The New Tech, from... Chad Ellis?

[Space_Stormy]

After reading Smennen's Year in review column, I saw that he mentioned the SCG P9 Shooting Stars event and I decided to take a look at what the Pros played.  I saw some decks that definitely were T1 worthy, but then I saw this deck piloted by Chad Ellis:

Chad Ellis
The Goblin Resistance

Lands:
4 City of Traitors
12 Mountain

Artifacts:
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Ruby
1 Chrome Mox
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Aether Vial

Instants:
2 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast

Creatures:
1 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Piledriver
1 Goblin Recruiter
1 Goblin Pyromancer
4 Goblin Warchief
1 Goblin Ringleader
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
2 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Goblin Lackey
3 Goblin Vandal
2 Mogg Fanatic
1 Skirk Prospector

Sideboard:
1 Aether Vial
2 Pyroblast
1 Chalice of the Void
3 Rack and Ruin
3 Gempalm Incinerator
1 Goblin Bombardment
1 Final Fortune
1 Fork
1 Sparksmith
1 Strip Mine

I just stopped and started thinking on how this deck was good at all.  I proceeded to read Chad's article on his deck choice, and it all started to make sense.  (For reference, here it is: http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/9890.html)  His thinking was that if I drop Turn 1 lackey and then follow it up with Sphere of Resistance, not only is that a draw that you need 2 Force of Will to stop, it does a great job of simply slowing the opponent down.  Plus, the Sphere makes Mana Drain less efficient.  But, keep in mind that I am not saying the deck is perfect, It definitely needs work.  Like just 2 Vials is just bad and the Random 1-ofs of Recruiter and Ringleader is annoying if you don't draw Matron.

So, I decided to sleeve up the deck and I was quite surprised with the results.  Against Meandeck Gifts, I only lost 2 games out of 10 and I even won a game with the Pyromancer to be able to break through a Darksteel Colossus.  More often than not, the 4 blasts (6 after SB'ing) just crippled the deck.  Not that we didn' already know this, but Blast+Sphere+Fast Threats is a death sentence for any non-aggro deck.  Against Control slaver, it was 8 wins versus 2 losses, but the losses were to bad mana draws.  That is another thing that needs fixing.  A couple of times, I wished a City of Traitors was a Mountain.  I am not sure if they can be taken out because of their ability to drop turn 1 Spheres, But maybe going down to 3, and adding a Mountain and Maybe squeezing 1-2 more Vials in.  The Sideboard is definitely a mess.  But testing is the only way to fix that.  Although, I do like the Final Fourtune as a nail in the coffin when dealing with stuff like Darksteel Colossus or a Combo deck about to go off.

So, try out the deck.  It just might be the newest thing we all have been looking for.  Who'd predict it would come from one of the least likely sources?

[Juggernaut GO]

I remember watching the feature match rich shay vs this guy and rich just hardcast colossus on him both games or something as disgusting as that.  Mono red goblins may have a place in the meta but I think it was a mistake to dedicate 4 slots to maindeck REBS  those 4 spots can become aether vial 3&4 as well as ringleader 2&3.  Maybe also add red fetches and a strip/waste compliment.

[sean1i0]

First off, I think trying out ancient tombs in the place of the at least some of the city of traitors, if not all of them, is a decent idea.  I imagine that the triggered ability of city can screw you over more often than not.

As for the numbers of goblins in the deck, there definitely need to be more skirk prospecters, and goblin recruiters.  Probably 4 recruiters, 3-4 skirk prospecters.  As for ringleaders, while amazing, they obviously get less and less so when you start dealing with sphere of resistance.  Skullclamp is an interesting choice that I think should be given some time in testing; while it may be more mana intensive over time, I believe that the ability of the card to let you string that mana cost not only over a few turns, but also to allow some of that cost be unaffected by the spheres could potentially put skullclamp over the top in this deck.

[Harkius]

Keeping in mind that I haven't actually playtested this (i.e., please don't flame me for my potentially off the cuff remarks), this seems a bit unlikely to succeed in current Vintage.

First, it seems like this will lose to Oath, and likely quite badly. Am I wrong in this? If so, tell me why, please. If it gets owned by Oath, it will not be exceedingly viable, as Oath makes up a significant portion of the meta in certain regions, or at least it seems to from reading large numbers of posts on various threads.

Second, can this beat CS? The Goblin Vandals are in there to destroy Vintage decks, but are they truly enough at 3? Many decks are running Mox Monkeys and/or Viashino Heretics, which seem like vastly superior options. The Heretic doesn't need to get through to destroy things, and can inflict a bit more damage, while the Goblin stops doing damage to nuke an artifact, which may be the last point that you need. While it is true that he is a bit more expensive, and life is simply another resource, that last point of life is not the only important one...the trip to zero life is marked in increments, not in a continual slide. Mox Monkey can (potentially) eat a couple of artifacts each turn, and it seems much more efficient at its job. Plus, the Heretic can blow artifacts at instant speed, which may matter in some games. The Vandal can only do his job on your turn, and you may not get enough turns.

It doesn't seem that it would be fast enough to stop Stax, either. You may be able to keep inflicting a little bit of damage, but it doesn't seem that it would be enough to actually get those last few critical points of damage in there.

It doesn't seem that it is capable of 'going broken' the way that most Type I decks do. I am sure that someone will point out that it goldfishes in 2.3 turns or some other ridiculous fact like that. Sure, it probably can inflict 20 points of damage in a reasonable amount of time. However, it doesn't seem too stable to disruption. More than anything, I would feel a bit as if I were sitting on the end of a baseball bat while I played this deck; if everything goes right and I am balanced perfectly, I can sit down and stand up fast enough not to fall. If someone gently kicks the bat, though, I am going to end up on my ass in the dirt, eating dust while he stands there and laughs at me for being dumb enough to sit on a baseball bat. To all my senses, this feels a little like a Tempest-era Deadguy Red import; given the correct draw and a cute start, it can be like a circular saw stitched into a bull: ugly, vicious, and capable of chewing its way out in an incredible bloodbath. Given the wrong start, it is going to be like a infant petting a senile Shar-Pei. Cute, harmless, and leaving you feeling a bit nauseated at its sheer syrupy sweetness. And, given both its lack of disruption and its potential to be disrupted, I get the feeling we are going to see a lot of slobbered on dog, rather than gutted cow.

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the importance of disruption in Type I. This card runs 4 spells to disrupt your opponent's flow, and they are rather minimal at that. Blood Moon seems like a potential option, but with so much Jewelry being so important (and Welder already costing R), it may not make a significant difference. Other seemingly irrational absences are Wasteland (why not 4?) and a third Aether Vial, which seems critical to this standing a chance.

One particular suggestion that I would have would be to diversify a bit. Add Dark Confidant and some Badlands and a Mox Jet. The rest of black would be an option to touch, but the Confidant would give you better long game without wrecking your opening. While it seems stupid that I should advocate a deck diversifying its mana base after already complaining about its stability, I wasn't talking necessarily about impotent starts due to mana problems, but rather starts that were not capable of keeping pressure long enough to succeed at destroying a dangerous opponent.

While we are searching for new decks for Vintage, there are a few things that everyone should keep in mind. First, it has to have game against Combo, Stax, Oath, and Control Slaver, or you can pack up and go home. This means that it has to be both fast and stable. This deck is fast, but it is not particularly stable, nor does it pack much diversity. It is capable of dealing incredible amounts of damage, but is it really going to be enough? Or, are you going to stall out, your opponent stabilizing on two or three life when they resolve a Tendrils for 18? Perhaps adding 4 Fireblasts to the deck, so that you can inflict that last little damage. What to take out, though? I would recommend dropping the Pyromancer (I know it got you past a Colossus, but Null Rod seems a bit more apropos here) , Kiki-Jiki (who has limited useful targets in this format), Skirk Prospector (what is he even in here for??), and 1 City. Perhaps that deserves a try?

My two cents.
Harkius

[Harkius]

Why not at LEAST play with a maindeck Goblin King to find with Matron, so SoR doesn't affect your Goblin Spells?

I like the idea though. But I think 4 Vials is required at least..

I agree on the Vials comment, but I think that you mean Goblin Warchief, not Goblin King, right?

[Space_Stormy]

I hope all of you did not forget the Spheres. I have seen nothing mentioning them.  That is why Ringleaders are no good. 5 mana huge drain taget is not that good and the Pryromancer can turn 3 1/1's into 12+ damage.  Sphere is what holds this deck together.  That is how I beat CS.  It makes their Yawgmoth's Wills less that stellar, and with the Lackey, it hurts you very little.  I don't know about you, but having my stuff countered when I am already strapped for mana becasue of sphere, while there is a colck on the table sounds like a pretty good way to lose.

[Harkius]

Nope, I saw them. I mentioned 4 disruption cards. I wasn't counting the REB/Pyroblasts, since those aren't really disruption, they are counter and fall into an entirely different category (the potentially not worth using in this deck category, if you ask me, but I don't think that you did...), based on trying (probably in vain) to prevent your opponent from gaining an advantage on you with Mana Drains. HOWEVER, most of your stuff is really, really cheap (and the things that aren't, well, you won't be casting those, so <shrug>).

No, most people saw the Sphere's and took them into account. That is why we think that a few more Vials are necessary, and why someone suggested the Warchief to go with the Matrons.

I simply don't think that it is disruptive enough to throw Tier One off its game, and if you don't throw Tier One decks off, they are going to explode all over you.

Harkius

[Space_Stormy]

No, most people saw the Sphere's and took them into account. That is why we think that a few more Vials are necessary, and why someone suggested the Warchief to go with the Matrons.

Uhhh... There are 4 Warchiefs in the deck.

[Vegeta2711]

stuff

Can beat CS, be suprised if it went worse than 50/50 vs. good CS players and wouldn't be shocked if it had a favorable match against non-shay opponents. Stax is also incredibly easy to beat considering the majority of the deck is cheap permenants, lands and runs Lackey. This is before I bring up the fact that it has Vandal and can run Rack and Ruin (Or Artifact Mutation with a tiny splash). Oath is probably impossible, but if you're playing creatures you knew you had an uphill struggle to begin wtih.

I'd really like to see Chalice in here, but 4 REB aren't too terrible if you expect more Drain decks.

[Harkius]

Can beat CS
Stax is also incredibly easy to beat
Oath is probably impossible, but if you're playing creatures you knew you had an uphill struggle to begin with.

Chalice, Needle, and Null Rod...any of these couldn't hurt, probably.

Uhhh... There are 4 Warchiefs in the deck.

Indeed! I saw someone mention a Goblin King to defray the cost of Sphere of Resistance, and I had been checking their suggestion, and didn't actually go look. Next time I will be a bit smarter. Good call, Space_Stormy.

As far as this goes, if it can beat Stax and CS, then you may have something here. Oath is a meta issue, more than anything, since it seems to be out of favor in certain regions of the US/Europe. If this does well, it will bring Oath back into contention as "The Best Deck", but until then, it may stand a chance.

Still seems a tad janky, though. Some tuning could doubtless improve it. I will try to convince my friend that we should do some playtesting.

Cheers,
Harkius

[kirdape3]

The problem I have with it is that it loses to the main plan of Oath of Druids, along with postboard games against any U/R-base control decks (Pyroclasm just rolls you, even at 3 mana).  Without Goblin Lackey, as well, the deck is a collection of Mana Drain targets that aren't that amazing on their own.

Goblins can be good, but I'm pretty sure that this build is still vastly underdeveloped.

[warble]

Yeah...I definitely don't think goblins can do that well against CS post-sideboard.  For example, when I went to a diverse meta and was expecting a bunch of aggro I had 2 Disks, 3 BeBs, 2 Rack and Ruin, 2 Pyrokinesis and 2 Lava Darts to put in CS after sideboard.  I played a few absolutely stellar aggro decks including monored goblins and...it was destroyed...completely.  The problem is that you have 4 SoR and maybe are putting Null Rod in post-SB, and you have maindecked a bunch of artifacts, so rack and ruin is an effective 2-for-1 against golins running artifacts.  Tack onto that the ever-so-present lack of draw power aside from recruiters and you have a classic weakness in the deck that CS is eager to exploit.
For example, my CS draw against goblins was 1 Gifts Ungiven, 1 Mox, 1 Sol Ring, 2 land, pyrokinesis and Disk.  Sure, it looks crappy, but then on turn 2 I gifted for buttloads of broken sh|t after plopping down more than adequate mana for SoR.  What was goblins supposed to do against that draw?  Rack and Ruin on turn 2?  When a deck gets plump and juicy with all sorts of hate post-sideboard and starts as strong as CS, you have to accept that competent opponents will take games 2 and 3 against any deck where the sideboard matches up.  Except STAX (curses!!!)

Edit:  Also, without waste CS curves it's mana up way too high for SoR.  I'm talking hardcast darksteel colossus high!  Just kidding, that was a joke.  But seriously, in praise of goblins, kiki-jiki will win the game if he lands.  Dude, fear the mirror breaker.

[Koeka]

I think if you want to make this deck really viable you should find space for waste/strip tot really disrupt the oppo with sphere, I also have an question for making this build unpowerd, the obv change for the ruby should be an mountain, lotus petal instead of lotus? gl