Goblin Rabblemaster is a card that's just started seeing press since the release of Magic 2015, thanks to Pro Tour Magic 2015. It’s a bit fragile to be sure, and making your other Goblins attack each turn can be a pretty steep drawback at times. However, making a creature every turn for free is a big deal, and I think that’s enough of an incentive that it could be a solid choice for Standard, especially for players on a budget. The only question is what kind of deck to put it in.

The main issue with Goblin Rabblemaster is that the tokens will attack and kill themselves against any random 2/2 creature on the other side of the battlefield. In order to fix this, I turned to one of my favorite cards from M15: Obelisk of Urd. By making the Goblins 3/3s, you massively increase the required size for your opponent to be able to block the token each turn. Even then, that large creature will be tied up with blocking each new token that comes out. In addition, the Obelisk’s convoke can be used to prevent certain Goblins from attacking when you don’t want them to.

Gobelisk ? Magic 2015 Standard | Mike Cannon

• Creatures (23)
• 3 Goblin Diplomats
• 4 Foundry Street Denizen
• 4 Frenzied Goblin
• 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
• 4 Krenko's Enforcer
• 4 Legion Loyalist

• Spells (16)
• 3 Dynacharge
• 3 Stoke the Flames
• 4 Lightning Strike
• 2 Hall of Triumph
• 4 Obelisk of Urd

• Lands (21)
• 21 Mountain

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The Goblins

Foundry Street Denizen is another great option. It can easily attack for 3 damage on the second turn, and once you cast Goblin Rabblemaster, it will always be at least a 2/1 when attacking. Often, it will stay at around 3 power throughout the midgame as you cast a new Goblin each turn.

Legion Loyalist is not one I was originally going to include—until I remembered that it grants first strike to all your creatures. With Foundry Street Denizen and Goblin Rabblemaster receiving power boosts every turn, the first strike and trample from Legion Loyalist can make it very difficult to block profitably. The fact that it entirely negates the tokens from cards like Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Master of Waves can also be game-ending.

Goblin Diplomats is a card I’m not entirely sure about, but I want a 2-drop Goblin, and it seems to be the best option. I originally went with Goblin Shortcutter, but I realized that turn two is not when you want to be casting it most of the time, and Frenzied Goblin already does the job better. The Diplomats force your opponent to attack you with everything. Sure, you’ll take some damage, but your opponent will probably take far more when you attack on your turn. Against this sort of deck, blocking is what you want to be doing for most of the game. Taking that option away can be devastating.

Krenko's Enforcer isn’t the most efficient threat, but it’s one that remains relevant throughout the game. Most popular decks don’t have many creatures that can block it. Those that can, such as Burning-Tree Emissary, are easily killed with burn spells, at which point your opponent will have a tough time finding a second red creature with only a few in the deck. With the Enforcer, it doesn’t matter how large your opponent’s blockers are as long as they aren’t red.

The Spells

Dynacharge provides a massive one-turn damage increase for only 3 mana. With all the cheap creatures in the deck, plus tokens from the Rabblemaster, you’re often looking at an extra 10 damage for the turn. It’s an instant, meaning you can use it after your opponent declares blockers for a lethal surprise, and the inclusion of Legion Loyalist means you can use it to take down larger creatures along with your opponent’s life total.

Lightning Strike is the staple red burn spell at the moment, with enough damage to take out a wide variety of creatures without spending a lot of mana. The ability to reduce your opponent’s life total by 3 at any time isn’t too bad either.

Stoke the Flames costs twice as much for 1 more damage, but as with the Obelisk, convoke can be used to your advantage by preventing unwanted attacks. In addition, that 1 extra damage is enough to deal with particularly problematic creatures such as Blood Baron of Vizkopa. Unlike Mizzium Mortars, it can be aimed at your opponent as well.

Playtesting

Mono-Green Devotion — Game 1

My opponent played Darksteel Citadel, cast Scavenging Ooze, and ended his turn. I passed back after playing a land.

My opponent attacked with Scavenging Ooze for 2, cast Burning-Tree Emissary, and passed the turn. I cast Krenko's Enforcer and passed back.

He cast Nylea, God of the Hunt, ending his turn without attacking. I tapped everything to cast Obelisk of Urd and ended my turn.

My opponent cast Nissa, Worldwaker and untapped four Forests. He attacked with Scavenging Ooze and passed the turn. I tapped Legion Loyalist and a pile of Mountains to cast another Obelisk of Urd, and I then attacked Nissa for 6 with Krenko's Enforcer. My opponent blocked with Burning-Tree Emissary, and I ended my turn.

My opponent used Nissa’s +1 to turn Darksteel Citadel into a 4/4. He cast Courser of Kruphix, playing a land to gain a life, and cast Sylvan Caryatid. He hit me for 2 with Scavenging Ooze and passed the turn. I cast Krenko's Enforcer and Hall of Triumph and then ended my turn.

My opponent cast Polukranos, World Eater, and he used Nissa to untap the four lands. He passed the turn. I cast Obelisk of Urd and attacked Nissa with my Enforcers, killing her. I ended my turn.

My opponent passed back with no play. I attacked with both Krenko's Enforcers. My opponent blocked one with Darksteel Citadel and took 9 from the other. I cast Goblin Rabblemaster and ended my turn.

My opponent cast Voyaging Satyr and passed back. I attacked with everything and cast Dynacharge for its overload cost. Facing 22 damage from the Enforcers alone and with only Darksteel Citadel to block them, my opponent conceded.

Game 2

He cast Sylvan Caryatid, and I cast a second Denizen followed by Legion Loyalist. I attacked with the Loyalist and the first Denizen. My opponent blocked the 1/1 with Sylvan Caryatid and took 3.

My opponent cast Courser of Kruphix. He played Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and gained 1 life before ending his turn. I cast Goblin Rabblemaster, made a token at the beginning of combat, and tapped everything save a Foundry Street Denizen to cast Stoke the Flames on Courser of Kruphix. The Denizen attacked for 3, and I passed the turn.

My opponent cast Polukranos, World Eater and ended his turn. I made a token at the beginning of combat, triggering the Denizens. I attacked with everything, with Legion Loyalist giving my creatures first strike and trample and the Rabblemaster getting +5/+0. Sylvan Caryatid blocked a Denizen, and Polukranos blocked Legion Loyalist. I cast Dynacharge with overload, hitting for a total of 20 damage to end the game on turn four.

Wrap-Up

This is probably the fastest deck in Standard, able to win the game by turn four even through resistance. Obelisk of Urd also gives you some staying power, especially if you draw them in multiples. Although the lack of creatures in the first game would have been a terrible draw for most aggro decks, the sheer power of Obelisk of Urd allowed me to eventually win anyway. If you want to prey on slow midrange decks, or if you just want to have plenty of time in between round to go grab some food, this may be the deck for you.