Maniac in your deck given how many goblins you make?
Dufould, I believe you are correct. I got so caught up in seeing how many combos I could getr , that I lost sight of the utility that Liquimetal Coating gives me.
HowlinMad: Not really a fan of Shared Animosity. If I really want to attack, I think that Aggrevated Assault is better in this deck. As for Skirk Fire Marshal/ Mogg Maniac... It's a cute trick in duels with 20 life points, but I think it is a terrible idea for EDH. However, I am willing to listen if you think you have a convincing argument as to why it is good.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
If you're able to amass enough goblins to activate the Fire Marshal more than once, you can basically end the game outright. Granted, ending things that way usually means things end in a draw, but I'd rather I end things in with a draw than have to wait for the game to end after someone's killed me. Plus I find the 10 damage to be a useful (if somewhat suicidal and self destructive) board wipe.
Shared Animosity was my replacement for Door of Destinies, which I found to be absolutely terrible because of how slow it was. Card works fairly well for me since I'm also running Furnace of Rath in my build. Compared to your build, mine is basically an aggro deck that transitions into a combo deck late game. Speaking of which, have you ever considered running the Goblin Charbelcher + Goblin Recruiter combo? I've found that it can come out of nowhere to one-shot people and you can get around the lopsided stacking of your deck with a few fetchlands and Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds
This is a solid deck and I've been running it for over a year. It started as an aggro deck for me but eventually I morphed into soft-combo and then just went all in with it for a hard combo. I can still aggro people out, but I took out most of the augmentation goblins out for more utility and search. I think you're missing some important cards that can really make it better.
1) Exsanguinate. Wins off the bat with enough mana which this deck can generate. Comet Storm also works. I run both.
2) Fork and Reverberate. Unless you're playing against a bunch of people who don't know what a counterspell is these can be necessary to force through important combo spells.
4) Yawgmoth's Will. Basically allows you to copy anything already in your GY during your combo turn. Pretty important although be careful not to sacrifice pieces after this is cast since they are then exiled, unless you are sure you won't need them anymore.
5) Ad Nauseam. Solid instant card draw you can use EOT. Costs a lot of life but often allows you to assemble the combo quicker.
6) Empty the Warrens. Allows you to power out a lot of goblins into play that cannot be countered, allowing for more mana/threats.
And yeah I also like Gempalm Incinerator. It cycles so there is no reason not to run this doubles as a removal card and a way to get to your combo cards even faster.
Gempalm Incinerator, Brightstone Ritual, Fork and Yawgmoth's Will were all in here when it was less combo.
Basically, now every card is either mana, tutor or combo piece. There are still a few goblins left in it that are strictly utility, but there really is not a whole lot of room to be sliding more cards in.
As for Exsanginate, Comet Storm, and the rest.... My son really wants the deck to be as tribal as possible.
This is NOT the best Wort deck that can be made, but it IS good, fast and consistent and most importantly, it makes him happy to play it.
That being said, I certainly don't mind suggestions and will pass them along to him.
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
This statement confuses me since those three cards above would explicitly be included in the deck to better enable the combo(s).
I know. However, the ritual isn't really needed since the deck rarely is starved for mana and Fork involves leaving mana open, which slows down the path to comboing out (which the deck often does between turns 5 and 7). I really want to fit Yawg's Win back in, but honestly, I don't think it is good enough.(I KNOW! :o)
If combos pieces get put in the yard, you can get creatures back with Wort or Volrath's Stronghold and artifacts back with Goblin Welder. If it is an enchantment, you simply go to the next combo that doesn't use that enchantment.
When I pilot this deck, I often win with a backup combo either in hand or on the board.
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
Lightning Crafter enters the battlefield>
With the champion trigger on the stack you copy the Lightning Crafter>
The original Lightning Crafter now champions Kiki Jiki>
The new Lightning Crafter now champions the original Lightning Crafter>
Kiki Jiki comes back untapped>
You tap Lightning Crafter and deal three damage and then do it all over again!
I believe this cannot work. You will have to stack the Champion-Trigger of the Token above the other one, so the original Lightning Crafter will leave the battlefield before his own trigger resolves, resulting in (now i'm not sure):
(a). the fizzling of the original trigger or
(b). the permanent exile of Kiki, because the second part of the Champion-Ability (the coming back because of the Lightning Crafter leaving the battlefield) happened before the first part (the exiling of Kiki).
I guess (b) would be right, considering the possibility of exiling creatures permanently with a loop of Fiend Hunters.
Thats incorrect, the Kiki-jiki combo does work. Saying that, his example is wrong. The champion trigger wont fizzle as it doesnt target and abilities are independent of their source on the stack. Also, referencing fiend hunter is a null example as the abilites are seperate. However, the explanation that was quoted was incorrect. Here is how it works.
1.Cast Crafter, ability triggers
2.Copy crafter with kiki-jiki
3.Copy etb, and copy champion triggers
4. Tap the copy for 3 damage (champion triggers on etb, so you can respond like this)
5. copy crafter champion exiles kiki-jiki
6. original crafter champion exiles copy crafter
7.Kiki-jiki comes back untappped
8. Repeat 2-6 until win
I am looking forward to hearing how your test goes.
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
Sword of the Paruns for a little more redundancy with Thornbite and Umbral Mantle?
Why no Necropotence, I'm guessing because of the triple-black?
Sword of the Paruns would work, but you have to cut something to put it in. I have tried to balance redundancy with the number of combos. However, if you feel the need to put it in, feel free.
Necropotence is good and I love it in all of our mono Black decks. However, the triple black is a factor and I don't like that discards are exiled. With Wheel of Fortune and it's ilk, you can discard stuff to the yard that you can get back later.
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
I love this deck. I think Wort is a valid approach to Goblin combo decks, and you did very well making it.
I'd definitely recommend Phyrexian Altar - more redundancy for combos, and a sac outlet.
I think with a deck with this kind of curve you might be better off playing 35 or 36 lands and more rocks. Get out as much mana as you can as quickly as you can.
I think Rings of Brighthearth is very good in this kind of deck. (Also, since it needs to be mentioned every time someone mentions Rings, it combos with Basalt Monolith, which fits with "play more rocks")
EDIT: Also, to comment on the argument about Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Lightning Crafter - There's no way to combo with these two alone. Macius, your example works except that step 6 *can't be repeated* because the original Crafter's champion ability already resolved. You'll need a sac outlet (Skirk Prospector for instance) to make a combo.
With a sac outlet, it's quite simple:
Play Kiki and your sac outlet.
Play Lightning Crafter.
With the Champion ability on the stack, copy Lightning Crafter with Kiki-Jiki.
Exile Kiki-Jiki with the token's Champion ability.
Tap the token to deal 3 to an opponent.
Sacrifice the token to your sac outlet. Kiki comes back. Repeat steps 3 through this one.
It's worth noting that you never actually need to champion anything with the original Crafter as long as things are played in the correct order.
EDIT2: Also, I noticed this combo in your list of combos:
EDIT2: Also, I noticed this combo in your list of combos:
You don't actually need Basilisk Collar for this to be a game winning combo.
Play Kiki and Sharpshooter. Either pass the turn or give Sharpshooter haste.
Play Lightning Crafter.
Tap Goblin Sharpshooter to deal 1 damage to an opponent.
With the Champion ability on the stack, copy Lightning Crafter with Kiki-Jiki.
With the copy's Champion ability, exile Kiki-Jiki.
Tap the Lightning Crafter token to hit itself for 3 damage. It dies.
Kiki-Jiki re-enters the battlefield and Goblin Sharpshooter untaps. Repeat steps 3 through this one.
Without Goblin Sharpshooter, this is still infinite ETB/LTB.
Thanks for pointing that out! I literally find a new way to combo every session that I play this deck. Now granted, this is not MY deck and I don't play it all the time, but I am still amazed at the convoluted combos that just appear out of nowhere when I play it.
I will try your suggestion about less lands and more rocks and I agree that Rings is really good. Not sure about Rings/Monolith though because I really don't have a lot to do with infinite colorless mana. I guess if I can also get out the gemstone array I could find something to do with infinite colored mana though.
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
-1 Sword of the Paruns
-1 Mountain
-1 Basilisk Collar
+1 Staff of Domination
+1 Rings of Brighthearth
+1 Basalt Monolith
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
I think Rings and Monolith are solid because each of them does enough by themselves to be good. Together, they just happen to make infinite colorless.
I think your cuts are solid. Basilisk Collar, while sick on Sharpshooter, is pretty eh otherwise. 36 lands should function fine, and Sword of the Paruns is definitely worse than Staff of Domination as far as an untap engine. While Sword of the Paruns is pretty sick (4 to cast, 3 to equip, 3 to untap), it's also very expensive versus Staff (3 to cast and 3 to untap Krenko, then 4 each time thereafter) and your other engines.
Those were my thoughts as well. That's what I like about posting here. No deck is so good that it can't benefit from a few tweaks and the more eyes that look at it, the better it can be.
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Current EDH Generals: WAvacyn, Angel of Hope|UAzami, Lady of Scrolls|B| Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|GEzuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UBGrimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RGUlasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WBGhost Council of Orzhova|BGGlissa, the Traitor|GUExperiment Kraj|URMelek, Izzet Paragon RWJor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBRKaalia of the Vast|GWBGhave, Guru of Spores|UBRMarchesa, the Black Rose
Retired WDarien, King of Kjeldor|RJaya Ballard, Task Mage|RNorin the Wary|GBMomir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRGSliver Overlord
1) How good is Goblin Wizard in the deck? Besides that combo with him, is he there just to cheat stuff at the end step of turns to get passed sorcery removal?
2) Does Kormus Bell ever punish you for being black when you don't have the combo?
3) How much does Splinter Twin help being a 2nd Kiki-Jiki?
4) Goblin Bombardment any good? Seems like another 1 drop goblin sac outlet would be better like Goblin Sledder. Maybe use Skirk Fire Marshal for your infinite token infinite damage instead?
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Why Wort?
Out of all of the Legendary Goblins, why Wort? Why not Kiki-Jiki, Krenko, or one of the other 10 Legendary Goblins?
The answer lies in her color and abilities. Of the 11 legendary goblins that have been printed to date, only two have colors outside of red. Wort, the Raidmother is a great general and while she can be played as a tribal commander, generally does better conspiring big, bomby red and green spells.
Wort, Boggart Auntie adds black! With black’s tutoring and card draw capabilities, combos are more easily assembled. When you add that to her ability to bring a goblin card back to your hand from the graveyard every turn, she stands out as the best choice for a goblin tribal combo general. Add in the fact that she has a reasonable sized body and fear and a kill through General damage is not out of the question.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Krenko, Mob Boss are also very good goblin tribal combo commanders, mainly due to the fact that they feature heavily in many of the combos and running them as your commander means that you will always have access to them. However, as mono-red goblins they lack the unlimited tutor capabilities that black brings and deny access to some of the combo pieces that involve black. Besides, there are a ton of ways to tutor up goblins, so these guys are never far away. If they go to the graveyard, recur them with Wort. If they get exiled, move on to the next combo.
You might enjoy playing this deck if:
1) You like infinite combos
2) You aren’t ashamed of winning before turn 6
3) You like goblins and/or tribal decks
You might NOT enjoy playing this deck if:
1) You or your playgroup hate infinite combos
2) You prefer long, drawn-out games.
3) You are not a fan of goblins or tribal decks
Deck History
Four years ago when my sons and I started playing EDH, one of my sons had a goblin tribal 60 card casual deck that enjoyed playing more than any other deck. He wanted to convert it for EDH so we sat down and picked Wort, Boggart Auntie as the General so we could add black for card draw and tutoring. At that time, the deck was pretty much tribal aggro and won by throwing relentless waves of goblins at the opposition and occasionally comboing with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Lightning Crafter.
As our playgroup grew and matured and new sets were released, he noticed that there was not a lot of love for Goblins and felt that his deck was being left behind while other people's decks were getting stronger and stronger. The deck still won the occasional game, but he never really felt competitive with a lot of decks that other people were playing.
I asked him what he would like to do to fix the issue and after some thought he came to the conclusion that he would like to focus more on combos while staying true to the tribal nature of the deck and not completely abandoning the possibility of winning through swarm aggro. At the time, I thought that this was a pretty tall order to fill, but set about doing some in-depth research. Fortunately, this was just about the time that Krenko, Mob Boss was spoiled for M13.
When I asked him how many new combos he would like in the deck, he replied, “As many as you can fit in, I guess.” When I first posted the resulting deck here at MTGSalvation, it was billed as having 20+ infinite combos in it. Since that time, it has grown to over 40. Most of the new combos were discovered through actual game play, although a few are the results of new additions to the deck. It has now become a game within the game to see how many infinite combos we can identify/fit into this deck while staying true to the theme.
The Deck
1x Wort, Boggart Auntie
Creature (34)
1x Anger
1x Beetleback Chief
1x Boggart Harbinger
1x Boggart Mob
1x Caterwauling Boggart
1x Frogtosser Banneret
1x Goblin Assassin
1x Goblin Chieftain
1x Goblin Lackey
1x Goblin Marshal
1x Goblin Matron
1x Goblin Recruiter
1x Goblin Ringleader
1x Goblin Settler
1x Goblin Sharpshooter
1x Goblin Warchief
1x Goblin Welder
1x Goblin Wizard
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Krenko, Mob Boss
1x Lightning Crafter
1x Mad Auntie
1x Mogg Fanatic
1x Mogg War Marshal
1x Moggcatcher
1x Murderous Redcap
1x Necrotic Ooze
1x Rummaging Goblin
1x Stingscourger
1x Siege-Gang Commander
1x Skirk Prospector
1x Tuktuk Scrapper
1x Weirding Shaman
1x Auntie's Hovel
1x Badlands
1x Blackcleave Cliffs
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Buried Ruin
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Command Tower
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Graven Cairns
1x Hammerheim
1x Madblind Mountain
14x Mountain
1x Shadowblood Ridge
1x Sulfurous Springs
5x Swamp
1x Tainted Peak
1x Urborg
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Volrath's Stronghold
Enchantment (7)
1x Aggravated Assault
1x Goblin Bombardment
1x Goblin Warrens
1x Mana Echoes
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Splinter Twin
1x Stranglehold
1x Ashnod's Altar
1x Basilisk Collar
1x Cloudstone Curio
1x Gemstone Array
1x Kormus Bell
1x Liquimetal Coating
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Sword of the Paruns
1x Thornbite Staff
1x Umbral Mantle
Sorcery (8)
1x Beseech the Queen
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Tutor
1x Gamble
1x Living Death
1x Patriarch's Bidding
1x Reforge the Soul
1x Wheel of Fortune
Instant (1)
1x Vampiric Tutor
Mana Base
The foundation of any deck is it’s mana base. You need to be able to drop enough mana producers of the correct colors to enable your game plan without flooding your hand and denying you access to the cards you actually use to win. This deck runs slightly fewer lands than normal because of the low curve. The highest CMC in the deck is 6 with the average CMC being 3.19 and the mode being 4.
Since we chose our general because she includes black, it is important that we are able to access both red and black quickly. To that end, we include 11 (almost a third of the total) lands that can produce either. While this is not a complete list of red/black dual lands, it is the best of them as only 4 of these will come in tapped and only if you fail to meet their requirements.
Auntie's Hovel
Badlands
Blackcleave Cliffs
Blood Crypt
Command Tower
Dragonskull Summit
Graven Cairns
Shadowblood Ridge
Sulfurous Springs
Tainted Peak
Cavern of Souls – Of course you are going to name Goblins. If this is out ALWAYS use it to protect your General or goblin combo pieces to avoid having them countered.
Bloodstained Mire – I only run one fetchland as , statistically, the thinning effect of fetches is negligible in a 60 card deck, let alone 100. Since we also do not engage in manipulation of the top of the library, the shuffle effect is also not needed not to mention not having any landfall triggers.
Bojuka Bog – While I hate to describe ANY card as an auto-include, this comes as close as any in decks that run black. It has been my experience in the time I have played EDH that NO deck runs enough graveyard hate. Most EDH decks will run graveyard recursion to one degree or another and this can be used on players that have particularly juicy targets in the yard or are running generals that regularly use the yard as an extension of their hand. All of that being said, it sucks when you get this in your opening hand.
Buried Ruin – A backup plan for Goblin Welder.Use this to recur any artifact combo pieces that end up in the yard if Welder is not available.
Hammerheim – To be honest, this is not strictly needed. I can count on one hand the number of times it has been truly useful. That being true, it still taps for red and does not come in to play tapped. It can also be used politically to remove landwalking from creatures attacking other players, buying you friends until you can combo out. If you don’t see a lot of landwalking in your meta, feel free to swap this out for a basic Mountain.
Urborg – Much like Hammerheim, I have found this to be of limited use. Occasionally, removing First Strike is relevant, but feel free to swap this out for a basic Swamp.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth – This is a great color fixer, making all lands tap for black in addition to anything else. It combos with Temple Bell to turn EVERYONE’S lands into 1/1 creatures (see Combo section below). Be careful if you are playing against a mono-black deck though. Most of them will be running Cabal Coffers and you can really ramp them if you are not careful. Honestly, if you have all of the red/black lands listed above, you can probably cut this and replace it with a basic Swamp. The secondary reason for running it; destroying other players’ Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, has been nullified by the new Legend Rule change in M14.
Volrath's Stronghold – backup plan for Wort. Should Wort not be available for some reason (tucked or too expensive), this can be used to recur your creatures.
Creatures
Creatures are the usually the bulk of the non-land cards in any tribal deck and this one is no different.
Anger – Haste enabler. With one of the many infinite token combos, this usually means game over. I have been wavering over replacing this with either Fervor or Urabrask the Hidden. They all have their good and bad points. Feel free to experiment and report your findings.
Army-in-a-Box - Beetleback Chief, Goblin Marshal, Mogg War Marshal, & Siege-Gang Commander all bring friends with them to the party. This makes them great combo enablers as well as adding bodies for old-fashioned goblin swarming. As a side benefit, Siege-Gang also provides some direct damage potential.
Boggart Harbinger – Goblin tutor. Not as good as some of the others, but one more way to make sure we get the goblins we need to win.
Boggart Mob – Combos with Kiki-Jiki and Goblin Bombardment for infinite damage or champions a goblin that will come back after a wrath effect and enables token generation.
Caterwauling Boggart – A leftover from when the deck was more focused on aggro swarming. It is still in as a backup plan should aggro present itself as a viable wincon. Could easily be cut for another goblin that enables more combos.
Frogtosser Banneret – Cheap guy with haste that makes your other goblins cost less. You should never be sad to see this guy in your opening hand
Goblin Assassin – This guy is good. VERY good. Not always consistent, but good. When this guy hits the board, bad things happen to your opponent’s creatures. Since it is a sacrifice, it gets around pesky things like shroud, hexproof, and indestructible. Couple with Kiki-Jiki and/or one of the Army-in-a-box goblins and watch the board clear. The very worst that can happen is you lose the first coin flip and sac him to his own trigger. Just remember, Wort brings ‘em back!
Goblin Chieftain – Another haste enabler. The fact that he also pumps can be both good and bad. On the plus side, he helps with an aggro win and protecting your guys from things like Crovax, Ascendant Hero and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobyte. On the minus side, he makes it harder to draw with Skullclamp and makes your guys more vulnerable to Meekstone.
Goblin Lackey – So good that he was banned in Extended. This is the best first turn play in this deck and can lead to explosive starts. With a God Hand, this guy can let you combo for the win on Turn 3. After about turn 4, he’s just another goblin body, but can occasionally sneak in a hit for a free goblin.
Goblin Matron – Another goblin tutor. Often, the best thing for her to fetch is Kiki-Jiki, who can then copy her every turn to tutor up more goblins.
Goblin Recruiter – One of the best goblin tutors, provided you can wait a turn. Coupled with Goblin Ringleader, he lets you draw an entire game winning combo in one go. Just stack Ringleader, Kiki-Jiki, Lightning Crafter and Skirk Prospector. I will also often include Goblin Warchief and Krenko, Mob Boss as a backup plan. Goblin Recruiter is also a great target for Boggart Mob or Lightning Crafter’s Champion ability if you are not comboing for the win. When the inevitable wrath clears the board, he comes back into play, allowing you to stack a whole string of goblins to rebuild your board presence.
Goblin Ringleader – Great at putting goblins in your hand! Since the deck is slightly more than a third goblins, don’t be afraid to run him out as early as possible and refill your hand. Sac and recur him with Wort or copy him with Kiki-Jiki for more fun!
Goblin Settler – Loves to destroy Cabal Coffers, Gaea’s Cradle, and other problem lands in play. Combine with Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin to destroy a land every turn. Add in Thornbite Staff and a sac outlet for shenanigans that won’t make you any friends.
Goblin Sharpshooter – There is a reason that the artwork for the card shows him with a machine gun. This guy mows down 1/1s with impunity. Add Basilisk Collar or Gorgon Flail to clear the board. Combos with Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin to win the game through infinite direct damage.
Goblin Warchief – Best haste enabler as he also makes your goblins cheaper. Pair with Frogtosser Banneret for dirt cheap goblins. Kiki-Jiki for 1RR anyone?
Goblin Welder – Here mainly to recur artifact combo pieces from the graveyard. He is also good at removing your opponents’ problem artifacts like Darksteel Forge, Akroma’s Memorial, etc.
Goblin Wizard – Dropping goblins into play for free is good. Giving them Protection from White is also good. This guy also makes combos easier to play by cutting the mana costs of getting all of your pieces into play on the same turn, giving opponents less time to answer them.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker – This is, arguably, the best red card ever printed. With all of the ETB abilities in this deck, at worst he allows you to copy the best one once a turn. Couple him with a few other cards however and he becomes a potent infinite combo enabler.
Krenko, Mob Boss – Second only to Kiki-Jiki in his ability to create infinite combos. Lacking any other combo pieces, he can quickly generate a token swarm large enough to take down almost any player or, in some cases, any table.
Lightning Crafter – Pinging for 3 is good. Most utility creature will die to 3 points of damage. His Champion ability will allow you to bring back one of your goblins after a wrath. Finally, He combos with Kik-Jiki and a free sac outlet to do infinite direct damage.
Mad Auntie – Brings another Anthem effect and, more importantly, allows you to regenerate a goblin, protecting a combo piece.
Mogg Fanatic – Looks underwhelming in a multiplayer format with 40 life and would be if he didn’t combo in multiple ways for infinite direct damage.
Moggcatcher – Best goblin tutor EVER! Search out and play any goblin in your deck for 3
Murderous Redcap – Kills utility creatures and features in a couple of infinite damage combos
Necrotic Ooze – The last of the 3 non-goblin creatures in the deck. Good on his own. Game winning with Kiki-Jiki and Mogg Fanatic in the yard.
Rummaging Goblin – One of Red’s biggest drawbacks is a lack of card draw. While looting is certainly not the best way to draw cards, it is not entirely bad for this deck with its many ways of recurring cards from the graveyard. With the right setup, this guy can draw your deck in a single turn, setting you up for a combo finish.
Sensation Gorger – Not only can he help refill your hand, but he can also mess up combo and control players.
Skirk Prospector – Best free sac outlet in the deck. Only one R to play him and every sacrifice nets you a R.
Stingscourger – Bounce is a great way to swing the tempo in a game and not something that people expect from Red or Black. Particularly good if used just before an effect that causes people to discard their hand, such as Wheel of Fortune. Combos for infinite bouncing of all opponents’ creatures.
Tuktuk Scrapper – Utility creature useful for getting rid of most troubling artifacts. Couple with Liquimetal Coating to destroy almost anything.
Weirding Shaman – Cheap goblin body with an expensive ability. Can make infinite tokens or infinite mana under the right circumstances.
Enchantments
Aggravated Assault – Included mainly for its ability to go infinite with Krenko, it can also help out the aggro backup strategy.
Goblin Bombardment – Fantastic free sac outlet that turns sacrifices into direct damage. In addition to fueling combos, it is also a great way to answer wraths; sacrificing all of your creatures in response to deal damage.
Goblin Warrens – The activated ability is much more affordable than Weirding Shaman and is able to achieve infinite goblin tokens and/or infinite mana. At worst, it adds more bodies to the field.
Mana Echoes – Can generate huge amounts of colorless mana, especially with one of the Army-in-a-box creatures. Goes infinite with the right cards.
Phyrexian Arena – More card draw. Don’t worry about the cost in life. You should have won before it makes a difference.
Splinter Twin – This is, essentially, a second copy of Kiki-Jiki. Any combo that features Kiki-Jiki copying another creature can use this instead. As an aura, you face the possibility of losing two cards to a well-timed removal spell, but it also costs R less than Kik-Jiki, making it better in certain circumstances.
Stranglehold – If you did not get one of the Commander precons that contained this card, you might have trouble finding it. If you DO have one, you already know how good it is and how backbreaking it can be for some decks. It completely shuts down one of the pillars of EDH (tutor effects) and one of the popular strategies for winning (taking unlimited number of turns). It is also relatively long-lasting since, if opponents didn’t already have an answer in hand they cannot tutor one up and enchantment removal tends to be fairly uncommon in EDH decks compared to other types of removal.
Artifacts
Ashnod's Altar – Free sac outlet that provides 2 colorless mana. Combos well with Nim Deathmantle.
Basalt Monolith – Couple with Rings of Brighthearth for infinite colorless mana.
Cloudstone Curio – Reuse all of your ETB goblins!
Gemstone Array – Turn your infinite colorless mana into whatever color you need
Kormus Bell – Makes everyone’s Swamps into 1/1s. This deck does not require a lot of black mana and has plenty in the form of non-basics. Be careful if you decide to play this with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, as a Wrath of God will double as an Armageddon. Add Goblin Sharpshooter for mass land destruction.
Liquimetal Coating – Originally put in because I mistakenly thought it would enable infinite destruction loops when coupled with a way to make infinite Tuktuk Scrappers. Left in because it is one of the few ways this deck can deal with enchantments. I toyed with the idea of replacing it with Mycosynth Lattice but decided to keep it as it can also provide a blocker against Intimidate creatures or save one of our creatures from a Terror effect.
Nim Deathmantle – Goes infinite with an Army-in-a-Box and Ashnod’s Altar. Outside of that, simply reusing an ETB creature every turn is good.
Rings of Brighthearth – Copy any activated ability? Yes, please. Goes infinite with Basalt Monolith.
Skullclamp – Great way to draw cards.
Sol Ring – Mana ramp!
Staff of Domination – Recently unbanned and added to the deck as something to do when you make unlimited mana. Doubles as Umbral Mantle in some combos.
Thornbite Staff – Goes infinite with Kiki-Jiki and a sac outlet.
Umbral Mantle – Another way to untap Kiki-Jiki and/or Krenko
Sorceries and Instants
Beseech the Queen, Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, Gamble, & Vampiric Tutor – More ways to search out your combo pieces. Beseech the Queen is the worst of them and would really like to be Grim Tutor or better yet, Imperial Seal, but the cost is too prohibitive for me to buy those. Gamble is obviously best when you have a full hand but the drawback is not too bad in our deck where creatures recur easily from the graveyard and artifacts can be retrieved as well. If this is the only card in your hand and you have Wort in play, it can always double as an Entomb.
Living Death & Patriarch's Bidding – These can be an instant win with the right creatures in the graveyard (Kiki-Jiki, Skirk Prospector, Lightning Crafter). With Living Death, use your sac outlets in response to keep and recur ALL of your creatures.
Reforge the Soul & Wheel of Fortune – Refill your hand and mess with everyone else’s.
The Gameplan
Like any dedicated combo deck, the plan is to assemble a combo and win as quickly as possible. The fact that the combos are disguised by a goblin tribal theme means that a lot of people will never see it coming. A lot of the combo pieces are perfectly valid choices in their own right and will not raise any red flags in your opponent's minds.... right up to the point where you win.
The main thing in playing this deck is to be very familiar with the known combos and card interactions. I don't try to force any particular combo and let the deck tell me how it wants to win any given match. Often, your opening hand will include one or two different combo pieces and a tutor. There really aren't any 2-card combos, so I will either hold the tutor, waiting to get the last piece, or use it to preemptively get a piece that is good in multiple combos such as Thornbite Staff or Umbral Mantle. As there are plenty of ways to tutor up goblins specifically, I will usually not use an unlimited tutor to get a goblin unless it is the final piece of a game-winning combo.
Unlike other combo decks, don't be afraid to play your combo pieces early. As I mentioned before, a lot of them are good on their own and will not necessarily draw removal immediately. If they do, it is not that big a deal. You have ways to recur both creatures and artifacts from the graveyard (or win BECAUSE they are in the graveyard) and there are many more combos available should a piece be exiled. The fact is, most EDH decks only run so much removal and they are expecting to spread that between multiple opponents. Also, you are much less likely to look like the the strongest or most threatening player unless your opponents are very familiar with this deck. Even then, after all the time my son has played this deck in our playgroup (He plays it almost exclusively), people still underestimate the fact that this deck can go from zero to win out of nowhere.
I must point out that there are many cards that will really hose this deck. However, in all the time it has been played, we have not seen many of them. It might be a meta thing, but a lot of decks in my area don't seem to run those cards and those decks that do don't see them consistently.
Notable Exclusions
There are a TON of cards that could go into Goblin Tribal build that are not represented in this deck. Most of them were probably in the deck before it made the transition to the combo monster it is today. However, they do not further the aim of the deck, which is to assemble an infinite combo and win as early as possible. That does not mean that they are not good cards, just that they don't advance this deck's game plan. That being said, here are a few combo pieces that are not included.
Sword of the Paruns - This was in originally as a more mana-intensive version of Umbral Mantle. it came out to help make room for Staff of Domination.
Basilisk Collar - Was completely unexciting unless put on Goblin Sharpshooter. Came out to make room for Rings of Brighthearth.
Sword of Feast and Famine - Great card and works well with Aggravated Assault if you are going to attack repeatedly. However, Aggrevated Assault was included as way to untap Krenko repeatedly without having to attack.
Conjuror's Closet - Tested and found to be too slow to do anything exciting in this deck. Cloudstone Curio does this job much better.
Illusionist's Bracers - A more limited version of Rings of Brighthearth. Tested and found wanting.
Shared Animosity - Not included as this is not primarily an aggro deck.
Gempalm Incenerator - Fantastic card in Goblin tribal decks and was in here before the move to combo.
Notable Combos
Land Destruction
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Goblin Settler + Thornbite Staff + Sac outlet = Mass land destruction
Goblin Settler + Nim Deathmantle + Sac outlet + Mana Echoes + 4 other goblins + 4 mana = Mass Land Destruction
Goblin Sharpshooter + Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth = Mass Land Destruction
Goblin Settler + Goblin Wizard + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Mana Echoes + Cloudstone Curio + 1 goblin in hand = Mass Land Destruction
Infinite Damage
Kiki-jiki + Lightning Crafter + Sac outlet = Infinite Damage
Kiki-jiki + Lightning Crafter + Goblin Sharpshooter + Basilisk Collar = Infinite Damage/Infinite Life
Goblin Sharpshooter + Splinter Twin + any 1 toughness creature in play/sac outlet = Infinite Damage
Kiki-Jiki + Thornbite Staff + Goblin Sharpshooter + any 1 tough creature/Sac outlet = Infinite Damage
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Murderous Redcap + Sac outlet = Infinite Damage
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Mogg Fanatic = Infinite Damage
Necrotic Ooze + Kiki-Jiki in graveyard + Mogg Fanatic in graveyard = Infinite Damage
Any Infinite Token combo + Goblin Bombardment = Infinite Damage
Kiki-Jiki + Boggart Mob + (Boggart Shenanigans + Sac Outlet)/Goblin Bombardment = Infinite Damage
Mogg Fanatic/(Murderous Redcap + Sac outlet) + Mana Echoes + Nim Deathmantle + 3 other goblins = Infinite Damage
Murderous Redcap + Goblin Wizard + Umbral Mantle + Mana Echoes + Cloudstone Curio + 1 goblin in hand = Infinite Damage
Murderous Redcap + Goblin Wizard + Thornbite Staff + Cloudstone Curio + free sac outlet + 1 goblin on board = Infinite Damage
Goblin Lackey + Thornbite Staff + Umbral Mantle/Sword of the Paruns + Mana Echoes + Cloudstone Curio + 3 other goblins and 1 in hand
Murderous Redcap + Ashnod’s Altar + Nim Deathmantle = Infinite Damage
Any creature + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Goblin Bombardment = Infinite Damage
Infinite Tokens
Necrotic Ooze +( Kiki-Jiki in graveyard) = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Ashnod’s Altar + 2 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Krenko/Kiki-Jiki + Mana Echoes + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + 2 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Thornbite Staff + Goblin Sharpshooter/Sac outlet = Infinite Tokens
Weirding Shaman/ Goblin Warrens + Mana Echoes + Gemstone Array + 2 goblins = Infinite Tokens
Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang Commander + Nim Deathmantle + Ashnod’s Altar = Infinite Tokens
Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang Commander + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Sac Outlet = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Skirk Prospector + Aggravated Assault + any 4 goblins = Infinite Tokens (and Infinite attacks with a haste enabler)
Kiki-Jiki + Mana Echoes + Nim Deathmantle + Sac outlet + 2 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Any Goblin + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Illusionist’s Bracers + Thornbite Staff + Sac outlet = Infinite Tokens
Goblin Wizard + Thornbite Staff + Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang + Cloudstone Curio + sac outlet = Infinite Tokens
Kiki-Jiki + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang + Ashnod’s Altar = Infinite Tokens
Kiki-Jiki + Umbral Mantle/ Sword of the Paruns + Goblin Marshal/Beetleback Chief/Mogg War Marshal/Siege-gang+Mana Echoes = Infinite Tokens
Krenko + Cloudstone Curio + Skirk Prospector + haste + any 3 other goblins = Infinite Tokens
Tutor every Goblin and Play them
Goblin Matron + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Thornbite Staff + Skirk Prospector
Moggcatchcer +( Mana Echoes and 6 goblins)/infinite mana combo + Umbral Mantle
Infinite Bounce
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Thornbite Staff + Stingscourger + Sac outlet = Bounce all opposing creatures to owner's hand.
Stingscourger + Nim Deathmantle + Mana Echoes + Sac Outlet + 3 other goblins = Bounce all opposing creatures to owner's hand.
Draw Your Deck
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Thornbite Staff + Rummaging Goblin + sac outlet = draw and discard goblins until you get Living Death/Patriarch’s Bidding. Hopefully, you have Goblin Warchief/Goblin Chieftan in play or in the graveyard. Alternatively, Anger in the graveyard works if you use Patriarch’s Bidding. Swing with lots of hasty goblins.
Krenko + Umbral Mantle/Thornbite Staff + Skirk Prospector/Ashnod’s Altar + Skullclamp + Enough Goblins to net 1 per Krenko Activation
Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + Umbral Mantle + Mana Echoes + Siege-gang Commander + Skullclamp
Goblin Warrens + Mana Echoes + Gemstone Array + Skull Clamp
Play all Goblins in your Hand for Free
Goblin Wizard + Thornbite Staff + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter Twin + free sac outlet = Play all goblins for free
Infinite ETB Triggers
ETB Goblin + Nim Deathmantle + Mana Echoes + Sac outlet + 3 other goblins
ETB Goblin + Goblin Wizard + Umbral Mantle + Mana Echoes + Cloudstone Curio + 1 other goblin and 1 in hand
ETB Goblin + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Thornbite Staff + Sac outlet
ETB Goblin + Kiki-Jiki + Mana Echoes + Nim Deathmantle + Sac outlet + 2 other goblins
ETB Goblin + Kiki-Jiki/Splinter twin + Umbral Mantle +( Mana Echoes+1 other goblin)/infinite mana
Infinite Mana
Ring of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith
Skirk Prospector + infinite token combo
Ashod’s Altar + infinite token combo
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
Here is the question I am wrestling with right now....
Should I replace Liquimetal Coating with Mycosynth Lattice?
Liquimetal Coating is primarily in the deck to work with Tuktuk Scrapper. Between sac outlets and Wort recursion, Kiki-Jiki, and Conjuror's Closet, it is possible that I can destroy one permanent per turn.
If I replace it with Mycosynth Lattice, I will not drop the lattice unless I have a way to infinitely copy Tuktuk Scrapper that turn.
So.... good, reapeatable removal or just win when cast?
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
Basically I'm saying i would personally run Liquidmetal Coating just because you don't have to have an entire combo running just to find use for it.
HowlinMad: Not really a fan of Shared Animosity. If I really want to attack, I think that Aggrevated Assault is better in this deck. As for Skirk Fire Marshal/ Mogg Maniac... It's a cute trick in duels with 20 life points, but I think it is a terrible idea for EDH. However, I am willing to listen if you think you have a convincing argument as to why it is good.
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
Shared Animosity was my replacement for Door of Destinies, which I found to be absolutely terrible because of how slow it was. Card works fairly well for me since I'm also running Furnace of Rath in my build. Compared to your build, mine is basically an aggro deck that transitions into a combo deck late game. Speaking of which, have you ever considered running the Goblin Charbelcher + Goblin Recruiter combo? I've found that it can come out of nowhere to one-shot people and you can get around the lopsided stacking of your deck with a few fetchlands and Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=467049
1) Exsanguinate. Wins off the bat with enough mana which this deck can generate. Comet Storm also works. I run both.
2) Fork and Reverberate. Unless you're playing against a bunch of people who don't know what a counterspell is these can be necessary to force through important combo spells.
3) Mana Geyser and Brightstone Ritual and Dark Ritual and Cabal Ritual. Fast mana allows for faster victories and more explosive combo turns.
4) Yawgmoth's Will. Basically allows you to copy anything already in your GY during your combo turn. Pretty important although be careful not to sacrifice pieces after this is cast since they are then exiled, unless you are sure you won't need them anymore.
5) Ad Nauseam. Solid instant card draw you can use EOT. Costs a lot of life but often allows you to assemble the combo quicker.
6) Empty the Warrens. Allows you to power out a lot of goblins into play that cannot be countered, allowing for more mana/threats.
And yeah I also like Gempalm Incinerator. It cycles so there is no reason not to run this doubles as a removal card and a way to get to your combo cards even faster.
Rafiq of the Many UWG
Sedris, the Traitor King URB
Kaalia of the Vast RWB
Savra, Queen of Golgari GB
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice GW
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails EquipmentW
Basically, now every card is either mana, tutor or combo piece. There are still a few goblins left in it that are strictly utility, but there really is not a whole lot of room to be sliding more cards in.
As for Exsanginate, Comet Storm, and the rest.... My son really wants the deck to be as tribal as possible.
This is NOT the best Wort deck that can be made, but it IS good, fast and consistent and most importantly, it makes him happy to play it.
That being said, I certainly don't mind suggestions and will pass them along to him.
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
This statement confuses me since those three cards above would explicitly be included in the deck to better enable the combo(s).
Rafiq of the Many UWG
Sedris, the Traitor King URB
Kaalia of the Vast RWB
Savra, Queen of Golgari GB
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice GW
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails EquipmentW
I know. However, the ritual isn't really needed since the deck rarely is starved for mana and Fork involves leaving mana open, which slows down the path to comboing out (which the deck often does between turns 5 and 7). I really want to fit Yawg's Win back in, but honestly, I don't think it is good enough.(I KNOW! :o)
If combos pieces get put in the yard, you can get creatures back with Wort or Volrath's Stronghold and artifacts back with Goblin Welder. If it is an enchantment, you simply go to the next combo that doesn't use that enchantment.
When I pilot this deck, I often win with a backup combo either in hand or on the board.
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
Lightning Crafter enters the battlefield>
With the champion trigger on the stack you copy the Lightning Crafter>
The original Lightning Crafter now champions Kiki Jiki>
The new Lightning Crafter now champions the original Lightning Crafter>
Kiki Jiki comes back untapped>
You tap Lightning Crafter and deal three damage and then do it all over again!
Why no Necropotence, I'm guessing because of the triple-black?
Thats incorrect, the Kiki-jiki combo does work. Saying that, his example is wrong. The champion trigger wont fizzle as it doesnt target and abilities are independent of their source on the stack. Also, referencing fiend hunter is a null example as the abilites are seperate. However, the explanation that was quoted was incorrect. Here is how it works.
1.Cast Crafter, ability triggers
2.Copy crafter with kiki-jiki
3.Copy etb, and copy champion triggers
4. Tap the copy for 3 damage (champion triggers on etb, so you can respond like this)
5. copy crafter champion exiles kiki-jiki
6. original crafter champion exiles copy crafter
7.Kiki-jiki comes back untappped
8. Repeat 2-6 until win
540 Peasant cube- Gold EditionSomething SpicyW Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
Sword of the Paruns would work, but you have to cut something to put it in. I have tried to balance redundancy with the number of combos. However, if you feel the need to put it in, feel free.
Necropotence is good and I love it in all of our mono Black decks. However, the triple black is a factor and I don't like that discards are exiled. With Wheel of Fortune and it's ilk, you can discard stuff to the yard that you can get back later.
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
I'd definitely recommend Phyrexian Altar - more redundancy for combos, and a sac outlet.
I think with a deck with this kind of curve you might be better off playing 35 or 36 lands and more rocks. Get out as much mana as you can as quickly as you can.
I think Rings of Brighthearth is very good in this kind of deck. (Also, since it needs to be mentioned every time someone mentions Rings, it combos with Basalt Monolith, which fits with "play more rocks")
EDIT: Also, to comment on the argument about Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Lightning Crafter - There's no way to combo with these two alone. Macius, your example works except that step 6 *can't be repeated* because the original Crafter's champion ability already resolved. You'll need a sac outlet (Skirk Prospector for instance) to make a combo.
With a sac outlet, it's quite simple:
It's worth noting that you never actually need to champion anything with the original Crafter as long as things are played in the correct order.
EDIT2: Also, I noticed this combo in your list of combos:
You don't actually need Basilisk Collar for this to be a game winning combo.
Without Goblin Sharpshooter, this is still infinite ETB/LTB.
Thanks for pointing that out! I literally find a new way to combo every session that I play this deck. Now granted, this is not MY deck and I don't play it all the time, but I am still amazed at the convoluted combos that just appear out of nowhere when I play it.
I will try your suggestion about less lands and more rocks and I agree that Rings is really good. Not sure about Rings/Monolith though because I really don't have a lot to do with infinite colorless mana. I guess if I can also get out the gemstone array I could find something to do with infinite colored mana though.
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
Staff of Domination (this was unbanned a month or two ago)
Sensei's Divining Top (copy the draw ability with Rings, so you draw a card and put Top on the top, then draw Top. Recast, repeat)
-1 Mountain
-1 Basilisk Collar
+1 Staff of Domination
+1 Rings of Brighthearth
+1 Basalt Monolith
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
I think your cuts are solid. Basilisk Collar, while sick on Sharpshooter, is pretty eh otherwise. 36 lands should function fine, and Sword of the Paruns is definitely worse than Staff of Domination as far as an untap engine. While Sword of the Paruns is pretty sick (4 to cast, 3 to equip, 3 to untap), it's also very expensive versus Staff (3 to cast and 3 to untap Krenko, then 4 each time thereafter) and your other engines.
W Avacyn, Angel of Hope|U Azami, Lady of Scrolls|B | Ob Nixilis, the Fallen|R Daretti, Scrap Savant|G Ezuri, Renegade Leader|WUBrago, King Eternal|UB Grimgrin, Corpse-born|BR Wort, Boggart Auntie|RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed|GW Captain Sisay|WB Ghost Council of Orzhova|BG Glissa, the Traitor|GU Experiment Kraj|UR Melek, Izzet Paragon
RW Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer|WBR Kaalia of the Vast|GWB Ghave, Guru of Spores|UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose
Retired
WDarien, King of Kjeldor|R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage|R Norin the Wary|GB Momir Vig, Simic Visionary|WUBRG Sliver Overlord
1) How good is Goblin Wizard in the deck? Besides that combo with him, is he there just to cheat stuff at the end step of turns to get passed sorcery removal?
2) Does Kormus Bell ever punish you for being black when you don't have the combo?
3) How much does Splinter Twin help being a 2nd Kiki-Jiki?
4) Goblin Bombardment any good? Seems like another 1 drop goblin sac outlet would be better like Goblin Sledder. Maybe use Skirk Fire Marshal for your infinite token infinite damage instead?