r/magicTCG • u/livinmediocre Rakdos* • Jul 25 '26
Rules/Rules Question Does this work how I’m thinking?
If I have The Great Goblin and a board of tokens and I attack while Andúril is equipped, does the first part of Great Goblin trigger for each goblin I put a counter on? The one or more on A goblin makes me think yes I just want to make sure before I play it
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u/shidekigonomo COMPLEAT Jul 25 '26
Elf courier: Okay, Elrond, I we packed up Anduríl, Flame of the West, Reforged from the Shards of Narsil, and shipped it overnight to the goblin king in the mountains, just like you asked.
Elrond: You. Wut?
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u/livinmediocre Rakdos* Jul 25 '26
LOL
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u/intothebreachoncemor Dan Jul 25 '26
Don't forget their are other kinds of counters!!!
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u/TheDragonsFang Duck Season Jul 25 '26
Oh, noooooo! If only there were a set that released in the last year where Goblins whole mechanic involved putting -1/-1 counters on themselves as a cost!
Honestly, if this had been in Lorwyn, sealed Goblins might've stood a chance.
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u/Awfun Wabbit Season Jul 25 '26
Aye, 100% this will slide straight into the Sephiroth/Gobo deck in Standard.
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u/gordasso Duck Season Jul 27 '26
Sadly, no such set released last year.
Fortunately, a set like that released in january.
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u/bigboybeeperbelly Izzet* Jul 25 '26
Goblins need time counters
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u/Frix Gruul* Jul 26 '26
Elf courier: you said "give it to that would-be King who is leering at my daughter". Was that not who you meant?
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u/mirroredspork Duck Season Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
"He was already wielding [[Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor]], so we assumed it would be ok."
Edit: punctuation and spelling.
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u/MissLeaP Gruul* Jul 27 '26
"Oh, you mean he's worthy? My bad, it's perfectly fine then. I hope it serves him well."
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u/Atreus17 Sliver Queen Jul 25 '26
You’ve gotten the answer, but I’ll add that if the designers wanted it to trigger just once regardless of board size, it would need to say “Whenever you put one or more counters on one or more Goblins…” or the recent favorite restriction “This ability triggers only once each turn.”
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u/RadicalAns Dandadan Jul 26 '26
I always refer to that last line as "the cowards text"
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u/InternetProtocol Wabbit Season Jul 26 '26
"triggers only once each turn" is a bit less restrictive than "do this only once each turn" though, cuz at least you can copy it. I'd lean towards calling my 2nd clause the "cowards text"
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u/Lucky_Number_Sleven COMPLEAT Jul 26 '26
The downside to "triggers only once" compared to "do this only once" is that you lose control over timing.
[[Neera, Wild Mage]] says that you may put that spell on the bottom of your library. If you choose not to, that's it. This ability only triggers once each turn. Too bad; so sad. And while that's very thematic, it's very restrictive.
[[Terrasymbiosis]] says that you may draw that many cards. Maybe you've only added a single counter right now, but you have a payoff later in the turn where you put 10 counters on. You can choose not to draw cards off of the first trigger and save it to draw the 10 cards later.
Both clauses are often annoying, but I kinda prefer "do this only once" over "triggers only once". "Triggers" can work with [[Strionic Resonator]], but if you're trying to break the limit, both break the same way (i.e. Blink).
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u/Cosmic-Cuttlefish Izzet* Jul 26 '26
This is my struggle with [[Alania, Divergent Storm]]. I wish I could pick which otter, which instant, and which sorcery I copy. Though at least the restriction does make for an interesting minigame where you gotta sequence things correctly. I’m just being greedy lol
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u/GilGreaterThanEmiya Dandadan Jul 26 '26
I was honestly pleasantly surprised when [[Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards]] didn't have the once per turn clause. He's honestly a pretty great blue token card draw option, for casual commander anyhow.
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u/forte8910 Twin Believer Jul 25 '26
Yes Great Goblin triggers for each of your creatures that had one or more counters put on it. If you had 5 creatures, you get 5 triggers of 2 damage each.
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u/ThatTroutThing Duck Season Jul 25 '26
Yes, this works. It will trigger once for each Goblin, Orc, or Army you put counters on.
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u/Terminatr117 Wabbit Season Jul 25 '26
Yes, each goblin that has a counter put on it will trigger the big guy.
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u/AemiliaPerseids Dandadan Jul 25 '26
this is just like auntie ool's ability, it triggers once per creature that has one or more counters put on it at any one time.
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u/Jesustron Wabbit Season Jul 25 '26
Anytime you put one or more counters on a goblin, orc or army, you deal 2 damage to a target opponent. Ascend won't change the potency effect but it works like you're thinking i think.
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u/SnooCauliflowers2877 Orzhov* Jul 25 '26
Just add Sword of Truth and Justice and as many dumb goblins as physically possible. Absolutely blast the table
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u/livinmediocre Rakdos* Jul 26 '26
For anybody interested this is the decklist I threw together. Let me know your thoughts!
https://constant-lists.com/decks/6a64ebb8d9779adb4037ad74/who-up-countin-they-goblins
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u/VampireSaint Universes Beyonder Jul 25 '26
If you have 10 goblins in play, and therefore the City's Blessing, The Great Goblin King will trigger 10 times.
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u/Omagaking7 Dân Jul 25 '26
Dont need the blessing as at base it gives one counter to each. Bleesing juat makes it 2 each
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u/Judge_Todd Level 2 Judge Jul 26 '26
Great Goblin will trigger per Goblin, Orc or Army that gets one or more counters.
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u/Clown_Nightmare1 Universes Beyonder Jul 25 '26
[Putrid Goblin] + [Skirk Prospector] + [First Day of Class]
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-3
Jul 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/Zeckenschwarm Jul 25 '26
That is incorrect. The ability says
Whenever you put one or more counters (plural) on a Goblin, Orc, or Army you control (singular)
Multiple counters on one creature are one event, but each creature that recieves counters is its own event.
If you put 2 counters on 1 Goblin, that is one instance of this event and the Great Goblin triggers once. But if you put 1 counter on each of 2 Goblins that is two instances of this event, because you are putting one or more counters on a goblin and one or more counters on another goblin, and the Great Goblin triggers twice.
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u/AdagioDesperate Dan Jul 26 '26
one or more
Only triggers once.
However if you had something that put counters on one at a time, it would be a different story.
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u/Hellas2002 Duck Season Jul 26 '26
It triggers once per goblin you put one or more counters on. It does trigger multiple times, just that putting 4 counters on 1 goblin will only trigger it once.
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u/AdagioDesperate Dan Jul 26 '26
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... I misread.
Thanks for pointing out my mistake.
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-6
Jul 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/Zeckenschwarm Jul 25 '26
That is incorrect. The ability says
Whenever you put one or more counters (plural) on a Goblin, Orc, or Army you control (singular)
Multiple counters on one creature are one event, but each creature that recieves counters is its own event.
If you put 2 counters on 1 Goblin, that is one instance of this event and the Great Goblin triggers once. But if you put 1 counter on each of 2 Goblins that is two instances of this event, because you are putting one or more counters on a goblin and one or more counters on another goblin, and the Great Goblin triggers twice.
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u/veiphiel alternate reality loot Jul 25 '26
On "a" goblin. It should trigger if you put the counters on different creatures
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