Budget Pioneer Goblins by Darren Magnotti (Pioneer)

The Deck
The core principle behind this iteration of Goblins is a two-pronged approach in the form of "aggro meets combo." Traditionally, Goblins decks have either been low to the ground aggressive decks - either sacrificing Goblins for value or just using them to overpower opposing forces - or combo-y midrange decks that tried to cheat out large creatures while disrupting the opponent's plans through efficient Goblin-scented removal.

This deck combines aspects of both of these plans, utilizing our access to now eight copies of Fireblade Charger via Cacophony Scamp (henceforth referred to as "The Scamps"). In combination with Skirk Prospector, you can now effectively turn on the Goblin machine gun and chain these cards together by sacrificing one after another, finding additional copies via Conspicuous Snoop or Rundvelt Hordemaster and paying for them with the Prospector's mana. While the deck doesn't entirely rely on this plan to win, it comes in handy way more often than I expected and can be used post-combat to close out the game when the opponent was expecting to have one more turn to survive. While not nearly as consistent as the Modern Conspicuous Snoop combo, the Scamps combo is a lot more innocuous and difficult to see coming, thus making it harder to play around.

The other half of the list is hellbent on all-out Goblin aggro. Featuring such fan favorites as Foundry Street Denizen and Legion Loyalist, the deck has no issue crossing the red zone in an all-out assault. Goblins are one of the few types that have access to a strong suite of lord effects in Pioneer, and this deck takes full advantage of that fact. Attacking from two separate angles like this enables a much more immersive and satisfying "aggro deck" play experience, offering the opportunity to outplay and out power decks that would traditionally have no business losing to either of these strategies on their own. With the ability to flawlessly pivot between the two, Goblins has the potential to bring some serious heat to the table.

The important thing to note about this deck is that a majority of the cards are "must-answer threats", whether they seem to be on the surface or not. From Foundry Street Denizen becoming a massive threat as more Goblins enter play to Hordemaster and Hobgoblin Bandit Lord suiting up an army, each individual creature in the deck can turn into "the thing that kills you" at any moment. That's not even to speak to the additional utility that these creatures bring to the table. The Scamps are effectively removal spells for the likes of Llanowar Elves, Spirits, Rogues and even planeswalkers, while Hordemaster and Snoop are netting huge amounts of card advantage if left to their devices. In classic red fashion, you aren't really afforded the luxury of top-deck manipulation and can frequently get hosed by having the wrong cards in the wrong order off the top of the deck, but when things line up, you are afforded a tidal wave of card advantage that many decks will struggle to beat. This deck could even be viewed as a weird creature-based control deck in the right field, filling a similar role that it's been known to do in Legacy or Modern.

Initially, I struggled to find the right replacements for the cuts I needed to make as I took this deck to the budget level. Outside of the cards listed, there weren't a ton of options that both fit the budget and also fit what the deck was looking to do. So I decided to lean into that concept of becoming a weird control deck by featuring a small burn package that happened to synergize with the main game plan as well. Here's what I came up with:

One of the feelings that I've been missing in Pioneer is the skill that I'm best with: knowing who's the beatdown. Flexible decks that can flow between hard control and blistering aggro have traditionally been my bread and butter, from Legacy and Modern Burn to more recently things like Crashcade, I've been missing a deck that can fill both roles exceptionally well. With the addition of a strong and tight burn package to this already flexible deck, I feel like I've found an answer to that issue.

The main thing that this Burn package adds is reach, and the ability to reliably push through those final points of damage that we end up missing by removing our two key lands, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Den of the Bugbear. Touching on Nykthos, because it is admittedly the first card that people ask about when they view the list, it's really just a means to ensure that you're able to perform the combo aspect of the deck. While Skirk is fine at plowing through the myriad one-drops in the list, it's not so great when it comes to chaining your Scamps into Snoops or Goblin Instigators. Nykthos makes the combo happen when it needs to happen, and missing out on that means the deck can be left in this weird state where it doesn't have much mana left but has a small handful of damage left to deal. Den, on the other hand, is the deck's primary answer to opponents who remembered to bring their board wipes. Like most creature-based aggressive decks, Goblins can really start to flail when faced with a Supreme Verdict, and Den is one of the best ways of fighting through that. Instead of filling that slot with a "strictly worse" creature-land like Mishra's Foundry, the burn spells can just work to kill the opponent before the wrath matters.

Of the various approaches to adapting a deck list to a budget-friendly version, this is one that doesn't see nearly as much use because it's not frequently available. The first step to understanding what makes a budget list tick is knowing what makes the full version tick, and then translating it to your new and more limited card pool. Finding what makes a deck successful usually just results in a search for similar cards at a higher mana cost or with fewer add-ons, like using Underworld Dreams as a replacement for Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Generally these demotions will be straightforward, though sometimes there just isn't another option. In these scenarios, you can either change the deck's plan to suit your card pool (as I've done with decks like Modern Crashcade, replacing the tempo-building pitch Elementals with more controlling burn and counterspells), or you can change your card search to be more acclimated to the card pool you're working with. That's not a simple sentence to process, but basically if you can't find a card that ticks all of the boxes, you sometimes need to change the boxes instead of filling less of them.

This transition from the full Goblins list to a more burn-oriented budget version was an exercise in adaptability that came with an unexpected yet welcomed result which also happened to better match my play style. It just goes to show that Pioneer is far from solved, and regardless of your level of income or means, you can also find success with the deck that works best for you - or at least something close to it.

That's all for this one. With Aftermath on the horizon, I'm sure that we'll be seeing even more shake ups to our favorite formats in short order. As environments change, so too should we, as our strongest weapon as budget players is a sharp mind and the ability to make changes. Hopefully you're able to make similar adjustments to your favorite decks to put them well within your means too. Until next time, stay safe, play smart and thanks for reading.