When we left off last time, I had constructed a proper maindeck for Vial Goblins, and I was discussing some general strategic concerns the deck has to consider. I will continue and discuss how to build a good sideboard, and how to use it.
IV. Matchups
There are two reasons to include cards in your sideboard. The first is to have powerful hate cards available for your worst matchups, so that you have some way of fighting those decks even if they are strategically superior. The second is to use cards that answer prevalent strategies, but which are not powerful or versatile enough to be included in the maindeck
Goblins is naturally strong against most Control decks and some Aggro-Control decks. It has trouble with some Aggro decks, and is weakest against Combo. Therefore, it is best to construct a sideboard with two things in mind: one, which decks are the most difficult to beat, and two, which are most likely to be present.
1. Combo
The combo matchup was, for a long time, not an important concern for Goblins pilots. Few players practiced and refined combo decks to the point where they were a factor at tournaments, and even when they were encountered, Goblins’s speed and dedicated hate was enough to win a significant amount of the time. That is all changed now, due to the popularity and diversity of combo decks currently available. Combo has become very fast – often too fast for Goblins to fight, even with efficient hate cards.
This is not a problem that can be completely solved. If you take Goblins to a tournament, you are implicitly accepting a weaker overall combo matchup, with knowledge that it will be a rarer encounter than the decks you are strong against, and with the hope that the Control and Aggro-Control players will do something about the Combo that does attend.
Even though you cannot ensure a good post-board matchup, there is a lot you can do to frustrate and disrupt the Combo player from winning the game. The first thing you can do is to attack the life total to the neglect of all other concerns. Doing this will push them to go off more quickly, which means they will have seen fewer cards. The second thing you can do is to attack their manabase at the first opportunity. Mana screw can affect Combo more dramatically than other decks, so try to exploit this weakness.
As for hate cards, there are several strong tools to disrupt Storm decks from going off. Pyrostatic Pillar is an efficient card that works very well with the plan of attacking the life total aggressively. Turn 2 can be too late if the opponent gets a strong draw, but if they have to answer it before they go off it can buy you a lot of time.
It is probably best to have a second hate card in the sideboard for combo decks. Many players choose to run either Tormod’s Crypt or Chalice of the Void. Both of these cards have strengths against combo decks, but they offer different kind of disruption. Tormod’s Crypt is a free, and can slow down an opponent attempting to go off with Tendrils very early in the game. It also helps against Empty the Warrens and Brain Freeze, but it does not entirely stop them. Chalice of the Void is better against all forms of combo when set at one, and at zero is very good against Tendrils. However, it comes down on turn 2, the same time as Pyrostatic Pillar, and the combo deck can still go off through a Chalice of the Void, whereas it must answer Pyrostatic Pillar before it can win.
The best cards to side out against Combo are usually creature removal, since they are usually irrelevant. The ideal opening is to lead with Aether Vial or Goblin Lackey, and then follow that up with your hate on the same turn or the turn after. That way you are still creating a lot of pressure while slowing down the combo deck. The cards you should consider to sideboard in are Pyrostatic Pillar, Tormod’s Crypt, and Chalice of the Void.
2. Aggro
There have been a few Aggro decks in the format that have created significant problems for Goblins. The sideboard is not really available to combat this matchup, but luckily there is one card used in the mirror that is excellent here, Pyrokinesis.
One Aggro deck that beats Goblins involves cheap White creatures, some with protection from Red, backed up by powerful equipment. These decks depend on activating the equipment as soon as possible, so use your artifact removal, or creature removal if you can, to prevent it from becoming active. Once it is online it is very difficult to take control of the game. If the decks also run problematic enchantments, you may need to rely on the removal in your sideboard that is there to combat hate cards. Disenchant, Krosan Grip, and Tranquil Domain have had success fulfilling this role for Goblins decks. These decks are metagamed to beat you, so like the Combo matchup there is no set of rules that will lead you to success. Focus on destroying the equipment, and try to predict the strategy your opponent is going to use.
Another Aggro deck that has been successful in beating Goblins is Zoo and its variants. These decks are entirely focused on efficient creatures, removal, and combat tricks, and as such they can take control of the board from the beginning of the game, and will apply pressure much faster than you can. Pyrokinesis is actually very good here, as is the rest of your removal, but they are likely to be prepared for this. These decks will run very efficient creatures that put you on defense early in the game. Many of them also have hate cards specifically for Goblins, so watch the manabase to predict what you need to bring in to deal with their cards.
The last Aggro deck that may have a good game against you is Affinity. This deck is faster than you, and has creatures that you cannot block since they have flying. This deck may be in colors that give it the advantage of having strong hate cards in the sideboard. Goblins can beat this deck, but it requires that you survive into the mid game, where you have enough mana in play to start answering their creatures. You should bring in Pyrokinesis, and all the artifact removal you have. Your strategy should be to stop whatever their biggest threat is as soon as you can, and survive until the next turn to increase your mana. If you can do this for long enough, you will be able to start executing your own strategy. The limiting factor in this matchup is mana, so it is critical to take out the most threatening permanent. Often this will be Cranial Plating and not the creature it is attached to. Basically, play control until you have developed a board position that can answer with an attack of your own.
The best cards to side out against Aggro decks are the more expensive threats in your deck against which you may never get a chance to cast over the course of the game. Pyrokinesis is a strong card to bring in, and artifact or enchantment removal such as Disenchant and Krosan Grip are also very good.
3. Aggro-Control
Threshold is the most important Aggro-Control matchup to prepare for. I have covered extensively the Goblins matchup with the White-splash version of the deck. The Red splash is a harder matchup, because they bring in a set of Pyroclasm from the sideboard. This match is tricky, and can depend on what you use in your sideboard. I have traditionally used a set of Tormod’s Crypts against Threshold decks, sometimes with the addition of a set of Red Elemental Blasts. Some players also have Chalice of the Void in their sideboards for the Combo matchup, and that is very good here as well. The Crypts perform basically the same function as the Pyroclasms do, because if it activates, their creatures become smaller than your own, and can’t stop your attack. Chalice of the Void for one is just a huge problem for Threshold to deal with, and if it resolves they will have to spend some time finding artifact removal without the help of their cantrip base. This is a good card if you draw it early in the game, but Tormod’s Crypt is much better when you are in a stalemate or a losing situation, because it can reduce your opponent’s board position significantly. A very important card in this matchup is Aether Vial. This card will allow you to deploy threats at the end of their turn, getting around Pyroclasm, and giving you a boost with your attack. They will try to stop Aether Vial with Pithing Needle, so your artifact removal becomes important as a way to protect Aether Vial, and Tormod’s Crypt, if you run it. The proper strategy to take in this matchup is to protect your options with artifact removal and use Aether Vial to circumvent Pyroclasm and still put pressure on the opponent. Be as aggressive as you can without overextending.
Suicide decks with the Red or White splash are another matchup you may face. These decks have several strong tools against you, one being the considerable amount of discard they play. Goblins can’t use its hand until several turns into the game where it has enough mana to use it, and the discard takes advantage of this and puts all of the more expensive threats straight into the graveyard. This tactic is supported by the land destruction component of these decks, which will prevent you from having enough mana you need until it is too late, as the deck also has very efficient creatures to attack you with. Aether Vial is a very good card to counter this strategy, as it allows you to play your cards even if you don’t have enough lands to cast them. Pyrokinesis out of the sideboard is good in this matchup, as you will be short on mana and this can deal with creatures and buy you time to draw into more mana sources. These decks will certainly be sideboarding in Engineered Plague, so bring in enchantment removal to deal with that.
The best cards against these decks depend on the matchup and the type of threats that you may encounter. Against Threshold, use Tormod’s Crypt, Chalice of the Void, and / or Red Elemental Blast. Against Suicide decks, use Pyrokinesis and either Disenchant or Krosan Grip. There are likely to be other Aggro-Control decks present, so be mindful of the answers available in their colors to deal with Goblins.
4. Control
Control is rarely a problem, for two reasons. One is that it has not been developed enough to a point where it can consistently beat the popular decks. This is understandable, as it has quite a job to do answering such a wide variety of strategies. The second reason is that it is not a common deck choice at tournaments.
For these reasons, you probably are not going to have any cards in your sideboard to bring in against these decks. This matchup boils down to the classic Aggro versus Control battle, except your tempo generators are much stronger, you have excellent land disruption, and you have a great card advantage engine. Play this as you would classically.
Now that we have looked at some important matchups, we should try to consolidate our sideboard possibilities and construct one to use against a mixed field.
Let’s pick Green and say we are going to use Krosan Grip as our enchantment removal. We have to use four slots for this, because the deck must answer enchantment hate.
We also want tools against combo decks. A popular choice is to use a set of Pyrostatic Pillars as well as a set of Chalice of the Void. I think you can use Chalice of the Void or Tormod’s Crypt, as they are both very effective in the matchups you are likely to encounter. Tormod’s Crypt is, I think, better against Red Threshold, which may be a considerable concern. Regardless, there will be eight spots for this matchup.
That leaves three slots. The card that has been most useful in the analysis above is Pyrokinesis, so we should include that.
Our sideboard will look something like this:
4 Krosan Grip
4 Pyrostatic Pillar
4 Tormod’s Crypt
3 Pyrokinesis
VI. Conclusion
Goblins is still a strong choice for Legacy tournaments, but it is getting weaker. Combo is becoming much more popular, and this is a big problem for Goblins decks, as they never really have a favorable matchup against Combo decks. In addition, almost every deck in the format has an efficient way of hating this deck out with some kind of specific removal, so it is becoming much more difficult for Goblins to perform consistently.
Overall, I can still recommend this deck to Legacy players, as it is fast and resilient, but there are more problems in the current environment to overcome than there have ever been before. Obviously, practice and testing will greatly increase your chances of success, so build your deck optimally for the metagame you expect to face.
Christopher Coppola
Machinus @ various websites and email servers