Homebrewed

Subira, Goblin Caravanner (Commander)

Chev Eldrid

16 Jun 2020 - 8 min read

Core Set 2021 is shaping up to be the most impressive core set in the modern era, walking that fine line between powerful new cards and much needed reprints. As a commander player, I cannot tell you just how elated I am to see Scavenging Ooze , Heroic Intervention , Cultivate , Solemn Simulacrum , Grim Tutor , and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon showing up again in $4 packs. I mean come on!!! Almost makes a man want to buy a box. Can’t be as bad as the Origins boxes Julian and I opened a little over 5 years ago…can it?

Over these next couple weeks before release, we at Hexdrinkers thought we’d focus on some of the new cards joining us this summer. One of which has also inspired the first mono-red commander deck I’ve ever put together. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FORRRRR SUBIRA, TULZIDI CARAVANNER!

She’s got haste, she’s got the ability to make our mini-minions unblockable, AND has a pretty handy take on red card draw. Get it? Handy? Ahhh I wonder if Julian will let that through editing EDITOR’S NOTE: (I did, I am sorry - Julian). Let’s take Subira’s textbox line-by-line while we start to form some ideas on how to build a deck that most accurately shows off this new legend’s power.

Break it Down

Haste
Okay maybe we don’t need to spend so much time on this one BUT it does help highlight the aggressive nature of this no-nonsense caravan leader. You know we’ll be swinging on turn 3 at whoever still doesn’t have a creature out. There’s always one.

{1}: Another target creature with power 2 or less can’t be blocked this turn.
This is probably going to be the most important line on the entire card. Subira wants as many small creatures attacking as possible, but we’ll need the mana to pay for it. This seems like a less conditional, but more restrictive version of another Jamuraa legend we saw in C16, Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa . While that version doesn’t require an activation cost, I don’t think Sidar Kondo is nearly as powerful as Subira, and we’ll get to why in a minute. I also want to point out that Subira’s ability says another target creature can’t be blocked. So no shenanigans with a self-target and pumping for commander damage.

{1}{R}, {T}, Discard Your Hand: Until end of turn, whenever a creature you control with power 2 or less deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
Ooooo boy. Okay. This whole “whenever a creature deals combat damage, draw a card” is not an ability we generally see in red. Like, at all. From a couple informed Scryfall searches I couldn’t find a single example of this ability being used outside of blue and green with cards like Bident of Thassa and Keeper of Fables . This is a big deal. Yes, the creatures have to have power two or less - but considering that’s the same condition for unblockability it reinforces the cornerstones of our deck. No concerns here. The only downside of course is discarding your whole hand…but I don’t think it’ll be as big a deal as we might think. We can also capitalize on it with cards like Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Brallin, Skyshark Rider . Bottomline, when combined with the above ability to make all our creatures unblockable, we’ll be drawing an obscene amount of cards in a color that generally struggles to do so. Take that Sidar Kondo.

So we’ve got a commander that can push through damage AND draw us cards at a consistent rate, we just need to do it on her terms. Meaning we need an army of creatures that are power two or less. In Red. I wonder where we’re going to find them…

Down, down to Goblin Town

That’s right, it’s a caravan of goblins and Subira is leading them on a quest to pillage and loot until your opponents are crying for mercy.

Goblins are by nature very low to the ground and annoying little punks which is exactly what we’re looking for. Whether it be through token generation, goblin tutors (which there are a surprising amount of), or just a lot of creatures, we’ll be filling the board quickly and effectively.

Bring on the Goblins

Focusing first on the incredible rate at which Goblins produce more goblins, it’s no surprise that most other goblin commanders are potent token generators. Krenko has a long history of bringing an overwhelming force of rage every turn, and while Pashalik is a newer addition to the scene - he’s just as ready to keep cranking out 1/1s. We’ve also got cards like Beetleback Chief and Empty the Warrens when Krenko or Pashalik can’t pull all the weight on their own.

Our other main method of getting goblins into play is by tutoring and cheating them onto the battlefield. I’ll be honest, I did not expect this subtheme to be available, color me pleasantly surprised. Gosh darn it, these little goblin buggers are starting to earn my respect! Between Goblin Matron , Warren Instigator , and Goblin Lackey no matter what goblin we need - whether it be token generators or a tribal payoff - they’ll all be close at hand.

Ankle Shanking

So now we’ve got a board full of goblins, what do we do with them? Krenko and Pashalik brought all their friends to the party, but it’s Subira’s job to keep them entertained. Between Subira’s first ability, Purphoros, God of the Forge , Cavalcade of Calamity , and Boggart Shenanigans it doesn’t matter what our goblins are doing - our opponents will be feeling the pain. Goblin enters the battlefield, Purphoros and Impact tremors lay on the heat. Goblin attacks, get ready for Cavalcade of Calamity, and Raid Bombardment . Goblin dies, Boggart Shenanigans makes sure we have the last laugh. And When all that’s not enough, Gratuitous Violence and Fiery Emancipation raise the red pain train up to 11, turning even the minor-est of pings into a full blown smack. We’ve also got the Standard champ Torbran, Thane of Red Fell joining in on the fun! Now, I’m not a big math guy but if I do some calculations, carry the two, multiply by three… I think we’re looking at a metric %$@#-ton of damage per goblin.

Draw, Go

Once in a while we’ll feel like our hand is somewhat in need of a refresher, and Subira will need to make use of that secondary ability, giving us a whole lotta extra ammunition from our army of critters. We will need to spend two mana on the draw ability, so make sure you factor that into your unblockable mana-dump calculations. That is of course unless you’ve got a Battle Hymn or Brightstone Ritual in hand…then all bets are off. We’re also running Glint-Horn Buccaneer to take full advantage of the discard effect present on both Subira and cards like Faithless Looting . Even our “drawing” will hurt our opponents! Mwuahahaha!

The Team Players

Like any incredibly sinister plan to poke our opponents to death, this wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of plenty of other cards keeping our goblins happy, healthy, and unblocked. Give it up for the best of the rest! Helping Subira make the most of those many mini attacks we’ve got Kamigawa’s own Akki Underminer . A 1/1 goblin who makes our opponent sacrifice a permanent anytime it deals combat damage! Who designed this guy?! Don’t care, it’s a beast and I love it. Throne of the God-Pharaoh deals one extra helping of butt-whooping with each turn our goblin army attacks, and Shared Animosity triggers after we’d make creatures unblockable so we get an actual massive amount of damage through with just a few goblins! We’ve also got Meekstone , Red Elemental Blast , Deflecting Swat , and more keeping our board and commander safe from any sort of interaction from our pesky opponents.

Lastly, the cleanup step. If our endless damage locomotive of goblins isn’t enough for an unparalleled victory we’ve got a couple extra tricks up our sleeve. Like any good red deck, we’ve got Insurrection as a solid Plan B and Price of Progress in the Plan C position to hopefully take everyone down at least ten life for daring to play multicolor decks. I mean, the nerve! And if all that doesn’t work. Well. Clearly a couple of your goblins must have stepped on their own mines like their buddy Goblin Kaboomist . Can’t be helped when dealing with the lil’ numskulls…

I think that about wraps up how much I’m willing to say before giving you all the decklist but rest assured there are plenty of surprises left in store should you take this puppy for a drive! Enjoy everything Subira has to offer with her Goblin Caravan and stick around for more sick M21 builds!!

Subira and her Goblin Crew

More Entries in Homebrewed:

See All...