AI Summary
5 min readThe Great Goblin, a three-mana Rakdos commander, turns every +1/+1 counter placed on a Goblin into two damage to an opponent and every Goblin death into an impulse-drawn card. Rachel Weeks and Reggie walk through four full decklists built from The Hobbit set, each designed to feel like a precon for around $200. The decks range from explosive goblin aristocrats to a mono-green bear army, a blink-heavy dwarf treasure hoard, and a graveyard-combo elf engine helmed by Thranduil. The episode is a practical build guide, explaining the core synergies, play patterns, and upgrade paths for each commander.
The Great Goblin: Rakdos Goblin Aristocrats
The Great Goblin rewards two core actions: putting counters on Goblins and sacrificing them. The deck is built around generating many Goblin tokens, then using them as fuel for both burn and card advantage. Key enablers include Krenko, Mob Boss (doubling your Goblins each turn), Sower of Discord (creating three bodies with a blight trigger), and Scuzzback Scrounger (turning a blight into a treasure token every turn). The minus-one/-one counter theme from Lorwyn works naturally here, as cards like Knucklebone Witch get +1/+1 counters whenever a Goblin dies, triggering the commander’s burn ability.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:05) **Welcome & Episode Overview** - Rachel Weeks and Reggie (Arcade) introduce the episode's premise: four deck lists from The Hobbit built as if they were pre-cons.
- 2 (02:42) **Deck 1: The Great Goblin - Core Mechanics** - Rachel breaks down the commander's two abilities: dealing 2 damage when counters are placed, and impulse-drawing on death.
- 3 (04:55) **The Great Goblin - Key Synergy Cards** - The hosts discuss specific goblins and artifacts that maximize counter and sacrifice synergies.
- 4 (07:57) **The Great Goblin - Land Tech & Play Patterns** - A powerful, non-obvious land synergy and the deck's aggressive game plan are explained.
- 5 (11:49) **The Great Goblin - Finishers & Budget** - The hosts detail the deck's win conditions and its $197 budget.
- 6 (23:07) **Deck 2: Bayorn, Bear Commander - Core Strategy** - The hosts introduce Bayorn as a powerful mono-green bear tribal commander.
- 7 (25:56) **Bayorn - Changelings & Non-Bear Tech** - The deck uses changelings and other green creatures to fill out the bear theme and add utility.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
The Hobbit is finally here, but without any precious precons! Don’t worry! If you want a list you can pick up and play, we’ve brewed four exciting options for you using some of the set’s coolest legends. From Elves to Goblins to Dwarves to a brand new Bear Force, we’ve got decks with different punching powers for whichever bracket you like to play. Don’t miss them!
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Relevant Links:
Reggie AKA Arcade:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reggiethearcade
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReggieTheArcade
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reggie.aka.arcade
The Great Goblin Deck List:
https://archidekt.com/decks/24659968/cz_757_the_great_goblin
Beorn
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