Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder | Art by Dave DeVries

Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder is about as all-in as a commander gets. Flying and haste clue us into the fact that it wants to go fast, fast, fast, and it rewards us for discarding cards from our hand, throwing away future resources for a temporary damage boost.

Hobgoblin isn't for the faint of heart, but it is certainly powerful. Over the last couple years, we've received tons of new cards that synergize with discarding cards, which allow Hobgoblin to present a blistering-fast clock while also churning through our deck to find what we need to last into the late game.

Hobgoblin is reminiscent of one of my favorite cards of the past few years: Inti, Seneschal of the SunInti, Seneschal of the Sun. Inti also enabled a hyper-aggressive discard deck, but whereas he provided a card advantage engine in the command zone, Hobgoblin doubles down on commander damage aggression with its +2/+0 bonus.

Hobgoblin also calls back to Captain Howler, Sea ScourgeCaptain Howler, Sea Scourge, a popular commander from Aetherdrift. Howler promises similar power buffs, card advantage, and even an extra color, but again Hobgoblin trades that all for the singular goal of speed. Both of these older commanders, however, can act as a great jumping-off point for building a Hobgoblin deck.

Key Cards for Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder

Our first goal is to play one or more cheap creatures that grows faster than our opponents can deal with. Hobgoblin is our guaranteed hit, but we're also playing several others to take advantage of discarding.

Marauding MakoMarauding Mako is tearing up Standard and holding its own in Modern, and is one of the strongest cards in this deck. Ivora, Insatiable HeirIvora, Insatiable Heir costs two mana for a similar effect, but those BloodBlood tokens help enable our strategy as well.

The aforementioned Inti, Seneschal of the SunInti, Seneschal of the Sun is a ridiculous engine for both +1/+1 counters and card advantage, and Flameblade AdeptFlameblade Adept can sneak under a lot of developing boards for big chunks of damage.

A little higher up the curve, we have some more threats that can grow, as well as a few powerful engines. Brallin, Skyshark RiderBrallin, Skyshark Rider doles out the damage while quickly becoming the biggest creature on the battlefield. Surly BadgersaurSurly Badgersaur does a bit of everything: growing itself, removing opposing creatures, and even ramping.

Veronica, Dissident ScribeVeronica, Dissident Scribe pumps out JunkJunk tokens to keep us from running out of plays, and Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance can pivot on a dime from card advantage to closing out the game.

Of course, we'll need some ways to discard cards to fuel all this aggression, but red is the best color for doing exactly that. Faithless LootingFaithless Looting is a format staple, and we get to reinforce it with spicier options, such as Burning InquiryBurning Inquiry, Goblin LoreGoblin Lore, and Control of the CourtControl of the Court.

Cathartic ReunionCathartic Reunion has proven itself in Modern Dredge decks, and GambleGamble has proven itself on the Game Changers list.

Finally, I've been super impressed by Case of the Crimson PulseCase of the Crimson Pulse as a role-player early that can easily turn into two extra draws per turn later.

One of the classic combinations with discard strategies has been madness, and with Spider-Man we've received a reboot to the mechanic in mayhemmayhem. We can cast cards like Fiery TemperFiery Temper for cheaper if we discard them, giving us both a mana discount and pseudo-card-advantage by letting us use a spell that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Blazing RootwallaBlazing Rootwalla might not be high enough impact for most Commander decks, but it fits here perfectly as a free spell that can add to our clock and overwhelm our opponents before they get their feet under them.

Anje's RavagerAnje's Ravager is both a payoff and an enabler for discarding cards, letting us accelerate our engine and see a ton of new cards. And the new Rocket-Powered Goblin GliderRocket-Powered Goblin Glider can represent a huge chunk of damage by giving a threat flying and haste.

This deck needs to be playing multiple cards per turn in order to keep the momentum rolling, and it also wants to be discarding at a ludicrous rate. We'll end up empty-handed very quickly unless we can find ways to stock up.

Luckily, red gives us powerful Wheel effects to draw up to seven over and over. The best is Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune, but it also costs hundreds of dollars, so we can also play Reforge the SoulReforge the Soul and Wheel of MisfortuneWheel of Misfortune to similar effect, or Magus of the WheelMagus of the Wheel to have the effect on a creature.

Runehorn HellkiteRunehorn Hellkite is a bit more expensive mana-wise, but we can often dump it into our graveyard for free to turn it into a late-game plan B.

Since we're discarding so many cards, we'd better include some ways to use our graveyard as a resource. Ox of AgonasOx of Agonas and Phyrexian Dragon EnginePhyrexian Dragon Engine can return to the battlefield and give us a mini-Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune, and while Scrapwork MuttScrapwork Mutt's upside is more humble, it's the kind of glue that holds this deck together.

Squee, Goblin NabobSquee, Goblin Nabob comes back every turn to be discarded again, and Drownyard TempleDrownyard Temple can ramp us from the graveyard if we run out of other options.

Winning the Game With Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder

This deck wants to start knocking off opponents as early as turn four, and usually does so by hitting them twice with Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder. That's pretty fast, but we can do better.

Discarding ten cards in a single turn (to bring Hobgoblin up to twenty-one power) is a tall order, and not something we can expect to do repeatedly to take out multiple players. But if we can discard five cards and then double the damage, that's a much more reasonable plan.

Assault StrobeAssault Strobe, Temur Battle RageTemur Battle Rage, and EmbercleaveEmbercleave are efficient ways to grant double strike, and have established themselves as some of the best player removal in decks looking to build a giant threat.

We're also running a couple lesser-known options that fit into our strategy perfectly. Raking ClawsRaking Claws has the flexibility of cycling, which powers up all of our discard payoffs, and Violent UrgeViolent Urge should have delirium almost all the time with all of our rummaging.

Pure aggression is a tough strategy in Commander, but we have the tools to close out a game if we get stymied. We can keep seeing and playing multiple cards per turn, and finish off opponents with damage that's harder to interact with.

Red decks in every format have long relied on cheap creaturescheap creatures to deal early damage and burn spellsburn spells to deal the last few points, and we're following in that tradition. Brallin, Skyshark RiderBrallin, Skyshark Rider is a great example of our burn plan, and we're backing it up with Glint-Horn BuccaneerGlint-Horn Buccaneer and Magmakin ArtilleristMagmakin Artillerist for that last bit of reach.

Hobgoblin, Mantled Marauder Commander Deck List

Discard decks have been some of my favorite to play in the last year, and this is no exception. It's funny to think about, but the discard-matters package is a crazy card advantage engine. Tons of cards are going to our graveyard for future value, we get to draw a bunch of replacement cards from effects like Faithless LootingFaithless Looting and Wheel of MisfortuneWheel of Misfortune, and we get access to some additional cards in exile as well.

Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder's aggression fits this strategy not because our deck is a glass cannon, but because we have little to lose from going all-in. If we get disrupted, we can often rebuild just as fast for a second attempt, churning through our deck all the while.

Playing with Hobgoblin reminds me of the Modern Hollow OneHollow One decks that ran over the format a few years ago and still pop up occasionally. There's a similar level of speed combined with surprising resilience, as well as plenty of shared cards.

As Commander becomes more and more defined by cheaper effects, and as we receive more and more functionally similar cards to round out synergistic packages, I've been having a blast building Commander decks based off of decks in other formats. From AmuletAmulet TitanTitan to Hardened ScalesHardened Scales, some of my favorite strategies to explore have been the crazier ones that have seen success in 60-card formats.

What about you? What plans have you ported from more competitive formats into our multiplayer funhouse? How would you make the most of Hobgoblin, Mantled MarauderHobgoblin, Mantled Marauder?

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