Goblins have always been around in some form or another, and they're usually a problem. Competitively, they make up a very small slice of the meta. While they're no longer a major deck archetype, they do show up once or twice in Modern. They're still kicking about Standard as well (thanks to Foundations, which has a lot of staple goblins), and are likely to make a huge impact once Lorwyn drops.

Whether they'll be competitive is anyone's guess. Premodern is where goblins show up as a competitive deck, with Gruul making up around 7.5% of the current meta and Mono-Red goblins adding 1% to that number. I covered the best goblins for Commander recently, but the competitive scene also has several great options.

What goblins are the most competitive, then? We're not just talking within goblin decks, but goblins that show up in other archetypes, but are so useful that they just fit into those shells. Here's my top ten competitive goblins.

Honorable Mention: Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

While it's technically not a goblin on its primary side, Fable was such a good card that it had to be banned in Standard in May 2023, with WotC stating that it was simply too efficient for the format at that time. It showed up in numerous decks as a card selection engine, resource generator through its attacking token, and created a threat that could cause serious problems unless it was killed. While it still shows up in many decks in Modern and Pioneer, it's just outside of the power level of cards we'll see here.

10. Goblin Lackey

Most goblins are low-to-the-ground, but what if you didn't have to pay the casting cost for one of your utility goblins? Goblin Lackey comes down on turn one, theoretically, getting your Goblin Matron out on turn two to fetch you up another threat. Efficient curving makes Lackey a must-have in Legacy and Premodern lists. Because the best price you can pay for any spell is free.

9. Gempalm Incinerator

Card draw is not really something you think about in a goblin deck, but card draw that doubles as a removal spell has a place. Incinerator not only draws you a card for an affordable cost, but it also serves as removal, dealing X damage to a creature, where X is the amount of goblins you control. This card isn't likely to ever be cast, but it's fetchable removal in any goblin deck, making it one of the best utility goblins you can have.

8. Boggart Trawler // Boggart Bog

In some formats like Modern, Premodern, and Legacy, your deck needs to have an answer to graveyard shenanigans. Trawler sees play as an answer to graveyards and another utility goblin that you can fetch up. Nothing sucks worse than losing to a deck you can't interact with, and this goblin ensures you at least have an answer to reanimator and dredge decks so you don't auto-lose.

7. Conspicuous Snoop

One of Modern's best goblin decks is a combo deck that uses Snoop as a way to enable its combo. The deal is to get Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker on top of your deck somehow, usually through a tutor (we'll get to those shortly), and then use Snoop to copy itself at the end of your opponent's turn. From there, it's just a matter of attacking or using a Sling-Gang Lieutenant to close out the game. Snoop also saw some play in a previous Standard rotation alongside Brash Taunter. Its ability combined with the sheer volume of tutors goblins have access to makes it a formidable card to deal with.

6. Goblin Matron

If you're not doing Snoop things, Matron is the best tutor, since it gets any utility goblin you need into your hand. At mana value 3, it's not too expensive for what it does. A combination board of Matron with a Lackey in play both gets you any goblin you need and lets you play it for free (provided the Lackey doesn't have summoning sickness). Matron sees play in any goblin deck she's legal in. Definitely a mother only a child could love.

5. Ignoble Hierarch

Gruul Goblin decks don't use Ignoble Hierarch, but Modern Jund does. Using the hierarch alongside its ready Green mana, these decks can ramp out a Bloodbraid Elf or a Liliana of the Veil early and start causing trouble on board. Hierarch's presence in Jund decks ensures that these typically slow decks can get their game plan set up earlier. If you can't bolt the bird, bolting the Hierarch is the next best thing.

4. Goblin Guide

While it's no longer such a major staple in Modern Red Deck Wins lists, it still shows up from time to time in Mono-Red Burn. A one-mana 2/2 threat that potentially draws the opponent a land is a massive deal in decks trying to close the game out early. Chipping in for extra damage on early turns makes this into a significant threat, especially when the opponent usually can't stop the first few attacks. Despite Mono-Red Burn being around for so long, no card has ever beaten the Guide for efficiency.

3. Skirk Prospector

Aside from being a free sac outlet for every goblin (including himself), Skirk Prospector finds itself a useful enabler in any number of decks. While the Prospector has fallen out of favor with storm decks, it's shown up in many combo kills during its time in Modern and even when it made a return to Standard with Dominaria a few years ago. These days, there are more utility ways to "storm off" than building a board of goblins, but it's still one of the best ways to ramp in a goblin deck if one needs to get multiple spells cast on a single turn.

2. Muxus, Goblin Grandee

Muxus shows up in Legacy goblin decks and when he first was released, he was a menace to deal with. Even now, decks that run him have ways to cheat him out, making him into one of the most impactful threats a goblin deck can run. Using him in a 60-card format also means he's far more efficient at hitting goblins off the top of your deck. He might only be a 2-of in a deck, but with Matron and other tutors in the deck, all you need is two for him to give your opponent nightmares.

1. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Once upon a time, Kiki-Jiki was a menace in a deck that had to catch a ban because of how dominant it was in the format. Kiki-Jiki was a core part of ensuring that Splinter Twin decks could function efficiently, but he did his job too well. When Twin was banned, the deck made up a significant portion of the Modern meta. Today, he still sees play in Snoop combo decks, but his competitiveness in Modern has waned significantly, especially after the release of the Modern Horizons sets. Even with Twin being unbanned, the deck is too slow for the current iteration of Modern. Kiki-Jiki still takes the spot for my number one competitive goblin, just because of the history he has as part of the Splinter Twin deck.

Goblins used to be competitive, and even showed up at a few Mythic Championships in the past. While competitive goblins in Standard are a hard ask, we might see a few brews pop up once Lorwyn arrives. I'm a bit excited to see if they gave these critters some support. What do you think of these goblins? Who would you rate at number one?