On March 21st, I welcomed spring in Copenhagen, Denmark, during the Danish Premodern Nationals.

I arrived in Copenhagen a few days earlier with my family to do some sightseeing and get a feel for the city. It’s a modern city, but also with a lot of atmosphere - plenty of interesting and genuinely beautiful places.

The tournament was hosted at The Lab Kitchen, a restaurant located inside The Lab complex, a space used for film and photography production. The interior had an industrial vibe, big windows, plenty of natural light, high ceilings, and space; perfect conditions for a tournament. It comfortably fit around 130 players.

I arrived in the morning and grabbed a really good breakfast prepared by a professional chef. Shortly after, the main organizer, Simon Dybdal, went over the schedule, and we started playing.

Preparation

Preparing for this event wasn’t easy. At the end of January, I completely lost the motivation to play Premodern, and honestly, Magic in general. After a pretty intense period of testing different decks, including Machine Head, Deed Rock, and Darigaaz Midrange (Jund), I burned out and didn’t feel like looking at cards.

Still, I signed up for the Nationals as an adventure, combining playing with traveling, meeting new people, and experiencing different communities. That approach gave me a fresh boost of motivation, which is exactly how I want to approach this hobby.

As a result, I’m planning to attend another Premodern Nationals in May in London.

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Deck Choice

The initial plan was simple: stay competitive. Deed Rock was cut pretty quickly. I love the deck, but it disappointed in Magic: The Gathering Online (MTGO) testing.

I tested Full English Breakfast (FEB). It’s a cool deck and a lot of fun, but extremely demanding to pilot and requires constant, complex decision-making. During a long tournament, it could be exhausting. I dropped Enchantress for the same reason. I’ve played it quite a bit, but not enough to feel confident in a big event.

I considered classic Landstill, but after going 0-3 in a local Sidequest Challenge, I gave up on that idea. The deck struggles heavily against strategies, which are numerous in the meta.

For similar reasons, I passed on BW Control, though I’m quite comfortable with it.

I briefly considered Burn. After a few evenings of MTGO testing, I realized it’s not my kind of deck. I don’t like strategies that sometimes feel unbeatable, but other times completely fall apart due to lack of tempo and consistency.

I looked at Tireless Tribe and Quiet Speculation. After some local testing, it seemed solid — good answers and a strong tempo — but I wasn’t confident enough with it.

Same story with Survival Infestation. Cool and powerful deck, but its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Survival of the Fittest. If you have it, the deck runs smoothly. If you don’t, it's significantly worse.

In the end, I went with Goblins.

I’ve played Goblins before with good results, so it felt like the safest choice. I once took second place with it at a Sidequest Premodern Challenge. I lost in the finals to Marcin Kowalski’s (Premodern Forge) Pattern Rector.

Goblins are considered aggro, but that’s quite an oversimplification. The deck combines multiple game plans. It can play like a typical aggro deck, but has a strong midrange aspect. Depending on the matchup, it can shift into a more reactive role to control the board, disrupt the opponent’s resources, or go all-in on pressure. That flexibility is what I like most about the Goblins.

Testing

I chose the version of Gobplins.

The version was tempting because of Cabal Therapy and removal, but I don't like sacrificing goblins. I prefer treating them as a resource for building pressure rather than fuel for discard.

I did most of my testing with Grzegorz Talewski, who plays the version and is good with it. The key change after testing:

-3 Hearth Charm
+3 Lightning Bolt

Hearth Charm felt underwhelming in testing, so I swapped them for Lightning Bolts. I learned later that it wasn’t the right call.

Goblins

4 Goblin Lackey
4 Mogg Fanatic
1 Skirk Prospector
4 Goblin Piledriver
3 Gempalm Incinerator
1 Goblin Tinkerer
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Ringleader
3 Siege-Gang Commander
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Karplusan Forest
1 Mossfire Valley
8 Mountain
4 Rishadan Port
3 Wasteland
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard

1 Anarchy
1 Caller of the Claw
1 Forest
1 Goblin King
1 Hull Breach
3 Naturalize
1 Pyroblast
2 Pyrokinesis
3 Red Elemental Blast
1 Tranquil Domain

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Goblin Tinkerer

Goblin Tinkerer served as an additional answer to Phyrexian Dreadnought and an option against artifact-based decks to attack Mox Diamonds, utility artifacts, etc.

Lightning Bolt

Lightning Bolts were straightforward removal plus chip damage; simple and effective.

Anarchy

Not a big fan of Anarchy, but it’s the only reasonable answer to white permanents with and without protection. One copy felt mandatory.

Caller of the Claw

I used to play two copies to help against Rock (Deed removal). I’ve been on the receiving end of Caller of the Claw many times. I kept one copy as insurance against mass removal.

Goblin King

Goblin King is underrated. It can neutralize an Engineered Plague, and it performs well in non-mirror creature matchups. It came in handy against GW Madness.

Hull Breach

I like flexible answers. Bonus points for blowing up Oath of Druids and a Mox Diamond simultaneously.

Naturalize

Pretty standard must-have in Goblins because of Engineered Plague, Oath of Druids, Phyrexian Dreadnought, and various annoying artifacts and enchantments.

Pyroblast / Red Elemental Blast

Good against Phyrexian Dreadnought, Stasis, and other blue decks.

Tranquil Domain

Primarily hate for Enchantress, plus applications in other matchups.

Matches

Stiflenought | 1-2 Loss

In the first game, I only saw Islands and Peek, the latter of which was important to know about later. My opponent countered my plays, cast Chain of Vapor; I suspected Stasis. Eventually, he conceded before I could confirm what he was playing.

For game two, I brought in Naturalize, Hull Breach, and Pyroblasts. At a key moment, I made a mistake: I tapped out while holding a Pyroblast. My opponent played Phyrexian Dreadnought, and everything became clear.

Game three was unlucky. I mulliganed to five, didn’t have much pressure, and declined mulliganing to four. I couldn’t find threats and flooded. At one point, I had two Naturalizes and two Red Elemental blasts in hand when my opponent cast Peek.

I hesitated about whether to counter it. I decided not to waste the Pyroblast and revealed my hand, which was probably a mistake. It let him calculate whether he had enough protection for the combo. Next turn, Phyrexian Dreadnought hit the table, and my attempts to answer it weren’t enough.

Goblins | 2-0 Win

Game one basically won itself; my opponent was mana-screwed.

Game two was closer, but I had the better draw. My opponent tried to kill my Goblin Sharpshooter with Mogg Fanatic, but I cleared most of his board before it died.

UW Control/Midrange | 2-1 Win

This was an interesting match because it wasn’t a typical Landstill build. It played zero Standstill and zero creature lands.

In game one, I didn’t see any creature lands at all. My strong board presence outmuscled my opponent's insufficient answers, so he conceded.

Game two was much more even. My opponent countered well and drew many cards with Accumulated Knowledge and Fact or Fiction. He kept clearing the board via Wrath of God and Swords to Plowshares. Eventually, I ran out of gas. He resolved Exalted Angel.

Game three was close, but a Pyroblast on Fact or Fiction was crucial. I won that game and gained some momentum.

Goblins | 1-2 Loss

There were a lot of Goblins at this tournament. That was actually one of the reasons I initially didn’t want to play the deck. It’s popular, strong, and naturally leads to mirrors. I didn’t expect that many, though.

Mirrors are actually quite fun to play; they tend to be even, and usually the better player wins.

I won game one by applying more pressure. I lost game two due to a weak hand.

Game three was close, but my opponent had better tools; Siege-Gang Commander after Siege-Gang Commander. I killed his Goblin Sharpshooter before it got going, but Skirk Prospector and Hearth Charm (which I didn’t bring) did a lot of work.

At one point, Hearth Charm made his Goblin Lackey unblockable, which let him drop Siege-Gang Commander for free. I didn’t have removal, and things started to fall apart. Skirk Prospector generated a lot of extra mana, increasing his tempo further.

He drew well off Goblin Ringleader. My draws were noticeably worse. I had a chance to kill Skirk Prospector, but chose to go after Goblin Warchief and Siege-Gang Commander instead, since Goblin Sharpshooter was already in the graveyard.

After the match, he told me he played three Goblin Sharpshooters. That’s when I realized my assumption was wrong.

With this many mirrors, running more Goblin Sharpshooters makes sense.

Goblins | 2-1 Win

I don’t remember the games in great detail, but I recall many classic situations. Goblin Lackey into Mogg Fanatic, games came down to who drew better.

There were also many moments where both of us had boards full of goblins, but neither of us attacked, because we were afraid of haste blowouts. When attacks occurred, they were usually with a single goblin; either to force a block, deal chip damage, or create a chump-block situation.

I won game three thanks to two Goblin Warchiefs on board that allowed me to cast Siege-Gang Commander to apply heavy pressure and remove my opponent’s creatures.

Enchantress | 2-0 Win

This was a sad match for my opponent. He was mana-screwed in both games, and I took full advantage.

In both games, I locked down his source with Rishadan Port. I didn’t have overwhelming pressure and was tempted to commit more goblins to the board, but there was no need. Attacking with two 1/1s was enough.

Unlike my opponent, I hit my land drops and reached the point where I could deny resources and develop my board.

I didn’t feel great about the win because I know how it feels to be mana-screwed. On the other hand, I also play Enchantress and know how devastating cutting off mana can be.

Playing Serra Sanctum on turn two was a clear signal that something was wrong with his mana. At that stage, you don’t have enough enchantments to get value from it, and it’s very vulnerable to Wasteland, so it felt like a desperation play.

GW Madness | 2-1 W

This was a tough matchup.

Prismatic Strands did a lot of work for my opponent. On top of that, Wild Mongrel, Tireless Tribe, Basking Rootwalla, and Arrogant Wurm are all very strong tools against Goblins.

In game one, my opponent played two Mongrels and defended them very well while also pressuring me. Still, I managed to build a board advantage, and Piledrivers did their job.

In game two, I kept a weak hand - maybe the beers started kicking in at that point. Savannah Lions came down, then Tireless Tribe, then Arrogant Wurm, and finally Armadillo Cloak on the Wurm, and that was basically it.

In game three, I made a weird mistake - I didn’t notice I had a one-drop (Prospector) for turn one. Maybe it was the beers, maybe fatigue, maybe both. I was about to pass the turn, but changed my mind at the last second. My opponent allowed it, for which I’m very grateful, and I apologize again for that situation.

That game was unfortunate for my opponent - he didn’t find a green source, and Goblins are very good at exploiting that. The tempo was just too much. I also had Goblin King in play, which I had sideboarded in, and it turned out to be a great call - his Rootwallas couldn’t trade with my Lackeys (due to lack of green mana), and Lackeys kept putting more goblins onto the battlefield.

One Forest would have made a huge difference, but it just didn’t happen.