MTG Salvation

First and foremost I would like to list and discuss the core cards of the deck. Keep in mind that Goblins is in fact a VERY refined list with little wiggle room in the first 50 or so cards. It is also built on a lot of redundancy, effectively playing 8 copies of two of the cards (if you do not know what I mean by this you will see shortly). Anyways without further ado, here is what I (and most other Goblin players) would consider the key cards that every list should be playing:



As you can see this is already over 30 cards, and adding in the 16-17 lands that are typically run you have very little room wiggle room for other spells. There are a few choices for filling out the remaining slots, but we will get to these later. First I would like to briefly discuss these core cards and the roles they play.

Goblin Cohort and Mogg Conscripts

As you can see I have grouped these cards together. Why? Well let's refer back to what I said earlier - we are effectively playing 8 copies of two of our cards. A quick read of Goblin Cohort and Mogg Conscripts will reveal that, other than name, these are functionally the exact same card - a 2/2 Goblin for R. Now, of course there is a catch as a 2/2 for R is way above the curve. These 2/2s cannot attack unless you have cast a creature spell this turn. That sounds bad, however Goblins is a deck typically running in excess of 30 creatures (and often closer to 35 or so) so much of the time the drawback will be non-existant. These 2/2s are very important to the deck as they represent a very fast clock (especially in multiples) and generally having one of these guys to cast on turn 1 is your ideal start in Goblins.

Goblin Sledder and Mogg Raider

This is the second pair of redundant cards in the deck. While a 1/1 for 1 mana may not seem like a lot given the 1 mana 2/2s we just looked at, these guys have a LOT of utility and their usefulness should not be underestimated. In fact you could probably write a whole article just discussing the interactions between the two sac Goblins and not only the Goblin deck, but the format as a whole. Some of the things these guys can do are:

• Push through extra damage in the face of blockers/removal
• Let you "trade-up" in combat (i.e trade a 1/1 to let your 2/2 survive against another 2/2, essentially trading the 1/1 for their 2/2)
• Protect much of your team from sweepers such as Electrickery, Shrivel, Echoing Decay, and Holy Light
• Let you sacrifice Goblin Arsonist to deal 1 damage in a pinch
• Regulate the number of Goblins you have in play for Sparksmith purposes
• Let you put a creature on top of a Death Spark so you can return it to your hand
• Prevent lifegain from a card like Tendrils of Corruption
• Get value out of Mogg War Marshal should you not be able to/not want to pay the echo.

Foundry Street Denizen

One of the newest additions to the Goblins clan, Foundry Street Denizen has really proven his worth since his arrival in Gatecrash, featuring in a number of Goblins lists since that time. The fact that this guy can swing in for as much as three damage on turn 2 (with either two more 1 drops or a Mogg War Marshal hitting play) is pretty big for this deck as outside of running out a turn 2 Bushwhacker or playing a Teetering Peaks that previously wasn’t possible. The Foundry Street Denizen’s pump ability is obviously very relevant to a deck that plays upwards of 30 creatures and the fact that he is a goblin is another boon to running him. He is weak against some of the more popular creatures in the format (Young Wolf immediately coming to mind as something the Foundry Street Denizen absolutely hates to be across from, while Frostburn Weird and Sea Gate Oracle can also be annoyances) and not as good at defending as Cohort/Conscripts but for the aggressive Goblins variants the Foundry Street Denizen is about as aggressive as it gets and certainly a worthwhile option. At this point the Foundry Street Denizen has pretty much cemented its place as a core piece of the deck.

Mogg War Marshal

I often refer to this guy as the red Squadron Hawk. Making 3 bodies out of 1 card he combos very well with many of the cards in the deck and does a very good job of promoting the general swarm strategy Goblins likes to take. The 3 bodies he generates provide a lot of fodder for your Sledders/Raiders to use to your advantage, and in conjunction with Goblin Bushwhacker you can do a ton of damage fast. As far as the echo goes, I find that generally you want to be paying it as often as possible, especially against the removal heavy decks like Cloudpost. However there are situations where you want to just feed the War Marshal to a Sledder because you are tight on mana and have a spell or spells that you know in advance you will be playing next turn. A lot of whether to pay or not will come down to experience.

Goblin Bushwhacker

This guy is insane and in my opinion really brings together what the deck is trying to accomplish. In a swarm-style strategy such as this one, the Bushwhacker will often be pushing through upwards of 4-5 extra damage the turn he hits the board. Afterwards you're left with a 1/1 body which while not amazing or anything is still very relevant in a deck full of Sledders/Raiders and more Bushwhackers. The damage this guy does is absurd and if you can kick two of them in one turn, look out!

Sparksmith

Sparksmith is a card that when he goes unanswered will make it extremely difficult for the other creature decks of the format to compete against you. There's a good reason you rarely see cheap, repeatable kill effects like this printed, and that's just because they are so oppressive. You don't necessarily want the full 4 copies since he's sub-optimal against Cloudpost but generally you want 3 of them at least. Some decks like Mono-Green Stompy and Mono-Green Infect have literally no answer to this guy in game 1, meaning if you draw him and get him into play in a timely fashion you are very likely to get an easy win. He's also very strong against Mono-Blue Delver decks should he resolve. One key thing to remember about Sparksmith is that he counts every Goblin in play, not just the ones you control. This is very important in the mirror match where activating a Sparksmith will often deal you somewhere in the ballpark of 5-6 damage (not a good idea in a matchup where both players are packing burn!).

Mountain

You want to cast your spells of course, so some number of these is necessary. As the deck has such a low curve it can get away with running around 16-17 lands on average. As you can probably guess you will be keeping 1 land hands somewhat often with this deck, which is perfectly fine since so many of the spells cost just 1 mana with none going higher than 2. Whether you run all Mountains or also include some kind of land with upside is up to the pilot, however it cannot be argued that the decks with all Mountains will have the most consistent starts and more keepable hands overall then those running even a single non-basic land.

As you can see, these cards all serve key roles with regards to the gameplan of the deck, and hence are not really interchangeable. As for the remaining slots, there are a few options that I will go over and a few different routes one can take when constructing their Goblins deck.

So now that we’ve established the core you’re probably wondering how we fill out the last few slots. Generally speaking, there are three directions the deck can take from here. The first is a deck with a huge emphasis on low drops and a bit of extra burn to close out games. The second is a deck that uses Goblin Matron to give itself more of a long game plan. The third is a more combo-oriented list that looks to abuse Foundry Street Denizen and Kruin Striker with the help of Skirk Prospector. This third list has mostly fallen out of favor but I will mention it for posterity's sake. Here are samples of each style of list:







All of these styles are defensible options and which is better will often simply be a metagame choice. In previous metagames with Temporal Fissure decks the aggressive versions were favored as they were important to win quickly since playing any sort of long game against Cloudpost decks was often a losing strategy. With Temporal Fissure and Cloudpost as well as Esper Familiar decks all removed from the format it is possible the slower but grindier Matron-centric versions of the deck will get their time in the sun. There are a number of other creatures and spells that can be used to fill out the deck beyond the core that was discussed previously, and these will be outlined here.

Creatures:
Goblin Arsonist

Arsonist provides yet another 1 drop Goblin to the deck and while he doesn’t pack the raw power of Goblin Cohort / Mogg Conscripts or the utility of Goblin Sledder / Mogg Raider he can still be a useful addition to the clan. His death trigger has a lot of synergy with your Sledders / Raiders as they can sacrifice him for a damage in a pinch (and still even get a +1/+1 bonus to boot). This can be rather useful in taking out annoying utility creatures or helping one of your other Goblins kill something large and annoying (like a Myr Enforcer for example). His death trigger also means he can also attack into tow toughness creatures without any fear. If he gets blocked then he probably trades up or pings the opponent for one, and if not then he got a damage through which is win-win. Generally you don’t want to be playing Goblin Arsonist on turn 1 as your other cards are simply more effective, but he can fill in as your turn 1 play in a pinch. Something to keep in mind with this card is that when you have the option of playing it or a Sledder / Raider turn 1 it’s usually better to play the Sledder / Raider first. The reason being your opponent might spend their first turn casting a 1 toughness creature, in which case you can play and sacrifice the Arsonist to remove the creature and still attack for an extra damage with the Sledder / Raider pump. If you were to sequence the play the other way around (play the Arsonist first) you would only get to attack for 1 damage at best which is clearly worse. The obvious comparison with Arsonist is Mogg Fanatic, and while Fanatic does have some advantages (being able to sacrifice itself for a damage without the help of Sledder / Raider being the biggest) I find that Arsonist is generally the more useful option.

Goblin Heelcutter

This is a very pricey Goblin at 4 mana to cast or 3 to Dash, however it's triggered attacking ability is very useful to the Goblins deck. Faltering your opponent's best creature is clearly very effective for an aggressive deck and it's doubly so in a deck that swarms like Goblins does. Dash, while effectively a repeated tax on your mana, actually does provide the deck some advantages. First of all it allows your creature to dodge sorcery speed removal. This includes some of the format's most commonly played removal such as Flame Slash and Chainer's Edict as well as sweepers like Evincar's Justice. Additionally, since Dash is still considered casting the creature you'll still accrue any of the related value for Goblins such as being able to attack with Cohort/Conscripts or pumping up your Denizens (should the Heelcutter resolve). This effectively means your Cohort/Conscripts can attack every turn without you having to worry about topdecking a creature.

Goblin Matron

Goblin Matron has a few good functions. First of all it can act as yet another pseudo-Squadron Hawk, fetching a Matron which fetches another Matron and so on. At the same time, it can also find you silver-bullet cards (i.e 1-of Goblins) or a specific card you might want like a Bushwhacker or a War Marshal. The fact that Matron itself is a 1/1 body is very relevant to a deck that aims to win by swarming and being an effective 2 cards in one can let you grind out other creature-based decks that don't have a form of card advantage while also giving yourself resiliency against decks like MBC, UB Teachings, and Kuldotha Jeskai. An important point to consider with Goblin Matron is what to fetch and when? The most common fetch targets are Goblin Bushwhacker, Mogg War Marshal, Sparksmith, another Goblin Matron, Goblin Heelcutter, and Goblin Sledder/Mogg Raider:

• Goblin Bushwhacker is best to fetch when you will be in a position to win next turn, meaning you should already have a pretty sizeable creature advantage on the board and maybe another cheap Goblin or two in hand that you can play with it on that following turn.
• Mogg War Marshal is best to fetch when you are behind on the board and need some additional bodies to help block. This can apply against a deck like Stompy or Slivers that can pressure you just as quickly as you pressure them.
• Sparksmith is good to fetch against creature-heavy, removal-light decks like Slivers and Stompy again, or White weenie. It is particularly potent against decks like Elves that play a lot of creatures/little removal and don't actively try to pressure your life total. If you have already lost a lot of life however you won't get as many activations out of Sparksmith so it may be best to err on the side of caution and just get a War Marshal in those cases.
• Goblin Matron tends to be the best fetch target against decks trying to attrition you out, which usually include Mono Black Control, UB Teachings, and Kuldotha Jeskai/Boros. The reason for fetching another Matron is that you can defer the decision to fetch another Goblin until later while still adding to your board and gaining a bit of value against these grindy opponents.
• Goblin Heelcutter tends to be a good target when your opponent is still at a fairly high life total (i.e out of Bushwhacker range) but is sitting behind a single large blocker such as a Gurmag Angler that your burn cannot deal with. Heelcutter can create the opportunity you need to get a big attack through in the face of blockers.
• Goblin Sledder/Mogg Raider are good targets to fetch when you need one of their useful utilities I mentioned earlier, such as protecting your team from sweepers. Additionally, if you have 4 mana you could fetch and play a Sledder/Raider immediately and then go for the win by fueling all of your Goblins into an unblocked attacker.

Intimidator Initiate
This little guy doesn’t have the greatest of stats, but his falter ability can give the deck repeated value in the face of blockers. It is very mana intensive however and adding a tax onto your spells may not be something you necessarily want to do. Goblin Heelcutter may just be better if you’re interested in this kind of effect. One interesting thing about the Initiate is that it triggers off of any red spell cast, including your opponent’s, though this only really matters if your opponent casts red spells on your turn.

Jackal Familiar

Yet another 2/2 for a mere R mana but once again there is a catch! (there's always gotta be a catch :tongue:). The drawback this time is actually quite a bit more significant than with Cohort and Conscripts. In this case the Familiar cannot attack or block on his own. He operates under the buddy system and refuses to do anything alone. This means he is a very poor turn 1 play as outside of casting a kicked Goblin Bushwhacker (which is unlikely to ever be the correct play on turn 2) he will not be attacking next turn. In addition to this, if you are on the defensive he will flat-out abandon you in the moments you need him the most as your sole creature! At least Cohort and Conscripts are kind enough to still protect you if you don't have any creatures to cast and let them loose. Not only that, but he doesn't even have the decency to be a Goblin! Our Sledders can't ride Hounds down hills but Jackal just does not respect that fact.

Now by the way I'm talking about it you might think I hate this card but I actually think it's a very reasonable choice for the deck to play for a few reasons. First of all, you can sequence your plays such that it's very likely he will get to attack when you do have him in play. Often times what you will want to do is play a Conscripts/Cohort turn 1 and then on turn 2 you can play both the Jackal and another 1 drop assuming you've hit your 2nd land drop. With 3 creatures now in play your opponent will now need two removal spells if he wants to blank your Jackal for a turn. Running 4 of these guys gives you twelve 2 power 1 drops which leads to some VERY explosive nut draws. The triple 2 power 1 drop draw is not to be underestimated and is among the best starts this deck can have. As someone who loved B/R Zombies last standard season, this is the type of draw I'm very familiar with and rather enjoy an aggro deck that gives me access to this. Overall while the drawback of the Jackal is something to take into account, if you train him and use him correctly he will become a very loyal friend that only sometimes disobeys his master.

Kruin Striker

This card is only really used in the “combo” versions of Goblins that look to use Skirk Prospector to abuse its trigger. As can be seen it’s essentially a two mana version of Foundry Street Denizen with the upside an extra power and trample but the downside of costing an additional mana and not being a Goblin. It’s probably not something more traditional Goblins decks want to be using, however if for whatever reason you’d like additional Denizens it’s an option. It’s obviously at its best though in a deck using Skirk Prospector and token generators like Krenko’s Command to pump as many Goblins into play per turn as possible.

Lavastep Raider

This Goblin has seen a small amount of play since its release. As a 1/2 body for 1 it has reasonably good stats for its cost and in any game going long its fire breathing-like pump ability makes it a considerable threat. Still, at a base of 1 power it's not particularly strong as an early play compared to Cohort/Conscripts or Denizen so you probably only want one or two of these for the late game (if any at all).

Mardu Scout

This is the smaller brother of Goblin Heelcutter, with the same Dash benefits applying. Other than Mogg Flunkies, this is the only 3 power 2 drop available to Goblins which makes it an option worth considering. However it is also much more fragile than Flunkies or even most other 2 drop Goblins as it has only 1 toughness. This can make it a very unpalatable card to have in your deck if your opponent has an abundance of 1/1 blockers (such as tokens). In a race situation where you just want to put as much damage into play as fast as possible (for example against control decks) this Goblin does the job well enough though.

Mogg Fanatic

This guy was pretty good in the days of old when damage used the stack (effectively allowing you to trade him with any X/2 creature in combat) but now he's mostly just an inferior version of Goblin Arsonist. If for whatever reason you want Arsonists 5-6 in your list then Fanatic could sort of fill that void but for the most part the Fanatic's best days are long behind him.

Mogg Flunkies

Mogg Flunkies is basically the 2 mana version of Jackal Familiar that comes with an increased body size (you can tell from the art that these guys lift!) while also having the decency to be a relevant creature type for your deck. Similarly to how the Jackal is not really an ideal turn 1 play, Flunkies will not usually be an ideal turn 2 play because you are opening yourself up to losing both tempo and damage to removal spells on your 1 drop that the Flunkies is relying on. That's okay though as a 3/3 is still often going to very strong well beyond turn 2 in this format and you will often have many other creatures you can cast anyways. You run only 3 copies mostly because drawing a bunch of them in your opening hand kind of sucks but it's still a card you're happy to see at least once per game as he can do a lot of damage fast and battle through most blockers.

Mudbrawler Cohort

This guy should be a 2/2 haste for 1R in this deck a majority of the time which is certainly very reasonable. As far as deckslots he's likely competing with Flunkies. Many like the raw size of Flunkies over the speed of this guy, but depending on the expected metagame I could see either being a good choice.

Skirk Prospector
Outside of the previously discussed “combo” Goblins list, the Skirk Prospector doesn’t have any apparent use to Goblins. Still though for those lists it provides the useful function of being able to quickly dump an entire hand of Goblins into play and make some huge swings with Foundry Street Denizen.

Spells:
While Goblins is primarily a creature-based deck there are a few additional spells that can be used beyond Lightning Bolt to round out the deck.

Chain Lightning
One of the closest comparable cards to the venerable Lightning Bolt in terms of mana-to-damage output. However this card has some very real drawbacks in comparison to Bolt. The first one is being a sorcery. While this doesn’t always matter (such as against decks like mono-green Stompy where you want to mainphase your removal anyways) it can be relevant against something like Spellstutter Sprite out of Delver decks. The other drawback is obviously the “chain” part of the card. Against many opponents this drawback is irrelevant as they don’t have red mana, however against the mirror match, Mono Red Burn, Affinity (occasionally), and Fiend / Cyclops decks it can come up, so it’s something to keep in mind. This used to be fairly common in Goblin decks as at least a 2-of but it has fallen out of favor in recent years due to Flame Slash's usefulness against decks like Affinity.

Death Spark

If you know me then you know I really appreciate a card that lets you get as much incremental value as Death Spark can. Goblins are dying all the time in this deck and it's very realistic to buy back and cast Death Spark 3 or more times in a drawn out game. Against the other creature decks this can be a very effective way to get ahead. A lot of playing with Death Spark is about using it at the right times. While it seems very simple to just cast it when something of yours is about to hit the bin it can still be difficult to do so every single time. I've been playing the deck for months now and even then I still miss the odd opportunity to get value out of Death Spark. It's a card that rewards tight play and I very much like that. Generally you will only want to run 1-2 copies since you can't easily get multiples of them back into your hand, and the 1 damage effect is a lot more narrow than something like Lightning Bolt. However in the right hands Death Spark can be used to generate considerable advantages making it a worthwhile option to consider.

Fireblast

In terms of straight-up damage, this is the best form of reach we have access to. 4 damage, essentially for free is a huge chunk of the opponent's life and if the game is over then it's not really a big deal that you're down 2 Mountains.

Flame Slash

This is a very efficient red answer to large threats. The fact that it doesn't go to the face and also that it is a sorcery are limitations, but there are many key creatures in the format that this can clear out of the way. Some of the relevant 4 toughness cards this kills include: Spire Golem, Frostburn Weird, Myr Enforcer, Carapace Forger, Nivix Cyclops, and Razor Golem. If you expect to see a lot of these then having access to some copies of Flame Slash in your maindeck could prove to be quite useful despite it being unable to go upstairs.

Reckless Abandon

4 damage for 1 mana is quite strong, and the cost of a Goblin is usually something you can afford to pay (especially with a War Marshal). The sorcery speed hurts, but as an answer to 4 toughness creatures and also a way to take out a large chunk of life from your opponent it could be worth a few slots. Remember that the creature is sacrificed as part of the cost, so if the spell is countered you are still down a creature.

Tarfire

This card is pretty weak on paper (functionally it is only a Shock) compared to the other burn we have access to, however being a tribal card can give it some relevance as a fetch target for Matron builds. Even then it is rarely used in Matron lists however, and typically just one copy at most since it is pretty underpowered compared our other burn spells.

Wild Guess

For the Goblin decks running additional lands, sometimes you will want a way to mitigate flooding and Wild Guess is one possible way to do that. You probably won't want a ton of them since you'd prefer to be spending your early turns casting creatures rather than sculpting your hand but a couple copies can go a long way if you get into the lategame. Another option is Faithless Looting which will put you down a card but can be used twice over a long game. Both are options if you run higher land counts and want to play for a longer game, but neither see a lot of play.

Lands:

Disclaimer – I do not recommend running non-Mountain lands if you are running 17 or fewer lands in your list. If you do however want to run “utility” lands (hopefully in a list with 18 or more lands) there are a few options worth discussing. Another point to consider if you run Fireblast is that non-mountain lands cannot be sacrificed to its alternate casting cost so you would also want to limit your number of utility lands in lists with Fireblast.

Forgotten Cave

While many decks will lean towards Teetering Peaks, another viable option is Forgotten Cave. The two damage from Peaks is obviously appealing to an aggro deck, however it’s not a guaranteed thing since it can still be stopped with removal or even just blockers. Some may prefer a land that can trade itself off for a random card over the temporary pump of Teetering Peaks making Cave a viable option.

Teetering Peaks

In an aggressive deck, the +2/+0 pump of Teetering Peaks makes it an interesting utility land option. The +2 attack can be helpful either in pushing an attacker through a large blocker, or just in giving you a “free” 2 damage burn to the opponent’s dome.

Despite the fact that Goblins is a mono-red strategy there is still a decent amount of diversity available in your sideboarding options. A lot of the options are additional (and usually more situational) burn spells, but there are also cards that go beyond that as well. I will discuss some of the more common sideboard cards seen from Goblins and where they will be most useful.

Electrickery

A fairly new addition from Return to Ravnica, Electrickery easily replaces Seismic Shudder as the red sweeper of choice in Pauper. It is especially useful to Goblins as unlike Shudder it is not killing your own guys. This card is of course most useful against other aggro decks that are running a lot of X/1 bodies such as Mono-Green Stompy (more list-dependent), Mono-Green Infect, White Weenie, and situationally in the Goblins mirror. It also provides a way for us to answer the various X/1s of the G/W Hexproof deck if cast quickly enough though that might not be the most reliable of plans. The other main use of the card was to beat Empty the Warrens out of Storm decks, but with the bannings of Empty and Grapeshot this is no longer necessary. Should Empty ever come off the banlist however it is worth noting. Another thing to keep in mind is that it's a card often used against us too. The effectiveness of it against us is often exaggerated however as a single Goblin Sledder/Mogg Raider can prevent much of the damage it would cause to our board.

Electrostatic Bolt

This provides a cheap and efficient way to take out large artifact threats such as Myr Enforcer, Spire Golem, and Razor Golem. Other than being an instant though it's often outclassed Flame Slash which can do the same amount of damage to any target, while Electrostatic Bolt will just be a Shock against a lot of creatures.

Flame Jab

This card is very narrow as far as removal/burn spells but as an aggro-hate card it can be quite effective. This is especially true in the Goblins mirror match where the player that draws more lands will often be disadvantaged. If you can turn each land drop past say your 3rd or 4th into a 1 damage removal spell for R then that's a great way to gain an edge.

Flaring Pain

This card is pretty narrow, but it has its uses. One of the primary ways you can use it is similar to how the Grapeshot Storm decks used to in order to counter Prismatic Strands out of the White Weenie decks. Additionally it can also counter Fog out of the Stompy and Infect decks and can give you a way to kill pro-red creatures such as Weatherseed Faeries and Crimson Acolyte should your opponent attempt to block with them. The biggest allure to playing Flaring Pain currently is as a trump to Moment's Peace out of the Simic Post decks which can be very difficult for Goblins to beat.

Frostburn Weird

Another fairly new addition to Pauper, Frostburn Weird is a card that we don't really like to see on our opponent's board. However the fact that he can be cast for RR makes him something we're potentially interested in ourselves. Against other creature decks like Stompy and the Goblins mirror he could prove to be an effective blocker that can also go on the offensive in a pinch. It's possible that we just don't run enough mana/card draw to get as much usage out of him as Mono-Blue Delver decks do but as a defensive sideboard option he's still something to consider.

Gorilla Shaman

Affectionately known as Mox Monkey for his tendency to smash the power 9 Moxen to bits in Vintage play, this guy is a very useful card against one of Goblins' most difficult matchups in Affinity. Why is he useful? Well, Affinity's manabase is composed often entirely of artifact lands, so at the cost of a single mana each Mox Monkey can smash these lands to bits. Keep in mind he only hits non-creature Artifacts so you'll still want other ways to kill their Myr Enforcers (thanks to Tom the Scud for the correction), not that the 15 mana it would take to kill Myr Enforcer would ever be realistic. Simply shattering your Affinity opponent's lands with Mox Monkey will threaten to lock them out of the game completely if they do not find an answer, and even if they do it might set them back enough anyways to give you a big advantage. This makes the Mox Monkey something you should strongly consider for Affinity matchups.

Goblin Tinkerer

Another artifact hate option, this guy has a few advantages compared with Mox Monkey. First of all he's a Goblin so he synergizes with you Sledders/Raiders. Secondly, he can take out high-cost artifacts like Myr Enforcer that the Monkey usually cannot. The disadvantages of course are that you have to wait a full turn to get a use out of him, and that he cannot destroy multiple artifact lands in a turn like Mox Monkey can when you have the mana.

Magma Spray/Pillar of Flame

These cards play largely the same role so I am lumping them together. Basically these provide you with a low mana answer to some of the more resilient creatures in the format. Some of the creatures these cards are good against include Loyal Cathar, Safehold Elite, Doomed Traveler, Young Wolf, Stinkweed Imp. They also can be useful against decks that play cards like Unearth, Tortured Existence, or Unearth creatures. The only difference between the two spells is that one is an instant while the other can go to the face. Personally I like it more when my burn spells can also be used as direct damage since it gives me more options, but which one is better will mostly come down to preference.

Martyr of Ashes

Another sweeper option, the Martyr can take out even very large bodies provided you have enough cards in hand. This could be a useful option in creature matchups where you want a bit more than Electrickery. It will however kill your own creatures as well so you have to be very careful when running it.

Pyrite Spellbomb

While this card is not exactly efficient as far as burn spell go, it has one important quality - the fact that it's colorless. While against much of the format our normal burn spell will work, there are some specific hate cards such as Crimson Acolyte and Weatherseed Faeries that we cannot kill with our Bolts, Chain Lightnings, and other regular burn. Pyrite Spellbomb provides an answer to those cards if you are in the market for that sort of thing. Additionally, if they don't draw the hate card you brought the spellbomb in for you can still always just throw it at their face or cycle it to draw a card.

Pyroblast

Wait, a RED counterspell!? Well you see, long ago when Magic was a very new game Red actually did get counterspells from time to time, meant specifically to hose one of their most hated enemies in the color pie (Blue). Pyroblast goes beyond just being a counter though, also functioning as a Vindicate type effect for any blue permanents as well. At 1 mana this is an incredibly powerful and undercosted effect and I could even see arguments for maindecking a copy or two in the right metagame. With so many of the format's top decks being blue you will find many situations where you will want to bring Pyroblasts in, and it is almost always worthwhile to do so.

Raze

Historically, this has been used to set back decks like Storm, and possibly Cloudpost enough that you can win before they can combo-off or gain enough mana to stabilize. With Storm leaving the format it's less likely to be required but it could still serve some use in the Cloudpost matchups.

Smash to Smithereens

This compliments Mox Monkey as the go-to artifact hate cards for Goblins. Being able to not only remove a troublesome artifact but also deal a good chunk of damage to your opponent's dome in the process is clearly something Goblins is quite interested in. This is primarily used against Affinity but can also be brought in to deal with other cards like Spire Golem or Serrated Arrows that will cause you problems.

Sylvok Lifestaff

This is used primarily against other creature decks (most often the mirror) in order to allow you to win a race. The real synergy is that you can trigger the staff at will with your Sledders and Raiders to gain 3 life in a pinch. It can also be brought in against more rogue decks like Mono-Red Burn and U/R Kiln Fiend/Wee Dragonauts combo which attempt to burn you out very quickly. Additionally, I have seen it used against Grapeshot Storm when the deck was still around as forcing them to storm for 3 more cards can sometimes make all the difference.

Now while knowing your own cards is important, of just as much importance is knowing your enemies. In this section I will go over some of the most common Pauper archetypes you will encounter en route to becoming a Goblin King and highlight some general strategies as well as sideboarding strategies and things to be aware of.

Affinity


Izzet Blitz

Mono-Blue Delver/Faeries

White Weenie/Tokens

Mono-Green Stompy