The Great GoblinThe Great Goblin | Art by Miklós Ligeti

Over the years, we've gotten a few solid Rakdos Goblin commanders, who typically hail from Lorwyn. However, with our return to Middle-earth just around the corner, it looks like we have a new go-to option to place in the command zone. The Great GoblinThe Great Goblin is (in my opinion) the best commander we've ever seen for this creature type, so I'm incredibly excited to share my take on a Bracket 2 build for this one!

My name is Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks, and today we'll be going over a budget 99 centered around this awesome commander that you can pick up for about $50 (based on TCGPlayer pricing). That budget excludes the price of the commander, since we're still in prerelease pricing. So, let's get right into the deck by taking a look at this big bad Goblin.

What Does The Great Goblin Bring to the Table?

Dropping in from Goblin-town, it's none other than The Great GoblinThe Great Goblin! This three-drop commander deals out damage when your team grows with counters, as well as providing you with a whole lot of card advantage. Whenever a Goblin, Orc, or Army you control dies, you exile the top card of your library and can play it until the end of your next turn.

Gaining access to a new card whenever you lose a creature is very powerful. It turns any of your sacrifice outlets into even more card advantage, which means that you're gaining a lot of value for just simply enacting your game plan. Before we check out the cards that make this deck tick, let's make a quick pit stop at a recent Goblin-filled set, Lorwyn Eclipsed!

Lorwyn Eclipsed Meets Middle-earth

• Boggart CursecrafterBoggart Cursecrafter: Since the goal with this deck is to go wide and benefit when the members of your team bite the dust, having a creature like this that comes down the turn before your commander will ensure you're getting off to a good start.
• Boggart MischiefBoggart Mischief: Let's continue talking about lowering life totals by taking a look at this enchantment. Not only does it help you stay ahead on board, but it can also make you two tokens in exchange for blight 1, which is a lot of value all in one textbox.
• Gathering StoneGathering Stone: This artifact keeps getting better and better in my book. It does that draw effect when it enters, as well as during your upkeep, plus it lowers the casting cost of all your Goblins.

• Bloodline BiddingBloodline Bidding: One of the biggest pitfalls of a typal deck is when your creatures end up in your graveyard, which is what makes this big spell so useful, since it can pull you right back into a game. Plus, I died to this card during Lorwyn Eclipsed prerelease, so I can tell you firsthand that it wins games!
• Collective InfernoCollective Inferno: Another spell that killed me during that tournament was this enchantment, since it can come down super quickly thanks to convoke, and double all your damage (like helping your commander deal four to someone's face instead of just two).
• Grub's CommandGrub's Command: This card is truly a Swiss Army Knife for this deck, offering up creature copying, a teamwide buff, targeted removal, and even some card advantage!

Seeing More of The Deck

• Moria MarauderMoria Marauder: As your board grows, this creature gets better and better. It puts you in a place where you can move to combat and exile cards from your library either if your Goblins hit people or if they die, which is a win-win.
• Rundvelt HordemasterRundvelt Hordemaster: Here's a creature from Dominaria that feels like it fits perfectly into the world of Middle-earth. Not only does it act as an anthem for your board, but it also brings you extra card advantage when your creatures die.
• Moria ScavengerMoria Scavenger: This card offers up a lot of value all in one textbox, since you can discard cards to find more useful options, as well as amass an army that'll cause your commander to deal out some direct damage.

• Descendants' FuryDescendants' Fury: Since the goal of this deck is to benefit from your creatures' deaths, let's increase that value even more. Now you can trade in a Goblin that dealt damage to one of your opponents in order to find a replacement, while also exiling the top card of your library to play later on.
• Vampiric RitesVampiric Rites: Here's an enchantment that fits into a lot of decks out there, but gets even better when paired with The Great GoblinThe Great Goblin. Now, whenever you sacrifice a creature, you'll be gaining access to two cards instead of just one!
• Bloodsoaked InsightBloodsoaked Insight: When it comes to this deck, the plan is to lower the table's life totals as much as possible. That means this half-land, half-spell could be cast for a lot cheaper than seven mana, and will allow you to steal an opponent's cards.

Sacrifice Outlets & Flooding the Board

• Siege-Gang LieutenantSiege-Gang Lieutenant: Building up tokens, as well as offering up a way to cash them in for value, is exactly what you want for building this deck's engine. Plus, getting two Goblin tokens every turn, for simply having your commander in play, is a massive deal.
• Pashalik MonsPashalik Mons: This legend is incredibly powerful here, since it not only offers up a way to make more bodies, but it also helps you deal out targeted damage whenever members of your team die.
• Goblin BombardmentGoblin Bombardment: Here's an absolute classic for this kind of deck, and it's made even better thanks to this commander, since you get to throw out damage and gain access to a card for the price of sacrificing a creature whenever you want.

• Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss: Alright everyone, feel free to post your objections to me adding this format boogeyman to the 99 in the comments, but I couldn't help myself! At time of writing, it's still under my usual sub-$3 budget range, and provides a great win condition for this deck.
• Krenko's CommandKrenko's Command: What would Krenko be without his command? Two mana to get two creatures is just a solid rate, and can help keep your engine chugging along at any point in the game.
• Legion WarbossLegion Warboss: I love this creature for the deck, since it offers up a Goblin on your turn that has to attack, which means that you can send it into combat, where it might die and give you access to another card right away.

A Few More Highlights

• Shared AnimosityShared Animosity: This is a card I'm a little bit nervous about including in this deck, but it's here! Since both Dwarves and Goblins touch red in this set, this enchantment might start shooting up in price (which I highlighted in a recent Cardsphere article) so keep an eye on its price as the weeks go on.
• Brightstone RitualBrightstone Ritual: Here's a card that can propel you towards a win, helping turn one red mana into a whole lot more. Now, you could be in a spot where you can deploy the threats in your hand and in exile, all on a single turn.
• Boggart TrawlerBoggart Trawler: I'm such a huge fan of adding MDFCs to lists, since they help keep your deck more consistent by attaching spells to your lands. So, I was incredibly excited when I remembered that this little graveyard hate piece was also a Goblin, making it a perfect fit here.

Let's finish things up by taking a look at a few consistent ways to build counters on your board. Knucklebone WitchKnucklebone Witch gets buffed up when your creatures die, and Metallic MimicMetallic Mimic adds counters to the Goblins that enter your battlefield. Finally, there's Taurean MaulerTaurean Mauler, which'll be sure to give your opponents a headache, since every spell they cast causes your commander to deal out two damage to someone's face.

The Deck List

My Final Thoughts on The Great Goblin

So, there you have it, my budget 99 built around The Great GoblinThe Great Goblin that you can pick up for about $50. There's a lot of damage and card advantage hidden in this deck, so it's going to be a lot of fun to pilot.

Well, that's it for me today, but you can find more of my budget content right here on EDHREC, as well as on my YouTube channel The Pillow Fort, where I do everything I can to make Magic more accessible for everyone.