Much of my inspiration for this deck came from came from The Command Zone, which is dated but showed me some different directions to take a Krenko build. The first incarnation of this deck was less than $100, however, I have poured more into this build as it is one of my favorite decks to play when I can.
Ive taken this build into a very strong combo deck and usually pull it out when others are playing competitive EDH decks. For a more casual red deck, look up my Feldon of the Third Path list. There are things I can do to make this brew better, but I do like some flavor in my decks (I use Ravnica basic Mountains instead of Snow-Covered Mountains and Scrying Sheets).
The main goal of this deck is to produce infinite goblins and use those goblins as an engine to win the game through combat damage, direct damage, or passive damage...generally passive damage. Ive also tried to work in ways to win without ever casting Krenko or if he becomes too expensive to cast as he is a major target in my playgroup when he hits play. So, how do we make all those goblins?
As you can see, there are a number of ways to spam out those little green men. Additionally, depending on the sacrifice outlet you are using, you may make infinite mana or deal infinite damage in the process. Once you start going off if someone cant stop you then youll find it very hard to lose. Outside of the above combos, you can also go off using everyones favorite Kamagawa goblin, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (or the infamous Splinter Twin):
Something to keep in mind prior to finding your pieces; youre playing mono-red, which means you dont have access to traditional card draw, removal, hand control, mana ramp, etc. You do have a lot of goblins and that is how you gain the advantages. Unless you have a good reason, I have found it to be more successful to hold your goblins back and not attack people. Those little green men are generally more valuable alive than running head first into a wall of blockers in an attempt to deal 4-5 damage. Just food for thought.
Another all-star card in this deck is Rings of Brighthearth. Not only can it double up on Krenko activations, it can allow red to do some crazy things:
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Rummaging Goblin
: Being able to discard a card, then draw two cards in mono-red repeatedly is amazing. Extra kudos for abusing this with Squee, Goblin Nabob.
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Skirk Fire Marshal
: This card is another win-con in the deck. It works well with doubling up by dealing 20 damage to each creature and player which can end games quickly. With ten goblins out, you could potentially kill everyone by stacking the ability. Lastly, equip him with Basilisk Collar to ensure you survive the carnage.
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Goblin Chirurgeon
: This little unassuming guy can allow you to sacrifice one goblin to regenerate two creatures; he is great versus some wrath effects and can be a political piece if that is something you like since he can target any creature.
- Moggcatcher: Allowing this deck to tutor up two goblins is probably a win for you, especially if you have a sacrifice outlet available.
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Koth of the Hammer
: Koth is my absolute favorite Planeswalker. He allows red to pump out the mana and can act as a win-con all on his own with his ultimate.
- Humble Defector: Tap to draw four cards then used Homeward Path to get him back again? SWEET!!
- Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker: There is an obvious synergy with Kiki and Rings, go nuts.
- Sensei's Divining Top: Copying the draw a card effect lets you draw a card and put Top into you hand, not the strongest use for either card but worth mentioning.
- Basalt Monolith: The classic. Coping the untap ability allows you to make infinite colorless mana.
- Expedition Map: Again, not as powerful, but finding two lands for four colorless isnt bad.
This deck runs off synergies. Above Ive listed many of them, but youll probably stumble across things as you play the deck. Look for new interactions and creative ways to play your hand.
My playgroup allows sideboards for EDH, so I designed a Wish Board and added Burning Wish to the 99. I currently only have 8 of the 10 allowed spot filled, havent found anything useful yet for the last two spots. Here is the Wish Board explained:
- Blasphemous Act: Because sometimes you really just need a board wipe. I used to run this in the main deck but have moved it to the board in favor of more combo pieces.
- Insurrection: Because sometimes you just want to take all the creatures instead of killing them. This is useful for winning the game, but I really enjoy Warp World more in the main.
- Mana Geyser: Because sometimes you just want a lot of mana so you can win. This card is great for situation where you need a little more mana than you can produce.
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Molten Disaster
: Because sometimes you just want to kill everything. The split second is nice to ensure this resolves and wins you the gameor kills you and everyone else.
- Reforge the Soul: Because sometimes you need to Wheel again. I didnt like this in the main as much due to the hard-cast cost, but situationally its very good. I have also considered swapping Wheel of Fortune into this slot as I can set up the Miracle cost with Scroll Rack in the main.
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Ruination
: Because sometimes those greedy mana bases manage through a Blood Moon.
- Shattering Spree: Because sometimes you need to get rid of that pesky artifact. I really like Vandalblast in the main deck but you can easily swap both cards in this slot.
- Tempt with Vengeance: Because sometimes you gotta go for the win. With the passive ETB/LTB effects in the deck, pouring mana in to this could win you a game without little green men.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think; I plan to continue updating this list as I have more time to play the deck and more cards are pushed into our every growing pool. As always, Happy Gaming!
