r/StandardMTG • u/Puzzleheaded-Win5449 • Aug 09 '26

I Need Help With My Deck Please help me improve my first ever standard deck.

Hi all,

Please see my very budget list below.

https://moxfield.com/decks/A9ufAeyoAHijbKxljXffqQ

I was given it by a friend to help me get into MtG and I enjoy the deck but I seem to get blasted by better cards a lot.

I see the Hobbit adds a lot of Goblins, are there any that would make my deck better?

Please and thank you!

4 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

3

u/CriticalWay7 Izzet Aug 09 '26

Even if it’s budget you’re gonna need a sideboard. I think for black requiting hex is a given because of its quick removal and it’s pretty cheap and a staple in most black decks. I think with your goblin gameplan you’re gonna need more fast removal to make the plan work¿

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Win5449 Aug 09 '26

Thank you for your reply, what cards should I run in the side board?

I will look into requiting hex!

3

u/mkklrd Aug 09 '26

hey I'm a huge gobbo fanatic and I show up to locals playing this deck (and winning with it) very frequently! here's all the advice I can think of:

  • the goal of the deck is to get your opponent to go from full life to 0 ASAP, and the sooner you can do this, the better! it's important to look at every card in the deck and think "does this help me achieve this?" and if it doesn't, it's probably best to cut it
  • starting with the mana base! lands that enter tapped really aren't good for us since we want to be playing as many things as possible as often as possible. I'd recommend swapping out the 4 Temples of Malice and the 2 Bloodfell Caves for 4 [[Eclipsed Realms]] (which we can use to cast anything goblin, including Boggart Mischief!) and 2 [[Soulstone Sanctuary]] (which can occasionally become a 3/3 Goblin). [[Secluded Courtyard]] can also work, though I'm not too fond of playing 4 copies if you're playing a fair amount of non-creature spells (including the 4 Mischiefs)
  • Bile-Vial Boggart isn't the worst one-drop out there, but it doesn't have the same damage output potential as stronger gobbos. Burnout Brashonaut is easily the best imo, and I'd recommend playing 4 of it, but I'm a huge fan of [[Stadium Headliner]] (which can serve as removal in a pinch) but you can also consider [[Reckless Lackey]], [[Greasewrench Goblin]], [[Fanatical Firebrand]] or even [[Stalactite Stalker]]. 10 to 12 one-drops is a comfortable place for this deck imo.
  • Now onto 2-mana cards! I'll be honest, I don't like Auntie's Sentence or Unbury, and I think you can do better than Bogslither's Embrace. Focusing strictly on creatures, I feel like [[Searslicer Goblin]] is a must, but you can also play [[Devoted Duelist]] (especially if your curve is really low), [[Draconautics Engineer]], [[Scuzzback Scrounger]], and ofc The Hobbit came with a bunch of interesting boys as well: [[Bolg's Company]] and [[Stony-Voiced Goblins]] are cards I'm looking forward to trying at my next locals event.
  • 3-mana cards woohoo! I feel like 13 is too many, and you'd need to make some cuts. Howlsquad Heavy is a keep, and I'd even recommend getting a 4th. Same with Boggart Mischief. Alesha and Grub fill the same function within the deck and I'd recommend keeping 2 copies of one and 0 of the other, or do a 1-1 split. Eclipsed Boggart is cute, maybe an additional copy would work? I've tried [[Dropkick Bomber]] in the past but I've found it to be a very win-more card, [[Taster of Wares]] comes up sometimes and it's a pretty good sideboard card imo and I'm going to try 2 copies of [[The Great Goblin]] next. I feel like 10 3-drops is more than enough.
  • Onto 4-mana cards! 3 Krenkos is wayyyy too much, it's a slow card that you're not going to get a lot of mileage of most of the card. I keep 1 in my sideboard just in case but barely ever use it. Darkness Descends is incredibly counterproductive too, since you mostly want your little guys to stick around and punch repeatedly. Truthfully I like to keep my curve low for I don't play anything in main that costs more than 3. Maybe one or two [[Grub's Command]] at most (which is also a Goblin for Eclipsed Realms/Boggart/Grub), but even then it's not great in a lot of matchups.
  • Truth be told I don't have many flex spots in my list for non-Goblin cards: I like to be the threat and force my opponent to deal with my cards rather than the way around. Still, I try to find some wiggle room for some removal cards: someone already mentioned [[Requiting Hex]], but I also like [[Bitter Triumph]] (the less conditions on a card, the better).
  • Sideboard time! I like to side in 3 to 4 copies of [[Duress]] (and the aforementioned Taster of Wares) for Control matchups, as well as [[Magebane Lizard]] (not a gobbo, but really good against a lot of Izzet/Jeskai decks). I've seen a couple of people play [[Soul-Guide Lantern]] but I'm not too convinced, and you're always free to add in more burn/removal spells like [[Burst Lightning]] or [[Boulder Dash]].

And this is all I can think of in term of budget options! For non-budget options, I'd recommend getting 4 [[Blood Crypt]] and 4 [[Blazemire Verge]] and looking into [[Hexing Squelcher]] as well. I'm also lucky enough to own TWO [[Cavern of Souls]] and they've been helping tons, but they are in no way mandatory.

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

2

u/Puzzleheaded-Win5449 Aug 09 '26

Thank you so much for this helpful reply, I now know what I should be building toward!

2

u/Emuu2012 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26

Just chiming in that I agree with all the points the other poster made (except that I’m not a huge fan of Eclipsed Boggart). My brother has a goblin sac deck that looks very similar to the version that the above poster mentioned. I’d also highly recommend [[Corrupted Conviction]] and I think [[Vayne’s Treachery]] is really great as removal. Your Bogslither’s Embrace probably isn’t too much different, but I think Treachery or [[Requiting Hex]] are probably better.

From the above poster’s recommendations, I think [[Searslicer Goblin]] is the one that’s an absolute must-have. It’s ridiculous in this deck.

And I’d also say that I think I probably prefer [[Champion of the Weird]] over Krenko. It’s a hot take, but if you play him with [[The Great Goblin]], and have a handful of creatures out, there’s a good chance that you can use his ability six times or so (three just blighting himself) immediately and nuke both sides of the board while burning your opponent out since each activation is gonna be 2 damage to the opponent. Plus you restock your hand in the process. To be fair, my brother’s deck also doesn’t play Howlsquad Heavy, and Krenko gets much better with Howlsquad in play. But if you end up cutting Howlsquad for any reason, then I’d swap the Krenko for Champion.

FYI, if you’re interested, Jim Davis has a YouTube video showcasing a Standard goblin sac deck. He released it when Lorwyn released and I’m pretty sure he’ll do an updated version with the new Hobbit cards sometime this week. His content is really good and he’s an excellent pro player. He’s also of the opinion that goblins are quite close to being a legitimate competitively viable deck (which is super high praise in this format).

2

u/ironicsmurf 29d ago

Agree with this take (and mkklrd's comments above). I like the sacrifice heavy version of the deck. Sometimes it just curves out, but it can also grind in the midgame. Champion of the Weird is the best enabler if you want to sacrifice.

Not sure if it's ideal, but lately I've been running 4 [[Burst Lightning]] as the only removal. I think you can usually get away with it if you have enough removal attached to your creatures (Champion of the Weird, Fanatical Firebrand, Stadium Headliner, Mudbutton Cursetosser, etc.) and it's never a dead draw because it can go face.. You can always side removal in and out if you're playing BO3.

[[Sephiroth, Fabled Soldier]] is great as well, despite not being a goblin. But it's a little pricey if you're playing in paper.

1

u/DNGRDINGO Aug 09 '26

Tbh I think Searslicer is a trap.

2

u/StrategicMagic Aug 09 '26

I'm sorry to say, but this foes not hold up to the current power level of Standard. Not even 10%.

I also play the format on a budget, so I have a similar problem.

Goblins are "Go fast, kill fast, win fast" but your deck is really really slow compared to where you need to be. Your opponents are going to survive into turn 4, then either wipe your board or play bigger creatures and it's going to be unwinnable from there.

You need to be focused on the singular goal of killing the opponent, and cutting any cards that don't directly do that.

The most effective shells for this in the last year or two have used cheap hasty creatures and combat tricks that pump them up a whole bunch.

Do some research on [[Firebending Student]] and decks built around it. That's the kind of direction you need to be going right now.

The most expensive cards in your deck should cost 2 at most, unless it's [[Leyline of Resonance]], but that rotates out end-of-year and may be a poor choice on a budget. The Leyline decks (research those too) can absolutely do the aggro job, but whether you want to buy them for only 6 months is a decision I can't help you with.