Commander Focus: Subverting Expectations, The Treachery of Images, & Grub, Storied Matriarch

There are paintings you read about before seeing, and jokes whose comedy arrives only in their explanation. 'Ghoti, pronounced fish' is a famous example, illustrative of the absurdity inherent to the English language, but there's one other clear contender for this genre of image: La Trahison des images, a.k.a. "This is not a pipe". It's a simple illustration, akin to what you might see as an advertisement in a magazine of the times, a standard profile work of an archetypal smoking pipe. That's just the thing though—it isn't. In spite of appearing so at first glance, it's merely a painting of a pipe, a simulacra of the real thing brought to life in oils; this is a pedantic point (as many absurdities like this are), but still relevant to our Commander today, Grub, Storied Matriarch//Grub, Notorious Auntie. On the surface, reading her front face, you might assume this is a Goblin typal deck, as indeed we see that to be the case on Moxfield and aggregators like EDHREC. It takes a bit of time to realize, however, that we've actually built Grub as a phenomenal, resilient, and oddly fast combat combo deck, based instead on her back side. It's going to take some explanation, and a bit of creative piloting, but I assure you, "This is not a Goblin deck." It's far better.

"Whenever Grub Attacks, You May Blight 1."

Grub's first line of text beyond Menace mentions Goblins, and it's not unreasonable to gravitate towards it as the core aspect of the deck; after all, typal is the most popular way to build a Commander deck, and Goblins are in the Top 5 most popular Creature types. The thing is, though, Grub's most powerful text (listed on her transformed side, Grub, Notorious Auntie) is entirely Goblin-agnostic. Whenever she swings, you get to take one of your other Creatures, Haste or not, and get a copy so long as it survives a single -1/-1 counter. That's substantial, and the ability to copy on attack has led to a number of endgames, fair or otherwise. More combats mean more counters, which mean more tokens, etc.—we've been down that road before when I covered Edea, Possessed Sorceress earlier this year, so while the intent to double or triple up on combats is there, it's not via the standard spells. Instead, Grub makes great use of a class of Creature that sees a ton of play in more casual Commander: Port Razer, and similar. The tokens she creates are new game objects, that keep track of their own players to whom they've dealt damage...and you can see where that gets out of hand.

Credit: René Magritte

Once Grub's back side is online and able to attack unhindered, while you control a Creature like Razer & Co., that's the end of the game. Getting there, especially given the hoops Grub makes you go through on top of the various alternate targets for Razer who aren't as simple, is why this list gets interesting. You need Grub to get to a brand-new First Main Phase, run out a 5+ mana body, and then have a 2/1 with Menace attack unimpeded—it's asking a lot, but contextually Rakdos is a phenomenal color pairing to make all this happen. Moreover, Goblins played for their effects rather than the fact they have Goblin in the textbox make up a sizeable chunk of this deck's Creature lineup. Grub does have a worthwhile Enters trigger, and it's a hard ask to fully forgo a bit of value; you can combine it, too, with Black's propensity for effects like Entomb to turn that trigger into a soft tutor. What Goblins are worth our time, for a deck uninterested in typal synergy? I'll give you a hint: They've got an OSHA complaint waiting for them at their desks.

Meet the Engineer(s)

Yes, it's the gruesome twosome of Goblin Welder & Goblin Engineer that we're after, who've shown up in a few of my Focuses as cornerstones of their own strategy. These Goblins are able to swap Artifacts you control with ones in your yard, and Engineer is even kind enough to place one there himself. This isn't an Artifact deck, to be clear, as we're instead just pulling on the best synergies provided by increased access to this duo. One such synergy comes from access to a bit of a rare effect in Rakdos, Mirror Box & Mirror Gallery. See, Grub doesn't block out copying other Legends, or even herself for that matter, so long as you're able to Blight—you're limited by the Legend Rule itself, something we're able to ignore through chaining between these wonky, win-more Artifacts. There is also The Master, Multiplied, the final relevant effect of this type in the colors, for which we're playing ample ramp and reanimation that will be touched on later. Engineer and Welder also make great use of Wishclaw Talisman, allowing us to avoid its downside by pitching it before the ability resolves, or get back a few very specific mana rocks for ramp and upside.

As for the other Goblins, it's time to talk about one of the most debated card releases in high-power EDH history: Vexing Squelcher. This card's reveal was met with uproar, claiming it would be a scourge upon the format, and in the end while it does provide non-Blue decks better counterplay for on-stack interaction, it's not shaking you down for lunch money. The card is good, not broken, but is coincidentally a Goblin and therefore accessible here. Moreover, Lorwyn Eclipsed's Scuzzback Scrounger does a lot of what we already like, pushing mana ahead and even killing itself over the course of ~3 turns to get back with Grub, as a sort-of mana rock with Vanishing. Speaking of mana, Skirk Prospector is extremely good at ensuring a Turn 3 Grub, getting itself back, but in the late game can translate middling bodies into mana for the likes of Port Razer & Co, just super useful. The less clean, obviously useful mana Goblin is...unfortunately, _____ Goblin, to whom I will refer to as 'Mind Goblin' going forward. Mind Goblin turns 3 mana into...more, the amount needing some explanation, being a Seething Song on legs and superb redundancy in that regard. Due to the mechanics of Sticker Sheets, you don't know how much mana is generated until the game starts, so let's talk about that.

I wish the math were as easy as a d20 roll.

Oh, Stickers. If you choose to, a player can arrive to a game with 10 of these hellish additional game objects, and pick three at random to use throughout. If we're playing optimally, 5/10 of these sheets have name stickers with four vowels, 3/10, with five vowels, and the glorious 'Delusionary' with six. The 10th sheet will have three vowels on a given word, but because you'll always get at least one other sheet with four or more, it's irrelevant. So, pulling our first sheet, we have an average potential produced mana value of 4.4 Red mana. Given we have three shots though, it's time for math: We can use a combination sum equation of 13 (meaning at least one number chosen is 5 or 6) to find that 38/120 possible three-sticker permutations will cause our Mind Goblin to make 5+ mana that game, which we'll use as our target value. 31.67% of the time, you've got a Seething Song on legs, but dear lord is it worth it? Unfortunately, the answer really is 'yes' this time, because our endgame revolves around 5-6 mana Red Creatures hitting the board, and it's the best mana acceleration available to Goblins in a single card. The coward's way out is of course to just run it as "Name Sticker" Goblin, the version they were able to code into MTGO, but this doesn't accurately represent the version of the card in paper Magic. Stats matter, even to Goblins. Especially to Delusionary Goblins.

Grub Rushes In

Leaving the realm of the heady, let's talk about what Goblins love most: Attacking. Grub needs to get in to trigger her Blight ability, and that's not the easiest ask for a 2/1, even with Menace. There's a number of ways to circumvent this, sure, but the larger problem is investment—what cards require the least input, for the least output necessary to safely swing with Grub? I was of two minds on this, in building the list. First and foremost, there are cantrips which reduce blockers, being Renegade Tactics & Panic, and given Menace it becomes increasingly unlikely your opponent has 3 willing blockers for Grub. The Black Gate & Escape Tunnel do a similar things, being baked into our mana base, but ideally we're looking for triggers which don't take mana. After all, we're usually willing to tap out and play a Port Razer effect to push for game, so surely there must be a better way. The deck already relies heavily on Stickers, so what's another asinine additional game piece?

I can't help but to hear an exchanging of blocks.

We're on a pair of Ring Tempts You cards, being Inherited Envelope & Call of the Ring, and I fully expect more to make their way into the list by year's end, with the introduction of The Hobbit this summer. The first level of Ring gives what is functionally Skulk to your Ringbearer, meaning it cannot be blocked by Creatures with greater power. That, coupled with Menace, makes Grub a pain to block by at least one of your opponents, and we're often cycling through Envelope via Engineer, given its place at 3 mana. There's a world where we could consider Rohirrim Lancer, or One Ring to Rule Them All, but at present I don't want to invest too heavily in it, given we're only super worried about absolutely needing to get in with Grub once. All this talk of attacking with Grub though, and we're referencing a version of the card that takes an entire rotation to come online though! There's plenty of ways for a 2/1 that enables combos to die before she flips, so how on earth are we ensuring the Notorious Auntie arrives? Well...

Turns and Burns

You aren't allowed to chain extra turns in Bracket 3 and below, and while I have my groans about certain win conditions involving infinite turns being boxed out arbitrarily, this rule exists for good reason. Nobody is looking for Simic Steve to take 40 minutes to cast fatties and fill his hand, only to realize there's no route to lethal. We're aiming to play extra turns, but in the most Red way possible: With threat of losing instantly. See, Red's got three copies of Final Fortune—two Sorceries, one Instant—which enables you to 'fast forward' the flip for Grub's notorious back side, phrasing intended. In fact, this is the premier trick for all the transforming Commanders from Lorwyn Eclipsed, no matter how you feel about turn spells. That's not to say they're all going to be on versions of the cards which hasten your or the table's demises, given you do need to threaten a win on resolution, but turns period are a great help for things like the new Izzet Ashling and more. There's one more turn spell we're on though, and it's a card which often flies under the radar: Ugin's Nexus. This, when it leaves the field, produces an extra turn as part of a replacement effect trigger, meaning it loves being sacrificed to Welder or Engineer, and at 5 mana it's just expensive enough to enjoy being brought back by the former as well.

Now that the proactive portion's been covered, it's worth highlighting as well that a good chunk of our reactive removal is also Goblins. I don't mean that in the sense of Goblins being removal, but in playing cheap Kindred pieces that can take small utility dudes off the table. Tarfire & Nameless Inversion aren't fantastic cards, but they do ensure Grub is more likely to get something back, and they can even clear the way for her to safely swing by removing blockers until the opponent has but one remaining. These double as additional card types for our pair of Delusion cards, the cheapest pseudo-Port Razer in Fear of Missing Out, and Bloodthirster tutor, Demonic Counsel. When turned on, the former can win with Grub, and the latter is a straight-up tutor (still with utility without though, finding either the Thirster or Nameless Inversion, via Changeling).

Straight Up "Gobbin It", and by "It", I mean-

We've tip-toed around it enough though, between constant mentions of Port Razer, and now Bloodthirster; it's time to outline exactly what board state we're approaching as the endgame nears. Razer, Thirster, FOMO, & Raphael, Tag Team Tough all do something funny with Grub, and occasionally Mirror Box: When you copy them with the Blight trigger, that copy tracks its own combats individually. You attack again, copy again, and there's another independent 'swing once at each opponent' body. Some may die, or run out of combats to actually use, but as long as we're making at least one new copy every ~3 or so combats, this repeats until you're the last one standing. We've covered that yes, these are expensive (hence Mind Goblin & co), and perhaps not the easiest to find (Demonic Counsel comes to mind, but also Forerunner of the Coalition and similar), but all that aside it's a strong linear gameplan. You know what you've got to do, how to do it, and you have plenty of tools to make that happen, including a plethora of reanimation effects in case you mill or otherwise lose access to these expensive beaters. Though those effects are intended for Razer & co, they do work just fine on value pieces, like Imperial Recruiter or Goblin Matron.

Where's Eomer? The Incinerator.

There's perhaps an elephant in the room though, in the form of Kiki-Jiki. Arguably the most famous Goblin in terms of combos, it seems a cinch to use him as a kill condition, whether recurred with Grub or reanimated with uh, Reanimate. That can certainly work, and I'd not blame anyone for his inclusion, but instead I've opted for Dualcaster Mage & the Twinflame effects, far better independent of a combo and fairly concise in their inclusion. That's a package nearly all Red decks looking to power up will consider, and it's no different here, especially with the strength that can arise from copying a Razer effect, combo or not.

Example Decklist: Ceci n'est pas une Goblin Deck

Looking at this list, there's a shocking dearth of Creatures compared to what you'd expect in a Grub list, which is entirely intentional. The list is ostensibly midrange, especially by ~B4 standards (though it's currently B3 by letter of the law), packed to the gills with filtering and small-ball removal. We're not super interested in board wipes, given Grub can take so long to get set up on her back side, and losing her not only means Command Tax, but a wait time. If you're queuing for a wincon, with no Final Fortune effect to flex, it feels sluggish at best.

That being said, we do benefit from her front side being purely Black, as Dark Ritual is as iconic as it is potent here, rushing out our Commander as soon as turn 1 (albeit missing her recursion effect). Similar Black rituals make appearances, such as Cabal Ritual, and as for the big-mana Red options, we're mostly reserving those for Razer & Co. Red for the endgame, Black for the early, and in the middle it's mostly relying on hitting Land drops and 'Jund-ing them out', so to say. This is a list with what I'd call 'cEDH tendencies', in that it's playing a ton of fast ramp and low-cost removal, with a highly linearized gameplan—the difference is that your Commander is a funky, clunky, but ultimately fun Goblin as opposed to some four-color Partner pairing. Grub isn't built for cEDH, but damned if she can't make it to at least mid B4, if you fit even faster mana into this list.

Decklists are kept updated, and may change with set releases.

As stated, this is currently a Bracket 3 list by strict definition, but it's built with higher echelons of play in mind. That's not to say I'd jam this with your fellow fringe cEDH options (among which this inarguably isn't), but that with the addition of fast mana and additional Game Changers, the core concept could absolutely hit those heights. I think there's a world where you could run this as a Snoop deck (named so for lines involving Conspicuous Snoop & Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker) and use Grub to soft tutor Snoop/Recruiter to hand after an Entomb, but that's a fairly fragile line which doesn't get a ton of value from her best side, e.g. Notorious Auntie. In a similar vein, this list would very much appreciate a Breach+LED package, and it was actually in the deck at one point before shifting focus. In short, while I wouldn't jam this version of combat combo Grub at Bracket 2, speeding it up is a great call. The happy medium, of course, is Bracket 3 where it feels quite at home.

Solemnly a Simulacra

In spite of having a full art, you simply can't beat Jesper for Magic art.

I think this wraps around nicely to the point that The Treachery of Images fundamentally is a pipe, by our standards of language; in a literal sense, it isn't, but much like this deck there's going to be some concessions made in representing the literal. What I mean by that, to be clear, is the notion that Grub still points us in the direction of running pieces like Hexing Squelcher for protection over Defense Grid, or Skirk Prospector over Goldhound. The core gameplan isn't comprised solely of Goblins, but it certainly involves them. In reading the decklist, there's far fewer than you'd see in a normal Grub list, but substantially more than that of the average Rakdos Commander. In short, it's as arguable here that this list fundamentally is a Goblin deck, by our common parlance, as Treachery is a pipe.

I see options hanging over my head like Kiki-Jiki or Akki Battle Squad, which while semi-synergistic get even better due to being Goblins, and I remember that of course that's the case. Goblins are Red's characteristic type. I talked about that a couple weeks back, in covering Lorwyn's Monoblack Elves, but essentially, it is impossible to extract certain types from certain gameplans, colors, or themes because Wizards defaults to them in printing new, powerful in-color effects. Why was Squelcher a Goblin? Lorwyn has Goblins, and it's Red, why wouldn't it be at least considered as the color's characteristic type during development? If you look to Red decks of two colors or less, it's only natural you'd see Goblins pop up in passing, just as in Green you'd see Elves—conscious avoidance would be needed not to. Perhaps then, this is as much a Goblin deck as any fast-paced, combat oriented Rakdos Commander list with an Artifact recursion subtheme might be, that its intrinsic self arrives with Goblins in hand regardless of intent. Or, maybe, I'm just Delusionary.

Until next time, Mind Goblin these philosophical arguments?

Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don't forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.