I recently ran across an old Monty Python parody I had written about my Krenko, Mob Boss goblin tribal deck for Commander. Everything gelled in my mind when I saw the Altar of the Brood card. If you've seen the infamous Spanish Inquisition sketch, it'll hopefully make sense.
Nobody expects the Goblin Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise. Surprise and numbers, numbers and surprise...
Our two weapons are numbers and surprise. And ruthless mill. Our three weapons are numbers, and surprise, and ruthless mill, and an almost fanatical devotion to the mob... Our four... Amongst our weaponry are such elements are surprise, num... Oh, come in again!
Nobody expects the Goblin Inquisition! Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as numbers, surprise, ruthless mill, an almost fanatical devotion to the mob, and a nice red mana base. Oh, damn!
I can't play this deck too many times with any game group. It generates too much hate before it can combo off or ramp into a massive mob. I'm not saying it's a top-tier deck by any means, but in the local meta, and with its blatantly obvious intent, it doesn't allow the kind of interactive play Commander/EDH is designed to foster. But when it does go off, it ends games fast.
I think I moved that specific artifact into a mill theme deck instead of keeping it with Krenko, though. I should reconsider...
Here's a link to an old post that includes an outdated deck list I need to update!
Goblins are good but goblins and Monty Python are unbeatable!
(Edit) And because of you, I just purchased my own Krenko :)
There are two versions of Krenko. Mob Boss shown here is best for goblin tribal, but they recently printed Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, too. If you like +1/+1 counters, he's a good addition to a deck. Not quite as good as a commander though, in my humble opinion. I have a red/green deck of stompiness where he fits in as support though, because it adds extra counters to him sometimes as a bonus.
Yeah, I got the Mob Boss. My collection of goblins leaves something to be desired (in terms of abilities) but a turn or two of tapping him for tokens can make a Goblin War Strike deadly. Now to track down some more nasty goblins...
Is a "Goblin Token" a "Goblin"
And can you tap Krenko after your opponent declares attackers?
There are a lot of Goblin cards, and a lot of token making cards.
Why did you choose goblins?
And is this a current sets deck, or a use all/any cards deck?
A goblin token counts as a permanent and a goblin creature for any effects that apply to those keywords.
I can tap to generate disposable blockers on an opponent's turn if Krenko is untapped.
I chose goblins because the cards have fun art, fun flavor text, and fun interactions.
I use them in a Commander deck because cards from anywhere in Magic history are legal, with the exception of a small ban list for cards that severely imbalance the game. Plus, since I can only have one copy of any given goblin card in the format, I can use a big assortment of cards.
JJ makes the kind of deck that attracts hate XD he was telling me one of the previous games he played nobody but him got attacked until he weas dead (but he was playing the kind of deck that just stops other people from playing Magic).
He hasn't done goblins for a while though. They do work remarkably well for that skit XD
I don't like playing with (or against) a deck where someone turns a multiplayer game into a round of solitaire by locking everyone else out, or slowly processing combos to ramp for a win. I have decks that slow an opponent by making their creatures enter tapped, but they can still play and they can remove the problem if they have a decently-built deck.