So, Ravnica is rotating out. You, the avid Standard player, are feeling that punch in the gut sensation you get whenever your expensive cards rotate out. This punch is a little harder than normal, however- we're losing those beautiful, beautiful dual lands. However, we're gaining new dual lands- tribal dual lands. Let's take a look at one of those, courtesy of mtgsalvation.com's spoiler:

Auntie’s Hovel

Land

As Auntie’s Hovel comes into play, you may reveal a Goblin card from your hand. If you don’t, Auntie’s Hovel comes into play tapped.

T: Add B or R to your mana pool.

You may be asking yourself, “Why is this guy focusing on the red/black dual? Shouldn’t we be playing green white ‘Goyf aggro? The answer to that question is a resounding “No way!” Well, not really- Goyf aggro is still going to be good- you can thank Gaddock Teeg for that. But I think there’s another deck that has an equally large chance to be good- R/B Goblin aggro. Take a quick look at my list:

Knucklebone Witch B

Creature- Goblin Shaman

Whenever a Goblin you control is put into a graveyard from play, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Knucklebone Witch.

1/1

Now, if you don’t see the potential for abuse here with Mogg Fanatic, Greater Gargadon, and Facevaulter, you’re crazy. Knucklebone Witch gets big fast, and I mean Tarmogoyf fast. Now, your Knucklebone Witch is going to be a popular removal target- if it doesn’t die before it gets big, it generally wins games. Mad Auntie can help by pumping our Goblins and regenerating Knucklebone Witch, but what’s our big secret weapon?

Wort, Boggart Auntie 2BR

Legendary Creature- Goblin Shaman

Fear

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may return target Goblin card from your graveyard to your hand.

3/3

Wow. Not only does it beat for 3 every turn, it also brings back your Goblins. Not just your Goblin creatures, mind- we can also get Tarfire and Fodder Launch back. Recurring a tribal goblin Shock every turn? Sweet. Recurring the new incarnation of Goblin Grenade every turn? Well, that tends to end a game faster than you can say Goblin Piledriver.

But is Fodder Launch really good? Let’s see.

Fodder Launch 3B

Tribal Sorcery- Goblin

As an additional cost to play Fodder Launch, sacrifice a Goblin.

Target creature gets -5/-5 until end of turn. Fodder Launch deals 5 damage to that creature’s controller.

Say, turn 4, we don’t have a witch yet and we need to compete with a growing Tarmogoyf. What better way to do so than by giving it -5/-5? Sure, Gaddock Teeg gives it headaches, but he can be Tarfired. In the late game, we can return it over and over again with Wort, sacrificing our Siege-Gang Commander tokens and other various goblins to it to deal 5 damage and clear away a creature every turn. It really is the tokens and Wort that make Fodder Launch good- without them, it’s just card disadvantage.

So what about that Siege-Gang Commander? Isn’t he too high-costed to include in this deck? Don’t want to not make it to five mana? Well, sort of. That’s why he’s only a 3-of. I realize that means Mike Flores thinks this deck is now “sub-optimal,” but I take more of the Frank Karsten viewpoint- I think a 3-of here and there is okay. Honestly, we are going to get to 5 mana frequently enough- ground wars against … well, against Tarmogoyf have taken a while in my testing, and I like to have a way to win the late game in case that happens. The “Gang banger,” as he is somewhat affectionately known, comes with his very own private army and is always ready to fling them at creatures or players for 2 damage a pop. With Wort, he’s even more willing to fling himself and come back out of the graveyard with a whole new private army! Between him and Mogg War Marshal, it shouldn’t be hard to fuel those Fodder Launches, feed those Facevaulters, or goad out that Greater Gargadon.

In the board, our package of Sudden Death, Serrated Arrows, and Incinerate deal with threats like Goyfs, Slivers, and Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. I predict we’ll be seeing a lot of Korlash in Standard in the coming months. Maybe not as much as we’ll see Goyf, but who knows? We may even see them together. A frightening thought, to be sure.

So, okay, great, it can stand up to aggro. But what’s the plan against control? Well, Wrath and Damnation are scary as always, I grant you, but they don’t deal with an imminent Gargadon. Holding a Wort in hand against control for recovery in the aftermath of a Wrath or Damnation is never a bad idea either. If control really does prove to be a huge problem, Feast of Footbottom, the new and improved Bone Harvest, might be worth considering, as it would essentially stack the deck with threats. Half of our creatures can’t be Slaughter Pacted, Mad Aunties pump our Goblins and regenerate them, and Wort brings them back. After board, there’s always Sulfur Elemental for split-second beats as well as Magus of the Moon to lock down the large amount of non-basics we always see out of control decks.

What about combo, you ask? Well, there aren’t really too many combo decks in Time Spiral Block Constructed, so it’s hard to say. Dragonstorm is gone, Perilous Storm is leaving, and Project X is leaving, but you just *know* someone will come up with that new combo soon enough. I think this deck is fast enough to deal with most combo decks, especially now that Loxodon Hierarch is going to be out of here, but we’ll just have to see, really.

What did I cut from this deck? Well, I considered Squeaking Pie Sneak, but I cut him in favor of Facevaulter, because I think he’s the new Goblin Sledder. I thought about Boggart Harbinger, but he just doesn’t help enough, I don’t think. I also thought about putting Caterwauling Boggart in my sideboard, but blocking just isn’t a concern often enough in today’s scene that I felt it to be necessary. Finally, Boggart Birth Rite just didn’t seem good enough. Those might be good picks in Lorwyn Block Constructed, but I felt there were stronger cards in Standard. 

A friend of mine recently said, before I told him about the deck list, that “every aggro deck is going to need Tarmogoyf.” After hearing about my Knucklebone synergy, he changed his mind and had some pretty positive things to say about it. He noted, however, that Goblins were likely to be even more of a force in Lorwyn Block Constructed, and I’m keeping that in mind for my future articles. I know Lorwyn won't be released on MTGO for quite some time, but be realistic- it's time to get ready. Until next time, good luck at the Lorwyn prerelease, and may all of your rares be bombs.

Eric Levine

Psychatrog(at)gmail(dot)com

MTGO username: Psychatrog