Mainboard (60)
Instants (22)
Sorceries (5)
Artifacts (3)
Enchantments (4)
Gruul Goblins is an aggressive tribal deck that wins through explosive starts via Goblin Lackey and Goblin Warchief enabling hasted Goblin Piledriver and Siege-Gang Commander. Your priority is surviving the early game with Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God, then stabilizing behind Standstill once the board is clear. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast answer key threats like Goblin Piledriver and Siege-Gang Commander while also being able to counter Goblin Lackey triggers. Circle of Protection: Red and Warmth provide insurance against burn-heavy draws and Siege-Gang pings that can otherwise kill you through a stalled board. Phyrexian Furnace is low-impact in this matchup, Humility loses value since you're boarding in creatures and goblins often go wide anyway, and the extra Prohibit is cut since most threats cost more than two mana.
This matchup revolves entirely around their Phyrexian Dreadnought plus Stifle combo; Meddling Mage naming Stifle is your most impactful play, as it forces them to sacrifice 12 power worth of creatures to deploy the Dreadnought and shuts down their entire win condition. Arcane Laboratory is a second key piece: since their combo requires casting both Dreadnought and Stifle in the same turn, the enchantment makes that line impossible and forces them to find an answer before advancing. Counterspell, Prohibit (which efficiently counters Stifle on its own), and Swords to Plowshares remain your core interaction, and Humility is a powerful standalone answer that reduces the Dreadnought to a 1/1 if it resolves. Phyrexian Furnace, Disenchant, and Powder Keg come out because their deck runs no meaningful graveyard plan, few relevant artifacts or enchantments, and no creatures in the one-to-two mana cost range that Powder Keg could efficiently answer.
Mono-Black Midrange attacks you on two axes: hand disruption via Duress and Cabal Therapy strips your permission spells early, while threats like Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade close quickly if unanswered. Swords to Plowshares is your most efficient answer to their creatures, and Wrath of God cleans up a developed board. Circle of Protection: Black neuters both Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade as win conditions, effectively blanking much of their offensive gameplan. Blue Elemental Blast and Hydroblast answer Knight of Stromgald — which is otherwise protection from white and immune to Swords to Plowshares — and can also counter Dark Ritual to disrupt their mana acceleration. Phyrexian Furnace and Annul have little relevance here, and Prohibit comes out since Dark Ritual makes their threats come down earlier than that counterspell can cleanly stop.