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Main » Articles » Off the Chain

Off the Chain

Mike Likes
Posted on August 24, 2018
 Reddit

At this point, it's no real secret - Goblin Chainwhirler is the most dominant card currently in Standard. Maybe you've tried playing other decks in an attempt to beat Chainwhirler decks, with varying degrees of success. But now you've decided, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. This week I have for you three different decks, all featuring Goblin Chainwhirler.

Mono-Red

The first deck we'll take a look at this week is a Mono-Red aggro deck that capitalizes on the Wizard creature type. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Red Aggro | Magic 2019 Standard | Back_swamp, (5-0) MTGO

Goblin Chainwhirler
This deck is super aggressive and will usually be turning its creatures sideways, attacking as often as possible. Soul-Scar Mage is your best turn one play if you have either a Goblin Chainwhirler in hand with enough lands to cast it on turn three or a burn spell or two. Otherwise you'll usually begin the game by playing Bomat Courier and getting in for a point or two of damage before your opponent gets out a blocker. The other 1 CMC (converted mana cost) creature, Ghitu Lavarunner is an okay turn one play if you don't have a Bomat Courier or Soul-Scar Mage, but it's usually better to play it once you have a couple of instant or sorcery cards in your graveyard.

Your two CMC creatures both serve very specific roles in the deck. Earthshaker Khenra is great to play if you're able to prevent your opponent's only creature from being able to block, usually enabling you to get another 3-4 points of damage through. If that's not possible, you're often better off playing Kari Zev. While she doesn't have haste, when you're able to attack with her the next turn, it can be difficult for your opponent to block both her, thanks to her menace, and the Ragavan token she creates. She will likely be a target for a removal spell from your opponent at their earliest opportunity.

Goblin Chainwhirler and Ahn-Crop Crasher round out your 3-drop slot for creatures. You'll usually want to hold off on casting the Chainwhirler until your post-combat main phase in the event that your opponent blocks any of your creatures leaving them vulnerable to the 1 point of damage the Chainwhirler causes when it enters play. With Ahn-Crop Crasher, it's usually correct to exert it whenever possible to ensure that additional damage goes through, unless your opponent has more creatures than you have. In that event, you may want to hold him back as a blocker until you're able to burn away your opponent's excess creatures.

This deck can hit hard and fast, but it can also stall once your opponent is able to get out a few creatures. If that should happen, you'll be thankful that this deck also has 12 instants that deal direct damage that can all either be directed at your opponent's creatures or directly at the opponent's life total. Knowing when to target an opposing creature versus targeting the opponent directly is dependent on the number of creatures your opponent has and the number of instants you have in hand. If you're able to remove enough creatures to allow for an alpha strike, then targeting creatures is likely the optimal move. Otherwise, feel free to target the opponent directly. Even if you don't have enough damage to kill them, you can get their life total low enough that the next spell you draw can. Keep them on their back foot and continue to press the advantage as long as you can.

Black/Red

Next we'll take a look at the B/R Aggro deck featuring Goblin Chainwhirler to see the differences.

B/R Midrange | Magic 2019 Standard | azuli86, (5-0) MTGO

This deck sacrifices a little bit of speed in order to gain some staying power for the later game. By replacing Soul-Scar Mage and Ghitu Lavarunner with powerful late-game threats such as Glorybringer and Rekindling Phoenix, you lose out on some of the early points of damage the Mono-Red deck could get in, but you get better defenders for the late game that can also attack with evasion, taking large chunks of life points from the opponent.

This deck also plays Scrapheap Scrounger, a threat than can be difficult to remove. Since it lacks the ability to block, you should always be attacking with Scrapheap Scrounger, forcing your opponent to either take 3 points of damage or block with at least one of their creatures. It's in this way that the Scrounger can act a lot like a burn spell you're able to cast each turn. And in the event that the Scrounger does die, it's pretty easy to return it to the battlefield to continue the cycle.

Pia Nalaar is very versatile, as she offers 3 points of power and toughness spread across two bodies. And since one of those bodies is also an artifact, she can help enable you to get the maximum value out of Unlicensed Disintegration when you cast it. However, don't be afraid to cast Unlicensed Disintegration even if you don't have an artifact in play. Sometimes it's better to be able to destroy a creature that's too threatening than to leave that creature in play until you're able to play an artifact. Think of the 3 points of damage you can do as simply an added bonus if you happen to get it.

White/Red

The final deck I have for you this week is a W/R Midrange deck. Let's take a look at it.

W/R Midrange | Magic 2019 Standard | Mudda, (5-0) MTGO

I've always been a fan of wr decks, and this one looks like a blast to play. The creature base in this deck is more like the Mono-Red version above. It also includes 8 direct damage spells, which pair nicely with Soul-Scar Mage, allowing you to weaken an opponent's creatures. Soul-Scar Mage also works nicely with Path of Mettle. When Path of Mettle enters the battlefield, it will likely deal 1 point of damage to the majority of your opponent's creatures, and that becomes permanent damage thanks to Soul-Scar Mage.

Once Path of Mettle transforms into Metzali, Tower of Triumph, you'll be able to either stop your opponent from attacking due to the possibility that they'll lose their best threat, or you'll be able to begin plinking away at their life total. Hazoret the Fervent can help with this as well, allowing you to consistently have one or fewer cards in your hand so that Hazoret can attack and block at will.

I particularly like the addition of Heroic Reinforcements in this deck, as it not only increases the amount of bodies you have on your side, but it also boosts all of the creatures you have in play. Since it's a sorcery, you can't really surprise your opponent with it, but that doesn't make it any less effective.

Wrapping Up

There were no changes made to the Banned and Restricted lists this past week, so it looks like we're stuck with Goblin Chainwhirler deck until rotation happens at the beginning of October. I plan to make the best out of it by playing Goblin Chainwhirler as much as I can until then. Which of these Goblin Chainwhirler decks do you like the best? You can let me know by leaving a comment below or you can reply to me directly on Twitter (@mikelikesmtg), or email me directly at mikelikesmtg@gmail.com. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes

TAGS articles, metagame, constructed, standard, decklist, mike likes, magic 2019 standard, 08242018, goblin chainwhirler

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