Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss | Art by Karl Kopinski

No creature type in Magic better epitomizes the phrase “just a little guy” than Goblins. But rest assured, where there’s just a little Goblin, a lot more are hiding nearby, waiting to make a splash on the game in the most humorous and painful way possible.

According to the EDHREC stats, Goblins are the 7th most popular creature type across all data-scraped deck building sites, with over 35,000 decks built. They've been part of Magic since the beginning, with Mons's Goblin RaidersMons's Goblin Raiders as part of the "Sligh Principle" red decks that revolutionized the way players look at deck lists, introducing the concept of a mana curve. Goblins have been featured in Duel Decks and Starter Decks, as an integral part of introducing new players to Magic and the color red.

It seems like Goblins are all over the multiverse, with each set adding to their ranks. Goblins love to go wide and go boom, and our build for this deck tech will do both!

Notable Goblins for Commander Decks

Like The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon last week, our commander this week, Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss, does one thing and does it well. He adds to our board exponentially, challenging the limits of our creativity and our ability to represent an accurate board state. Each turn, our board gets wider and wider. There are creatureless builds, highlighting how quickly Krenko alone gets out of hand, as well as combo builds, as Krenko can easily go infinite and make a quality cEDH commander. As a typal commander, however, Krenko presents a repeated must-answer threat that can easily snowball out of control.

We want our creatures to hit the ground running, so there are a couple of ways to do that: make multiple bodies or enable the casting of multiple spells. Skirk ProspectorSkirk Prospector turns our excess bodies into mana, enabling massive turns and powering out our larger threats. One of the stranger aspects of newer Goblin builds, especially with a lightning rod for a commander, is that they're growing more and more hungry for mana. Cool Goblins keep getting printed, and there’s a tendency to cut lands for them, but it’s better to build in ramp without committing slots to dead cards.

One of the key elements of go-wide strategies is the presence of lords - creatures who provide boosts and/or keywords for those that fit certain criteria. There are lots of Goblin lords. Some provide haste, some provide a generic cost reduction, but only Goblin TrashmasterGoblin Trashmaster lets us blow up artifacts.

Conspicuous SnoopConspicuous Snoop provides some interesting nuance to Goblin decks. At the highest levels of play, topdeck manipulation can set up infinite win cons. Skirk ProspectorSkirk Prospector is a key Goblin with an activated ability, as is Goblin ChirurgeonGoblin Chirurgeon, which can protect key parts of our board.

Mogg War MarshalMogg War Marshal is an unassuming piece of cardboard, but it’s secretly the perfect role player for a deck like this. It brings a buddy along with it, and, if the echo isn’t paid, it brings another. Two 1/1s for two mana is a solid rate, and the more lords we have, the better the rate gets, especially when our commander can turn those two bodies into four!

Goblin LackeyGoblin Lackey has been a key card in Goblin decks across formats, from Legacy to EDH to cEDH, and everything in between. If little red guys are being played, there are few better turn-one plays.

You may notice that this deck eschews Sol RingSol Ring. How can we get away with that? Well, as good as a turn-two Krenko is, a turn-one Goblin LackeyGoblin Lackey is even better. True, the returns diminish as boards develop, but the Lackey is also a solid play after a board wipe, which could otherwise be backbreaking for a deck like this.

Complementary Cards for Goblin Decks

With Goblins, speed is the name of the game. We want to take opponents out before they get a chance to get fully set up, before we even have to resort to the combat step, if need be. After all, why risk bodies in combat when we can threaten to overwhelm opponents with numbers? Well, because of board wipes. So, how do we win during this phase, before the wipe hits? Keep direct damage coming with Impact TremorsImpact Tremors effects, and going with Goblin BombardmentGoblin Bombardment effects.

Goblin War StrikeGoblin War Strike is a hard-hitting card. Its damage scales with the number of Goblins we control, so it’s best used pre-combat, after activating Krenko, before attacking. That way, our army of Goblins will be at its largest when it hits. It also enables us to alpha strike with reckless abandon (the best kind) on the turn we intend to win.

Goblin Draw Spells and Card Advantage

Goblin RecruiterGoblin Recruiter is a key part of the higher-level Goblin decks. Since it puts any Goblins we want on top of our library, we can set up Conspicuous SnoopConspicuous Snoop for any number of combinations. We can also combine it with SkullclampSkullclamp to draw into whatever cards we put there. SkullclampSkullclamp can be an issue if we have lords out with no ways to sacrifice creatures, as we can find ourselves in the strange position of needing help to get our creatures killed.

Outpost SiegeOutpost Siege is a draw engine that doubles as a source of repeatable direct damage…or it would, if we didn’t have to pick a side. Luckily, we can take the perspective that it will either find what we want or be what we want. Thankfully, both options are relevant in a deck like this.

Removal Spells for Goblin Decks

Being in mono-red, our removal options are somewhat limited. Our best options are also Goblins, like Goblin SharpshooterGoblin Sharpshooter and Goblin CratermakerGoblin Cratermaker. The Sharpshooter can mow down opposing creatures, including untapping off of creatures that would be dying anyways, to get in extra pings. The Cratermaker is primarily there to ping small creatures or blow up artifacts, but we can live the dream occasionally, blowing up an Eldrazi with a little explosives expert. He might die, but what a way to go!

Gempalm IncineratorGempalm Incinerator might just be the most exciting singular card in the deck. Not only does it cycle to draw a card, but it smacks a creature hard when it does. As an activated ability, it isn’t being cast, so it's difficult to counter. It doesn’t even stop at the Goblins we control, however, as it smacks for an amount equal to the total number of Goblins on the field. If we can hit an opponent’s Stuffy DollStuffy Doll, we can have a lot of fun!

Krenko, Mob Boss Commander Deck List

Goblins are single-minded, and their decks are similar. They swarm the field, attack, and burn opponents coming and going. Sometimes, their speed literally blows up in their face, but one thing’s for sure: their lives may be short, but they’re not boring!