Goblin Tunneler | Art by Jesper Ejsing

Never Trust a Goblin

Hello, and welcome back to Singleton Shmingleton, where I bend the singleton rules of Commander by building decks with as many functional reprints of a certain card as possible. This article goes out to all the scrappy Goblins players out there who just want to turn their little dudes sideways, because this week's card is Goblin Tunneler! An unassuming common originally printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, the tunneler offers a tantalizing challenge. How can we turn our little attacker into something huge after activating this ability to make it unblockable? There have been several versions of this effect, dating back to the very first set in Dwarven Warriors. None have seen competitive play, but I fondly remember using it alongside Firebreathing in some of my first kitchen-table decks. As they say, restrictions breed creativity, and Goblin Tunneler's restriction gives us a very clear direction to experiment.

I count fourteen creatures with a similar ability to Goblin Tunneler, but this effect comes on other card types as well, from Access Tunnel to Break Through the Line. Many of these cards are in red, but almost just as many are in blue. Here's a list:

There is a wide range in terms of the power level of these cards! The most played by far is Rogue's Passage, in 705,369 decks. That's 18% of all Commander decks! It doesn't come with the power restriction that most of these effects have, and it's stapled to a land, meaning that in a lot of games it can act as free value, and every once in a while can lead to a free win. Colorless lands are a danger to mana bases, but this one deserves its cut. The next most played card is Key to the City, in 45,986 decks. This card also comes with no drawback, and plays out in a very fun way, allowing you to filter bad cards out of your hand while dealing damage. Of the actual creatures on this list, all of the red ones see more play than any of the blue ones. Take Dwarven Nomad and Crafty Pathmage, for example. These cards do the same thing. The former sees play in 1,990 decks, and while that may be bolstered by all the Magda, Brazen Outlaw decks desperate for Dwarves, it still blows Crafty Pathmage's 244 decks out of the water. But not even the blue creatures can compare to Joven's Tools, the least played of these cards in 123 decks. Its top commander is Joven. So there's that.

How To Sneak Through Damage

So obviously our goal is to use Goblin Tunneler and friends to make a small creature unblockable, and then make it bigger or in some other way benefit from it connecting with a player. The first two cards that came to mind for me were Hatred and Master of Cruelties. Hatred allows us to make a creature unblockable, attack, and then make it as big as our life can spare. This card is a Commander icon for its ability to one-shot any opponent with commander damage, and it fits here well. Master of Cruelties, while strong on its own, is just silly when no one can block it.

The next level down into brewing around these cards, I remembered the banger that is Prophetic Flamespeaker. Along with its new spinoff Crimson Caravaneer, it can provide both a consistent source of card advantage and Double Strike, which is very powerful alongside effects that increase power. Grenzo, Havoc Raiser fills a similar role, and can also Goad creatures if that's what the situation demands. Moria Marauder promises to give this ability to all of our creatures as long as we build around its types.

Moria Marauder reminded me of Goblin Lackey and Warren Instigator, once Legacy Goblins staples. All they ask in order to cheat out creatures is to connect, and our deck is built around that idea. And at this point, we're going all in on Goblins. They fit well with our emerging combat-based small creatures strategy, and they have a surprising amount of tricks up their sleeves that complement our Goblin Tunnelers. Take Goblin Piledriver, for instance. We can make it unblockable, and then attack with everything, making it huge. Sardian Avenger is even more self-sufficient.

One thing that sets this deck apart from the average Goblins deck is that we don't want to play many "lord" effects. For our Goblin Tunnelers to work their magic, we need to keep our creatures small until we attack, and we can't just jam a bunch of creatures that buff our team statically. Rundvelt Hordemaster and Goblin Trashmaster are good enough to make the cut, but cards like Hobgoblin Bandit Lord are more of a liability than a boon in this deck. Luckily, Goblins have other little synergies between them, sometimes acting as an Aristocrats deck with Pashalik Mons and Sling-Gang Lieutenant, sometimes going wide with tokens, and sometimes comboing off with Conspicuous Snoop and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. This deck adds a new angle of attack to the already versatile Goblin arsenal.

More Synergies

I'm always hesitant to include Goblin Rabblemaster in a Commander deck, especially a Goblins deck. Yes, it's powerful, but its ability forces all your Goblins to attack. In a format of huge blockers, that's a huge downside, especially if your deck is full of small utility Goblins. But in this deck it's too perfect. Much like Goblin Piledriver, it threatens a ton of damage. Goblin Sledder and Mogg Raider allow us to concentrate all of our Goblin's into pumping our unblockable creature, risking it all for that game win. And we even get a fitting Goblin to helm the deck. Grenzo, Dungeon Warden works well in a deck full of threatening low-power creatures, and benefits from its own power getting pumped.

One card I knew I wanted to include in this deck from the start was Devilish Valet. With the right supporting cast, it can become the largest creature you have ever seen, and it fits wonderfully with a Goblins strategy. This deck will be playing creatures that draw into more creatures, making tokens, and going wide. Imagine Devilish Valet alongside Krenko, Mob Boss. Or Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin. Even next to Siege-Gang Commander, it's dealing 16 damage. Two enchantments also intersect our strategies super well. Shared Animosity and Haunted One are powerhouses in any typal deck, and here they give us even more ways to buff creatures after making them unblockable.

That Final Push

One problem common to aggressive decks in Commander is the struggle to close out games. These decks tend to trade late-game power for early-game speed, and can be outmatched once opponents get their feet underneath them. The Goblin Tunneler package gives our deck an avenue to cross the finish line even after our opponents have set up their defenses. We can add to this explosive win condition with a few cards that increase our damage output. Fatal Frenzy and Rush of Blood both turn our biggest threat into something that might just end the game by itself, and while Rush of Blood is obviously better because we don't have to sacrifice it later, the game might not last until our end step. Thunderous Might turns a board full of creatures into an enormous power, and Tainted Strike can turn any big attack into lethal damage. Finally, Vicious Betrayal lets us risk everything for the win in the most flamboyant way possible. This terrible Sorcery only sees play in 83 decks, and it's high time that number was 84.

The Decklist

I love how tricksy Goblins decks can be. Everyone will approach them as if they're boring go-wide aggro decks, but every combination of cards has its own emergent synergies. Leading with Goblin Lackey into Siege-Gang Commander will create an entirely different game than leading with Goblin Sledder into Goblin Sharpshooter. And the Goblin Tunneler package adds another trick up our sleeve. Nothing will inspire more fear than doing that under-your-breath combat damage counting when opponents are at 35 life, or casting Tainted Strike on Goblin Piledriver. It adds an element of suspense to an aggro deck that can fall behind badly when it does fall behind. Even if everyone else has been casting Avenger of Zendikars and Mirari's Wakes, victory can be just a topdeck away with a deck as explosive as this. In terms of the Singleton Shmingleton experiment, this deck is a success! Goblin Tunneler and friends aren't flashy, but they anchor several parts of the deck and allow for some other spicy inclusions.

Until Next Time

I know this Snake has been outclassed after twenty-seven years of power creep, but the many creatures it has inspired still have exciting potential. Everything from Scroll Thief to Toski, Bearer of Secrets owes its sneaky card-draw ability to Ophidian. What will happen with a whole board of creatures that draw a card when they connect? I know it can't be something bad. Tune in next time for Singleton Shmingleton to find out!

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Jesse Barker Plotkin

Jesse Barker Plotkin started playing Magic with Innistrad. He was disqualified from his first Commander game after he played his second copy of Goblins of the Flarg, and it's all been uphill from there. Outside of Magic, he enjoys writing and running.