Green, lean, keen, and mean, goblins are a highly cherished creature type in Magic: The Gathering, and there are all sorts of popular MTG goblin decks available in a variety of formats. They’re the ideal tribe for players wanting to get aggressive, get in fast, and overwhelm the opponent with sheer numbers. Here we’ll share the best MTG goblins, including cards that work well in a goblin strategy and those that work standalone.
You’ll need plenty of wildcards to unlock the top goblin cards on Arena. This list of MTG Arena codes can help you out with that. And don’t miss our MTG release schedule, to stay on top of the latest news.
Now, from the red-skinned, reptilian Kamigawan goblins to the goat-horned, nightmare-toothed goblins of Shadowmoor, these are the 13 best MTG goblins.
Goblin Chieftain
On its own, a little 1/1 goblin token (or even a few of them) isn’t that much of a threat. However, the situation gets a bit scarier when you make your puny goblins twice as strong with a card like Goblin Chieftain. This MTG goblin is a good example of what’s known as a ‘lord’ – a card that provides a buff to all creatures of a particular type.
Granting all goblins haste is a very strong ability, allowing you to attack right away with your hideous hordes. Goblin Warchief also deserves a mention here as a less expensive MTG goblin haste enabler, with an equally valuable cost reduction effect.
Munitions Expert
When you’re playing goblin tribal, you need to build up a mass of creatures, and therefore you really want to limit the number of cards you run that aren’t goblins. Goblin Munitions Expert therefore works well as a removal spell that’s also a goblin! You can’t play this in every goblin deck due its Rakdos colour identity, but it’s a great fit for the Modern black-red goblin strategy.
Goblin Trashmaster
Another good MTG goblin booster is Goblin Trashmaster, which will make opposing robots lose their rivets from trembling too hard. What’s the life of a few goblins compared to the sweet satisfaction of your opponents seething while all their artifacts blow up? This one works well as a sideboard card, to hate on particularly artifact-heavy decks. It’s especially strong in EDH, where you can use the ability to blast Sol Rings, Mana Crypts, or just stick it to the biggest artifact creature around.
Skirk Prospector
Speaking of sacrificing goblins, meet Skirk Prospector! If there’s one thing Mono Red decks aren’t great at, it’s ramping. Skirk Prospector solves that problem for goblin decks, however, as the key MTG mana ramp card for the goblin tribe. Bring out your big guns ahead of schedule, or combo off and play limitless goblins with all your extra mana.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Not all MTG goblins rely on teamwork to make the dream work – some are just plain brilliant outside of a dedicated goblin deck. Take Kiki-Jiki. This humble gobbo can copy your best creature for a turn, letting you benefit from ETB and sacrifice effects, or just swing in with a temporary chunky beast.
Ignoble Hierarch
Aside from Skirk Prospector, there’s another MTG goblin that excels at mana ramp – but its green colouration means it’s not for goblin tribal decks. Instead, Ignoble Hierarch is one of the strongest mana dorks in the Modern format, able to generate three different colours of mana, and provide some additional value through Exalted. And all for just a single mana!
Muxus, Goblin Grandee
The Craterhoof Behemoth of MTG goblins, Muxus Goblin Grandee is likely to be your finishing move in a goblin tribal deck. He brings all the little goblins out to play, generating a full board out of nowhere. If you’re playing this card, you’ll certainly want Goblin Chieftain or Warchief in your corner, as Muxus can then swing out the turn he comes down and finish the game in one fell swoop.
Ardoz, Cobbler of War
One of the newest MTG goblins on our list, Ardoz, Cobbler of War was introduced in Jumpstart 2022. This creature is great in goblin decks, but it’s also great in plenty of other aggressive decks filled with creatures that can attack right away.
Conspicuous Snoop
Red goblin decks hit hard and fast, but you’ll need a way to reload once you’ve played all your cards, or running into a decent defence will cost you the game. If the only creatures you’re running are MTG goblins, Conspicuous Snoop is a great way to do just that, letting you play goblins from on top of your library. There are some good goblin abilities the snoop can copy as well.
Goblin Guide
While it’s of no use in EDH, a killer combination of haste and 2/2 statline for one mana makes Goblin Guide a historically excellent Modern card. No longer in its heyday, Goblin Guide still sees play in the kind of Modern deck that ends the game before the opponent can take advantage of the extra lands they gain.
Goblin Matron
Can’t find the goblin you require? Goblin Matron is an MTG tutor spell, but specifically for goblins. It can help you adapt to anything your opponent throws at you, or recover when a key creature is removed. If you like consistency, pop Goblin Matron in your goblin decks. You can even chain matrons together if you’ve got the mana for it.
Krenko, Mob Boss
Want to have an outrageous number of MTG goblins? Krenko is the fastest way to achieve that admirable goal. The first time you tap, Krenko will poop out an instant horde for all your goblin needs, and things only get exponentially crazier from there.
Dockside Extortionist
The best red card ever printed for Commander just so happens to be a goblin! Many have called for Dockside Extortionist to be banished to the Commander banlist, but so far it continues to terrorise. Providing a ton of mana ramp in a colour that doesn’t typically get much, this card can put you way ahead of the peloton.