Here we are again, discussing the Pauper decks that define the format, in anticipation of next weekend's Paupergeddon. Today's protagonist is Goblin Combo.

Deck History

Until the release of Strixhaven, Goblins in Pauper was nothing more than a variant of the common Red Deck Wins, and not even a very popular one. That changed when First Day of Class was revealed during spoiler season.

In reality, many considered the combo fragile and too laborious, as it requires a high number of clicks and confirmations on MTGO, wasting many precious seconds.

Thanks to the downgrade of Dark-Dweller Oracle in Double Masters, the deck became more solid and efficient.

Combo Focus The necessary requirements are:

Skirk Prospector: Sac outlet that allows you to get one red mana from each Goblin you sacrifice.

Putrid Goblin: Black Goblin with persist, so once sacrificed, it will return from the graveyard and persist will trigger, putting a -1/-1 counter on it.

First Day of Class: This instant grants haste and a +1/+1 counter to all creatures that enter after it's cast. In this way, we cancel the persist counter, effectively generating as much mana as we desire.

Makeshift Munitions/Dark-Dweller Oracle/Wave-Wing Elemental: Of course, you also need a way to invest the mana you've generated, so you have several options: shoot directly with Makeshift Munitions by sacrificing Putrid Goblin again, draw your entire deck to then cast all Goblins and the remaining copies of First Day of Class for large and hasty creatures, or use Wave-Wing Elemental to incinerate the opponent's life points.

Decklist

Below we can see the latest version of the deck played by Hamuda.

Goblin Combo

by Hamuda
Deck value: from $107.23
Examine search
Maindeck, 60 cards
Creature (16)
  • 4 × Goblin Matron
  • 4 × Putrid Goblin
  • 4 × Skirk Prospector
  • 2 × Mesmeric Fiend
  • 1 × Dark-Dweller Oracle
  • 1 × Krark-Clan Shaman
Instant (11)
  • 4 × Deadly Dispute
  • 4 × First Day of Class
  • 2 × Fanatical Offering
  • 1 × Demand Answers
Sorcery (6)
  • 4 × Unearth
  • 1 × Duress
  • 1 × Faithless Looting
Enchantment (1)
  • 1 × Makeshift Munitions
Artifact (7)
  • 4 × Ichor Wellspring
  • 3 × Candy Trail
Land (19)
  • 5 × Mountain
  • 4 × Drossforge Bridge
  • 3 × Swamp
  • 2 × Great Furnace
  • 2 × Rakdos Carnarium
  • 2 × Vault of Whispers
  • 1 × Bojuka Bog
Sideboard (15)
  • 4 × Red Elemental Blast
  • 2 × Breath Weapon
  • 2 × Cast Down
  • 2 × Cast into the Fire
  • 2 × Gorilla Shaman
  • 2 × Introduction to Prophecy
  • 1 × Mesmeric Fiend

Here, instead, we have the "Turbo" version.

Goblin Combo

by Bilu
Deck value: from $102.86
Examine search
Maindeck, 60 cards
Creature (13)
  • 4 × Goblin Matron
  • 4 × Putrid Goblin
  • 4 × Skirk Prospector
  • 1 × Dark-Dweller Oracle
Instant (13)
  • 4 × Deadly Dispute
  • 4 × First Day of Class
  • 3 × Dark Ritual
  • 2 × Rowan's Grim Search
Sorcery (7)
  • 4 × Unearth
  • 2 × Duress
  • 1 × Faithless Looting
Enchantment (1)
  • 1 × Makeshift Munitions
Artifact (7)
  • 4 × Ichor Wellspring
  • 3 × Candy Trail
Land (19)
  • 5 × Mountain
  • 4 × Swamp
  • 2 × Drossforge Bridge
  • 2 × Great Furnace
  • 2 × Rakdos Carnarium
  • 2 × Tramway Station
  • 2 × Vault of Whispers
Sideboard (15)
  • 4 × Pyroblast
  • 3 × Cast into the Fire
  • 2 × Duress
  • 2 × Introduction to Prophecy
  • 2 × Nihil Spellbomb
  • 1 × Abrade
  • 1 × Krark-Clan Shaman

Manabase

Goblin Matron

  • 19 lands, 8 of which are basic, with a higher number of Mountains, as expected.
  • Artifact lands: 4 Slagwoods Bridge, 2 Great Furnace, and 2 Vault of Whispers.
  • Utility lands: In this section, we find Bojuka Bog and Rakdos Carnarium. Some versions use one copy of Tramway Station.

Creatures

In addition to the creatures previously mentioned, we have:

  • Goblin Matron: Tutor for missing pieces.
  • Mesmeric Fiend: This is a recent addition by Hamuda, who inserts them into slots previously occupied by Duress.
  • Krark-Clan Shaman: To keep the opponent's board in check.

Spells

In this section, we have:

  • Various forms of draw spells: Deadly Dispute, Fanatical Offerings, Faithless Looting, Claim the Firstborn.
  • Unearth: A card with dual utility, it can reanimate a creature for us or be cycled to try and find one of the missing cards we need.
  • Duress: We need to be sure we can combo off without our opponent trying to stop us, so we don't abandon the format's premier discard spell.
  • First Day of Class: We've already seen that this is an essential piece for us, but let's not underestimate and forget the fact that we can also take one of the lessons at our disposal when it resolves, or alternatively, do some card selection.

Artifacts

Here we have: Candy Trail and Ichor Wellspring, which allow us to adjust our draws or increase our hand size. They are also excellent for sacrificing with the spells seen in the previous section. Some versions prefer to use Chromatic Star as a 1-drop for its color-fixing ability, or Lembas as a 2-mana rock.

Closers

Hamuda in these lists has opted only for Dark-Dweller Oracle and Makeshift Munitions.

Sideboard

  • Introduction to Prophecy: The deck is one of the few (if not the only one) that utilizes the Learn mechanic. Our choice falls on Divination to remove lands from the top or search for the missing piece that will lead us to victory.
  • Gorilla Shaman: To disrupt opponents' manabases.
  • Cast into the Fire: A modal spell that allows you to remove two X/1s or exile an artifact.
  • Red Elemental Blast: To counter opponents who play a lot of blue.
  • Breath Weapon: As usual, this card is included against swarm decks.
  • Prostare: The only spot removal in the deck, to be included when it's necessary to react to our opponents' threats.

To complete the 15 cards, we have additional copies of Duress or Mesmeric Fiend. In versions with the stars, we can often note the presence of Masked Vandal.

Matchups

As mentioned at the beginning, this deck is not among the most popular on MTGO as it requires many clicks, and even in paper, it often falls into the "Other Decks" category, so there isn't much data to analyze. Certainly, if our opponents have cut graveyard hate, this deck has free reign.

Definitely one of the most difficult opponents for the deck are those with a large number of instant-speed answers, such as Mono Red. Furthermore, despite seemingly requiring many pieces, this deck can combo off very early, the normal version as early as turn 3, while the version using rituals virtually as early as turn 2.

Players of the Archetype

Besides the aforementioned Hamuda, the deck is very popular among Japanese players; in fact, it often appears in the top rankings of tournaments organized by the Hareruya store chain. Among Italian players, we have Alessandro Morino from Lega Pauper Martesana, who in 2022 made Top 8 at Paupergeddon Pisa and Rome (you can find the match on YouTube where he beats Mengucci in both Win&In matches) with this very deck.