The Top Decks of Pauper: Goblins

In this series we will walk you through the top decks of Pauper as played on Magic Online. Pauper is the Magic Online format where you are only allowed to play commons.  These are the official rules: http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/resources.aspx?x=magic/rules/pauper

Today we will be discussing the Goblins deck. Goblins is a deck that truly never goes away and that always has its dedicated players. 

Earlier installments in the series

Affinity: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2013/11/the-top-decks-of-pauper-affinity.html
Burn: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2013/11/the-top-decks-of-pauper-burn.html
Delver: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2013/10/the-top-decks-of-pauper-delver.html
DelverFiend: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2013/11/the-top-decks-of-pauper-delverfiend.html
Elves: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2014/04/the-top-decks-of-pauper-elves.html
MUC: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-top-decks-of-pauper-mono-blue.html
Stompy: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2013/10/the-top-decks-of-pauper-stompy.html
Tron: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2014/04/the-top-decks-of-pauper-rug-tron.html
UB Trinket Control: http://mtgolibrary.blogspot.se/2013/10/the-top-decks-of-pauper-ub-trinket.html

The Plan

Goblins is a surprisingly complex deck. You have to be aware whether you are the control or the beatdown at every time. The links at the bottom of this blog post contains more hints on how to play the deck. It is not as easy as you expect.

Pauper Goblins sample deck list
This list was played by GeneralPeron to a Premier Event victory on April 12th, 2014.

Here is the event: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/6975247

Main deck

18 Mountain

4 Foundry Street Denizen

2 Goblin Arsonist

4 Goblin Bushwhacker

4 Goblin Cohort

3 Goblin Sledder

4 Mogg Conscripts

3 Mogg Raider

4 Mogg War Marshal

4 Sparksmith

3 Death Spark

4 Flame Slash

2 Gitaxian Probe

1 Lightning Bolt

Sideboard

3 Flaring Pain

4 Pyroblast

4 Raze

4 Smelt

Financially, only Gitaxian Probe is worth anything here today, making Goblins an excellent budget choice. Many people run Fireblast in their builds, but even that card is cheap today due to flashback drafts.

Notice how Lightning Bolt is not good enough for Classic Pauper in many cases. This deck only plays one copy (!)

Web resources for Pauper Goblins

For some reason this deck has attracted some really skilled Pauper writers. These articles are a little dated but contain a lot of gems for the player interested in Goblins.

Pauper's Cage Goblin Primer: http://pauperscage.blogspot.se/2012/04/mtg-pauper-classic-decks-goblins.html

David Kahn's legendary Goblin article: http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/the-wrath-of-kahn-goblins-in-pauper/

Bonus video

I am playing the mirror against a very experienced Goblins pilot in this video.