Finding Homes for Janky Cards - Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
May 31, 2023 by
Jordan Iacovella 
(Sure Strike | Art by Lie Setiawan)
It's Short King Spring...
Hey there, my name is Jordan, and I run the EDH Jank Center on YouTube. Welcome to Finding Homes For Janky Cards, the series where we rifle through that big pile of bulk you've got lying around, find a package of five janky, budget, or underutilized cards and pair them with a commander that will help them shine. The deck we get out of it might not be the fanciest or most extravagant at the table, but we're still going to build it, because every card deserves a loving home!
This week, our hospitable host is: Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin.
I know we're coming up on summer, but that opening line was way too good to pass up. Anyway, today's selection is all about churning out as many of Magic's most popular short kings as possible: Goblins!
Krenko is a relatively popular commander that can produce droves of these little red 1/1s; all we have to do is buff Krenko up. People love using Equipment and Auras to do the trick, but the cards I've chosen encourage us to take this in another direction!
Today, we're going to be spellslinging some Goblins by replacing Equipment and Auras with instants and sorceries. Also, we're going to be doing it all for $30! (Technically $29.82 without basic lands, but who's counting?)
We'll have more on that in a second, but for now, let's take a look at the average Krenko decklist:
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - Average Decklist
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View this decklist on Archidekt
As is typical, we're seeing a ton of expensive staples. Specifically, some really awesome Equipment:
Per usual, we're going to throw all of these away to save ourselves some time and money, because let's face it: Who wants to spend all that time casting and equipping when we could be pumping up Krenko and cranking out Gobbos?! This brings us to our first selection of the day...
Sure Strike
0% of 1,206,101 decks
This card (and all of its relatives) are going to be the bread and butter for our strategy.
Now, are instants and sorceries more reliable than permanents like Equipment or Auras? No. They are temporary by nature, but honestly, isn't that what life is all about? Let's eschew the relative safety and dependability of permanents. Let's live our life to the fullest and go as fast and as recklessly as we can, because you know what?
Life is short and so are Goblins.
All jokes and philosophy aside, being able to cast Titan's Strength for one mana to get five Goblins out of it once we attack is a pretty amazing deal. On top of that, some cards (like Sure Strike) offer us dope mechanics, like first strike or trample, or just straight-up value, like scrying or drawing cards.
And before you correct me, the reason we would create five Goblin tokens is because I also included Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin's own ability in the math.
Okay, onward...
Scroll of the Masters
0% of 2,524,561 decks
Alright, maybe I was a bit overzealous in the last section, because here's a permanent that really vibes with what we're trying to do here.
Obviously, we're going to be casting lots of noncreature spells with Scroll of the Masters. We're rewarded for it by accumulating charge counters (which will add up fast) and converting those charge counters into a super powerful pump effect that we can target Krenko with.
Over the course of the game this can get out of hand and produce a ton of tokens, and once you start buffing up THOSE guys? That's game over right there.
Speaking of pumping up ALL of our guys at once, let's head over to:
Weapon Surge
0% of 1,206,951 decks
I have always loved this card. Honestly, that's why I'm so geeked to be writing this series, because now I get to actively find homes for all my janky or underloved favorites.
Anyway, it's pretty clear what this card is meant to do: Win.
Whether you're playing Equipment and Auras or instants and sorceries, there's really only two ways to win with Krenko, and that's either through commander damage or good ol' fashioned combat. Weapon Surge covers our bases for the latter.
With a bevy of 1/1 Goblins at our disposal, we can cast this card for the Overload cost and essentially double the power of all of our creatures, give them all first strike, and go to town.
Oh, and if the scenario isn't right for that, we can just play Weapon Surge for one mana and pump our commander with it. Either way, we're winning!
Dragon Throne of Tarkir
0% of 2,524,561 decks
Hm, my speech for Sure Strike is aging rather poorly the more this article goes on...
But I mean, LOOK at what this card can do for us! If you've got a souped-up Krenko and you're ready to finish someone off, you can easily end up pumpin' your Goblin army by +5/+5 or +6/+6.
On top of that, this card gives them all trample. I had no idea this card even existed before making this decklist, and I am now in love with it.
Throne is super powerful and even more fun when combined with evasion or power-doublers:
Since this build is only $30, you can easily save up a few bucks and buy some really fun stuff like Gratuitous Violence.
Cosmotronic Wave
0% of 1,206,951 decks
Our last highlighted card for the article is another one of my favorite bulk commons. There's a couple of benefits that I'd like to have a chat with you about.
Right off the bat, we're going to be sniping anything on our opponents' boards that have toughness equal to 1. That means this card is an absolute house against token decks... but those token decks will also be our worst enemy, since they'll have enough blockers to fend off our Goblin invasion. Cosmotronic Wave's first ability takes care of all that.
But what it's really used for is ensuring that our opponents' creatures are unable to block, clearing the way for a fast, relentless, mono-red win!
Now, let's take a look at our jank-ified decklist:
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - Spellslangin'
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Buy this decklist from TCGplayer
View this decklist on Archidekt
I used to run a deck similar to this, and writing this article has got me itching to bring my Goblins back out for a spin sometime soon. I hope you've enjoyed reading the article, and remember: every card deserves a chance to shine.
That just about does it for this month's installment, let me know in the comments down below what cards you'd like me to find a home for next! Your suggestions might just make it into the next article. Cheers!
Jordan Iacovella
Jordan is an actor, music producer, and gigantic nerd who runs the EDH Jank Center on Youtube! Through various tier lists, janky deck techs, and budget-friendly guides, the Jank Center hopes to show people that you don't need to be rich to have fun playing this wonderful game. Think outside the box, baby!
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