SFR, Inc.

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The Concise Goblin Report

Here in The Concise Goblin Report,
we will examine in heavy detail,just what the Goblins are all about.

Black,Gold,Swamps,Paths,Finger of Deaths,Poison,Doubling Maneuvers,Transmute Rock to Mud,
Regenerating Trolls,Rends,Headless Goblins,Two Headed Goblins.....

I have not even scratched the surface.....

What races work well with Goblins?
The invincible Troll/Gold Medallion combo....
Pelter armies,Armies of Trolls,Armies of Leopard Riders...

The "Midnight Marauder"

Smother....
Soiled Ground......
Spirit Furnace!!!!!!!
Finger of Death,Ashes to Ashes,Dust to Dust....

The Concise Goblin Report has begun.....

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Here is a look at the 2006 Championship Sealed Box Army

Sealed Box Qualifier GenCon 2006
(All Goblins)

Horde:
Leopard Rider
Ambusher x2
Wolf Rider x2
Wardog Rider x6
Mugger

Campaign:Swampland City
Death Mage
Cutthroat
Hedge Wizard x3
Trickster x6

Home:Swampland City
Mugger

Gold Wyrm
Gold Drake

Sealed Box Championship Army 1st GenCon 2006
(All Goblins)

Horde:
Slingman x5
Ambusher
Pelter x6

Campaign:Swampland Temple
Death Mage x2
Filcher
Hedge Wizard x2
Ambusher
Trickster x2

Home:Swampland Tower
Thug


Gold Wyrm
Gold Drake

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So the Goblins (Trogs as they are known in Esfah)
can be a very powerful army.
Once you have an 8th face on a Swampland,
instead of Double Maneuvers,
you get Quadruple Maneuvers.
Now the army is in full swing!
Magic can be really fun now.
You can win many ways,
"war of attrition",
Pathing/Rock to Mud,
Dragons work nice too!

Having black as color allows for Ashes to Ashes
which is only 2 points of black.
The swampland has Gold so doubling could be used for Dust to Dust.

A very simple Finger of Death,Ashes to Ashes combo might be all you ever need.

So the very simple basic spells fall naturally in the hands of the Goblins.

A Wolf Rider has 2 sides that have 3 maneuvers each.
This is really nice for a 2 point unit,not to mention the doubling maneuver racial ability on a Swampland.
I like the Filcher too,Counters,2 sides with 3 Melee icons,3 save icons,
3 maneuver icons.
The Leopard Rider has always been a favorite.
An Army of Leopard Riders can create some huge melee results with
the rends.

So far this is just an overview for most Dragon Dice players....
When do we get to the good stuff?
Glad you asked

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The Death Naga:
This has to be the most Deadiest Goblin ever made,
yet I have not seen it played very much.
Is it because it's a monster,and there is no cantrip?
If you ever wanted a Melee/Mage army,
try adding a few of these together with a Gold Dragon Master,
the Poison has Burial built in,combine that with a Smite from
a Dragon Master.
Don't forget to bring your Gold Dragon Champion too!!
Now that's a melee army that people will think twice about!

The Death Naga has 2 maneuver sides as well.
If you want to raise some eyebrows...
This is the secret weapon.

[chuckpint]

But don't forget that the Death Naga only saves 20% of the time against Lightning Strike. So in the long run average it takes 7.5 points of magic to kill it, and 12 to bring it back. Moreover, since it counts as a 2-point mage, killing it takes out some of your magic ability.
_________________
You can never have too many dice.
First Place at the first ever Daemon Dice sealed starter tournament.
Battlefest tied for first GenCon 2012
Single Race Champion GenCon 2008-2009, Sealed Box Champion GenCon 2007,2009,
My collection is 21,500 Dragon Dice, 20,000 Daemon Dice, and others (too many to count).

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Chuck may have pinpointed the reason why the Death Naga does not
show up in very many armies.
I guess that's why we need to discuss the ever popular Troll next!!!

[ddicerc]

Goblin strategy has been up for a full day and Pelter Boy hasn't chimed in yet?
_________________
Steve "DDice" Braun
The Diceman's Gaming Pages: http://ddicerc.weebly.com
2014-2015 U.S. National Champion
(Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...)

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The Troll:
What is the Most Dangerous Animal in the World?
The most dangerous animal in the world is a man with a gun.
Heard that one from my Father
Well in the Dragon Dice Universe the Most Dangerous by far...
is the Troll.....with a Gold Medallion!!
I never see less than 2 Troll these days in a single army.
Hand 2 trolls a Gold Medallion.....
they now can use Sortie,Flurry as saves
and the ability to "unbury" TROLLS!!!!

A gold medallion can unbury a troll,and the troll who carries the medallion can regen a troll.

Melee Power With Saves!!!
Mind you also that trolls have Smite,the Medallion has Flurry,
which rolls again...... and guess what?.....More Trolls
The amount of saves in a melee action should be reason enough to attack.

Icons that count as saves during melee:
Save
Sorite
Flurry
Regenerate
ID
I'll count the TSR "return 4 health" as a save
OR 50% on the Troll and a Staggering 75% on the Gold medallion
(if you count the TSR as a save that is)

If you add a King's Die into the scenario,
The Troll is one of the original Races,
and 4 health too.With Goblin King ID and the TSR,
The Troll has a 33% chance the King's die will bring him back,
and the King can hold the Gold Medallion
while trying to bring back the Troll.

Another thing that a Troll presents
is that people focus on them.
Try to "Kill the Troll" but try other ideas too!!
Maybe you are just a "path/rock to mud" turn away from winning.

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The Pelter:
Who has the most missile icons of all one point units?
It's not the Pelter.
Who has the most saves of all one point units....
The Pelter..........and the Destroyer!
hmmmm I see a pattern here.
Who has the most Pelters in the world?
If you don't already know,
by the end of this report,the mystery should be solved.

The Pelter/Destroyer Troll Army
Although I never saw this army in play,
let's take a look at it anyways.

2 Trolls
14 Pelters
14 Destroyers

1 Coastland Tower
1 Coastland City
5 black Dragonfoal
2 black Dragonmount
1 black Dragonsteed

2 Black Wyrms
4 minor terrain villages (one each color)

The common color is black
In a magic environment,the abundance of one point units give you a chance
to roll IDs.
Now you have gold/blue/black
Wind Walk/Path/Rock to Mud/Finger of Death/Lightning Strike
Also with the Destroyer has a wing.The SAI won't be affected by rock to mud.

By using a Coastland Terrain,
you have the most missile action faces.

So you just missile away,
Regenerate,
missile,missile,missile

If you want to play Battlefest,
just increase the units.

No Mages required.

I personally would like to see Pelter_Boy add a Trebuchet to his army.
The Trebuchet's Crush allows you to Choose 4 health,
they must roll a maneuver or be killed,
then they must roll a save or be buried.

With so many Pelters and a Troll in the army,
the Trebuchet is well protected.
And since you are going to Missile,the Trebuchet is perfect to get around
those missile absorbing Dragonkin and Scalder intangibility's.

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The Midnight Marauder:
There are two types of Goblins, (in reference to the plastic mixes)
The First Variety has bright yellows.
Sun Goblin:


The Second Variety is more of a darker looking yellow.
Shade/Mud Goblin:


I like to refer to these 2 types as Sun and Shade Goblins.

I never saw a Shade Goblin Monster,
UPDATE:2007
The New Starters have Shade or Mud Goblins
I also never saw any misprint Goblin of the Shade Variety.

What does all this have to do with game strategy?
You might want to ask Robert Braun aka Pelter_Boy about
Fred the Pink.....a Pelter that has Pink Ink,
or even AKU the Black...an almost totally black Pelter.

Well now in the Goblin's arsenal is a newly dubbed legend.
The Midnight Marauder
He's from the Shade Goblins (one with allot of black)

Here is an army you might try:
(All Goblins will be of the Sun Goblin Variety
except for The Midnight Marauder)

The Midnight Marauder

Horde:
3 Leopard Riders
Filcher
2 Wolf Riders
Wardog Rider

Campaign:Swampland Temple
Midnight Marauder (choose your darkest one)
Black Dragonhunter
Black Blade Golem
Black Dragonmaster
Death Mage

Home:Swampland Temple
Trickster

6 black Dragontroup
3 black Dragonhero

2 black Wyrms

2 Swampland Knoll
2 Swampland Woods

So terrorize the town with your Midnight Marauder as the leader.
Create fear in the hearts of those who oppose you.
You have the Legend.....
and so far not a soul knows who is the real Midnight Marauder!!

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Goblin Spells:

Spirit Furnace:Cost 4
The Midnight Marauder army might consider using Spirit Furnace.
The army is on a rampage with no intent on bringing anything back.
Bury all the units in your DUA for double their health in black magic.
A Death Mage can cast Spirit Furnace from a cantrip.
(4 points)(even in the reserves)

So if you are not planning on bringing back units....
Spirit Furnace might be the edge that will boost your army.


Soiled Ground:Cost 6
At a Swampland,units sent to the DUA must roll a save or be buried..
expires at the beginning of your next turn,
This would also be a very nice heavy magic spell.
First casting Soiled Ground,then Finger of Death units for possible burial.
This spell would also work with Missile,
although with Missile,you would need to either Cantrip within the Missile army,or be at another terrain to cast magic.

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The Shambler:

This mass of Vegetation,what is his function in the Goblin realm?
Smother:During a melee attack,choose up to four health to roll
a maneuver or be killed.
The important word to examine here is CHOOSE

Troll/Shambler Army:
Take an all Troll army,and this unit fits in like a glove.
In fact,if you find you are running short on Trolls,
you should notice that you have a more than adequate supply of Shamblers.
These guys a good!!!
Smites are wonderful,but it really helps to be able to choose what units
you want to try to kill.
The Shambler and Troll have Smite/Save/Melee
Where one is lacking, the other covers.

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Misprints:

Even to this day,whenever I look at a Cutthroat,Ambusher,
or Hedge Wizard, I aways check to see if it's a misprint.

There were several varieties,
Headless
Cutthroat/Ambusher
Ambusher/Hedge Wizard
Hedge Wizard/Cutthroat
Wolf Rider/Cutthroat

Two Head
Cutthroat/Ambusher
Cutthroat/Hedge Wizard
Cutthroat/Wolf Rider
Hedge Wizard/Ambusher

Either the die had 2 IDs or none

These are just collector items,
but I did see one in the 1996 sealed box tournament.
Chuck Pint assures that they have taken care of this.

I always wondered if I would find a two headed dragon...

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Mixed Goblin Armies:

What armies work well with the Goblins?
Swamp Stalkers have been used in many tournaments.
Dwarves have a common Gold and have been used in tournaments.
Feral
Lava Elves
Tree Folk

So it seems the Goblins Mix is a popular formula.


Look at what Mark A. Wiker can do with Goblin Mixes


’99 Dragon Dice Sealed Box Pro 1st Place (Origins)

· Home - Swampland City

Sentinel

· Campaign - Highland City

Conjurer

Sentinel

Evoker x2

Hedge Wizard

Trickster

Necromancer

· Horde

Horseman

Warlord

Pony Rider

Mugger

Wardog Rider

Duelist

Scorpion Knight

· Red Wyrm

’99 Dragon Dice Sealed Box Pro Semi-finals (Origins)

· Home - Highland Tower

Trooper

· Campaign - Swampland City

Evoker

Deadeye

Ambusher

Slingman

Pelter x2

Trickster

· Horde

Skirmisher

Thug

Wardog Rider x2

Scorpion Knight x2

Scout

· Green Wyrm

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The Cannibal:

The Fifth Goblin Monster (Not Made Yet)

Cannibalize: During a melee attack, Cannibalize generates four melee results. After the defending army rolls for saves and accounts for the damage, choose up to four health-worth of units in the defending army that were killed during this melee action to be buried. During a dragon attack or melee avoidance roll, Cannibalize generates four melee results.

Cannibalize x2
Dispel x2
Rend x2
Maneuver x2
Save

This unit could really "spice up" an all Leopard Rider Army.
With only one save,I could see a Cannibal/Filcher Army working Great!

[chuckpint]

Important note: Since the Cannibal has not yet been (officially) designed, this is still subject to change. Also note, the new starters will not include the "fifth" monsters. Not unless we suddenly get about an extra $3000. That's about what a new mold will cost. Consider that an incentive to buy SFR stock.
_________________
You can never have too many dice.
First Place at the first ever Daemon Dice sealed starter tournament.
Battlefest tied for first GenCon 2012
Single Race Champion GenCon 2008-2009, Sealed Box Champion GenCon 2007,2009,
My collection is 21,500 Dragon Dice, 20,000 Daemon Dice, and others (too many to count).