No one is safe. Goblin General has been reprinted at common via Vintage Masters, and Jason thinks he just might be fit for battle. Check out these Pauper 2-mans to see if he’s right!
Hello everyone!
Well. He seems quite interesting, especially at common. And that’s quite the ability on him.
But does he have a home?
Oh right, there is that one deck…
Good enough for me! I’m in.
Mono-Red Goblins by Jason Moore
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This list differs from the one you may have seen in previous installments of Dime a Dozen, and hopefully the deck tech video below will sufficiently explain the changes.
If you’d like to know what decks I’m going to face in these Pauper 2-man videos, please reveal the spoilers below.
Round 1: Mono Blue Control
Round 2: Mono Blue Control (rematch!)
Round 3: Mono Red Heroes
Enjoy!
End Step
As it turns out, the General didn’t end up pulling much rank in these games. Nevertheless, our deck performed just fine! I’m interested in trying out Goblin General some more, but I’d definitely like to know what you guys think about him.
As always, thanks for reading, and please comment!
I’m no goblins expert, but is going wide with Dragon Fodder and Krenko’s Command a more logical approach with a global pumping effect like Goblin General?
ReinaldoVrins – I think that’s one route you can go. The main downside there is the fact that those spells cost 2 mana, whereas many of our current goblins only cost 1. I appreciate the comment!
i dont think goblin general is good enough since he has no immediate impact like the other goblin lords do.
Same here, having to attack to give the bonus is kind of meh… specially when he’s a 1/1 body (ok 2/2 when attaking) for 3 mana… no thanks.
Also, I feel the list is too tight right now and new inclusions should have a great impact… which Goblin General lacks…
Anyway, thanks Jason for keeping the hard work and bringing up pauper deckbuilding!!
I thinks Goblin General looks good in this deck. Yes, it is a little less damage, than going for matron into bushwacker, but a) it leaves you with more bushwackers in your deck and b) it’s not a 1-shot efect. It is a threat they need to deal with. I think some split between Matrona and General would be perfect
I also really like that spot removal on the general has to happen before combat or all of the goblins are still going to get the +1/+1 effect. It makes going into combat feel a lot safer.
bilo – You could be right, however most of those “better” Goblin lords are not commons.
sesimo – I appreciate the comment! What would you replace Goblin General with?
Lantis – Very good points! Thanks for the input.
NoTeef – This is true, which means the name of the game is basically just untapping with him.
Jason – I do believe Goblin Matron is the guy (or lady…) because it makes that ‘ I wish I had…’ feeling into reality: wanna kill next turn? get Goblin Bushwhacker. Needing blockers? get Mogg War Marshal. Having to kill a fatty? get a Sparksmith. Yes, it has the same cost and 1/1 body but it is real impact when it enters the battlefield as well as a great chump blocker. I can’t imagine Goblin General taking the matron’s room in this deck. Goblins is probably the tightest list in the format and any prospective goblin to join the gang should be clearly better than any of the current gang members. Goblin General is not our guy.
No teef – If you play Goblin General willing to make a big or final swing, you have to wait a turn to make it real… truth is it will get killed that very same turn you played it… or during your opponent’s next turn… You’d loose tempo and chances are you might get ‘time walked’…
If you finally got to attack with it, you can bet it will be the first to crash into a blocker. In this scenario what you get is a worse version of bushwhacker with a “reasonable” 3 casting cost…
NoTeef – I’m sorry I wrote your nick wrong…
General seems good but not in an opening hand. Banking on a 3 mana spell in an opening hand against a field rife with cheap counter magic and cheaper removal feels like a blow out waiting to happen. I really want the little guy to be good, and he is, but within the right paramiters. I see him in the deck as a one or two of (leaning towards one). One General as a Matron target seems to me like it’d give the deck a serious end game threat without the drawbacks of A) commiting to a large cost spell early and getting blown out, and B) raising the curve so we can still keep a light land count. It leaves the deck more open slots for cheaper, earlier threats. Plus, it keeps us open for cheaper, earlier threats.
sesimo – I definitely agree that Goblin Matron is a very useful card.
Where I disagree is the idea that Goblins is such a tight list. There are many Goblins lists that feature Chain Lightning and Fireblast while mine doesn’t. I’m pretty sure trimming to 7 or even 6 Goblin Sledder effects wouldn’t drastically alter the deck’s consistency, and some players opt for 17 lands rather than 18. Some lists have even cut Foundry Street Denizen completely.
Kainius – Very solid observations! Thanks to you both for the comments.
http://mtgstats.com/Deck.aspx?DeckID=310235
I don’t like the goblin general in pauper goblins I feel it slows the deck down, goblins are like burn hit hard and fast 3 drops slow this deck down.
Nate – You could very well be right! Just to play Devil’s advocate, how do you rationalize “slow” cards like Death Spark, and why ever play Mogg War Marshal if we have Dragon Fodder/Krenko’s Command and pure speed is the end-all be-all?