Goblin
"Goblin" (Japanese: ゴブリン Goburin) is an archetype that received its first support in The New Challengers, in which "Scrounging Goblin" was released, many years after the introduction of the first members. As a result, much like the "Penguin" archetype, the theme includes many otherwise unrelated cards. Goblins are a common fixture of modern fantasy media, especially those influenced by JRPGs, which may help explain why there have been multiple takes on the creatures in-franchise over the years, incorporating various aspects of their stereotypical portrayals in other media.
"Goblin Fan" is not a member of the archetype, as its name does not contain 「ゴブリン」.
Design[edit]
Three notable subgroupings within the theme can be distinguished. First is "Goblin Attack Force" and its variations, based on the idea of a group of goblins posing a notable immediate threat that is nonetheless easily dispatched due to their low HP. Most members of this original group share the effect "if this card attacks, it is changed to Defense Position at the end of the Battle Phase, and its battle position cannot be changed until the End Phase of your next turn" (though not necessarily with the same wording) and the trait of having 0 DEF. Second are the cards that form part of the "Goblin of Greed" storyline, which instead focuses on the avarice often associated with modern fantasy goblins. Lastly, in Phantom Nightmare, the "Goblin Biker" sub-archetype was released, which forms part of the "Diabellstar" storyline, and features goblins that have tamed wild beasts to use as war-mounts. While "Goblin Bikers" have a distinct playstyle, they support all "Goblin" monsters, albeit having poor synergy with the older cards (which are mostly Level 1 or 4) due to focusing on Rank 3 Xyz Summoning.
Playing style[edit]
Most older "Goblins" have an enormous advantage in ATK. "Goblin Attack Force" clocks in at 2300 ATK, "Goblin Elite Attack Squad" brings 2200 ATK to the table and "Goblin Black Ops" is relatively big for a direct attacker, having 1300 ATK. Because of this advantage, "Goblins" may be the archetype with the strongest Level 4 monsters. However, though "Goblins" have several advantages in form of their original ATK, they almost all have a drawback that makes a Deck containing them somewhat hard to use. The drawback is that after most "Goblin" monsters battle, they must change into face-up Defense Position. To prevent this drawback from destroying your overall strategy, you can add copies of "Final Attack Orders" or simply use them for Link or Level 4 Xyz Summons to circumvent the issue of having 0 DEF monster as your final line of defense.
The "Goblin" archetype's original searcher, the Level 4 "Scrounging Goblin", not only has the chance of fetching cards from the opponent's hand but also searches for almost any card with "Goblin" in it. This widens the search pool to a number of cards that originally didn't have to do anything with the green heavy hitters. The weird search effect can give you cards like "Upstart Goblin" or "Good Goblin Housekeeping", which help in the consistency department or supportive cards like "Robbin' Goblin", which will diminish the resources of your opponent. Both "Scrounging Goblin" as well as "Goblin Recon Squad" need to deal damage to the opponent to trigger their effects, making "Moon Mirror Shield" helpful. The additional damage also helps in edging the opponent nearer to 0 LP, which is undeniably the overall strategy of a Beatdown-heavy "Goblin" deck.
Unfortunately, "Goblins" are very slow, and have a hard time doing more than one Normal Summon per turn. To circumvent this issue, cards like "Marauding Captain" and "Goblindbergh" can be used to up the number of monsters per turn and therefore allowing for easier access to the Xyz and Link monsters. You can also use "Skill Drain" to prevent the effects of the big boys which would put them into defense while negating your opponent's card effects at the same time. You can also use "Zero Gravity" when most of your strong "Goblins" are in defense to switch them to attack, or for an added bonus use "Gamushara", potentially killing the opponents monster or dealing a nice sum of damage. Further Floodgates that can be added are both "Dimensional Fissure" and "Macro Cosmos", since the "Goblins" hardly ever work with the Graveyard and therefore don't really mind their cards being banished.
Recommended cards[edit]
Weaknesses[edit]
- "Goblins" rely on monsters and the battle damage done by them, and will therefore crumble if their monster line-up is constantly destroyed via "Raigeki", "Dark Hole" or "Interrupted Kaiju Slumber".
- By the same token, any form of summon negation can mean a killing blow for the green horde, making "Solemn Judgment", "Solemn Warning" or any similar effect very effective against them.
- Defensive and control-oriented decks can have a field day with this deck due to its limited access to removal and control options; those decks can slowly block and halt any dangerous advances from the "Goblin" player while building a very cozy board position for themselves.
Trivia[edit]
- As noted, "Goblin Fan" is not a "Goblin" card; its name in English is due to the localization of the Japanese mythical creature known as the tengu into "goblin". Tengus are sometimes said to use fans to control air-currents.
