One of my favorite things to do is dig up old brews and give them another shot—see if they still hold up or if any new cards give them fresh life. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it… does not.
This one was never that great to begin with, but had such an interesting take on the Goblin Charbelcher archetype that I thought I should revisit it.
And yes, I know that MDFC lands are a thing these days guys. However, this list is ported over from an old Modern deck, and it certainly wouldn’t be Fun & Jank if we stuck with the status-quo. We all know there’s a better version of Belcher out there. That said, I genuinely believe that innovation comes from testing every idea, even the goofy ones. Sometimes you strike gold. Other times you Belch a little forest dust and move on. Either way, it’s part of the process.
You may have seen this once or twice if you’re familiar with the Modern or Legacy formats, but it’s definitely an outdated version of Belcher. However, the plan is pretty easy to follow.
1.) Using cards like Caravan Vigil, pull every basic Forest out of your deck. 2.) Cast Goblin Charbelcher and activate it to deal ~40 damage to your opponent.
or
1.) Using cards like Caravan Vigil, pull every basic Forest out of your deck. 2.) Cast Recross the Paths with 0 lands in your library, allowing you to stack your deck in any order you’d like. 3.) Cast Goblin Charbelcher and activate it to deal ~40 damage to your opponent.
That’s really all there is to it. You’re trying to pull every land out of the deck as quickly as possible to make sure Charbelcher doesn’t fizzle. This version also happens to have Wurmcoil Engine as a plan-b.
It’s weird but a super fun build. Unfortunately, we don’t have many of the cards that make this deck tick in Historic. So I had to get creative with it!
The best part about revisiting old lists is trying out all the fun new toys since you last played the deck. I played this list in Modern ~6 years ago, and we’ve gotten thousands of new cards since then. Plus, with the addition of alchemy cards on Arena, we have some sweet tech not seen anywhere else. Examples include the following:
Many Partings: Is our main land-grab card of choice, as the Food Token can help hedge an extra turn against aggro decks.
Nissa's Triumph: This is just 2-in-1 land-grab for us. With only 7 lands in the deck, this card can often pull out the last few forests to make sure Belcher is an automatic kill.
Okay, okay—so far we’ve covered the bread and butter of this deck: pull lands outs of your deck to set up that Goblin Charbelcher kill. That’s all fine and dandy, but what if your opponent has a way to disrupt it?
Our version already wants to play mana dorks (alongside Leyline of Abundance) and ways to slow down the opponent, and it just so happens that Overgrown Battlement does both. In order to maximize the amount of mana we make, I threw in other defenders like Wall of Blossoms and Floriferous Vinewall (which also finds our forests).
Any you know what else cares about defenders with big butts?
Your mom.
JK. I’m talking about .
Between Leyline and Overgrown Battlement, we can make large amounts of mana quite quickly even if we don’t have Belcher to spend it on. So not only can we activate Leyline to grow our whole board, but we can use to make all our defenders into actual threats.
Why it Works
Unexpected Aggression: No one sees this coming. They’re expecting you to set up for a Charbelcher kill, not to attack with a Wall of Blossoms. But with Assault Formation, those walls turn into some seriously beefy threats.
Mana Efficiency: Since you’re already ramping with Leyline of Abundance and tapping defenders for mana, you’ve got plenty of green mana to fuel Assault Formation and turn your creatures into powerhouses.
Synergy with Defenders: Defenders like Overgrown Battlement and Wall of Blossoms were already blocking or producing mana for you. Now they’re not just helping you ramp but also becoming the beating heart of your Plan-B.
The beauty of this strategy is that it keeps your opponent on their toes. If they’re preparing for Goblin Charbelcher to go off, they’re not expecting a sudden surge of attacking creatures. Even if they manage to deal with your land-based win condition, they might not have the resources to stop your defender-on-defender aggression.
In a deck that’s mostly about comboing out, this little shift in focus—turning your defenders into attackers with Assault Formation—could very well catch your opponent off guard and steal a win that they thought was never on the table.
Gameplay
My last stream was a little all over the place but we did end up playing this deck for a bit at the end. There’s only a few matches worth of gameplay but it was fun!
Closing Thoughts
Is it competitive? Not necessarily. But is it fun? Absolutely. Innovation in Magic often comes from testing wild ideas and turning them into something that’s uniquely your own. The key to a successful jank deck isn’t always about top-tier power—it’s about finding your moment and making the unexpected happen.
The beauty of jank decks like this is that they don’t rely on just one trick. Sure, the land-thinning gameplan is the star of the show, but with the power of defenders and Assault Formation, you’ve got a backup plan that can easily turn the tide of a match when no one expects it.
Is it good? No. Is it jank? Yes. Is it fun? Hell yes!
Thanks for reading.
As always feel free to comment and leave any questions you have below! Make sure to come back next week for even more Fun & Jank!
If you want to see these decks in action, come hang out with me on stream where we test, refine, and have a ton of fun together!
Happy Brewing!
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Plum is the creator of the Jank Tank.
He started playing at the ripe old age of 12 and immediately fell in love with the infinite possibilities that deck building could lead to.
He truly understands that jank is a mindset, and spends most of his free time brewing and concocting new and exciting deck lists to help inspire and promote creativity within the MTG community.
