All 13 Goblin Lords in Magic Ranked

Last updated on January 25, 2026

Goblin Warchief | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Goblins are ever-popular in MTG. There’s lots of reasons for that: the flavor, the speed, the humor.

But one of the reasons goblin decks have been so successful over the years is that there’s a decent set of lords to pump the team. And goblin lords tend to have extra cool abilities that the lords of less wacky creatures don’t.

Let’s check out these lords for your goblin decks!

What Are Goblin Lords in MTG?

Goblin King (Secret Lair) | Illustration by Mike Uziel

A “lord” in Magic is something that pumps creatures of the same creature type (named after Alpha merfolk lord, Lord of Atlantis). It's usually a power and toughness boost, most often +1/+1, but lords can do other things. Lord of Atlantis also granted Islandwalk, for example, and plenty of other buffs are scattered across 30 years of Magic creature types.

Goblin lords have some neat little wrinkles. As we head out to examine them, I wanna note that I’m looking at goblin lords that specifically mention goblins by name, so cards like Boartusk Liege aren’t going to make the cut.

Let’s take a look at the contenders!

#13. Caterwauling Boggart

Caterwauling Boggart is the least powerful goblin lord, no stat buffs in sight. Giving goblins menace is decent enough, so maybe you’d want to tutor this up?

But a 2/2 for 4 that gives the team some evasion isn’t where it’s at given the power of goblin cards overall.

#12. Warg Rider

Warg Rider goes a little bit above, not only grating menace but also giving you amass orcs 2 each combat. Yes, it’s amass orcs, not goblins, but anyway.

#11. Saruman, the White Hand

I'm at a crossroads here. I’m ranking Saruman, the White Hand low here due to the ward 2 bonus to all goblins. Which isn’t insignificant, mind you, and it serves as a good protection for other key lords and goblins. That said, this Grixis spellslinger commander is much more powerful per se than other members from this list. Grixis () goblins, anyone?

#10. Orcish Siegemaster

Again, Orcish Siegemaster is being ranked by the trample damage it warrants. If we think of goblins as mere 1/1’s, it’s a bad bonus, but it scales nicely with other bonus and pump effects.

#9. Mad Auntie

A nice little lord that can tap to regenerate a team member, which saves a creature and only seems like a complicated rule given the way damage works nowadays. Mad Auntie sees tons of play in EDH decks that dip into Rakdos () colors, especially my fave goblin commander Wort, Boggart Auntie. Unfortunately it suffers from the fact that most goblin decks are mono-red.

#8. Goblin King

The OG goblin lord, Goblin King has had plenty of creature type lines over the years, from “goblin king” to “lord” to “goblin lord,” along with various wording changes designed to make sure it pumped other goblins and not itself. Plenty of kitchen table fights started because it seemed like the 90s Goblin Kings should buff themselves.

But the ruling back then was that it only buffed cards with “summon goblin” in their type line (which was how creature cards once were written). Since its type line was “summon goblin king,” well, that was different. Heh. Cue the “well actually”s and get the popcorn, 90s fam.

Aside from the basic buff, the good news is that this card grants mountainwalk as well, which makes goblins unblockable by opponents with mountains in play. The bad news is that it pumps all goblins at the table, including those controlled by an opponent.

#7. Goblin Trashmaster

Four mana for a goblin lord is bit under rate, but the ability to sac your plentiful fodder to destroy artifacts is pretty awesome. Goblin Trashmaster can slam the lid on mana rocks to stop an opponent’s late game plans, or it can pop pesky game breakers like Ashnod's Altar, Skullclamp, and Lightning Greaves whenever you need to.

#6. Goblin Warchief

No stats buff from Goblin Warchief, but that haste really makes a difference. The cost reduction is nice but doesn't quite qualify as lord-dom on its own, which is why Frogtosser Banneret doesn’t make the list in spite of its incredible name.

But that cost reduction is part of why this is the most played goblin lord on EDHREC. That tells me that cheaper creatures are better than buffed creatures to most of us.

#5. Howlsquad Heavy

Howlsquad Heavy has a great goal for reaching max speed as a big mana producer. Otherwise, the haste is a key ability for goblins, and the free goblin token is good to make this one of the most useful goblin lords.

#4. Dropkick Bomber

Dropkick Bomber is a very solid way not only to pump your goblins but also to give them evasion. This card is best friends with cards like Reckless One or Goblin Piledriver for a much-needed hit. This ability also works well with goblins you’d already sacrifice at the end of turn anyway.

#3. Hobgoblin Bandit Lord

Hobgoblin Bandit Lord can be the business in a goblin token build since it can tap to really hammer things, including face! Notably better than Goblin King, this is an auto-include in a goblins typal deck. Especially if you run effects that give haste so it can come down and slam for damage.

Hmm, haste….

#2. Goblin Chieftain

Goblin Chieftain granting mass haste is total gas. I’d argue that there’s no reason not to include this in a goblins deck. This plus Hobgoblin Bandit Lord and a token generator like Krenko, Mob Boss and you’re rolling!

#1. Rundvelt Hordemaster

Hot take: Rundvelt Hordemaster is the best goblin lord, full stop. It’s played a fraction of the amount as some of the previous goblin lords on EDHREC, so clearly folks either have yet to get the memo or don’t quite agree, so let’s break this down.

First, this is a 2-mana lord. Two mana is totally less than 3! Plus, only one colored pip. Second, have you read this card? Go ahead. Take a sec. I’ll wait.

You impulse draw for goblins that you can cast all the way until your next turn when any goblin dies? Have you tried this? Pair this with Skirk Prospector and Battle Cry Goblin and attack in Pioneer, and your opponent is in some trouble.

You can sac every blocked goblin at instant speed to keep using Battle Cry to pump the team and push lethal, and then you just get a stack of new goblins to cast. Add Cacophony Scamp to the mix for fun, and profit. I’ve even used the Hordemaster and Prospector to just plow through my deck of mostly 1-drops to grab the card I need.

Goblin decks in Modern have more powerful ways to speed to victory, but the Hordemaster is there trying its best to elevate goblin decks into the meta. Sometimes it works and they 5-0 a league.

Best Goblin Lord Payoffs

Okay, so what are you doing with these goblin lords? Why, pumping the team, of course! Who are the EDH MVPs for this team?

Rakdos Goblins

Goblins are great fun, and adding black allows you to play sweet utility cards like Boggart Harbinger, Murderous Redcap, Munitions Expert, Frogtosser Banneret, Grub's Command and, especially fun with Boggart Cursecrafter, which doesn't care how, but gives a bonus for each of your goblins that die.

There are a handful of other interesting goblins in black, but you definitely play a bit of the hipster build here since a Krenko in the command zone is a lot to give up.

The Krenkos and Mono-Red

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin is a house in any goblin deck and a fine commander in its own right, but the uber commander of goblins in Commander is Krenko, Mob Boss, which may be played more than all other goblin generals combined. And you can see why, especially in decks that want to run goblin lords to pump the team. Krenko just makes so many bodies.

This is probably your commander of choice for goblins, and it’s a fine choice. It’s a reasonably straightforward deck to play so it’s great to give to a new player, especially with all the fun flavor text across the range of goblin cards.

Krenko, Baron of Tin Street is a special kind of enabler and payoff. This card adds +1/+1 counters to all goblins by sacrificing artifacts, acting like a pseudo-lord, and you can keep adding more goblins to the battlefield by doing so.

Strength in Numbers

What would a lord be without his subjects? Cards like Siege-Gang Commander and Siege-Gang Lieutenant help create goblins to buff. Similarly, cards like Goblin Negotiation and Goblin Offensive raise your goblin count very quickly. Volley Veteran, Taster of Wares, and Reckless One are stronger if you have more goblins. Then Skirk Fire Marshal and Goblin War Strike are game enders just waiting for your goblin count to creep high enough.

Wrap Up

Dropkick Bomber | Illustration by Quintin Gleim

Some creature types have so many lords that you can’t quite squeeze them all into a functional deck because there are only so many 3-drops you want (I’m looking at you, zombies!) But with goblins, you can (and should!) cram all these into your deck. Or as many as you can, given your color preferences.

Maybe you would have ranked these differently? Let us know in the comments below or over in Draftsim’s official Discord. But I think we can all agree to run them all in Commander.

And that’s the kind of friendly togetherness goblins represent, right?

Right?