I
Chapter I
The Design
what this deck wants
Written by the coach from this decklist
Token Generation
- This is a mono-red Goblin tribal combo-aggro deck built entirely around Krenko, Mob Boss's tap ability — "{T}: make X tokens where X = Goblins you control." One activation snowballs the board exponentially, and with any Goblin lord to widen the count and any of several untap/sac engines, the deck goes infinite. It wins by exploding the board into a lethal token swarm, converting that swarm into direct damage via Purphoros/Impact Tremors/Goblin Bombardment, or assembling an outright infinite-token loop for a same-turn kill.
II
Chapter II
Vital Signs
power, speed, and what the deck is made of
Computed from deck data
7.2/ 10
Power · High-power
- Consistency
- 9.0
- Resilience
- 5.8
- Interaction
- 8.1
- Speed
- 6.0
Speedfastthreatening by turn 4–5, with combo kills possible turn 5–6
Difficultyadvanced
Lands35of 100
Avg. MV2.58nonland
130–1
172
243
74
35
16+
Role coverage
8Ramp
4Burst mana
2Card draw
9Interaction
3Board wipes
III
Chapter III
The Arsenal
the cards that carry the deck
Computed from deck data
Commander
Engines
Tutors
Counterspells
Protection
Spot Removal
Board Wipes
Graveyard & Recursion
Card Draw
Ramp
Engines
Tutors
IV
Chapter IV
Sequence
how the game unfolds
Written by the coach from this decklist
Ramp
- EARLY (T1–3): Deploy cheap ramp and Goblin bodies — Sol Ring, Skirk Prospector, Goblin Lackey, Ruby Medallion, Arcane Signet — and start building a Goblin count so Krenko's first tap is meaningful. Land a haste enabler if you can. MID (T4–6): Resolve Krenko, Mob Boss and immediately protect/untap him. Even one tap on a board of 4–5 Goblins doubles you; a lord like Goblin Chieftain, Goblin Warchief, or Goblin King compounds it. This is where you look to assemble the infinite line or set up a lethal alpha swing backed by Impact Tremors/Purphoros, God of the Forge. LATE: Close with an infinite loop, a massive Purphoros/Impact Tremors damage trigger burst, or a haste-enabled overrun with Shared Animosity/Coat of Arms pumping the swarm. Last-Ditch Effort and Goblin War Strike turn a wide board into direct damage when swinging is unsafe.
- Ramp 8 — repeatable, bigger mana every future turn: Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Ruby Medallion, Patriar's Seal, plus the sac-for-mana engines Ashnod's Altar, Phyrexian Altar, Skirk Prospector, and the token-scaling Mana Echoes and Howlsquad Heavy. Note that several of these (the altars, Prospector, Mana Echoes) double as combo pieces, not just acceleration. Burst mana 4 — one-shot spikes for a single explosive turn: Battle Hymn, Brightstone Ritual, Seething Song, Jeska's Will — all of which scale off a wide Goblin board and are meant to power out a Krenko turn or storm off. The curve is low and aggressive: average CMC 2.57 with 13 cards at 0–1 and 17 at 2, tapering hard after four. The engine that keeps gas coming is Krenko himself plus Goblin Ringleader/Muxus, Goblin Grandee/Goblin Matron/Imperial Recruiter for refills and Skullclamp turning dead 1/1s into cards.
V
Chapter V
The Opening
what to keep, what to ship
Written by the coach from this decklist
Ramp
- Keep 3–4 lands (deck runs a lean 35) with early acceleration and at least a couple of Goblins to build a count. Ideal keeps have Sol Ring or another rock, an early Goblin like Skirk Prospector or Goblin Lackey, and a path toward Krenko or a lord. Hands with Krenko plus a haste enabler (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Thousand-Year Elixir) or a combo piece (Skirk Prospector + an untapper) are premium. Ship no-lander/one-lander hands, and be wary of hands that are all high-drop payoffs with no early Goblins to generate a count — Krenko taps for zero on an empty board.
VI
Chapter VI
The Close
how it ends
Written by the coach from this decklist
Utility
- Alpha-strike overrun: exponential Krenko tokens plus anthems (Shared Animosity, Coat of Arms, Goblin Chieftain, Goblin King) swing for lethal, ideally with haste from Goblin Warchief/Lightning Greaves.
- Non-combat damage burst: a wide board triggers Impact Tremors and Purphoros, God of the Forge on every token made, or feeds Goblin Bombardment/Siege-Gang Commander/Last-Ditch Effort/Goblin War Strike to burn the table out without attacking.
- Infinite token loops: Krenko, Mob Boss + Skirk Prospector + an untapper (Goblin Warchief, Goblin Chieftain, Rising of the Day, Howlsquad Heavy, Thousand-Year Elixir, Umbral Mantle, Staff of Domination) makes infinite Goblins/mana, then a damage outlet (Purphoros, Impact Tremors, Goblin Bombardment) ends the game.
- Thornbite Staff engine: Krenko + Thornbite Staff + a free sac outlet (Goblin Bombardment or Skirk Prospector) yields infinite tokens and infinite damage/mana.
VII
Chapter VII
Assemblies
pieces that lock together
Written by the coach from this decklist
**Goblin Warchief** or **Goblin Chieftain**
sac Goblins for red mana, recast/untap Krenko, make more Goblins — infinite tokens, mana, and death/ETB triggers.
same engine via untap or reduced recast — infinite Goblins and red mana.
pay to untap Krenko repeatedly, sac tokens for mana to fund it — infinite tokens (Staff also gives infinite draw/life).
or **Skirk Prospector**
each death untaps Krenko via Thornbite; sac a token, untap, retap for more tokens — infinite tokens and infinite damage.
infinite tokens plus a repeatable artifact-destruction lock.
VIII
Chapter VIII
Handling
counsel and common errors
Written by the coach from this decklist
Protection
- Krenko's tap value is only as big as your Goblin count — resist casting him into an empty board. Deploy small Goblins first so his first activation actually snowballs.
- Protect the engine: hold Lightning Greaves/Swiftfoot Boots for Krenko, and remember Command Beacon recovers him cheaply from repeated commander tax after removal.
- Prioritize a haste enabler the turn Krenko lands — Goblin Warchief, Thousand-Year Elixir, Arena of Glory, or Greaves lets you tap immediately rather than telegraphing the swarm a turn early.
- Sequence toward the infinite before overextending into a board wipe — if you have Skirk Prospector plus an untapper, hold pieces and go off in one turn with a damage outlet on board rather than dribbling tokens out.
- With only 2 dedicated draw pieces (Skullclamp, Staff of Domination), treat Skullclamp on expendable 1/1s as your main refuel and use tutors (Gamble, Goblin Matron, Imperial Recruiter, Moggcatcher) to find the missing combo piece — but respect Gamble's random discard when your hand is small.
- Jeska's Will and the rituals want to be cast with a full board or the third card revealed for mana — line them up as the fuel for a Krenko turn, not as generic ramp on turn 2 with nothing to spend it on.
- Don't forget the non-combat kill: against decks that can block or wipe, Impact Tremors + Purphoros convert token generation directly into lethal, and Last-Ditch Effort/Goblin War Strike cash in a stalled swarm.