Legacy: Rakdos Goblins - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Greetings, Legacy community! Today, let's return to our roots and revisit one of the ever-present Kindred decks. These decks have surely been through some ups and downs in this format, though, recently, they've been more down than up.

Throughout the history of Legacy, we've seen Humans, Fractius, Merfolk, Zombies, Eldrazi, and Goblins (the best Kindred archetype, historically) perform really well. Goblins won the first Grand Prix Legacy in 2005 (20 years ago!) and survived through different metas for a long time. However, all good things must come to an end, and it eventually lost some space.

Then, Unfinity and Lost Caverns of Ixalan made it a tier-1 deck with _____ Goblin and Broadside Bombardiers. Goblin Stompy terrorized Legacy until Sticker cards were banned for practical reasons.

Our small red fellas had no choice but to return to the shadows... That is, until Aetherdrift breathed some new air into this archetype, and they once again started performing well!

The list we'll explore won a Magic Online Trophy (it won 5 matches in a league) in the hands of "_INF_", who has used Goblins in the past quite successfully.

This is the Rakdos version of this deck, with Aether Vial and Goblin Lackey. These cards are just more ways to put your Goblins in play (Muxus, Goblin Grandee, for instance, is the extreme way to do this).

Munitions Expert and Broadside Bombardiers control the board, Wasteland offers you some disruption, and Goblin Matron gives you various answers, as it is a true toolbox. Boggart Trawler is an answer to graveyards, but it is also an extra land, and Stingscourger sends things like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn back to your opponent's hand. Rundvelt Hordemaster, Greasewrench Goblin, and Goblin Ringleader refill your resources. Gempalm Incinerator is an extra removal that also draws cards. Battle Cry Goblin, Howlsquad Heavy, and Draconautics Engineer can give haste to your horde of Goblins, and, finally, Sling-Gang Lieutenant makes your Goblins drain your opponent's life points all at once.

Howlsquad Heavy, one of the new cards, is a combination of Goblin Rabblemaster and Goblin Warchief. Its mana cost is quite decent, and it is great if you have Ancient Tomb, particularly as it grows your board constantly and gives haste to your Goblins. It is incredible in this type of deck.

Greasewrench Goblin is usually just an aggressive 1-drop, but sometimes you'll have to use its ability to filter lands or unused Aether Vials, and it will be crucial. Draconautics Engineer's first ability is why it is in this list, but it is also a way to spend extra mana in drawn-out matches.

You can also play Goblin Sharpshooter, Mogg War Marshal, Pashalik Mons, and Rishadan Port in this list.

This isn't a combo deck, but there are two cards you must have in your opening hand if you want to play it: Aether Vial or Goblin Lackey. Any of them on turn 1 will change how the deck performs entirely, and you should only keep hands without any of them if you have a nice sequence for the first three turns.

Opening hands:

This hand doesn't do anything on turn 1, can put a 2/2 Goblin in play on turn 2, and has a Muxus that won't go in play so soon. It will not lead you to victory. Verdict: Mulligan.

This hand has a lot of lands, but it can also play an uncounterable Lackey on turn 1, and an uncounterable Matron on turn 2. Furthermore, Matron can find a Muxus, Goblin Grandee for you if you think you can deal damage with Lackey or Goblin Ringleader, and if your opponent has an answer for your 1-drop. Verdict: Keep.

This hand can put Lackey in play on turn 1, and might put a Muxus in play on turn 2. It also has removals for blockers, so it's exactly what you need. Verdict: Keep.

Two Vials on turn 1 means you'll basically be able to resolve at least 1 of them, even if you're against Force of Will. You'll also have Goblin Ringleader to get even more Goblins. Verdict: Keep.

_INF_ had a clear goal for half of their sideboard choices: they played the full Leyline of the Void kit, which is crucial in the online metagame, as it is currently being dominated by Oops All Spells. They also added 4 Blasts for the many blue decks in the format.

The other 7 cards are 2 Pyrokinesis to deal with other aggro decks, and 5 ways to deal with the many combo decks in the format, one answer for each combo.

You can also find these cards in this sideboard: Blood Moon, Faerie Macabre, Fury, Ghost Vacuum, Grafdigger’s Cage, Lightning Bolt, Null Rod, Mindbreak Trap, Pithing Needle, and Surgical Extraction.

Dimir Reanimator

A Reanimated creature on turn 2 can be the end of the line for an aggro deck, but you can still have hope and try to go over things like Atraxa, Grand Unifier with Broadside Bombardiers. Eventually, Stingscourger can turn the tables.

Post-side, just bring your Leylines and try to dissolve their game plan. Your Blasts will be critical to push your own threats through and delay their game plan. Later on, you'll be able to protect your Leylines from Brazen Borrower with them as well.

Howlsquad Heavy can get in your way if you see yourself forced to throw your token away on an Atraxa, Barrowgoyf, or Griselbrand. Munitions Expert might not be efficient to deal with Reanimated cards, but it is great to deal with Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Barrowgoyf.

In:

Out:

Temur/Izzet Delver

Goblin Lackey will struggle to deal damage, but Aether Vial can practically win on its own if you resolve it. You have many answers to deal with small threats and Murktide Regent. If you gain an advantage over the board, they won't have any tools to revert the situation.

In:

Out:

Eldrazi Aggro

Both Vial and Lackey can go over their mana disruption, and, if you manage to cheat out a Muxus, Goblin Grandee into play without paying its mana cost, they won't be able to do much. Your sideboard plan is quite straightforward: you'll remove a few of the most random Goblins and add more removals, as well as a big threat against them: a Moon effect.

In:

Out:

Red Stompy

Goblins used to dominate this opponent, but Fury balanced things out quite evenly. Still, an explosive Goblin hand will make their lives harder. Chalice of the Void for 1 can disrupt Aether Vial, but Lackey can ignore it with Cavern of Souls.

Their Blood Moon is basically irrelevant, but The One Ring can make winning impossible. Consider creating gigantic boards that you can sacrifice instantly with Sling-Gang Lieutenant so you can kill your opponent on their turn.

In:

Out:

Nadu Breakfast

This match won't be easy. They can play their combo quite easily, and you usually don't have enough disruption to prevent it. Even if you can stop the Cephalid Illusionist combo, Nadu, Winged Wisdom can cost you the game.

Post-side, just try to turn this deck into a pseudo-control list, and prevent them from creating advantage with Nadu. Eventually, try to use Muxus or Ringleader to create enough card advantage so Broadside Bombardiers can finish the game. It's easier said than done.

In:

Out:

I won't deny: I always have fun when I see Goblins in Legacy again. _INF_'s list is quite experimental and can be refined, but, with Goblin Matron, we can first experiment with it before we refine it with the best options available.

By the way, this deck is better suited for tabletop MTG than Magic Online, as there aren't as many combos in tabletop formats as there are in digital formats.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!