Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss | Art by Lie Setiawan

Welcome once again to Fire and Ice! This is the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article!

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, we'll be talking about Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss! Krenko is a hugely popular commander, currently sitting as EDHREC's 5th-most popular legend (although it may soon move up to #4). The easy Gobbo-doubling that this Mob Boss enables makes him a super popular pick.

With the recent release of The Hobbit, we've got a new crop of Goblins for Krenko to make efficient use of. So, let's see what makes him tick.

Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss

What's Hot and What's Not for Krenko, Mob Boss?

For , Krenko is a 3/3 Goblin Warrior. We can him to make X 1/1 Goblin tokens, where X is the number of Goblins we control. That's it, that's all. This ability may be simple, but it's unbelievably powerful. If we can find a way to untap Krenko repeatedly, or even infinitely, then we can cruise our way to victory with a board full of tiny, annoying green-skinned guys.

Among Krenko's most popular cards are Goblin WarchiefGoblin Warchief (88% inclusion rate), Goblin MatronGoblin Matron (84% inclusion rate), and Sting, the Glinting DaggerSting, the Glinting Dagger (33% inclusion rate).

What's Fiery for Krenko Decks?

Goblin-town FlunkiesGoblin-town Flunkies - Fire Score of 12.87

Brass monkey! The Goblin flunkies!

Jokes aside, this is exactly the kind of card that Krenko pilots want. Much like Mogg War MarshalMogg War Marshal, this Soldier lets us pay for two bodies. This creature trades Mogg War Marshal's death trigger for haste, which is a fine deal to make, all things considered.

The token that this creature creates is an Army, which doesn't really matter too much. This will (typically) be the only Army-making card in a Krenko deck. Unless you're some sort of military fanatic, the token's Army type might as well be flavor text.

Tidings of WarTidings of War - Fire Score of 6.50

Well, here's another Army card. There goes my credibility.

But, this card isn't very good. If we wanted to make a Goblin for , we could instead play any one of the 85 other Goblins that cost just one mana. Most of those Goblins even have some upside!

We can, technically, flashback this spell to make another Goblin. But, we can do so much more with than make another Goblin (or add three +1/+1 counters to an Army). This card is a common for a reason: it's outclassed by most other Gobbos.

Snowslope HunterSnowslope Hunter - Fire Score of 6.41

This is an interesting take on Dark-Dweller OracleDark-Dweller Oracle. While we can activate that Oracle as many times as we want each turn, it costs to see another card and we only have until the end of the current turn to play the card. Snowslope Hunter, on the other hand, lets us exile a card from the top for no additional mana investment, allows us until the end of our next turn to play that card, and carries a once-per-turn-and-only-on-our-turn restriction.

I'd rather play Dark-Dweller Oracle in my 99, as the ability to dig for answers in an emergency is super valuable. But, this is a good creature too, and I can see the merit in playing both card advantage engines.

Orcrist, Goblin-cleaverOrcrist, Goblin-cleaver - Fire Score of 5.39

This Equipment rocks. Krenko decks can flood the board with creatures quite easily, and then use cards like Brightstone RitualBrightstone Ritual to get more mana than any reasonable person could spend effectively.

This artifact lets us make Treasure instead of , providing us with the ability to store value between turns. We can also get multiple triggers from Orcrist, either by untapping with it a few times or just going to combat more than once.

I see a bright future for this artifact. It will sit as a staple in many, many typal lists. Krenko is, clearly, no exception.

Misty Mountains RaiderMisty Mountains Raider - Fire Score of 3.53

This is another sub-par card. It's a 4/4, failing the vanilla test. It also allows us to amass Goblins 2 once per turn. In the best case scenario, we're sacrificing the Army for value every turn so we can create another 2/2 Goblin Army on each of our combats. That's... still not great.

This Raider doesn't impact the game nearly enough to justify its five mana asking price. For just one more mana, we could flood the board with Goblins using Muxus, Goblin GrandeeMuxus, Goblin Grandee!

Return the FavorReturn the Favor - Fire Score of 1.30

This is one of the best red spells in recent memory. It's a hybrid between ReverberateReverberate and ShuntShunt, letting us flip the game on its head if we target a particularly potent spell. I think the spree spells, in general, are well-designed. Return the Favor just so happens to be super powerful.

Because Krenko is so central to our game plan, it's important that we keep him safe. So, spells like this (and others like Untimely MalfunctionUntimely Malfunction) are great inclusions!

What's Icy for Krenko Decks?

Massive RaidMassive Raid - Ice Score of -1.69

There are better ways for us to leverage a huge board of creatures, even in our color identity. We can use Banner of KinshipBanner of Kinship or Coat of ArmsCoat of Arms to demolish opposing life totals, or the aforementioned Orcrist to make oodles and oodles of mana.

Massive Raid is cute, but it will usually just take a chunk out of one opponent's life total. We're aiming to remove all of our opponents from contention, not just one of them. We're also not a dedicated burn deck, so we don't get much out of this spell (beyond the damage it deals).

Hordeling OutburstHordeling Outburst - Ice Score of -1.67

Three Goblins for three mana ain't bad, but it ain't exactly good either. I'd much rather spend that mana on Goblin MatronGoblin Matron to tutor up something better, Legion WarbossLegion Warboss for a steady stream of green-skinned buddies, or even General Kreat, the BoltbringerGeneral Kreat, the Boltbringer for some massive damage potential.

This spell is showing its age, sadly.

Battle HymnBattle Hymn - Ice Score of -1.56

Battle Hymn is a fantastic card, especially in a mono- deck that makes as many creature tokens as this one. But, Orcrist has likely outright replaced this card in many lists. Krenko pilots only need so many ways to make mana, after all, and the Equipment can be used repeatedly while this spell is largely one-time-use only.

This instant still has a place in a lot of decks, but players may be attracted to the shiny new card. I can't say I blame them!

What's in a Krenko, Mob Boss Deck?

Here's a Krenko list with all of his Hot cards and none of his Colds cards:

Conclusion

Krenko has long been one of Commander's most popular monocolored commanders, and is easily the most popular mono- commander. Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope is the next-closest leader with just one color in their identity, and she's about 10,000 decks behind the Goblin.

With how ingrained in Magic's DNA Goblins have become, I wouldn't be surprised if Krenko never gives up his spot as monocolored head honcho. But, it also seemed improbable for Y'shtola, Night's BlessedY'shtola, Night's Blessed to overtake The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon. Anything is possible.

I'll see you soon for more hot and cold action.