by Johnny Cycles, February 5th, 2026
The weather has wreaked havoc on my schedule. My kids missed a total of 8 days of school due to icy roads and only went back today. So while I was able to do a few short videos, I only managed to test out my latest build of Aristocrat Goblins a few times.
Here’s the decklist:
Decklist – Aristocrat Goblins 3.0
by Johnny Cycles
Format: Modern
Creatures (32)
| 4 Goblin Bushwhacker | |
| 4 Mogg Fanatic | |
| 4 Skirk Prospector | |
| 4 Boggart Cursecrafter | |
| 4 Conspicuous Snoop | |
| 4 Goblin Instigator | |
| 4 Rundvelt Hordemaster | |
| 2 Pashalik Mons | |
| 2 Goblin Ringleader |
Enchantments (5)
| 2 Goblin Bombardment | |
| 3 Boggart Mischief |
Spells (4)
| 4 Lightning Bolt |
Lands (19)
| 1 Blood Crypt | |
| 4 Bloodstained Mire | |
| 4 Cavern of Souls | |
| 1 Den of the Bugbear | |
| 6 Mountain | |
| 2 Raucous Theater | |
| 1 Swamp |
Sideboard (15)
| 4 Goblin Grenade | |
| 4 Thoughtseize | |
| 4 Rakdos Charm | |
| 3 Patriarch’s Bidding |
Thank you to someguy1ification for the great suggestions on how to tweak the deck! Unfortunately, I just haven’t had a chance to play it enough to post anything more than the decklist.
Truth time…
If you’ve been watching my content for awhile now, then you know how much I love the Aristocrat archetype. And you also know how much it disappoints me in Modern. The only exception to this has been my Affinity Aristocrats.
Alas, Goblin Aristocrats have let me down. Now, I haven’t gotten a ton of reps in with the deck, but the matches I have played haven’t been very competitive and, perhaps more importantly, haven’t been very fun. I DO think there is something to this deck, but I haven’t enjoyed playing it enough to keep trying. I will also say that the deck has a learning curve that takes more reps than I’ve managed, so I wouldn’t give up on Goblins in Modern if you love the tribe the way I love Dragons. They have the tools to compete!
The big reason, other than time constraints, that I’m abandoning Goblin Aristocrats is what is, for me, the death knell of any deck: when you do the thing you’re supposed to and it’s still neither fun nor good enough to win.
I can forgive a lot of losses if I enjoy the deck. I’m less inclined to play a deck I don’t enjoy just to win, but winning IS fun, too. When a deck checks neither box for me, it’s time to move on.
So, with that, I’m leaving Goblin Aristocrats behind.
Stay tuned for next week’s Keeping Modern Janky deck – Moonshadow and Friends!
