Once you get into the upper echelons of competitive play, Magic: The Gathering decks start to take on a rather regimented feel. Consistency is key at the top tables, after all, and thus you’ll want to be playing three or four of each of your cards to maximize that. Not every strategy subscribes to this mode of thinking, mind you.
Goblins is a deck as old as Magic itself, and we’ve seen it a fair bit in Legacy over the years, too. It’s an archetype that eschews conventional deckbuilding wisdom and goes all-in on diversity, playing Goblins from across the game’s history. The archetype has been struggling to put up good results recently, however, which makes AmosMoses’s 5-0 league result all the more exciting. Perhaps the metagame is finally right for a list as chaotic as this one to shine.
Goblin Typal In MTG Legacy
The Legacy version of Goblin Typal is a tricky MTG deck to break down. There are 16 different creatures present here, all Goblins, naturally. This is far more unique creatures than most decks play, especially in a format like Legacy. Many of these creatures only show up as one or two copies, too.
This isn’t a deck made up entirely of one and two-ofs, mind you. AmosMoses runs full playsets of a few key Goblins, which serve as central pillars of the deck’s overall strategy. Goblin Matron is one such Goblin, and it’s the biggest reason why this Goblin deck has so many unique creatures in the first place. Getting to tutor up any Goblin in the deck really helps up the consistency, which is crucial given how scattered it is otherwise. Matron single-handedly turns this list from a clunky typal deck to a powerful reactive strategy.
The rest of the four-ofs here are included to support the deck’s more straightforward beatdown plan. Goblin Lackey, for example, gets the full playset treatment here. If you can connect with it, you can bring out your big guns on turn two. Broadside Bombardiers is another great aggressive Goblin that gets four full copies here. Thanks to being an incredibly aggressive threat that doubles as repeatable removal when needed, Broadside Bombardiers is one of the best MTG threats in Legacy at-large. The card is powerful enough that it sees play as a generically good threat in Red Prison decks, and the relevant typal tag makes it even better here.
A Well-Stocked Toolbox
Once you take the time to go through all the one and two-of Goblins in AmosMoses’s list, you realize just how much utility Matron has here. No matter what problem you’re dealing with, it can find a way to solve it.
One of the most common things you’ll grab here is removal. Against Dimir Reanimator’s big threats, for example, you can grab Stingscourger to bounce them back to the hand. If you’re up against a speedier deck, like Delver or Moon Stompy, you can get Mogg Fanatic or Munitions Expert instead to ping off their smaller creatures. Heck, depending on the boardstate you can even get Pashalik Mons or Broadside Bombardiers to remove a key threat.
If removal isn’t necessary, you can start developing your board state. If you need more mana, you have a wide range of options to choose from. Skirk Prospector converts your Goblins in play into extra red mana, Impulsive Pilferer can generate Treasures, and Howlsquad Heavy can generate tons of mana if you think you have time to hit Max Speed. You can even get Boggart Trawler and play it as a land, though it also makes a great counter to Reanimator and Delver on its front side.
All this mana is essential, given how much card draw the deck offers. Rundvelt Hordemaster, Goblin Ringleader, and Muxus, Goblin Grandee all give you the ability to draw more Goblins to keep your onslaught going. All three show up in low numbers, but that just means you can grab them with Matron once you’re out of other options. Throw in a few burn pieces like Sling-Gang Lieutenant and General Kreat, the Boltbringer, and you have a deck that can close things out quickly when called upon, too.
Risk Vs. Reward
Flexibility isn’t the first thing that most players think of when they think of Goblins, but it is the biggest advantage that AmosMoses’s list has in my eyes. Against both Dimir Reanimator and Delver, the deck’s toolbox aspect gives it a solid chance of landing a win. The same is also true of Moon Stompy, which can’t do much against you since most of your cards just need red to cast. Even if you don’t draw Matron, the deck has a pretty good chance of just landing an aggressive curve. This is enough to sneak in wins against slower decks like Mystic Forge Combo.
Unfortunately, all this flexibility does come at a cost. Having to cast Goblin Matron to access your toolbox is pretty rough in Legacy. Even with Ancient Tomb support, three mana is a lot, and you’re only getting a 1/1 body right away. This means you’ll likely struggle to react to things right away, especially against other aggressive decks like Delver. Things get even worse after game one, since your opponent will likely have figured out the Matron plan and will save their countermagic for it. Without the ability to get the Goblins you need on demand, this deck becomes a lot more fragile.
Ultimately, while AmosMoses’s result today is impressive, I don’t really see Goblin Typal sticking around as a deck in MTG Legacy. The lack of consistency just hampers it too much in the long run. I do think their more interactive take on a typal list is interesting, however, and with more iteration it could maybe be a contender at some point.
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