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.
"Crow Goblin" and "Goblin Fan" are not members of the archetype, as their names do not contain 「ゴブリン」. The archetype has 1 sub-archetype: "Goblin Biker".
Contents
LoreEdit
DesignEdit
Most Goblin cards form part of the "Goblin of Greed" storyline, which focuses on the avarice often associated with modern fantasy goblins. Accordingly, they're almost exclusively seen as green-skinned creatures with pointed ears, often somewhat barbaric in demeanor. There are two notable subgroups.
Goblin Attack ForceEdit
"Goblin Attack Force" and its variations are based on the idea of a group of goblins posing a notable immediate threat that is nonetheless easily dispatched due to their low HP. All members of this group are Level 4 Effect Monsters, with most having 0 DEF and sharing a standard effect that if it successfully attacks, it is changed to Defense Position at the end of the Battle Phase, and its battle position cannot be changed except with a card effect until the End Phase of your next turn.
| Card | Position-changing effect | Other effect | Type | Attribute | ATK | DEF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goblin Attack Force | Standard | N/A | Warrior | EARTH | 2300 | 0 |
| Goblin Black Ops | Standard | Direct attacker | Beast-Warrior | DARK | 1300 | 0 |
| Goblin Dancers (anime-exclusive) | Unknown | Unknown | Fiend | EARTH | 2000 | 1000 |
| Goblin Decoy Squad | Standard | When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, you can draw 1 card. | Warrior | DARK | 1000 | 0 |
| Goblin Elite Attack Force | Standard | N/A | Fiend | EARTH | 2200 | 1500 |
| Goblin Freefall Squad | If Special Summoned from the hand in Attack Position, target an Effect Monster your opponent controls; change this card to Defense Position, also negate the effects of that monster while this monster is in face-up Defense Position. | Only once per turn, if a monster(s) is Special Summoned to your opponent's field, while this card is in your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can discard 1 card; add this card to your hand. | Warrior | WIND | 0 | 2000 |
| Goblin Marauding Squad | Standard | Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects when this card declares an attack. | Beast-Warrior | EARTH | 1900 | 0 |
| Goblin Pothole Squad | N/A | Prevents activation of Trap Cards when Normal Summoned, and prevents activation of Trap Hole cards when a monster is Summoned (except Darkfall, formerly Dark Trap Hole). | Warrior | EARTH | 1500 | 400 |
| Goblin Recon Squad | Standard | If it successfully attacks directly, look at 1 random card in your opponent’s hand, and if it’s a Spell Card, send it to the GY. | Warrior | WIND | 1700 | 0 |
| Goblindbergh | When Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand, then change this card to Defense Position. | N/A | Warrior | EARTH | 1400 | 0 |
| Toon Goblin Attack Force | Standard | Cannot attack the turn it is Summoned. If "Toon World" on the field is destroyed, destroy this card. While you control "Toon World" and your opponent controls no Toon monsters, this card can attack your opponent directly. | Warrior | Earth | 2300 | 0 |
Goblin BikersEdit
Main article: Goblin Biker
Introduced in Phantom Nightmare, the "Goblin Biker" sub-archetype from the "Diabellstar" storyline 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 styleEdit
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 the 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 cardsEdit
WeaknessesEdit
- "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.
TriviaEdit
- 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.
- While not having "Goblin" in their name, the Token Celebration cards prominently feature Goblins in their artwork.