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Best Goblin Commanders in MTG

Goblins can overwhelm a table with creatures, turn a crowd into mana or make one cheap spell affect an entire army. The theme has more variety than its reputation for charging into combat suggests. Choose a commander that tells you what all those Goblins are supposed to do.

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Pick a plan for the swarm

Our picks cover different ways to build the theme. They are editorial recommendations, not a popularity or win-rate ranking.

  • Beginner-friendly A clear plan with few decisions per turn
  • Budget-friendly The commander is inexpensive and the deck works without pricey staples
  • High power Among the strongest versions of the theme
Krenko, Mob Boss — Magic: The Gathering card

Krenko, Mob Boss — turn a few Goblins into an army

Color identity: RedComplexity: LowBeginner-friendlyBudget-friendly

Krenko taps to create a Goblin for each Goblin you control, including itself. The army can grow quickly if you untap with it. Haste and protection are valuable because a Krenko that never gets to activate isn’t much of an engine.

Strengths

  • Taps to make as many Goblins as you control, doubling the army each turn
  • Mono-red: simple mana and cheap cards
  • One untouched turn can win the game

Watch out for

  • Has to survive a turn before it can tap
  • A board of 1/1s struggles against sweepers

Best for: Newcomers and anyone who wants to flood the table with Goblins.

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Muxus, Goblin Grandee — Magic: The Gathering card

Muxus, Goblin Grandee — fill the battlefield in one entrance

Color identity: RedComplexity: Medium

When Muxus enters, you reveal six cards and put Goblin creature cards with mana value five or less from among them onto the battlefield. That makes the deck’s Goblin density important. Non-Goblin support needs to earn its place, since every such card is a miss for this ability.

Strengths

  • Puts Goblins with mana value 5 or less onto the battlefield from the top six cards
  • Attacks bigger with every other Goblin
  • Six mana for a big turn

Watch out for

  • Six mana is late for a red deck
  • Hits depend on what the top six cards hold

Best for: Players who want a big turn and a dense Goblin deck.

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Zada, Hedron Grinder — Magic: The Gathering card

Zada, Hedron Grinder — make one spell reach the whole team

Color identity: RedComplexity: HighBudget-friendly

Cast an instant or sorcery that targets only Zada, and it can copy that spell for each of your other creatures the spell could target. Goblin tokens provide the bodies. Zada doesn’t require them to be Goblins, so decide how closely you want to stick to the creature type.

Strengths

  • One pump or protection spell hits your whole team
  • Mono-red and cheap
  • Explosive with a wide board

Watch out for

  • Only works with spells that target a creature, and with Zada alive
  • Needs a board of other creatures to matter

Best for: Players who like explosive, combo-style turns.

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Wort, Boggart Auntie — Magic: The Gathering card

Wort, Boggart Auntie — recover Goblin cards from the graveyard

Color identity: Black, RedComplexity: Medium

Wort can return a target Goblin card from your graveyard to your hand at the beginning of your upkeep. Black brings more graveyard and sacrifice options than a mono-red build. Wort supports a longer game, but the recovered card still needs to be played or cast normally.

Strengths

  • Returns a Goblin card from your graveyard every upkeep
  • Fear makes it hard to block
  • Two colors and four mana

Watch out for

  • Only one Goblin per turn
  • An expensive card for a four-mana body

Best for: Players who like recursion and a grindy plan.

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Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin — Magic: The Gathering card

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin — grow the army through attacks

Color identity: RedComplexity: LowBeginner-friendlyBudget-friendly

When this Krenko attacks, it gains a +1/+1 counter and creates Goblin tokens equal to its power. Boosting its power before the trigger resolves increases the payoff. Unlike Mob Boss, this version needs to attack, so keeping your commander alive in combat becomes part of the plan.

Strengths

  • Three mana, and every attack makes more Goblins
  • Gets a +1/+1 counter each time it attacks
  • Mono-red and cheap

Watch out for

  • A 1/2 attacking early is risky
  • Needs protection or evasion

Best for: Aggressive players who like a quick start.

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Goblin commanders compared

All five at a glance. Complexity and budget are our judgement; see each commander above for the reasons.

CommanderColorsPlanComplexityBudget-friendlyBuild
Krenko, Mob BossTurn a few Goblins into an armyLowYesBuild
Muxus, Goblin GrandeeFill the battlefield in one entranceMedium—Build
Zada, Hedron GrinderMake one spell reach the whole teamHighYesBuild
Wort, Boggart AuntieRecover Goblin cards from the graveyardMedium—Build
Krenko, Tin Street KingpinGrow the army through attacksLowYesBuild

Decide what happens after you make the tokens

Skirk Prospector turns sacrificed Goblins into red mana. Goblin Warchief reduces your Goblin spell costs and gives your Goblins haste. Both fit all five commanders and help in different ways: one converts bodies into resources, the other helps you deploy and use them.

For a first build, mono-red keeps the mana base straightforward. Don’t spend the whole hand making an impressive battlefield if one board wipe leaves you unable to rebuild. Card draw matters just as much here as in a slower deck.

Key cards and synergies for Goblins

Cards that show up in many Goblin decks, by the job they do. Which ones fit depends on your commander’s colors.

Goblin payoffs and finders

The tribal core: lords, cost reducers and tutors.

Token and mana engines

Make Goblins and spend them for value.

Payoffs and protection

Turn a wide board into damage and cards.

Best budget Goblin commanders

Goblins have always been a budget tribe: the lords, the token makers and the tutors cost little, and three of these commanders are among the cheapest in the set.

Krenko, Mob Boss

Krenko, Mob Boss

Mono-red, and the whole plan is a handful of cheap Goblins.

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Zada, Hedron Grinder

Zada, Hedron Grinder

Cheap pump spells and a wide board of cheap creatures.

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Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

Three mana, and it makes its own Goblins.

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Prices change daily, so this page names none. Commandarium shows today’s price for every card in a deck, and counts what you already own.

Goblin Commander FAQ

Which Krenko should I choose?

Mob Boss makes tokens with a tap ability based on your Goblin count. Tin Street Kingpin makes them through an attack trigger based on its power. Choose around the resources you want to develop.

Does a Zada deck have to be all Goblins?

No. Zada works with your other eligible creatures regardless of type. A Goblin theme is one way to supply plenty of bodies.

Do I need infinite combos?

No. A wide attack, a power boost for the team or repeated damage payoffs can end a game. Combo packages are a separate deckbuilding choice.

Start with the Goblins in your collection

Choose your commander in Commandarium and give your existing Goblins a shared game plan.

Build my Goblin deck

Opens Commandarium. Tap New deck on the start screen to see the possible commanders in your collection.

Related reading

Tokens

Go wide with more creatures than the table can block, then pump them all.

Art: Jason A. Engle · Chatterfang, Squirrel General10 commanders compared →

Aristocrats

Sacrifice your own creatures and drain the table with every death.

Art: Magali Villeneuve · Teysa Karlov10 commanders compared →

Spellslinger

Turn cheap instants and sorceries into tokens, card draw and damage.

Art: Mathias Kollros · Veyran, Voice of Duality5 commanders compared →

More ways to start

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The legendary creatures you already own, as a starting point.

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How Commandarium builds a deck from your collection.

Deck ratios

How many lands, ramp, draw and removal.

All commander themes

Every archetype we have compared.