I'm not sure how Arms Dealer ever got cut, probably to test something out and then never put back in. Regardless, Idol of Oblivion was not the card advantage I thought it would be in this deck unless I'm already in a strong place on the board. So Arms Dealer is back and the Idol is out.
I'm incredibly exited for Underworld Breach, which is some awesome recursion for this deck. Combo pieces, once destroyed, are no longer gone forever! Kindred Charge was the most expensive card in my deck, and if it's useful, like the Idol, I'm already in a really strong board state and could probably stand to bring some things back more. Given the low average CMC of cards in this deck, recurring up to four cards will usually be the much better play.
Does not look like anything new in latest set other than maybe Tectonic Giant.
I'm looking at Underworld Breach taking the place of Kindred Charge. I rarely get much value out of Kindred Charge, and Underworld Breach is incredibly valuable mono-red recursion. Given how inexpensive most cards in this deck are, I can definitely get value out of it by bringing back a critical piece.
Hello
I want to make a Krenko deck
Looking at lists I was puzzled why people play Blasphemous Act
Why would anyone play Wrath in a deck which wants to overwhelm opponents with creatures, half of the deck being creatures?
It's a red board wipe for when one of your opponents pulls ahead or after your own goblins have been decimated.
The summary talks about Arms Dealer. I don't see it in the change log or current deck list.
I've updated the change log. After a few years, occasionally I tweak something and forget to update it. Apparently I swapped it out some time last year, but I might bring it back again. The deck is due for another overhaul soon (I.E. To pull it apart and see what is working and what isn't, rather than just swapping in new cards).
Out:Sol Ring - It's just such a boring card, and is really only here for an occasional Turn 2 Krenko.
In:Dockside Extortionist - This card is tutorable in this deck and way more fun. Better ramp for the late game come back, which this deck needs more than an occasional early start.
Eldrazi Monument combined with Battle Squadron makes a great flyer. Mana Echos thrown in give this all the juice to win with a nice direct attack. The math on Mana Echos can set people off when you have a lot of Goblins out. People tried to get into the stack and interrupt it as well. Fun times
I had Eldrazi Monument in early builds of the deck, but it turned me into a more apparent threat than I wanted people to realize at the time. If it works for your Meta, go for it.
Every Friday I get together with an EDH group and one of the people plays Animar with a turn 5 wincon of some sort. Krenko has beaten him once or twice. I have Chaos Warp. Anything else to slow him down? I'm typically one turn away from winning.
Aether Flash - would kill all the goblins- no go stranglehold - seems useable manabarbs - bad for krenko - or is it if you are using goblins for mana?
Manabarbs is fine in Krenko, it only affects a player tapping for mana, and you'll probably have fewer lands and be tapping them less than other players.
Hi Jay13x. With the new commander card, Dockside extortionist being a red ramp on its own (which red rarely gets, especially for krenko (since we can tutor for it using Goblin Matron or Goblin Recruiter), would you add it? What cards would you remove to slot it if ever?
Thanks!
It might replace my Sol Ring but I'd need to do some playtesting.
You can see discussion for Pashalik Mons above this post. A second Boggart Shenanigans is very handy, and his second ability, while not incredibly useful in this deck, is a handy mana sink and goblin token source for those dead turns.
Speaking of dead turns, Tectonic Reformation is an incredibly powerful card in a deck like this. After the fifth or six mountain, there's a significant amount of diminishing returns on future land drops. Having a way to cycle every land you don't need is very useful, and with the mana curve in this deck, at six lands you should be able to cast whatever you cycle for.
Cheering Fanatic is out because, frankly, it's just not as useful as I thought it would be. Blood Moon makes me an early game target, and is frequently a budget cut from this deck anyway.
What about putting in Eldrazi Monument to add the flying. While not as powerful as Coat of Arms, it does offer Flying and indestructable.
From playing a Krenko deck myself, I've found that I'm not attacking that much and more combo-ing out or winning with Burn at the Stake. Whilst monument is a great card and indestructible is nothing to sneeze at, it's more suited in decks that favor going wide and attacking (with cards like Triumph of the Hordes). But by all means put in a Krenko deck and smack people with it, it's still a great card!
Essentially this, if you're looking to go more aggro, it's an A+ card.
What are your thoughts on this card in 99 for Krenko?
He's 100% going to have a place in the deck, I just don't know where yet. A second Boggart Shenanigans that can hit creatures is too good to pass up. The second ability is just icing, a nice mana sink if needed.
I'm not sure what he'll be replacing yet, though, but I will by the time the set comes out. Cheering Fanatic is a potential cut. It's less useful than it first appeared. I've been eyeing Blood Moon to be cut for a while, too. It doesn't do much but piss off the table even more and once in a blue moon make Mountainwalk more useful. Pashalik Mons is another potential win-con in the deck, which takes priority.
I skipped over Ravnica Allegiance because there were no cards of note for this deck. WAR, however, brings up Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin! Krenko 2.0 doesn't disappoint, but he's not so exciting to replace the original as the leader of this deck.
Finding a place to slot Krenko 2.0 in was a challenge, I'll admit. There are so few good 2 drops that I didn't want to replace one of them, and almost every card of 4cmc or higher wasn't something I could easily cut, which left replacing another 3 drop. In the end I picked Hordeling Outburst for a number of reasons. The sorcery is handy, but it's still only a sorcery, and an actual tutorable goblin was preferable to me. Add to that Krenko 2.0 creating three goblins in the worst case (and frequently MANY more), it was a pretty easy swap.
Any more updates? I did not see mention of Goblin Wizard and Goblin Goliath. Did you consider those for this deck? And then their is the new krenko commander who could come in as well.
Goblin Wizard isn't necessary, as there is rarely a time when I can't afford to just cast a goblin in my hand, and Goblin Goliath is too expensive for what it does.
I'm currently playing with Arms Dealer as a Lightning Crafter replacement but I was wondering if you consider Lightning Crafter to be the stronger of the two? If so I'd gladly hear your reasoning.
To be honest I had forgotten Arms Dealer wasn't in the deck anymore. I'd have to play around and see, but Lightning Crafter benefits from all the untap engine stuff still in the deck while Arms Dealer doesn't.
IN:Legion Warboss
Legion Warboss is definitely the stand out goblin card of Guilds of Ravnica. A sort-of fixed Goblin Rabblemaster that only requires the token to attack, it provides token fuel for all the engines of the deck and is great with Krenko, but also helps fuel to cast Krenko and your bigger spells in the late game. Repeatable goblin token production can't be passed up, here. Remember: you can tap Krenko to count that little guy and sacrifice it all before it ever has to attack.
Massive Raid
Massive Raid is potentially a win con, but more than likely it'll just be more removal for this deck, which I found it needed.
Hordeling Outburst
I'm not sure why I was sleeping on this card, but three goblins for three mana is nothing to sneeze at. It can easily jump start any of the engines this deck sets up.
OUT:Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
If you've been following the last few updates, I've been angling this way for a while. Kiki-Jiki pushes for play styles that didn't really line up for what I was going for with this deck. All the combos are still listed under 'Cut Combos' in the primer if you want to go that route, but I never found a situation where I really wanted to cast Kiki-Jiki except when I had all the other combo pieces in play. It's a lot of risk to bet so much on one card.
Hammer of Purphoros
I have enough haste enablers in this deck at this point that I found myself never really using the Hammer. I may re-evaluate in the future if I find myself struggling for haste enablers again. Also I got tired of carrying around the golem tokens just in case, lol.
Helm of the Host
A nine mana investment for something that other players will rarely allow just isn't worth it. I really wanted to like this card more (who doesn't want more Krenko?), but it just didn't do what I wanted it to. As part of my efforts to bring this deck back to basics, I get more value out of Hordeling Outburst than I would with this card.
Out: Idol of Oblivion, Kindred Charge
In: Arms Dealer, Underworld Breach
I'm not sure how Arms Dealer ever got cut, probably to test something out and then never put back in. Regardless, Idol of Oblivion was not the card advantage I thought it would be in this deck unless I'm already in a strong place on the board. So Arms Dealer is back and the Idol is out.
I'm incredibly exited for Underworld Breach, which is some awesome recursion for this deck. Combo pieces, once destroyed, are no longer gone forever! Kindred Charge was the most expensive card in my deck, and if it's useful, like the Idol, I'm already in a really strong board state and could probably stand to bring some things back more. Given the low average CMC of cards in this deck, recurring up to four cards will usually be the much better play.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I've updated the change log. After a few years, occasionally I tweak something and forget to update it. Apparently I swapped it out some time last year, but I might bring it back again. The deck is due for another overhaul soon (I.E. To pull it apart and see what is working and what isn't, rather than just swapping in new cards).
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Out: Mountain - It's just a Mountain.
In: Castle Embereth - A fantastic utility land that's better than a Basic Mountain at pretty much any time in Mono-Red.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Right now, only Castle Embereth is under serious consideration.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Out: Sol Ring - It's just such a boring card, and is really only here for an occasional Turn 2 Krenko.
In: Dockside Extortionist - This card is tutorable in this deck and way more fun. Better ramp for the late game come back, which this deck needs more than an occasional early start.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Manabarbs is fine in Krenko, it only affects a player tapping for mana, and you'll probably have fewer lands and be tapping them less than other players.
If you want to slow down an Animar player:
It might replace my Sol Ring but I'd need to do some playtesting.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
IN: Blood Moon
OUT: Paradox Engine
It's time to say goodbye. I'm swapping Blood Moon back in for Paradox Engine until something more interesting comes along.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
IN: Pashalik Mons, Tectonic Reformation
OUT: Blood Moon, Cheering Fanatic
You can see discussion for Pashalik Mons above this post. A second Boggart Shenanigans is very handy, and his second ability, while not incredibly useful in this deck, is a handy mana sink and goblin token source for those dead turns.
Speaking of dead turns, Tectonic Reformation is an incredibly powerful card in a deck like this. After the fifth or six mountain, there's a significant amount of diminishing returns on future land drops. Having a way to cycle every land you don't need is very useful, and with the mana curve in this deck, at six lands you should be able to cast whatever you cycle for.
Cheering Fanatic is out because, frankly, it's just not as useful as I thought it would be. Blood Moon makes me an early game target, and is frequently a budget cut from this deck anyway.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I'm not sure what he'll be replacing yet, though, but I will by the time the set comes out. Cheering Fanatic is a potential cut. It's less useful than it first appeared. I've been eyeing Blood Moon to be cut for a while, too. It doesn't do much but piss off the table even more and once in a blue moon make Mountainwalk more useful. Pashalik Mons is another potential win-con in the deck, which takes priority.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I skipped over Ravnica Allegiance because there were no cards of note for this deck. WAR, however, brings up Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin! Krenko 2.0 doesn't disappoint, but he's not so exciting to replace the original as the leader of this deck.
IN: Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
OUT: Hordeling Outburst
Finding a place to slot Krenko 2.0 in was a challenge, I'll admit. There are so few good 2 drops that I didn't want to replace one of them, and almost every card of 4cmc or higher wasn't something I could easily cut, which left replacing another 3 drop. In the end I picked Hordeling Outburst for a number of reasons. The sorcery is handy, but it's still only a sorcery, and an actual tutorable goblin was preferable to me. Add to that Krenko 2.0 creating three goblins in the worst case (and frequently MANY more), it was a pretty easy swap.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin will be added once I actually get my hands on the card.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
IN: Legion Warboss
Legion Warboss is definitely the stand out goblin card of Guilds of Ravnica. A sort-of fixed Goblin Rabblemaster that only requires the token to attack, it provides token fuel for all the engines of the deck and is great with Krenko, but also helps fuel to cast Krenko and your bigger spells in the late game. Repeatable goblin token production can't be passed up, here. Remember: you can tap Krenko to count that little guy and sacrifice it all before it ever has to attack.
Massive Raid
Massive Raid is potentially a win con, but more than likely it'll just be more removal for this deck, which I found it needed.
Hordeling Outburst
I'm not sure why I was sleeping on this card, but three goblins for three mana is nothing to sneeze at. It can easily jump start any of the engines this deck sets up.
OUT: Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
If you've been following the last few updates, I've been angling this way for a while. Kiki-Jiki pushes for play styles that didn't really line up for what I was going for with this deck. All the combos are still listed under 'Cut Combos' in the primer if you want to go that route, but I never found a situation where I really wanted to cast Kiki-Jiki except when I had all the other combo pieces in play. It's a lot of risk to bet so much on one card.
Hammer of Purphoros
I have enough haste enablers in this deck at this point that I found myself never really using the Hammer. I may re-evaluate in the future if I find myself struggling for haste enablers again. Also I got tired of carrying around the golem tokens just in case, lol.
Helm of the Host
A nine mana investment for something that other players will rarely allow just isn't worth it. I really wanted to like this card more (who doesn't want more Krenko?), but it just didn't do what I wanted it to. As part of my efforts to bring this deck back to basics, I get more value out of Hordeling Outburst than I would with this card.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath