Friday 21 August 2020

7 Point Highlander Goblins Analysis 2020

Hello aspiring Warchiefs!

There has been a lot of hype around Goblins lately due to the printing of Conspicuous Snoop from Core21 and Muxus, Goblin Grandee from the latest set, Jumpstart. 

As someone who has been playing and tweaking 7-Point Goblins for almost two years, I thought I could share my knowledge.
To be a true Goblin master you must have innate love for them; To chuckle at the art, the flavour text; Heckle opponents with your best Warcraft Goblin Sapper impressions as you send your 1/1's to their death!

The article will be structured thusly:
  • THE LIST I'M USING AT THE MOMENT (Rbg combos)
  • CHANGING ROLES FOR DIFFERENT MATCHUPS AND HOW THAT EFFECTS CARD SELECTION
  • CHOICE OF POINTS, THE CURVE, BLOOD MOON AND MANA BASE - ALL ENTWINED
  • EXPLANATION OF THE COMBOS
  • COMMENTS ABOUT SOME INDIVIDUAL CARDS
  • SIDEBOARDING
  • OTHER CONCIEVED BUILDS
  • END

THE LIST I'M USING AT THE MOMENT (Rbg combos)

You can view the card images in whatever arrangement you like on moxfield.com HERE. And below is the list in text. Bear in mind this list is always in flux due metagame changes, new printings and my evolving opinions!:

Mana Crypt [2 POINTS]
Mox Ruby [3 POINTS]
Deathrite Shaman
Skullclamp [1 POINT]
Muxus, Goblin Grandee
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Cavern of Souls
Badlands
Blood Crypt
Taiga
Stomping Ground
Bayou
Swamp
Mountain
Mountain
Marsh Flats
Polluted Delta
Wooded Foothills
Misty Rainforest
Verdant Catacombs
Windswept Heath
Scalding Tarn
Arid Mesa
Bloodstained Mire

SIDEBOARD
Lutri, The Spell Chaser [1 POINT]
Leyline of the Void
Null Rod
+ 5 more metagame dependant cards

Strengths:

The deck can score cheesy wins with combos or an early Blood Moon, Goblin Rabblemaster or Goblin Lackey. It has a surprisingly flexible game plan; It can grind against aggro, combo off against midrange and go aggro against control.

Weaknesses: 

Sweepers are an issue of course. There's also no maindeck ways of removing enchantments, so something like Humility can be game over. 
Many Goblins have one toughness, so an early Wrenn and Six or Liliana, the Last Hope can wreak havoc.

CHANGING ROLES FOR DIFFERENT MATCHUPS AND HOW THAT EFFECTS CARD SELECTION


THE PLAN AGAINST MIDRANGE - SUPRESSING GOBLIN TENDANCIES

Traditional constructed Goblin decks are more focused on attacking. This is because they have access to not only 4x Goblin Lackey but also 4x Goblin Guide. After those two, the quality of 1-drop aggro Goblins drops off a cliff. Decks like Zoo and Rakdos have much more 1-drops and therefore are better 'dedicated' aggro decks.  
Rather than trying to get underneath or go wider than the 4/5's and Planeswalkers presented by midrange strategies, the game plan is to combo instead.
Below is a list of Goblins that didn't make the cut because they don't contribute to that plan:


Because we have combos, we also have far less need to remove blockers with the following 'removal Goblins':

Most decks run creatures, so 'removal Goblins' are rarely bad. I would LOVE to find space in the main deck for Munitions Expert and Goblin Chainwhirler but at the moment Liliana, the Last Hope and Wrenn and Six are scaring off all the mana dorks. If Wrenn and Six gets pointed we may see a metagame shift though.
There ARE some maindecked opposing creatures which need to die, but I'm hoping to dodge them and rely on removal postboard. For example:
Grim Lavamancer
Hermit Druid
Plague Engineer
Monastery Mentor
Kess, Dissident Mage

THE PLAN AGAINST CONTROL - EMBRASSING GOBLIN TENDANCIES

Against Control decks, assembling a combo is too difficult. They have too much removal and too many counterspells for that. Therefore, the deck still needs aggro capability. I've already listed the dedicated aggro Goblins that weren't included. Each of them can't win a game by themselves, they require a critical mass of aggression. The exceptions that ARE included in my maindeck have much greater damage potential. They are:
Goblin Chieftain
Goblin King
Goblin Rabblemaster
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
Legion Warboss

There are other Goblins in this category that I wish I could include but there is only so much space. These are:

The following two Goblins are poor against control and therefore not included: 
Control decks will typically remove or counter whatever these speed up, leaving just a weak 1/1.
The omission of Chrome Mox is for similar reasons, but it's been a long time since I've tried it. Perhaps there is now enough value-gaining Goblins that the card loss is worth the tempo boost.

THE PLAN AGAINST AGGRO - GRINDING AND COMBO

Dedicated aggro will win a damage race, and their burn spells can breakup the Goblin combos. Therefore the primary plan against aggro is to grind:
Muxus, Goblin Grandee

THE PLAN AGAINST COMBO - CHEESE

Prowling an Earwig Squad against combo is typically game over. Against other archetypes it is difficult to enable the cheap Prowl cost, so it can be weak in those matchups. But for the price of one unreliable card, the maindeck disruption package goes from four cards (Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Mental Misstep and Deathrite Shaman) to eight (Goblin Recruiter, Goblin Matron and Boggart Harbinger). Goblin Trashmaster is also effective against some Combo decks.
Earwig Squad rewards intimate knowledge of other decks; Cards in the opponent's hand can be deduced by seeing the contents of their library.
Unfortunately the Earwig Squad trigger is logistically difficult to resolve over webcam, which is the only form of 7-point Highlander I can play in these Covid19 times. Such a shame the Australian Governments screwed up the NBN. But at least they tried.

CHOICE OF POINTS, THE CURVE, BLOOD MOON AND MANA BASE - ALL ENTWINED


THE CURVE AND FIXING IT WITH MANA ACCELERATION 

Because there are so few good aggressive 1-drop Goblins, to compete against Midrange I have chosen a combo role. Therefore the few decent aggressive 1-drops THAT ARE available are not worth running because the critical mass isn't there. Instead I want 1-drops which contribute to the Combo plan. They are:
Goblin Lackey
Goblin Chirurgeon
Skirk Prospector
Mogg Raider
Goblin Sledder

Five is not enough to consistently have a turn one play, therefore I'm spending maximum points on turn one acceleration:
(Rituals like Mana Vault don't help here because they aren't a recurring boost in mana and would expose us two being 2-for-1'd by disruption.)

The 2-drop selection has been warped in a similar fashion to the 1-drops; Taking away all the pure aggro Goblins I'm left with:
Goblin Recruiter
Conspicuous Snoop
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Metallic Mimic
Warren Instigator
Putrid Goblin
To makeup for the low number of 2CMC spells, Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors are included. They effectively turn 2R costing cards into 2-drops.

To keep a hand you at least need a spell on turn one or turn two, otherwise you fall too far behind on tempo. Once we add the probability or drawing one of the 12 cheap creatures with the probability or drawing a mana accelerant, we end up with a ~90% chance of keeping a hand (I use aetherhub.com's hypergeometric calculator for my probabilities).

BLOOD MOON

The mana acceleration not only fixes the curve, it also speeds up Blood Moon. You could say it makes the world spin faster:
If the opponent is savvy, they will be aware of the threat and use their fetchlands ASAP to find basic lands. A deck prepared for Blood Moon will be able to function on two basic lands, but if you're lucky enough to be going first AND have a Moon effect and an accelerator, they won't get a chance to fetch their second basic. This is a nasty way to win but you will be redeemed by the times you righteously drop Blood Moon turn three on the draw against a greedy 4-colour player with no basics.

Despite Blood Moon I am neglecting a basic Forest because the only maindeck green spells are Grumgully, the Generous, Collected Company and arguably Once Upon a Time. 
I am running a basic Swamp though because there five black spells; significantly more.
Often there will be an opportunity to fetch basic Swamp before casting Blood Moon but unfortunately the timing gets awkward with Mana Crypt, Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors; Blood Moon wants to rise ASAP but if I there is more than one black spell in hand, fetching a Swamp may need to come first.

THE REMAINING TWO POINTS


Every Creature based deck should run Skullclamp, especially if it has a lot of X/1's or ways to sacrifice Creatures, of which Goblins has both!
Mana Crypt, Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors often leave spare mana for Skullclamping. I'm getting a vision of a Goblin jamming a Skullclamp into its neck, then two of his buddies come over and fight over who gets to clamp themselves next.

And now for the weirdest inclusion in the deck sideboard:
Lutri, the Spellchaser
The only Instants and Sorceries in the deck are Mental Misstep, Once Upon a Time and Collected Company. None of which are realistically copyable. The rules change did balance the power level of Companions but they're still effectively an 8th card in hand. Lutri attacks and blocks, a desirable set of skills in the Control and Aggro matchups. Having a 3+3 mana Lutri AND the 24th land or 36th spell, is better than any alternative 1-point card by itself.

ELIGIBLE POINTED CARDS THAT WEREN'T CHOSEN


(not selected)
If necessary, Sol Ring is an acceptable substitute for Mox Ruby. Sol Ring plays better with the top of the curve but worse early on, which is where it's needed.
I actually ran Sol Ring instead of Mana Crypt for a while until I realised the deck is fast enough to race the ~1.5 damage per turn from Mana Crypt.

(not selected)
Mana Vault gets Blood Moon on the battlefield a turn earlier but if the opponent has a counterspell or removal, the card disadvantage and damage is enough to lose the game.
Mana Vault is better suited to decks that can artificially untap it.

(not selected)

Could help assemble combos but most Goblins don't leave behind significant value if they're sacrificed. Birthing Pod is better suited to decks with mana dorks and stronger ETB effects.

(not selected)
Goblins tend to die in combat; this means there's a greater chance of having nothing to equip to. You'll also spend more mana than usual re-equipping.
Jitte is better suited to decks with fliers, first strikers and ways of protecting the equipped creature from removal.

(not selected)
The mana base is at its limit for non red mana, and Wasteland has diminishing returns with Blood Moon. Also you'd rather not sacrifice lands because Skullclamp, Goblin Ringleader and Muxus, Goblin Grandee are mana hungry. 

(not selected)
The deck has a few Legendary Creatures that Karakas can protect from removal but only Muxus has a useful ETB trigger and he's overkill. Karakas is also great at bouncing opposing Legends, especially big ones from Reanimate decks. However, our mana base is already pushed to the limit with non red sources.

(not selected)
Despite not producing red, if these lands weren't pointed they would still make the deck on power level, like Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors have.

MANA BASE NOTES

As mentioned, the mana base is pushing the envelope; There is a black and green splash amongst double red spells and Mana Crypt, Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors; all under a Blood Moon. Let's look at some numbers and see how it's going:

24 lands + Once Upon a Time + Mox Ruby + Mana Crypt = 27 total
(Once Upon a Time is practically a land at 93.1% to hit.)
27 mana sources may seem high until you consider that Goblin Recruiter or any tutor that finds it, can absorb any amount of mana flood. Skullclamp and Grenzo, Dungeon Warden also consume limitless mana unless the opponent interferes.

There are 21 turn one red sources, which gives a 95% chance; Shitting it in.


The double red 2-drops are: Warren Instigator, Conspicuous Snoop and by extension, Goblin Recruiter.
21 red sources plus Deathrite Shaman give a 81% chance of double red in the opening hand. That is a little lower than I'd like, hence not running a basic Forest. I aim for a minimum 80% success rate on important conditions.

There are 22 turn three red sources; Triple red on turn three is only a 72% chance, but if you push back to turn four you get an extra draw step and the assistance of Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon, bumping the chance up to 85%, which is why Kiki-Jiki is acceptable. Consequently Goblin Chainwhirler is in the sideboard for matchups where he's still devastating on turn four.

Sometimes the 2-drop is Putrid Goblin or Grenzo, Dungeon Warden; 17 black sources gives a 92% chance in opening hand.

14 green sources not including Once Upon a Time or Cavern of Souls. That's over an 86% chance to cast a green sideboard 2-drop.

I would run Pendelhaven even if I weren't splashing green.
There are ~18 cards which can produce a 1/1, which means Pendelhaven will practically always have a target. Goblin Lackey and Warren Instigator benefit especially. 
Most of the time Pendelhaven doesn't even activate, instead it forces the opponent to play around it in combat and then it casts a spell second main phase.
A cute thing to do is pump Murderous Redcap when it Persists for an extra damage.

Technically there are six Goblins in the maindeck but realistically Kiki-Jiki doesn't get into combat and Muxus wins the game regardless. That leaves only four targets...EXCEPT the everpresent Lutri, the Spellchaser, who by itself makes Shinka worth it, psych!

NOT SELECTED LANDS

(not selected)
I run 9 of the 11 fetchlands: No Flooded Strand or Prismatic Vista. Without a basic Forest, dual lands like Blackcleave Cliffs and Auntie's Hovel are superior to Prismatic Vista. 
Not running Prismatic Vista also reduces the risk of running out of lands for the other fetchlands.
Let's look closer at the numbers for our fetchlands:

Currently we have 6 Mountains:
Taiga, Stomping Ground, Badlands, Blood Crypt, Mountain, Mountain
4 Swamps:
Badlands, Blood Crypt, Bayou, Swamp
3 Forests:
Taiga, Stomping Ground, Bayou
It is Misty Rainforest and Windswept Heath which are most at risk of having no finds. I crack these as soon as possible. From experience, three is the absolute minimum number of finds for two fetchlands.

(not selected)
I had Mutavault but cut it; Colourless is too great a cost. Volrath's Stronghold is untested for the same reason but it would be particularly powerful with Conspicuous Snoop.

(not selected)
I have tried these but found that I rarely sacrificed them because Goblins are surprisingly mana hungry. In a mono red build I would run them though.

(not selected)
These are great but there's simply not enough space. I would run Sulfurous Springs over Bayou if I didn't need a minimum three forests for Windswept Heath and Misty Rainforest.

(not selected)
I have tried this one. It is a dream to cast Blood Moon on turn two, but otherwise it's bad, especially in Goblin Recruiter games.

(not selected)
I haven't tried these. They're definitely playable but entering tapped can be a huge tempo loss.

EXPLANATION OF THE COMBOS


PERSIST COMBO


This is a three card combo, therefore it is unlikely to assemble. However, each of the cards are respectible by themselves, so it has little downside.
To explain the combo: The 'Saccer' sacrifices the 'Persister'. When the Persister returns to the battlefield the 'Melira' will put a +1/+1 counter on it, which eliminates the -1/-1 counter. By doing this there is some value gained, e.g. 2 damage from Murderous Redcap, or +1/+1 from Goblin Sledder. Whatever the value is, it can be gained infinite times to win the game.

A peculiar configuration is Metallic Mimic + Murderous Redcap + Goblin Trashmaster; In this case I might have to target my own Metallic Mimic if there are no other artifacts. Luckily the Persist trigger will resolve before the Trashmaster's ability, therefore the combo goes infinite before Metallic Mimic is destroyed.
Note that some configurations don't result in a win, e.g. a 'Melira' + Putrid Goblin + Goblin Chirurgeon. 

There are more of each combo piece that could be added to the deck but they aren't Goblins, so the lost synergy would be too great. Scuzzback Marauders and Goblin Turncoat are the exceptions but they seem weak outside of the combo. Admittedly I haven't tried them though.

A benefit of running the Persist combo is that the saccers enable some tricks:
  • Mogg Raider and Goblin Sledder can pump Murderous Redcap and Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin for greater effect. 
  • Goblins can be sacrificed before damage to deny the life gain from lifelink creatures. Similarly the Umezawa's Jitte damage trigger can be denied.
  • The 'Saccers' can technically sacrifice themselves if need be, because targets of abilities are chosen before costs are paid.
  • You can deny Oath of Druids by sacrificing all your Goblins.

MUXUS, GOBLIN GRANDEE - THE ONE CARD COMBO

Resolve and win the game, that simplified answer is all you need to know.
I was considering Worldly Tutor and Sylvan Tutor but the final draw step that those tutors replace is probably needed to get to six mana. Also, that late in the game Muxus is very likely to be countered by a Control opponent.
My current build is not running Goblin Warchief but now that Muxus is around, perhaps it should.

KRENKO, MOB BOSS + HIM NOT DYING

My current build doesn't run Krenko but admittedly it should. He wins the game if he gets to activate against aggro or midrange. His downside is that he easily dies to one mana removal spells and activated abilities of Planeswalkers, especially against Control. And against combo he is too slow. 
Goblin Warchief and Goblin Cheiftain combine impressively with Krenko: The haste ensures you get some tokens before he dies.

CONSPICUOUS SNOOP + BOGGART HARBINGER COMBO

=
Boggart Harbinger can put Kiki-Jiki on top and if Conspicuous Snoop doesn't have summoning sickness, it can use Kiki-Jiki's ability to target itself. That copy makes another copy, repeat a billion times. Then the final copy targets Boggart Harbinger to put Sling-Gang Lieutenant on top and win. If Sling-Gang is in the graveyard there are other ways. For example:
  • If there are no blockers, Goblin Sledder or Mogg Raider can make a huge Snoop. 
  • If there is three mana to cast Pashalik Mons, he will trigger a billion times when all the tokens are sacrificed at end of turn. 
  • Worst case is waiting until the opponent's end step, then making infinite Snoops. The Snoops won't sacrifice until the end of the next turn, which means they all untap and attack for lethal. Of course this worst case gives the opponent an opportunity to untap, draw a card and potentially stop the combo.
    If this is the case, it is a good idea to make a Snoop copy in your end step, that way if the opponent does have removal next turn they will have to kill the copy, leaving the real Snoop Shady to combo off again in upkeep.
If Conspicuous Snoop enters on the same turn as Harbinger, then Snoop will have summoning sickness. In this case, Snoop will have to wait until our next upkeep to make infinite Snoops.

GOBLIN RECRUITER

Goblin Recruiter
The greatest Goblin of all time, or GGOAT if you will. And in my opinion the most-difficult-to-play-optimumly card of all time, and it does take all of time to resolve that trigger. Be considerate to your opponent and do it as quickly as you can. You don't have to play it optimumly to win. Thankfully the recent printings of Conspicuous Snoop and Muxus Goblin Grandee made it a little easier.
When choosing which Goblins to find and in what order to put them, you need to predict what disruption the opponent has. There is a balance between power and resilience.
I'll attempt a guide for you:

How much mana do I have?
I have been very tempted to reduce the land count to fit more sweet Goblins into the deck but Goblin Recruiter is the reason I have not. Six land + Goblin Recruiter hands are absolutely keepable.
Once you resolve Goblin Recruiter you're probably not drawing any more lands for the rest of the game, so before you cast it, think about the minimum amount of mana you need.
If you know the opponent runs Strip Mine and/or Wasteland, try to only use Goblins with CMC less than your total available mana. Strip/Waste decks often run ways to tutor for them, so there's a good chance you'll lose a land.
Assassin's Trophy and Ghost Quarter are effectively Strip Mine in this case because you don't want to shuffle away the nice order of Goblins. Field of Ruin doesn't give you the choice though.

Level 1
Every situation is unique but I'll begin with the simplest example before adding caveats. For further simplicity I'll assume that we're only casting Goblin Recruiter on turn two, which is most common.
The fastest powerful thing you can do with Goblin Recruiter is set up Conspicuous Snoop with Kiki-Jiki. You don't need to show which order you put your Goblins so generally it doesn't hurt to find superfluous ones as red Goblins herrings.
How you order the Goblins depends on many factors. I spent hours thinking about it and my brain melted. I'll try explain what I think I figured out.

I like to imagine that Conspicuous Snoop has his face pushed up against a oneway mirror, and Kiki-Jiki breaks that Mirror and pulls him through to combo world. I could get someone to alter the art by replacing the lady on the side with a grinning Kiki-Jiki:
Let's start with the simplest order. 
This is similar to the Conspicuous Snoop + Boggart Harbinger combo but you're replacing Boggart Harbinger with Goblin Recruiter. In this case you would draw and cast Snoop on turn three and then in your turn-four upkeep before you draw Kiki-Jiki, you make infinite Snoops and use the final one to copy Recruiter and put Sling-Gang Lieutenant on top. 

By adding Torch Courier you can win on turn three:
With this order, if you have the third red mana on turn three you can cast Torch Courier off the top, give Conspicuous Snoop haste and win right there. My current list is not running Torch Courier though because it is relatively weak outside this combo. Also, if you don't have the third red mana you can't use this line, and as mentioned, my build's mana base can't consistently produce triple red turn three.
Another factor to consider is removal from the opponent. If they have removal for Snoop, this line will leave you with a couple of measley 1/1's and an unwanted Kiki-Jiki on top.

Removal is common so it is typicaly correct to protect Snoop with Goblin Chirurgeon. Remember that if a creature with a regenerate shield on it would be destroyed, it ends up tapped, which affects the lines:
Once Snoop resolves Goblin Chirurgeon will be on top and you will have the option of sacrificing Goblin Recruiter to regenerate Snoop. Here's where things get complicated.
If you have a third red mana on turn three you can cast Goblin Chirurgeon off the top immediately. However, if the opponent has removal ready they could kill the Snoop whilst Chirurgeon is on the stack. Therefore if you suspect they do have removal, you can simply leave Chirurgeon on top. Then on turn four when you draw Chirurgeon you will reveal Kiki-Jiki. Then in your main phase you will cast Chirurgeon. If they try to kill Snoop or Recruiter before Chirurgeon resolves, you can make infinite Snoops in response. This situation is lose-lose for the opponent; If they're advanced they should anticipate this and use their removal in your upkeep before you reveal the Kiki-Jiki. This will force you to sacrifice Goblin Recruiter to regenerate Snoop in response, which will tap him. This means you won't be able to tap Snoop to make copies until your turn five upkeep. But when you do, Sling-Gang Lieutenant will be revealed in the draw step and you can sacrifice the copies. 
It's worth mentioning that Pashalik Mons can act like Sling-Gang Lieutenant because all the tokens will sacrifice end of turn. This is useful when Sling-Gang is in your graveyard.

Winding back; if the opponent does simply use their removal on Snoop whilst Chirurgeon is on top, you will be forced to sac Goblin Recruiter. If Recruiter is dead you can't kill on turn four because even if you make infinite Snoops, they'll all be tapped, so instead you'll need to wait until your opponent's next endstep, then make infinite Snoops and untap on turn 5 and swing for the win. Either way, if the opponent has removal, you don't win until turn five, which may give them enough time to kill you or disrupt you again.
To optimise, IF you do have the third red mana on turn three, you may as well put a Skirk Prospector between Snoop and Chirurgeon. Any other 1-drop Goblin will do and in some cases Goblin Sledder/Mogg Raider may be better, e.g. if you suspect a two damage effect. 
You will have first priority when Snoop resolves, so you can immediately put Prospector on the stack revealing Chirurgeon. This way you have an extra Goblin to sacrifice for regeneration.
If the opponent has two removal spells on your turn three, you won't be able to save Snoop, but if they stagger them over two turns you're safe.
An advantage of having Skirk Prospector is that if you lose Goblin Recruiter before turn four, you can sacrifice enough Snoops to cast Kiki-Jiki off the top and kill them, rather than waiting to draw Kiki-Jiki.

If you don't have the third red mana on turn three, you may be lucky enough to have a 1-drop in your hand to cast on turn one. In this case you will still have the second regenerate available.

If you find yourself with the ability to make infinite Snoops but no Goblin Recruiter or Skirk Prospector to immediately win, it is a good idea to make infinite tapped Snoops in your end step, that way when it's the opponent's end step and the sacrifice triggers go on the stack and you're forced to attempt to copy again, if the opponent has removal it will kill a token rather than the real Snoop, and therefore you'll keep the combo and win next turn.

Can my lands produce 1RRRR?
Instead of all the above tricks we can instead 'protect' Conspicuous Snoop by presenting alternative 'must kill' Goblins beforehand. This line has the advantage of not losing to the removal that Goblin Chirurgeon can't stop. However, we need 1RRRR on turn five. Here's an example order:
In this case Goblin Chieftain acts like Torch Courier, giving Snoop haste immediately.

Do I have 6 mana?
If you have 6 mana, just go Muxus, Goblin Grandee. You win if he resolves.

Are they a control deck with lots of disruption?
In this case we don't go for Conspicuous Snoop + Kiki-Jiki straight away. A counterspell on Conspicuous Snoop would leave us drawing situational Goblins. Instead the plan is to bait out their counterspells and then hopefully resolve a Goblin Ringleader, Conspicuous Snoop or Muxus to overwhelm them.
Even working out an example order was difficult. It's all situational but I'm imagining something like this:
You want your best 3-drop for turn three, then you want access to Goblin Ringleader as soon as you hit four mana, that way if they tap out, you can resolve Ringleader and not worry about getting grinded out. Try to include Chirurgeon as the fourth card after Ringleader so that you can double-Goblin the following turn to gain tempo.
Similar to Ringleader, you want access to Muxus as soon as you hit 6 mana in case they're tapped out. Obviously omit Muxus if you don't have 6 mana. 
Try to order your Goblins so that Goblin Ringleader and your draw steps don't mess up Conspicuous Snoop + Kiki-Jiki on top of the library.

(not selected)
If you're running Lightning Crafter, he can be a backup plan in case Conspicuous Snoop gets exiled: By putting Lightning Crafter after Kiki-Jiki, you can cast Kiki-Jiki on turn five and then the following turn cast Lightning Crafter. Before the champion trigger resolves you can copy Lightning Crafter with Kiki-Jiki. The copy will have haste and you can tap it to Lightning Bolt the opponent. The copy will also create another champion trigger, which will exile Kiki-Jiki. Presumably you will still have either Skirk Prospector or Goblin Chirurgeon around, they can be used to sacrifice the copy of Lightning Crafter, which will bring the Kiki-Jiki back untapped and you can loop this process to win the game.

Are they combo?
If the opponent has a chance to combo you, you should put Earwig Squad on top, unless of course they have enough blockers to stop you dealing combat damage to them.

Could they Jitte me?
Most Goblin piles get shredded by Umezawa's Jitte, if there's a good chance they have it, get a Goblin Trashmaster for safety.

Can they mess with the top of my library?
For example, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Thought Scour and Vendilion Clique. 

There are many other situational things to consider but I've already written an article's worth just on Recruiter, so practice practice practice and hopefully you work it out!


COMMENTS ABOUT SOME INDIVIDUAL CARDS


COLLECTED COMPANY AND ITS EFFECT ON CARD SELECTION

Collected Company dominated Standard and it still sees play in the cutthroat Modern format. 

Tribal decks rely on powerful payoffs like Goblin Recruiter and lords. Collected Company increases the the likelihood of finding these payoffs, making it especially good in Highlander where there is only get 1 of the best payoff instead of 4. It also assists with assembling the various combos, which is the game plan against midrange decks. 

There is strategy involved with deciding when to cast Collected Company: Normally it is cast ASAP to get the benefits of Magus of the Moon, lords, Goblin Rabblemaster/Legion Warboss, etc as soon as possible. However, if a counterspell is suspected, then it's best to wait. If they tap out in the end step for a Vendilion Clique or something, then Collected Company can be cast safely in response. If they do nothing and untap, then they lose mana and Collected Company is then cast before their draw step in case they don't actually have the counterspell. And even if they do, this way they won't have a chance to draw a worse counterspell to use instead. However, if the opponent runs a lot of sorcery-speed removal then it may be best to wait until their end step. All this must be judged case by case.
Due to the strength of Planeswalkers and blue cards, many decks run cards like Force of Negation and Spell Pierce. Often I get a sense of anticipation from the opponent when they have these cards because Goblins have so few non creature spells. If you get this sense it is best to keep playing out your creatures instead of Collected Company.
The other common reason to cast Collected Company in the opponent's turn is simply for surprise blockers and messing with combat math.

A minimum number of ≤3cmc creatures is required for Collected Company. The infamous mathmagician Frank Karsten wrote an excellent article about the appropriate number, which you can read HERE.
To be Frank I would go no lower than 22 hits, and 22 is the number I have albeit a more 3cmc-heavy curve than his model.
There are several Goblins which could make the deck if it weren't for Collected Company and an already high curve. Many of them I have run before and been happy with:

Below are some more 'Goblins' left out due to Collected Company. These can be copied with Lutri, the Spellchaser but they miss out on other synergies like lords and being put onto the battlefield by Goblin Lackey/Warren Instigator/Muxus, Goblin Grandee:

The following have been disregarded for the same reasons. These ones also miss with Goblin Ringleader:
Bloodbraid Elf

NOTEWORTHY CARDS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN COVERED ALREADY


Not a Goblin but worth it.
Much needed disruption against Reanimate decks, Strip Mine recursion, Gifts Ungiven abuse and more.
Is a 1-drop that accelerates Blood Moon. Exactly what the curve wants.
I'm not running other mana dorks because they don't have the disruption and life loss capabilities of Deathrite Shaman to overcome their non Goblininess.

One trigger from Goblin Lackey or Warren Instigator is typically enough to win the game. They effectively must be blocked, which creates favourable combat situations with Goblin Sledder, Mogg Raider and Pendelhaven.
These dudes reward minimising spells that aren't Goblin creatures.
Note that Warren Insitgator can act like a super tutor with Goblin Matron, finding and putting in whatever Goblin you want.
Warren Instigator plays well with Torch Courier if you decide to run it.

Very tempting to cut because it doesn't synergise with anything. However, Goblins' is low on disruption against Combo and Mental Misstep helps.
Mental Misstep is an autoinclude in prodominately red decks due to the popularity of Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast in sideboards.
It is also an autoinclude in Creature-Combo decks because it protects against prevalent removal: Lightning Bolt, Fatal Push and Swords to Plowshares. When Mental Misstep protects Goblin Rabblemaster from one of these, I can think of it as a turn-three zero-mana Goblin Rabblemaster itself.
Of course Misstep will also stop broken things like Sol Ring, Ancestral Recall, Crop Rotation, Dark Ritual, etc.

Just under 50% chance to put a creature on the battlefield. He's kind of an INconspicuous Snoop except each Goblin costs an average of four mana.
Typically I'll never cast him for X≥2. I would rather get an activation than make him >3/3. This is because every creature in the deck except Muxus and Earwig Squad has ≤3 power.
The London Mulligan Rule was a boost for Grenzo. If I mulligan and don't use a fetchland, I will know if Grenzo will succeed. Similarly, Grenzo plays amazingly with Collected Company because I choose the order of cards put on the bottom. Once Upon a Time puts cards on the bottom in a random order but that is still useful information.

Seems strange to have a 'hate' card in the maindeck but he's fine even if the opponent doesn't have a Mountain. And besides, Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon will occaissionally be around to 'give' Mountains.
The fact is most decks play red. A big reason why is because Blue is so overpowered that Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast make Red an appealing complimentary colour. Also, having red as a tertiary colour is less risky against Blood Moon.
My current build is low on removal, which makes the possibility of mountainwalk better. It can even get you through a True-Name Nemesis.
The +1/+1 is also handy against Plague Engineer.

Notoriously powerful but not as strong in my build as you would expect. If it weren't for the Conspicuous Snoop combo I wouldn't be running him.
Kiki-Jiki shines brightest when comboing with creatures that untap him like Pestermite and Felidar Guardian, or in decks with lots of powerful ETB triggers. My build does have Goblin Ringleader, Goblin Matron and Sling-Gang Lieutenant but apart from those, Kiki-Jiki acts like a five mana Clone.
There is strategy involved in when to activate him, mostly due to the token sacrificing AT end of turn:
Most of the time you will activate immediately for extra damage, but if the opponent has good blockers, you can instead wait until the opponent's end step to make a copy; then on your turn you can activate again and have two tokens at once, which may be enough to go wider than their blockers.
If the creature you're copying would provide some value like an ETB trigger but the opponent is representing removal, it may be worth losing the opportunity to attack with the token and instead attempt to copy the Goblin in the opponent's upkeep so that they don't get to spend their mana before untapping.
Kiki-Jiki can be defensive too, often you will be making a token in the opponent's turn to chump block their attacking fatty.

(not selected)
There is a skill shortage of disruptive Goblins, so his effect is desirable. He also ticks the Collected Company box and is castable with Mana Crypt, Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors. However, I tested him and found the land destruction too slow to be disruptive enough.

(not selected)
Has been in and out of the deck. I would still be happy to run him. He's a 2-drop which I'm short on, but the issue is he doesn't do a good job of killing the artifacts that matter. Artifact destruction effects really want to be instant speed for Batterskull, Umezawa's Jitte, Sword of Fire and Ice, Vedalken Shackles and Time Vault; hence the preference for Goblin Trashmaster.

(not selected)
Much better than Tin Street Hooligan because he destroys at instant speed. I've run him in the past and have been pleased. Not only can he deal with the problem artifacts mentioned under Tin Street Hooligan, hilariously he can also destroy Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn. Other key kills include Plague Engineer, Monastery Mentor and Grim Lavamancer. Having to hold up mana during critical turns can be a problem though, hence the Goblin Trashmaster preference despite a much worse CMC. The space for Conspicuous Snoop combo and Muxus, Goblin Grandee had to come from somewhere and Cratermaker got cut.

SIDEBOARDING

I can't give a definite sideboard. The contents will vary wildly from week to week depending on the expected metagame. I'll give a general guide of what to take out but there are always expections depending on the situation.

Some general rules:
  • Try to only include Goblins or cards that absolutely win the game by themselves, a.k.a. silver bullets.
  • Try to maintain the minimum 22 hits for Collected Company. The more the better. 
  • Avoid double black and double green spells. We only have ~14 greens sources and ~17 black sources.
  • The maindeck is already low on 1 and 2-drops. Maintain or improve the curve if possible.

AGAINST AGGRO

Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon are bad here. Aggro often have a heavy red flow themselves, or they can simply drop a couple threats before Blood Moon rises and out tempo you. With Moons gone, Ancient Tomb is an acceptable cut when you consider how much it hurts us. Leave Mana Crypt in though!
Aggro decks often run a few Goblins themselves, so Goblin King can hilariously be a liability.
Earwig Squad definitely comes out because you'll often lose early Goblins to removal or blocking.

Typical cuts:

AGAINST MIDRANGE

They typically have blockers to stop Earwig Squad from prowling.
If they're black, beware of Plague Engineer. Lords help against it but they aren't reliable because they can be removed. Munitions Expert and Gempalm Incinerator are also unreliable at dealing with Plague Engineer because you may not control two Goblins.
Creature based midrange decks can have lots of big blockers and therefore Goblin Rabblemaster can be a liability, especially against lifelink creatures.

Typical cuts:

AGAINST CONTROL

Don't expect the combos to come together. You can cut all the Goblins that aren't respectable threats by themselves.
Goblin Sledder and Mogg Raider are weak against non red builds of Control and that many 1-drops can be hard to replace. Carpet of Flowers is a 1-drop option but not as good as you'd expect because Control can counter or remove whatever the Carpet ramps into.
I've also been unimpressed by Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast; They don't synergise with the rest of the deck and they don't replace 1-drops because you don't want to be countering cantrips.
Choke is the best sideboard card we have, especially since it can't be Hydroblasted or Blue Elemental Blasted.
Goblin Trashmaster is important against Stoneforge Mystic + Batterskull and against Vedalken Shackles IF the opponent has them. 
Earwig Squad should be cut if they're not running Thassa's Oracle combo.

Typical cuts:

Blue Moon control is significantly different because our Blood Moons are bad. The number of cuts is similar though because Goblin Sledder and Mogg Raider are actually good against damage based removal, which Blue Moon runs a lot of.

Typical cuts against Blue Moon:

AGAINST COMBO

We don't need the slower grindy cards like Skullclamp and Goblin Ringleader. Skullclamp also nombos with Null Rod and Collector Ouphe, which are typical inclusions.
Combo has minimal removal, so Goblin Chirurgeon isn't required for protection. It also doesn't deal damage for the Prowl cost of Earwig Squad, which is our primary plan.
Avoid bringing in cards which require you to hold up mana; We need to resolve 3 and 4-drops, so we must tap out.

Typical cuts:


ALTERNATIVE BUILDS


Mono red

Here's a top8 list by André Abelita from a 30 player event at Battlestation Toowoomba

This is an extremely aggressive variant of Goblins including the powerful Goblin Grenade and Price of Progress.
As you can see, it is short on 1-drops compared to other aggressive decks. André is hoping to regain that tempo in the midgame with token + lord synergies.
Being mono red allows André a lower land count and Goblin Chainwhirler, which can be devastating in some matchups. The biggest loss from being mono red is the lack of disruption, especially postboard.
This tournament was in paper and I believe Jumpstart stock was delayed getting to Australia, which explains the absence of Muxus, Goblin Grandee from the list.

Mardu ETB's (rough idea)


A greater focus on grinding and enters-the-battlefield triggers with the addition of Offspring's Revenge and Séance over green.
Solemnity replaces Metalllic Mimic and Grumgully for the Persist combo. Solemnity also combos with Luminous Broodmoth and can disrupt the opponent, although is VERY bad against Dark Depths!

Gruul Squee Combo Goblins (rough idea)


Improved mana. Reducing the consistency of Persist combo but adding Squee + Food Chain/Aluren combo. The green enchantments also play amazingly with Goblin Recruiter and Conspicuous Snoop.

Doomsday Goblins (rough idea)


Centred around Contamination instead of Blood Moon. Completely untested, probably too few black spells for Contamination. Gene Holland had a good list years ago that I couldn't find.
Doomsday combos with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden.

END

Wow, this article got way out of hand. Hopefully no more revolutionary Goblins like Conspicuous Snoop or Muxus, Goblin Grandee get printed soon and ruin all my work.

Enjoy giving out the Gobbies!

Mulch

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