[Pioneer] Calamitous Impact (Pioneer on a Budget)

[ComingUpCway84]

Calamitous Impact (Pioneer on a Budget)

A budget deck I've been playing around with in Pioneer. Our goal is to use Impact Tremors, Cavalcade of Calamity and a bunch of 1/1s to absolutely wipe our opponent out by piling on damage. The deck is great against Oko (a pretty big deal in the format), and fast enough to be really fun when it gets going.

Could still use some work to shore up the weaker aspects of the plan, so any and all suggestions are much appreciated!

[GoblinRed]

Add Torbran...

[ComingUpCway84]

Torbran is super good, but 4 Mana is kinda stretching it a bit. Could maybe shift things around a little bit though, add in Skirk Prospector as a 1 drop, go down Skullcrack in the main!

[ComingUpCway84]

Made some minor changes to try out some new tech. Was looking for an aggressive 1 drop to slot in, but actually Skirk Prospector works out even better, giving us access to some pretty explosive turns. It also lets us play Torbran, which is something I was dying to fit in but just couldn't with the old configuration because of its higher CMC. In terms of cuts, getting rid of a couple of Warbosses further dips the power of our opponent's Oko (Torbran can also be stolen, but comes with the benefit of winning the game out of nowhere). I've also cut Skullcracks as the least synergistic part of the plan, although I've slotted 2 Tibalts into the sb to deal with lifegain from Food tokens and Siege Rhinos, while feeding into our token plan. Really appreciate the suggestions and the support, keep it coming!!

Revision 2

Added/removed cards:
-4 Skullcrack
+4 Skirk Prospector
+2 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
-2 (SB) Grafdigger's Cage
+1 (SB) By Force
+2 (SB) Crook of Condemnation
+2 (SB) Tibalt, Rakish Instigator

Changed amounts:
-2 Legion Warboss
-1 (SB) Abrade
-2 (SB) Roast

[mnemonic78]

What do you think about adding Fervent Champion instead of  Skirk Prospector?

[ComingUpCway84]

Fervent Champion is aggressive, but without making use of either of it's other abilities it seems fairly weak in the slot. If you were looking for a more aggressive 1 drop, you could definitely consider Fanatical Firebrand or Legion Loyalist. Personally, I've been a huge fan of the reach that Prospector brings. It might not be aggressive, but it gets Torbran out a turn earlier and can turn excess goblins into explosive turns.

[gigifi]

Siege-Gang Commander ??

[ComingUpCway84]

Siege gang has always seemed just slightly too expensive, but maybe in the slot of Legion Warboss, haven't been crazy impressed with it lately.

[ComingUpCway84]

Another couple of small updates! Namely, I've swapped out Legion Warboss (which was fine, but unspectacular) for Siege Gang Commander, which gives me some extra reach in the late game; and I'm also trying out Stoke the Flames over Skewer the Critics. Skewer is great and doesn't require me to tap out multiple creatures that might be able to attack and trigger Cavalcade, but I think the trade-off of potentially being free and taking out Thing in the Ice pre-board is too good to pass up.

Revision 5

Added/removed cards:
-2 Legion Warboss
-4 Skewer the Critics
+2 Siege-Gang Commander
+4 Stoke the Flames

[gigifi]

I am trying your deck with these even here:
Dwarven mine .
Bomat courier .
what do you think about it ??

[ComingUpCway84]

Appreciate you giving the deck a go! Dwarven Mine seems a little hit or miss (as our land count is low enough to make it kind of hard for us to not hit 3 mountains before we have to play it), but I could definitely see it maybe being useful in some situations! As for Bomat Courier, I think it really comes down to personal preference. Courier seems really good at getting some cards back into our hand if we start running low in the mid game- which is definitely a concern- but I personally really like the potential explosiveness of Skirk Prospector. Definitely let me know how you find it though!

[Chinowood]

How about banefire for a finisher?

[ComingUpCway84]

Banefire might not be a bad shout! I think it's a little situational for the mainboard, but having a copy of two to bring in against control doesn't seem like a terrible idea.

[bradcoish23]

I think Ramunap Ruins is worth adding. Taking a few pings is worth it since you are all-in aggro.

I'm not sold on Siege-Gang Commander. Unless you have a Skirk Prospector, you are very unlikely to get this cast most games. Seems bad to play a card so reliant on another card in an aggressive deck. Also, if your opponent is going to kill any early game creature it is going to be Skirk Prospector over a 1/1 token. I guess the plan with Siege Gang Commander is to sacrifice your board to get him out after the game stalls, but that works against Cavalcade. He is probably amazing with Impact Tremors, but a lot weaker with Cavalcade.

The deck feels like it needs a cheap instant speed anthem effect to boost your attacks, however there is not a whole lot  available. Most options don't work with Cavalcade. If you splashed red or green there are multiple options, but I get that goes against the budget. Have you considered cutting Cavalcade and going into Reckless Bushwhacker territory. Still on budget and gives you the anthem the deck is missing (also a Goblin).

The deck is sweet, but it just feels like it is missing that one card to put it over the top. Hard nut to crack.

[ComingUpCway84]

Thanks for the comment! Ruins is an okay shout, but it in turn makes us run into more situations where Castle Embereth comes in tapped. So while it would be handy as a way to close out the game if it goes long, the trade-off of increasing our risk of taplands seems very high.

As for SGC, I actually had Legion Warboss in the slot for a long time as a cheaper, consistent token producer, but I've actually really liked the couple of copies of Siege Gang topping off the curve. It's expensive but it gives us 4 additional bodies, some wrath insurance and a highly synergistic card with Torbran. He also avoids the cavalcade nonbo by letting us swing in and sacrifice any blocked goblins after the trigger.

Likewise with Bushwhacker, while I wouldn't be opposed to finding space for it if I can, what's great about cavalcade is the permanence of the effect. In practice, the deck actually plays pretty grindy for the most part, and chipping away consistently regardless of blockers is often the difference between winning or getting overwhelmed by something like an Oko.

With all that being said, I'd be interested to see a more goblin focused deck though! Replacing the tremors/cavalcade plan with some piledrivers and 1 drops would make surging a Bushwhacker more consistent and lead to some crazy turns!