Hey Liquidbeaver! I’ve been keeping an eye on this deck for some time now and I’m proud to say I have joined the ranks of avid In devotees lol. My meta already has a Krenko, Mob Boss and a Grenzo, Havoc Raiser deck but I am steadily working toward making them understand that while they may be powerful Ib is and forever will be the one true king of goblin tribal!

Notable wins so far have been Impact Tremors and casting Price of Progress before sacrifing all my mountains to make sure I don’t die myself.

Favorite game so far I started the turn with just Ib and a Goblin Sledder on board. Floated all the mana I could and sacrificed my mountains to make 8 tokens. Mogg Infestation ed myself and Reverberate d it. Turning 10 total into 20. And then 20 to 40. From there it was just a Goblin War Strike and a Fork and my two remaining opponents were done!

I think my favorite part about the deck so far is definitely the fact that there are just so many avenues to victory. So many ways to kill your opponents and get them even when they think you’re dead in the water and they have nothing to worry about. Truly a work of art man. Cheers

empireScum: A few comments back into the archive I mention that Mycosynth Lattice is purely a card for trolling my regular playgroup. I use it with Goblin Welder , Treasure Nabber , and Vandalblast . It definitely isn't something I would normally run, I just like to always have this list reflect the exact one I am playing at the moment.

RecklessN7: That is awesome!

The Price of Progress / Acidic Soil wins are some of my favorite, just because they are so unlike traditional wincons. They also punish green or other landramp decks so much more than anyone else that it really helps to balance out the disparity between the colors. If I could get more of these effects, or get to them more easily, I definitely would cut a bunch of cute cards to do that.

Your favorite game was such a fun line, congrats! I've had a similar thing happen (I Mogg Infestation myself way more often than I target anyone else), where it snowballs from 1 or 2, to 5, to 10, to a dead table. Finally deciding to run Fork and Reverberate was a big deal because it's dedicating two slots to things that rely so much on your or someone else's draws, but once you get to copy a huge draw spell, or a Goblin War Strike like that, it's takes all those apprehensions away. Also being able to use Goblin Sledder to pump up Ib one of the very few times I've attacked with him, and getting in a lethal commander damage swing from a 3/2 out of nowhere is great to always keep people on their toes. The more they have to guess the route we are going to take, the easier it is to keep tricking them.

After a few game winning War Strikes lately, I've been working to get its closest equivalent, Massive Raid , a spot in the deck as well. It really helps cut down the number of turn it takes to kill a table.

My group has gotten to the point where they never assume I am out of the game, which was originally really annoying to get focused a little bit no matter what, but then I realized that I should take it as a compliment because, like you said, I made a deck that has a number of avenues to win, most of which don't rely on much of a boardstate at all, so can I blame them?

I'm happy you are having fun, and success, with the deck. It is something I am very proud of, and I think it is so awesome that other people get to enjoy it too!

In light of recent events, made a few changes.

In

Goblin Assassin - It's been a while since I heard some groans out of my regular playgroup. Time to bring this back.

Light Up the Stage - "Draw" effects like this and Commune with Lava are fantastic effects to pile on, especially as easy as it is to trigger the Spectacle.

Massive Raid - Doubling up on the Goblin War Strike effect because it is very, very potent.

Fervor - Harder to remove than Hammer of Purphoros , and we don't need the artifact count for Mox Opal anymore.

Swiftfoot Boots - I've never had a good reason for not having both boots in here, when I run both in literally every other deck and it is arguably more important in this one.

Out

Howling Mine for Light Up the Stage - Not benefiting opponents whenever possible is the biggest reason for this switch. Also, Mine tends to get removed fairly soon after casting, so the number of cards over time that each spell would gain isn't actually that different.

Hammer of Purphoros out for Fervor - Harder to remove, don't care about artifact count anymore.

Mycosynth Lattice out for Massive Raid - This was just a temporary troll include, so back to something I've been wanted to add for a while, more pain!

Treasure Nabber out for Goblin Assassin - This is a very meta dependent include, but it just didn't pull its weight in mine, as my opponents don't use a ton of mana rocks, and Lattice was never going to be in the deck forever.

Feldon of the Third Path out for Swiftfoot Boots - This change hurts to make, as the potential for Feldon is so high, but I just never got to use him how I wanted. The whole deck is built to double or triple up on effects so that it can roll with the punches and rebuild after wipes, so recurring a particular creature was never that big of a deal. Going with the boots just kind of prevents some of those creature deaths from happening in the first place, and speeds some of the combos up a bit. If you have the deck, definitely don't remove Feldon lightly, and depending on your meta or playstyle, don't remove him at all.

I absolutely love this list. Just like you I loved Ib the moment I saw him but I wasn't sure how to make it work. This list is everything I wanted out of a mono-red goblin deck. Krenko just wasn't cutting it for me. This list is original, creatively built, hilariously explained and your take on cards like light up the stage was something I'd never thought of. It gives red just the right push to be, in my humble opinion, the best color. I love this list I actually bought the things I needed to build it at the time of this message. Can't wait to play it and tweak it to my own Ib shenanigans. Once again, amazing list, I absolutely love it, Bravo. If I could upvote a few more times I would.

Swapped Goblin Goliath out for Gratuitous Violence because the card legality is bugged which makes the deck show up as not legal for the format, which makes it fall off deck list searches. Goliath is still in the deck.

TERMLESSRANGER_TurnOneTutor: Thank you very much for the compliments! As you can tell I really love the deck and put a lot of time over the last two years into this decklist, so it makes me feel really good when people enjoy it. I'm really glad that I was able to convey how much fun this deck is because it still blows my mind that the list makes people want to build the deck too. As far as I know about 6 people have build the deck in the last year, and it still makes me happy to hear it each time.

If you have any questions about my own card choices, ideas for tweaking it for your meta, or how to handle certain situations just let me know, I would love to help!

Great to see you still working on the list! I check it every other month to see if I can't steal some Ideas for my Krenko. :)

I got one non-card suggestion for you:

-In your Primer many Spoiler-Headlines - while being thematic - don't tell me what to find in there. For example: I want to check your list of Rings of Brighthearth -Synergies, which are under "Hit me baby one more time". I suppose the engaged reader will still find his way.

crowned: Thank you for the feedback! I am going to think on that and see what I can do to improve those tags without losing the...feel...of the deck description.

Recently found this list. I had been running purphoros as my commander for a while (my first mono red deck, second one is jaya), which wasn't super combo but the name purphoros drew too much hate wherever I went and I felt like I never really Used the goblins that made up the 99. I have an Ib and thought he could work since I'd never seen him played.

I was amazed to find this decklist and link. Its already very similar to my purphoros, just have to switch out about 10 cards and it'll be Ib city!

I have to say Red has been turning into my favorite color. The only decks I have that don't run red are my two dimir decks and 1 mono black. And now I'm at technically 3 mono red decks (if you count switching the commander and a dozen cards out as a new deck)

I plan on making a Feldon deck soon as well

Thank you for keeping this updated, Ib deserves all your love!

Stumphead101 That is awesome! I am glad you like it. Let me know how the transition to the new deck goes, and if you have any questions at all just let me know! I've put in and taken out so many cards since this deck started that I could pretty much customize it to most metas or playstyles.

I see that you have included a bunch of Snow covered mountains but no Extraplanar Lens ...

I’m currently updating my Krenko, Mob Boss goblin deck to include both of the above... it is fairly linear like u say but in its defence..lol... it’s really fun to krenko out the goblins and swarm the feild... I’ve had 100goblins on turn 5 and won :) with a Goblin War Strike

Tears of Rage in for Stolen Strategy

This is to playtest Tears, and Strategy is the least impactful card right now. I think I could set up some really strong turns with this card, especially in conjunction with a lot of the other effects I have.

Hey there Liquidbeaver. Doing great, as usual. I actually posted my own Ib build that yours inspired. Think you can take a look and give me some tips? I’m trying out some new stuff like Goblin Wizard to see how it goes. Debating on how much money I want to dump into him to make him as competitive as possible lol

Ib Halfheart and The Expendables

5hadao: I ran Extraplanar Lens a long time ago, and it was actually the original reason for running the Snow-Covered Mountains before I found Glacial Crevasses . At the time I was only a few months into my current playgroup, and I think Lens used to be a lot more popular among them, so it was hated on really hard. I think just before I took it out I had a string of 3 or 4 instances of casting it and having it immediately removed, so I gave upon running it. Depending on how harsh a certain meta is towards artifacts I would definitely consider it a worthy ramp card to run, more than the more traditional Caged Sun and Gauntlet of Power even.

RecklessN7: I'd be happy to!

Thoughts on the new spoiled Krenko? It plays very well with Shared Animosity and even Goblin Sledder , but with Ib out he would be a one time use (unless we manage to keep him from being blocked).

Hey, buddy! First off thanks for the input on my own Ib deck. Haven’t had time to make changes yet but you’ve sold me on Soul-Scar Mage for sure.

This new Krenko is interesting. Although I won’t lie I’m more obsessed with Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion

Brewing for him if you wanna take a gander Through the fire and flames; Neheb Returned

In Ib I feel like he’s tricky. He’d work great if we can get through. Nemesis Mask would help with that. But maybe add Whispersilk Cloak or something similar?

RecklessN7: Whispersilk Cloak may not be a bad include period, not even considering new Krenko, as it would let me attack with the Lords and Ib himself, something I almost never get to do unless it is an alpha strike.

More protection never hurt either.

I'm gonna look into that..

This is frankly fantastic. Another damage increaser that effects almost all of our spells, is not symmetrical, and has a baby bolt attached to it.

"Doubles" Raid Bombardment damage output on top of making each Goblin hit for more. Adds to Repercussion and Blasphemous Act . Ibsplosions hit for 5 instead, which is a very relevant milestone for X/5 creatures that we used to not be able to do anything about except with Soul-Scar Mage .

Really just a solid card, and will be going right in alongside new Krenko when they come out.

Our first new card from Modern Horizons! These are two great abilities tied together, with a good initial CMC, and the Entwine cost is there for a mana sink. Not sure where this will fit, but it will definitely have a spot.

Also, great new art for Goblin Matron

Pretty stoked about a foil Matron that doesn’t cost upwards of $100 bucks

What do you think of the new Goblin Engineer? Tutor's to graveyard but it can recur on its own and we have things like Daretti to do it as well. Might be worth testing at least.

I have to update my list yet but how have Krenko and Kaya been working out for you?

Hey @Liquidebeaver. I was here like, a year ago building my own IB deck but then I came across yours and found a ton of great cards and ended up going with a lot of them. I have made a ton of changes to the decklist I started with, but it still looks pretty similar to yours in a lot of ways. You don't know my meta, but the issue I'm having right now is I just feel a little too slow, and if I get knocked down from an explosion, it takes a lot of time to catch back up (depending on the circumstances of course). Now this is mostly meta-specific, I know, but I'm trying to fit some cards in that will help with that. How do you think cards like Ward of Bones , Smokestack , Damping Engine , Ruination , and Sundial of the Infinite fit into IB? http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/25-05-19-ib-halfheart/?cb=1558808303 here is my list for reference but I don't expect you to go in and look at it, it's there just in case. I've said it here before, but huge fan, IB is my favorite commander, even when I was playing with my un-upgraded kind of jank version of him. You put a lot of work into this and it reflects!

Ashen0ne: The Goblin Engineer is interesting, but I think it would take a bit more building around to make sure you can capitalize on it. Definitely something to consider if you are running a variation with more low cost artifacts!

I've been pretty busy since War of the Spark came out, so I haven't had a chance to sleeve up new Krenko or Kaya, but as soon as I do I will update the decklist and let everyone know how it went!

CyferHey! I took a look at your deck, and from what I can tell (as you said, I don't know your meta) I think you may just need to tweak your playstyle more than your deck. First off though, here is what I would switch up:

Creatures

Treasure Nabber : If you got this from my list, it was really just to troll my playgroup. It turned out they didn't have enough manarocks to be able to justify Nabber, and Lattice is expensive, and sets you up to fall victim to it yourself. If your meta has a lot of manarocks it may help, but this would be the first thing I cut.

Are you running the Goblin Goliath from your maybeboard? If not, definitely do that! It is very, very strong.

Enchantments

Vicious Shadows : I've never really liked this card, especially since I was always trying to stay so low to the ground, run as lean as possible on lands, and be able to rebuild after wipes. Maybe a Boggart Shenanigans in it's place? It won't hit as hard, but it will be a lot easier to get down, and can still be used politically.

Raid Bombardment is one of my core cards, and has won me a huge number of games. You don't get a lot of combat steps (for many reasons), so you have to make each one hit as hard as possible!

I would also considered switching to Snow-Lands (price should drop a lot with Modern Horizon printing) and getting Glacial Crevasses . It is seriously strong, and has saved my ass and helped stall until I could rebuild a number of times.

Instants

Fork Reverberate : I originally wasn't too keen on these, but added them almost on a whim, and I have been very happy with them so far. Being able to protect a cast of Blasphemous Act or doubling a Price of Progress or Goblin War Strike is huge.

Sorceries

Reforge the Soul : Honestly something I would like to revisit is having more wheels. I definitely like Memory Jar the most out of all of them, but Wheel of Fate / Wheel of Fortune and Reforge are something I want to try again. It's been a long time since I had Fortune in the deck.

Lands

Only suggestion is Ancient Tomb , the recent reprint dropped the price significantly. I especially your Valakut.

Planeswalkers

No issues here. Are you liking the Chandra?

Artifacts

Based on what you are already running, I think this is where you could have the most impact.

Expedition Map : I don't think this is as good unless we can recur it a lot.

Gauntlet of Power : Not a bad include, especially for the little buff, and would help rebuild more quickly after wipes, or more safely sac a few more mountains without losing mana output.

Ghirapur Orrery : I ran this for a long time, and ultimately ended up removing it because of just how rarely it would actually help me. My biggest struggle is having cards in hand AT ALL, not wishing I could cast something on someone else's turn. Maybe you have more luck with it than I did.

A few more mana rocks would help with safely saccing lands or rebuilding after a wipe. Crypt is costly, but maybe Mana Vault , or one of the plethora of 3 cost ones? Alternatively, Treasonous Ogre can be fantastic, and generates mana at instant speed! Maybe even Curse of Opulence

Rings of Brighthearth : I wish this wasn't as expensive, because I seriously get a lot of use out of this. A backup to Illusionist's Bracers that also hits a lot of things bracers can't is really, really nice. Maybe a Sculpting Steel if you don't want to drop that much on the Rings?

Spine of Ish Sah : I ran this, as well as the 7 cost instant version, for a very long time. This is a very hard slot to fill, and I wouldn't say I've ever been completely settled on the non-artifact removal portion. Chaos Warp is obviously a staple, and I've even tested Haphazard Bombardment for some non-enchantment hate, but I'm hoping Modern Horizons will get us some red or colorless stuff to work with.

As far as the list of other artifacts you are considering:

Ward of Bones : I'm leery of most non-Goblin cards over 5 mana, but this seems good if you can get a bit more ramp in the deck (mana rocks mostly).

Smokestack : I tried this at one point and that fact that it is symmetrical ended up being too hard to fight out from underneath. I would be more apt to run a Mana Web (which I am actively trying to get back in the deck) for disruption, and a form of protection on my turn. The number of spells I cast on opponent's turn is like... two (fork/reverb).

Damping Engine I would run this before I would run Ward. It's better in almost every way I think.

Ruination : Strictly a playgroup thing. My choice to go with "mass land dysfunction" instead of destruction was for in game politics, and also personal preference.

Sundial of the Infinite : What things would you want Sundial to help with?

As far as other protection based artifact suggestions, I would say Meekstone and Crawlspace would be my first picks. I also enjoyed Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs for this purpose, and he is protecting a mountain pass, perfect!

That's all I can think of for now. Let me know what you think!