Tier 1aggro

Goblins

Tribal Aggro

Featured list~$1436Premodern League 2026-06-13

Overview

"Goblins is a tribal aggro deck built around a self-reinforcing engine: Goblin Lackey puts expensive threats into play for free on turn one, Goblin Warchief reduces costs and grants haste, and Goblin Ringleader refills the hand by flipping multiple Goblins off the library. Goblin Matron tutors for Siege-Gang Commander to flood the board or Gempalm Incinerator to clear blockers, while Goblin Piledriver turns a wide board into a protection from blue alpha strike that closes games in a single attack."

Game Plan

Pressure the opponent early with Goblin Lackey. Use Goblin Matron to tutor for situational answers (Gempalm Polluter, Siege-Gang Commander) and Goblin Ringleader to refill your hand. Overwhelm the board and finish with a massive Piledriver swing.

Key Cards

Core engine & flex

Signature

Goblin Piledriver

$31.78

TCG MP CK

Goblin Lackey

$30.45

TCG MP CK

Goblin Warchief

$9.09

TCG MP CK

Mogg Fanatic

$1.00

TCG MP CK

Goblin Ringleader

$4.72

TCG MP CK

Siege-Gang Commander

$8.77

TCG MP CK

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Sample Decklists

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Premodern League 2026-06-13

1st PlaceJun 13, 2026

1337vlookup

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1337vlookup

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$1354

Creature (34)

$382

$3.242R

$4.961RR

$0.90R

$4.022R

$0.281R

$4.00R

3Siege-Gang Commander

$26.313RR

$18.883R

$36.361RR

$1271R

$34.462R

$122R

Instant (2)

$4.32

2Naturalize

$4.321G

Land (24)

$967

$0.91

$7.38

$27.56

$111

$374

$446

Sideboard (15)

$82.17

$2.161G

$5.70R

$4.081G

$33.204

$4.902RR

$3.930

$9.764RR

$18.44R

Est. Total$1436

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Grand Pre Louisville @ Louisville (KY)

1st PlaceJun 6, 2026

StarCzarGnar

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StarCzarGnar

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$998

Creature (34)

$384

$1271R

$4.00R

$122R

$18.883R

$1.603R

$36.361RR

$0.90R

$4.961RR

$34.462R

3Siege-Gang Commander

$26.313RR

4Goblin Matron

$3.242R

3Gempalm Incinerator

$4.022R

Instant (2)

$4.98

2Lightning Bolt

$4.98R

Land (24)

$609

16Mountain

$13.12

4Wasteland

$223

4Rishadan Port

$374

Sideboard (15)

$74.25

$3.930

$14.644RR

$11.40R

$18.44R

$18.961R

$4.902RR

$1.981R

Est. Total$1072

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Poznanska Liga @ Poznań (Poland)

1st PlaceJun 1, 2026

Teofil Pawlowski

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Teofil Pawlowski

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$1350

Creature (34)

$379

$4.022R

$1.603R

$122R

$3.242R

$1271R

$18.883R

$34.462R

$0.281R

$36.361RR

$4.00R

3Siege-Gang Commander

$26.313RR

1Skirk Prospector

$0.90R

Instant (2)

$4.32

2Naturalize

$4.321G

Land (24)

$967

$0.91

$27.56

$7.38

$374

$111

$446

Sideboard (15)

$82.36

$1.342R

$34.462R

$0.281R

$4.321G

$9.22R

$14.644RR

$11.40R

$2.620

$4.081G

Est. Total$1433

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Archetype Anatomy

Based on 2471 decks with known dates2021-05-16 to 2026-06-15

Mana Base

Average23.5lands

Median24lands

Range16–28lands

Spells36.5avg non-land

Based on 2465 decks (All-time)

core Cards(>80%)

Goblin Lackey

100%

4.0x

Goblin Piledriver

100%

4.0x

Goblin Warchief

100%

4.0x

Mogg Fanatic

100%

3.9x

Siege-Gang Commander

100%

2.9x

Goblin Ringleader

100%

4.0x

Gempalm Incinerator

99%

3.1x

Goblin Matron

98%

4.0x

Goblin Sharpshooter

95%

1.1x

Wasteland

90%

2.9x

Rishadan Port

87%

3.6x

Wooded Foothills

85%

4.0x

Karplusan Forest

84%

3.9x

Skirk Prospector

83%

1.4x

flex Cards(30-80%)

Naturalize

74%

2.5x

Goblin Tinkerer

71%

1.0x

Goblin King

67%

1.1x

fringe Cards(<30%)

Goblin Goon

16%

1.3x

City of Brass

14%

1.6x

Mossfire Valley

11%

1.1x

Hearth Charm

10%

1.7x

1.1x

3.0x

3.7x

1.1x

2.1x

1.9x

3.9x

1.4x

1.4x

1.8x

Snow-Covered Mountain

7.7x

1.7x

1.0x

1.6x

3.8x

3.1x

3.0x

Sideboard Anatomy

core Sideboard Options(>80%)

Tormod'S Crypt

93.2%

2.6x

Pyrokinesis

92.5%

2.8x

Pyroblast

80.4%

2.4x

flex Sideboard Options(30-80%)

Tranquil Domain

76.8%

2.1x

Red Elemental Blast

73%

2.2x

Naturalize

71.4%

1.6x

Anarchy

46.2%

1.5x

Goblin Tinkerer

32.9%

1.1x

fringe Sideboard Options(<30%)

Goblin King

26.8%

1.1x

Caller Of The Claw

22.7%

1.6x

Goblin Sharpshooter

11.9%

1.0x

Overload

11.1%

1.8x

Mogg Salvage

8.5%

1.5x

Hull Breach

6.9%

1.3x

Crumble

6.3%

1.1x

Goblin Goon

5.6%

1.1x

Dralnu'S Crusade

5.2%

2.8x

Gempalm Incinerator

4.3%

1.1x

Blood Moon

1.6x

Cabal Therapy

3.9%

2.8x

Perish

3.7%

2.1x

Hearth Charm

3.1%

1.7x

Phyrexian Furnace

1.6x

Pyrostatic Pillar

2.8%

1.4x

Sulfuric Vortex

2.3%

1.7x

Goblin Bombardment

2.1%

1.0x

Price Of Progress

2.0x

Gaea'S Blessing

1.1x

Forest

1.5%

1.0x

Sparksmith

1.4%

1.0x

Flaring Pain

1.3%

1.4x

Gloom

1.2%

2.0x

Powder Keg

1.1%

2.0x

Null Rod

1.5x

Goblin Pyromancer

1.0x

Recent Events Featuring this Archetype

PIM Open June

2026-06-14•Sweden•10 Players

Highest Finish: 3rd

VIEW EVENT

Bottrop Series June @ Bottrop (Germany)

2026-06-14•Bottrop, Germany•33 Players

Highest Finish: 5th

VIEW EVENT

Premodern League 2026-06-13

2026-06-13•Magic Online•10 Players

Highest Finish: 1st

VIEW EVENT

Litoral Alentejano '26 - Sexta Jornada @ Santiago do Cacem (Portugal)

2026-06-13•Santiago do Cacem, Portugal•22 Players

Highest Finish: 3rd

VIEW EVENT

Team Trios Tercera Edición (vamos por la cuarta) @Lair Argentina

2026-06-13•Buenos Aires, Argentina•66 Players

Highest Finish: 2nd

VIEW EVENT

Matchups

Head-to-head: DuressCrew (MTGO) · field strength: our event data

Field strength: Holds even with the field

placement-derived · not head-to-head · 2522 finishes · 456 wins

Dead Guy Ale
74.4%
DxC · n=39
Elves
67%
DxC · n=115
Bw Control
66.7%
DxC · n=78
Survival Rock
59.6%
DxC · n=57
The Rock
54.5%
DxC · n=44
Enchantress
53.4%
DxC · n=103
Tide Control
52.5%
DxC · n=59
Moneyball
48.3%
DxC · n=29
Psychatog
46.2%
DxC · n=52
Stiflenought
45.9%
DxC · n=242
Stasis
44.8%
DxC · n=58
Burn Sligh
43.9%
DxC · n=230
Landstill
43.6%
DxC · n=101
Terrageddon
39.5%
DxC · n=114
Machine Head
35.5%
DxC · n=31
Contamination
34.6%
DxC · n=26
Gro A Tog
33.3%
DxC · n=69
White Weenie
33.3%
DxC · n=21
Tinker Fling
32.4%
DxC · n=34
Replenish
32%
DxC · n=97
Oath Ponza
29.9%
DxC · n=77

DxC = DuressCrew MTGO head-to-head · win rates diverge from a 50% centre line

Core Combos

simpleBANNED CARD

NEAR-INFINITE

Goblin Stack

general Strategy

"Perfect Hand of Goblins"

2 Steps

Master the loop

Quick Facts

Tier1

Styleaggro

Meta Share7.3%

Avg Lands23.5

Est. Price~$1436

Colors

Key Matchups

Stiflenoughtunfavorable
Landstilleven
Slighfavorable

Deck Weaknesses

Board sweepers: the deck commits its whole hand to the board to enable a Goblin Piledriver swing and has no protection, so one well — timed sweep that catches Goblin Warchief, Siege-Gang Commander, and the lords trades many cards for one.
Spot removal on key creatures: Goblin Lackey is the engine and Goblin Piledriver is the finisher, yet both are fragile bodies, so removing either at the right moment defuses the cheat — into-play plan or the alpha strike.
Exile over forced sacrifice: Goblin King and Goblin Warchief make the team genuinely dangerous, but the deck keeps its best Goblin under an edict and squeezes value when Mogg Fanatic or a Siege — Gang Commander token dies, so exile-based removal that takes the chosen creature outright strips threats more cleanly.
Slow, grindy games favor the answer: outside a fast Goblin Lackey start the clock is mediocre, so stabilizing past the first wave lets Goblin Matron and Goblin Ringleader rebuild but also buys time to deploy the sweep or removal that ends the matchup.

How to win with it

Mulligan any hand that cannot act by turn two: you want a one-drop (Goblin Lackey or Mogg Fanatic) plus a follow-up, or Goblin Warchief into more goblins; the only no-one-drop keep is Skirk Prospector plus Goblin Ringleader (or Goblin Matron) that can dump a turn-three flood. A hand of only four-drops and lands with no Goblin Lackey or Goblin Warchief is a ship.
The dream draw is a turn-one Goblin Lackey that connects on turn two: when it deals combat damage, put Siege-Gang Commander or Goblin Warchief straight into play from your hand for free, then use your postcombat main phase to deploy and, with Warchief in play, swing again next turn with a hasted board.
Lead with Goblin Warchief before Goblin Ringleader, Goblin Matron, or Siege-Gang Commander whenever possible: it both shaves a mana off every other goblin and grants haste, letting you chain two or three goblins in one turn and attack the moment they hit the table.
Hold Goblin Matron until you know the role you need: fetch Goblin Sharpshooter to grind out a board of small creatures, Siege-Gang Commander when you want a body that doubles as reach and a finisher, and Gempalm Incinerator when you need to clear a blocker or burn a creature; tutoring blindly for a generic fifth goblin is almost always wrong.
The grind plan runs through Goblin Ringleader: when the rush stalls, Goblin Matron for Ringleader, then cast it (ideally with Goblin Warchief down to discount it) to reveal the top four and rake in every goblin, while Skirk Prospector sacrifices spent Siege-Gang Commander tokens for the red mana to chain it all in one turn.
Count the lane before you swing with Goblin Piledriver: it is a 1/2 that gains +2/+0 for each OTHER attacking goblin, so three more attackers make it a 7/2; cycle Gempalm Incinerator at instant speed during declare blockers to remove the lone blocker and push that swing through for lethal rather than jamming into a clog.

How to beat it

This deck snowballs off Goblin Lackey: an unblocked turn-one Lackey cheats Goblin Piledriver, Goblin Warchief, or Siege-Gang Commander into play and ends games. Prioritize blocking or killing Goblin Lackey before it connects, and hold cheap removal for it rather than spending it on a lone Mogg Fanatic.
The kill comes from one explosive Goblin Piledriver swing whose power scales with how many other Goblins attack alongside it. A board sweeper is at its best answering a developed team in one card, so bait out or trade off early threats and force the sweep when the maximum number of Goblins are committed, since this deck has no way to protect against it.
Goblin Piledriver only pumps from attacking Goblins and is a vanilla 1/2 outside combat, so a single piece of spot removal or a chump block on the attack step collapses the alpha strike. Kill or stall the Goblin Piledriver before damage and the rest of the team is a pile of small bodies.
This deck refuels through Goblin Matron tutoring the right Goblin and Goblin Ringleader digging four cards deep, so it grinds you out if the game goes long. Race it instead of trading one-for-one: close the door before it can chain Goblin Ringleader into a second wave, and deny it the long game where its card advantage takes over.
Goblin Sharpshooter and Mogg Fanatic give it repeatable reach to snipe blockers and pick off your X/1s, and Gempalm Incinerator cycles for a tribal sweep of your small creatures, so don't lean on a wall of fragile bodies. An edict effect is awkward against it only if you back it up with exile-based removal: forced to sacrifice, the deck happily gives up a spare Goblin or a Siege-Gang Commander token and keeps its key threat, so removal that exiles the creature you choose is the cleaner strip.

Last Updated: 2026-05-31

Overview

Game Plan

Key Cards

Sample Decklists

1337vlookup

Mainboard (60)

Creature (34)

Instant (2)

Land (24)

Sideboard (15)

StarCzarGnar

Mainboard (60)

Creature (34)

Instant (2)

Land (24)

Sideboard (15)

Teofil Pawlowski

Mainboard (60)

Creature (34)

Instant (2)

Land (24)

Sideboard (15)

Unchained Appearances5 decks

Archetype Anatomy

Mana Base

core Cards(>80%)

flex Cards(30-80%)

fringe Cards(<30%)

Sideboard Anatomy

core Sideboard Options(>80%)

flex Sideboard Options(30-80%)

fringe Sideboard Options(<30%)

Recent Events Featuring this Archetype

Matchups

Core Combos

Goblin Stack