The Great Goblin

Overview

The Great Goblin leads a Rakdos amass midrange deck.

The primary plan is to build a single Goblin or Orc Army, repeatedly place counters on it, and turn every counter event into two direct damage through The Great Goblin. The commander also provides delayed card advantage whenever another Goblin, Orc, or Army dies.

The deck can therefore pressure the opponent without relying entirely on combat. Its Army remains the main combat threat, while sacrifice effects, Equipment, Treasures, and a compact Dragon package support that central plan.

Why This Commander

The Great Goblin is the best commander available in the current The Hobbit card pool for three main reasons.

First, its hybrid mana cost is unusually reliable. It can be cast with any combination of black and red mana, which greatly reduces the strain placed on the limited universe-specific mana base.

Second, the legal pool contains enough repeatable amass effects to make its damage ability a real engine rather than an occasional bonus. Goblin Plate Mail, Orcish Bowmasters, Rage into the Valley, Down, Down to Goblin-town, Great Ugly-Looking Goblin, Great Goblin, Foul-Hearted, and Misty Mountains Raider all advance the same plan.

Third, its death trigger gives the deck resilience. Sacrificing or trading Goblins and Armies can produce additional cards instead of simply exhausting the board.

Dwalin, Weaponmaster is the closest alternative. Dwalin is cheaper and supports a coherent Equipment deck, but it is more dependent on combat and on finding Equipment. The Great Goblin provides direct damage, access to black interaction, hand disruption, sacrifice synergies, and a more flexible mana cost.

Smaug the Magnificent is powerful enough to remain in the deck, but the mono-red legal pool is not deep enough to build a competitive 100-card shell around it.

Game Plan

Early Game

Develop mana and establish one of the deck's inexpensive engines.

Good early plays include:

• Nighthowl Pursuer
• Bothersome Noisemaker
• Goblin Plate Mail
• Orcish Bowmasters
• The Sackville-Bagginses
• Down, Down to Goblin-town
• Arcane Signet
• Thrór's Map

Goblin Plate Mail is especially useful because it creates the first Army and immediately gives it menace.

The Great Goblin can normally be cast on turn three, but it is not always correct to do so. Against a deck with abundant removal, it is often better to establish an Army or a value permanent first and wait until the commander can be followed by an immediate trigger or protected.

Gollum, Silent Slinker's Meager Meal Adventure is one of the cheapest ways to generate an immediate commander trigger. With an Army already in play, four mana allows The Great Goblin followed by Meager Meal.

Mid Game

The mid game revolves around repeated amass triggers and profitable exchanges.

Bothersome Noisemaker turns every noncreature spell into another Army counter and another two damage while the commander is present. Equipment, removal, Sagas, and card-draw spells all contribute to this sequence.

Fearsome Goblin Pair is excellent sacrifice material. When it dies, it both triggers the commander's card-advantage ability and amasses Goblins 4. Front Porch Sentries, the existing Army, and other small Goblins can also be converted into value by:

• Azog, Moria's Ruin
• Rhovanion Rampager
• The Sackville-Bagginses
• Allure of Power
• Bolg of the North

Along the Crooked Way and Gathering of Darkness allow the deck to reuse those creatures while producing additional amass triggers.

Equipment should usually be placed on the Army rather than spread across several minor creatures. My Precious, Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, and The Reaver Cleaver provide the evasion or trample needed to convert a large Army into damage and Treasures.

Late Game

The deck has several ways to continue after the initial Army has been answered.

Great Goblin, Foul-Hearted rebuilds an Army immediately and grants trample. Misty Mountains Raider produces another amass trigger every time the deck attacks. Bolg, Erebor's Reckoning makes Goblins and Orcs much harder to block while reducing the opposing board.

The Dragon package provides threats that do not depend on the commander:

• Smaug the Magnificent
• Smaug, Wicked Worm
• Smaug the Impenetrable
• Desert Were-Worm

Desolation of Smaug is primarily a recovery card. It clears non-Dragon creatures and produces four mana that can only cast a Dragon. It should rarely be used while the deck already has a dominant creature board unless The Great Goblin is protected by Mithril Coat.

Mount Doom provides another late emergency reset when the deck can sacrifice an expendable legendary artifact.

Mulligan Guide

Keep hands containing:

• Two to four lands.
• At least one black source.
• A second colored source or a reliable mana artifact.
• One early creature, amass card, disruption spell, or value engine.
• A reasonable path to casting The Great Goblin on turn three or four.

Strong hands normally contain one of the following:

• Sol Ring or Arcane Signet.
• Bothersome Noisemaker plus noncreature spells.
• Goblin Plate Mail or another early amass effect.
• Orcish Bowmasters.
• Down, Down to Goblin-town.
• Thrór's Map with two lands.
• Interaction plus a three-mana commander curve.

Return hands containing:

• One land without Sol Ring and additional help.
• Both colorless lands without another colored source.
• Multiple five, six, or seven-mana cards.
• Equipment with no creature or Army plan.
• Double-black spells without a credible route to two black sources.
• A hand that does nothing before turn three other than cast the commander into open removal.

The commander is hybrid, so a hand with only Swamps or only Mountains can still cast it. The rest of the hand must determine whether that color imbalance is acceptable.

Core Synergies

The Great Goblin and Amass

Each amass effect places one or more counters on a Goblin, Orc, or Army. With the commander in play, that event deals two damage to the opponent.

Repeated amass does not create a new Army if one already exists. It grows the existing Army, allowing the deck to combine direct damage with an increasingly large combat threat.

Bothersome Noisemaker and Noncreature Spells

Bothersome Noisemaker turns each noncreature spell into amass Goblins 1.

With The Great Goblin in play, an Equipment, removal spell, Saga, or mana artifact also produces an Army counter and two damage. This is the deck's most repeatable engine.

Sacrifice and Death Value

When another Goblin, Orc, or Army dies, The Great Goblin exiles the top card of the library and allows it to be played until the end of the next turn.

Fearsome Goblin Pair is the best sacrifice target because its death amasses Goblins 4. Front Porch Sentries weakens an opposing creature when it dies. Sacrificing the existing Army can also be correct when another amass effect is available to rebuild it.

Azog, Moria's Ruin is especially important. Targeting one of your own creatures allows you to draw a card and amass based on its power. Targeting an opposing creature gives that opponent the Army instead, so that line should only be used when removing the creature is worth the drawback.

Graveyard Recursion

Along the Crooked Way returns a creature and then amasses whenever a creature card leaves the graveyard.

Gathering of Darkness, Gollum the Abandoned, and other recursion effects can therefore generate additional Army counters while recovering sacrificed creatures.

Army Equipment

The Equipment package supports the main plan rather than creating a separate archetype.

• Goblin Plate Mail creates the Army and gives it menace.
• My Precious grants hexproof and makes it unblockable.
• Orcrist grants trample and converts combat damage into Treasures.
• The Reaver Cleaver produces Treasures equal to combat damage.
• Andúril, Narsil Reforged places permanent counters on the board.
• Lightning Greaves and Mithril Coat protect the commander or a critical threat.
• Sting provides a flash power increase and attaches immediately.
• The Black Arrow offers a small removal effect and a low equip cost.

Dáin Ironfoot can give equipped attackers double strike, while Thorin, Mountain-king can move all Equipment at once and turn the resulting creature into removal.

Treasures and Dragons

Treasures produced by The Misty Mountains Cold, Dori, Seize the Spoils, Orcrist, The Reaver Cleaver, Treasure Vault, and the Smaug cards accelerate the top end.

Smaug the Magnificent converts the accumulated Treasures into direct damage. Smaug, Wicked Worm turns Treasure mana into cards. The Sackville-Bagginses also drains the opponent whenever a token is sacrificed.

This is a secondary resource engine, not the deck's primary plan.

Interaction and Protection

The deck's main interactive cards are:

• Down, Down to Goblin-town for hand disruption.
• Orcish Bowmasters for small-creature removal and draw punishment.
• Pinecone Strike for three damage, exile replacement, and artifact-token removal.
• Gnashing of Teeth for a large creature or a board of small creatures.
• Azog, Moria's Ruin for creature removal and sacrifice lines.
• Crude Bent Blade for an edict effect.
• Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern for six damage followed by artifact removal.
• Head of the Hunt to exile opposing creatures that die and replace them with Wolves.
• Desolation of Smaug as the broad creature reset.
• Mount Doom as a late battlefield reset.

Imp's Mischief protects important permanents by redirecting targeted spells. Lightning Greaves, Mithril Coat, and My Precious protect either The Great Goblin or the main combat threat.

The One Ring supplies a protected turn and a major source of cards.

The deck has very limited interaction with enchantments. Problematic enchantments normally have to be raced, discarded before resolution, or answered indirectly by resetting the relevant creatures.

Mana Base

The deck uses 38 lands.

It has approximately:

• 21 black land sources.
• 19 red land sources.
• Arcane Signet as an additional stable source of both colors.
• Mox Amber as a conditional source once a legendary creature is in play.
• Multiple Treasure producers.

The black count is slightly higher because the deck has more early black spells and three relevant double-black costs. The important double-red cards begin later in the curve.

The Great Goblin's hybrid cost is a major advantage. Any combination of two black or red sources can pay its colored requirements.

Dragon-Cursed Halls and Treasure Vault are the only lands that produce exclusively colorless mana. Hands containing either are acceptable when they also contain sufficient colored sources. Hands containing both and no other colored lands should normally be returned.

Elven Passage and Hobbit Hole fix either color but effectively enter tapped because the basic land they find enters tapped. They should not be treated as untapped sources when planning the first three turns.

Win Conditions

Commander Triggers

The primary noncombat win condition is repeated two-damage triggers from The Great Goblin.

Ten counter events deal 20 damage by themselves. In practice, attacks, Bowmasters, Sauron, Smaug, and token-sacrifice damage reduce the number required.

A Large Army

Repeated amass creates a large Army. Goblin Plate Mail and Along the Crooked Way provide menace, while Great Goblin, Foul-Hearted, Orcrist, and The Reaver Cleaver provide trample. My Precious and Minas Morgul can make the Army functionally unblockable.

Tribal Combat

Bolg, Erebor's Reckoning increases the power of Goblins and Orcs while shrinking opposing creatures. Dáin Ironfoot grants double strike to equipped attackers. Andúril, Narsil Reforged grows the board permanently.

Dragons

Smaug the Magnificent attacks immediately and converts Treasures into removal or direct damage. Smaug the Impenetrable is an indestructible hasty finisher. Desert Were-Worm can create an additional combat when the attacking force reaches twelve total power.

Attrition

The commander's death trigger, Along the Crooked Way, Gathering of Darkness, The One Ring, Palantír of Orthanc, and Inside Information allow the deck to outlast opponents that repeatedly trade resources.

Weaknesses

The Great Goblin has only three toughness and is vulnerable to inexpensive removal.

The Army concentrates many counters and Equipment on one permanent. Exile, bounce, phasing, or effects that remove all counters can undo several turns of development.

Artifact removal can simultaneously attack the mana acceleration, protection, and combat plan.

The deck has poor answers to resolved enchantments.

Desolation of Smaug is awkward when the deck is already ahead because it also damages The Great Goblin and most supporting creatures.

The top end is powerful but relatively heavy. Drawing several Dragons, Bolgs, and other expensive threats without acceleration produces slow hands.

Fast decks that remove the commander while maintaining pressure can prevent the damage engine from becoming established.

Key Sequencing Decisions

Do Not Automatically Cast the Commander on Turn Three

Against removal-heavy opponents, establish an Army or value engine first. Cast The Great Goblin when it can be protected or followed by an immediate counter event.

Decide Whether to Preserve the Army

Repeated amass makes one creature increasingly valuable. Do not sacrifice it casually. Sacrifice becomes attractive when Fearsome Goblin Pair, Rhovanion Rampager, Gathering of Darkness, or another amass effect can rebuild the threat immediately.

Use Azog Carefully

Destroying your own Fearsome Goblin Pair or Front Porch Sentries can produce a card, death value, and multiple amass triggers.

Destroying an opposing creature causes that opponent to amass. Use that mode only when the target is more dangerous than the Army you are giving them.

Sequence Lightning Greaves Last

Shroud prevents you from targeting the equipped creature with additional equip abilities. Attach the other Equipment first, then move Lightning Greaves onto the creature that needs protection.

Preserve Restricted Mana

Fíli and Kíli, Joyous can spend their mana only on Dwarves, Equipment, and Sagas. Use that mana before tapping unrestricted lands whenever possible.

Treat Last Light as a Land When Necessary

Mountaincycle it immediately when the hand needs another land or a red source. Cast it as an enchantment only when the game is likely to last long enough to reach six Mountain entries or when cheating a Dragon would decide the game.

Plan Desolation of Smaug Before Casting It

Desolation is strongest when the deck is behind and a Dragon is available. Make sure the four restricted mana has a target. Avoid destroying a winning Goblin board unless a protected Dragon follow-up clearly improves the position.

Use Mount Doom as a Last Reset

The final ability requires both the land and a legendary artifact. Preserve an expendable legendary artifact when a full battlefield reset may become necessary.