When Conspiracy: Take the Crown first came out, I thought the Goad mechanic looked interesting but I didn't think much more of it than that. It wasn't until I got a chance to play with it that I realized just what a workhorse this mechanic was! The flexibility of the mechanic is what makes it so great! With multiple opponents, goad allows you to force opponents to fight each other, and that is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to goad!

First the obvious: the creature is attacking if able. If you are looking for an opponent to take damage, goad is a great way to make that happen. So many games involve the creatures all just staring each other down, and no one attacks. Goad can change that and force opponents to start swinging at each other. You may just want damage dealt, or perhaps you want a small creature to die and forcing it to attack will mean that it dies. Forcing the attack can be a very good thing!

Goad guarantees the creature is tapped. Forget about forcing the creature to attack another player, just knowing the creature will be tapped is often enough. There are plenty of creatures that have an ability that forces them to tap. This means they don't have to attack at all, but it still demands they are tapped and it forces your opponent to tap them on their turn. This eliminates the creature as a potential blocker. It forces that opponent to use the creature's ability on their turn, so you know what they are planning. Think of all those creatures that get used at the end of an opponent's turn. It is just better to see them tapped earlier.

Goad also says the creature isn't attacking you. Sure, if you are the only opponent, the creature will be forced to attack you, but for most of the game, there will be another opponent around to attack. Knowing a particularly scary creature isn't swinging at you brings some peace of mind. You can play differently knowing that an Eldrazi isn't swinging your way next turn. It can also just be a way to ensure you get a break from the assault on the next turn!

With Goad only on six cards, I thought we could look at that flexibility and see how it shines, depending on the card you happen to be running.

Besmirch

Red has a long line of cards that give you control of an opponent's creature and lets you attack with it. Besmirch is another option to consider among those Threaten effects. Generally, when you played a Threaten effect, you had a way to sacrifice a creature. Why would you steal a creature if you are planning to give it back? You could attack someone you know will kill it, but often you are looking to attack the player you stole it from, and they may prefer to not kill it, hoping they'll get it back on their turn. Having a way to sacrifice a creature just makes sense, since it gives you the option of attacking anyone with the creature and not really worrying about whether it will live or die.

With Besmirch, you are getting a card that doesn't really need the sacrifice effect since it goads the creature you have stolen. This gives you all kinds of options! You can attack the creature's owner and know they will have to attack someone else with it. You can attack someone else with the card, and know that when you hand it back to your opponent, they will have to attack someone else with it on their turn. With just a little care, you can probably create a situation where the creature will die on the second attack!

Finally, Besmirch also means that the creature will be tapped down for a little longer than it would with just goad. If you attack with the creature, when you give it back, it is tapped and stays that way until that opponent's turn. On their turn, they either tap the creature or it attacks, so it is tapped again, and will stay that way until their next turn! So much opportunity to attack!

Jeering Homunculus

With Jeering Homunculus, it is an enter the battlefield ability that gives goad. Essentially this is another sorcery speed way to give a creature goad. In theory this means that it happens only once, but if you are playing Jeering Homunculus, you likely have a way to bounce the creature to goad again and again. How you choose to use this effect over and over again will depend on the board and how often you are able to bounce the Homunculus. It you are doing it once per turn, you can force the same creature to attack again and again into someone other than you! Another option is to choose different creatures each time, leaving your opponents wondering what you will choose next, and work out their best attacks every time.

Goblin Racketeer and Coveted Peacock

These two cards are essentially the same in that when they attack, you may goad target creature. Again you are able to goad a creature repeatedly, as long as your attacker survives each round and that is really the trick with these cards. Since you can only goad creatures the defending player controls, you are attacking into the creature that you fear.

In the worst case scenario, this is better than chump blocking. You swing in with the Racketeer and goad the creature, for example, an Eldrazi. The Racketeer dies to the Eldrazi, but it is still forced to swing at someone else next turn. This means that it will be tapped on your next turn and it isn't coming your way. This is better than simply leaving the Racketeer or another creature back to chump block. You lose your creature either way; but with goad, you get to see an opponent take the hit instead of you, and you guarantee the creature is tapped. Hopefully everyone can pile on and smack that opponent while they are vulnerable.

This all assumes that your creature is going to die. The Coveted Peacock flies! You may be able to simply evade the dangerous creature! Perhaps the creature you want gone is a small utility creature. Either way, it could be that you will get to use goad turn after turn as the Peacock flies over an opponent's defenses again and again! The Peacock's built-in evasion makes it a valuable way to repeatedly goad your opponent's threats!

Disrupt Decorum

This is the one goad card that wasn't in Conspiracy: Take the Crown, and it is amazing. Being able to goad every creature you don't control forces some chaos into your game. You get free attacks since you know no one will be attacking you and there will be virtually no blockers left to get in your way. This doesn't even have to be everyone attacking everyone else! This can be a great way for three of you to pile into a single opponent. Goad's flexibility really shines here, giving you a way to get in a few points on a variety of opponents, giving your opponents an excuse to swing into others, claiming they had no choice, or just hammering into one particularly threatening opponent. In many situations, Disrupt Decorum is better than Insurrection in that you aren't the one deciding where all the creatures are going, and you don't get the kickback. Plus, for only four mana, this can go off fairly early!

Grenzo, Havoc Raiser

I saved Grenzo for last because he gives you so many goad triggers and so many options! If you swing with six goblins, you can goad six creatures that player controls. Grenzo with a deck full of goblin tokens can guarantee that no dangerous creature ever attacks you. You can turn a single opponent's defenses to mud when they are forced to attack with all their creatures!

You do need to keep in mind that you have to do combat damage to that opponent. Your first attack needs to involve enough creatures that you know some of them will do combat damage. After the first attack, all their blockers will be tapped the following turn because they will be goaded. This means they'll be open to every one of your creatures the next turn, and you'll be able to goad all of those creatures again and again. They will be forced to attack into one opponent and do damage to them, while leaving themselves wide open to your repeated attacks!

The downside of Goad is that it is only on six cards! As future multiplayer sets come out, I hope to see Goad on more cards. The flexibility of the mechanic in multiplayer games gives you a chance to do all sorts of great things with these cards. I recommend running it when you can and discovering just how great goad can be!

Bruce Richard

@manaburned