Goblin Shaman

Weaken Your Opponent to a Fiery Grave

In keeping with my previous tradition of doing more in-depth analysis on the Battle Challenge Cards, I'm going to be doing an Analysis of Goblin Shaman, what he brings to the day, his cost, his CP ratios, and why I recommend him, vs why I DON'T recommend him.

First, some info on Goblin Shaman:

THEME	Goblin Shaman
Edition	ALPHA/BETA
Rarity	COMMON
Splinter	FIRE
Attack Type	None / Magic

Goblins are everywhere in the Burning Lands, but they are all larger and stronger than the Goblins of Anumün. The Goblin Shaman of the Smoldering Forest are especially skilled in slowing and weakening their enemies with enchantments. Many of them can hypnotize with a simple gaze from their blood-red eyes.

ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤

Goblin Shaman was one of the first cards I bought a 5 BCX of, and, at the time, helped me win more battles than I can count. With the current Magic dominating meta in Bronze, Low Silver, and even to some degree in High Silver and lower Gold, poor Shaman has moved to the back of my used cards, as Fire usually is a poor choice against Magic comps without something nuts like multiple legendaries or Yodin. There ARE teams that can combat it, such as Low Mana Pyre, and High Mana Almo in Bronze/Silver, but you have a MUCH better chance with many other splinters, and as such, Fire has quickly become my least played Splinter.

With the fall from power, Gobling Shaman is in an unsteady spot, the meta does not favor him, the meta does not favor his splinter, and with Chaos Legion right around the corner, it's uncertain if something new will take his place... This makes him a very risky buy imo, I plan to hold mine, simply because I already own it, but I would be a very leery player right now of Fire and Goblin Shaman, with so many unknowns on the horizon...

𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕤 & 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤

Goblin Shaman costs 3 Mana. This makes him viable in Little League, Odds, and, as a MAgic Attacker, he can be used as either a Level 1 or Level 3 variant automatically, allowing you to capitalize on his Debuff, even in Lost Magic. He has 2 Speed, 4 Mana, and Weaken, which lowers all opponent's Health by 1, as long as he is alive. This makes him a sort of damage sponge, at Level 1, where he has a good amount of health for his mana cost, especially when compared to other Fire monsters. Many players will pass over him in favor of attackers, but in little league, even as he is, he is a devastating debuff/sponge.

At Level 2, he gains +1 Speed, and then, at Level 3, he actually loses 1 Health and Speed, becoming a 1 Magic Attack, 2 Speed, and 3 Health attacker. This is a pretty significant debuff, but it also changes his usability and playstyle, becoming a hybrid attacker/debuffer as opposed to just a meathshield that debuffs! This also gives Fire one of its earliest magic attackers, and adds some versatility to your attacks. Goblin Shaman can give you an edge against other Fire teams, who may play Living Lava, for instance, and in a mirror match where Goblin Shaman is on your side with Magic, you will likely come out on top.

At Level 5, he actually has the same stats, but gains access to Slow, reducing Speed by 1 to all opponents. This plays an even bigger factor in Fires playstyle, especially with Pyre or Kitty, allowing for powerful dodge comps that can shut down an opposing team with high damage, high speed, and perfect accuracy!

At Level 10 though, he's finally gained some stats! He has 1 Magic, 4 Speed, and 6 Health, along with Weaken and Slow. I've never used a Goblin Shaman above level 5, so I cannot comment on his effectiveness, but I would think he remains very relevant for Little League and Low Mana, but becomes less of a solid pick as mana increases, due to many other cheap cards at similar levels becoming significantly more powerful, for instance, why choose Goblin Shaman over a maxed Spark Pixies or Serpentine Spy?

He costs about $6.72 per BCX in his Beta variant... His Alpha variant costs a whopping $21, this means that, in the week or so since my Weekly challenge, these cards have had a tiny bit of downward momentum, but have largely remained the same.

**LEVEL COSTS**
Level 3 costs $33.60 for Beta, and $82 for Alpha, this is where he gains **+1 Magic**
Level 5 costs $168 for Beta, and $399 for Alpha, this is where he gains **Slow**
Max Level costs $3393.60 for a Beta, and $7959 for a maxed Alpha. That's nearly 10k for a Maxed Alpha Common! 

*Keep in mind that higher BCX Cards come with discounts, this is the math for purchasing 1 BCX Cards, which you should NOT do if you're planning to level.*

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕣

As one of a few, unique Magic based attackers for Fire, and one of the only ones many players will have in the early game, with very low investment, Goblin Shaman is an odd, auxiliary pick chosen primarily for his debuff. That being said, I think Pyre is the best Fire Summoner for him to capitalize off of, out of the Fire summoners. If we're including Legendaries, than obviously Yodin and Plado work nicely, and I would argue that the double debuff that Plado offers might be more valuable specifically for Goblin Shaman, as Plado is basically Pyre + Malric + Goblin Shaman already. But what about Dragon summoners?

Delwyn is a powerful pick for Goblin Shaman, if one chose to go Fire Mage as a lineup, a very unusual, but surprisingly powerful line up in low and mid mana. Are there better Dragon summoners for teams, and better Fire Dragon teams? Absolutely! But I recommend summoners based solely off the card for these weekly challenges so, Delwyn wins this one. I like to pump Delwyn a bit in all of my recent articles, but let me just reiterate it here: Delwyn is a PROMO Summoner, granting +10% DEC Bonus on every win. With Alric leaving Modern format AND the Starter cards soon, Delwyn will be the only affordable option to utilize Water Magic as it has been used before. If you're a fan of Water Magic, or magic in general, a 1 BCX Delwyn is an absolute necessity.

That being said, I do not know if I would upgrade him beyond that, as he is quite costly for very low reward as a Common summoner.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

Position 2, Position 3, Position 4
Generally speaking, Goblin Shaman is a good middle position buffer between your Tanks and your actual attackers, serving as a sort of support/debuffer somewhere in the middle. His weaken is strong, but he doesn't have much offensive presence. I like to put him in position 2-4, depending on mana and how many tanks / off-tanks I'm using.

However, Goblin Shaman benefits from being an easily placed card, and placement is not absolutely crucial, at least in Silver/Bronze.

There are also use-cases for a Position 1 play, such as in Low Mana situations, however, because Cerberus is such an effective, and powerful tank at 1 more mana, there is usually a better option. The only time I tend to place Goblin Shaman in position 1 is if No Melee Tanks are allowed.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕤

Honestly, Goblin Shaman does pretty well in any ruleset, but IMO he really shines in these, Little League, where health pools are very low, Equalizer, where Weaken is a massive advantage, and Poison/Earthquake where that 1 health could be the difference between your opponent surviving 1 rounds and surviving 2!

He is also very powerful in Reverse Speed, where he shoots off magic fast and becomes slightly tankier with higher dodge chances.

ℕ𝕠𝕥 ℝ𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕤

Goblin Shaman is pretty much a worthless card in No Abilities, and only slightly okay at level 3, when it gains +1 Magic damage. As such, No Abilities is usually a ruleset to avoid with him.

Even Stevens prevents him from being used, as he costs 3 Mana.

𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠

Source: Splintercards

Looking at his market info, Goblin Shaman has sat very steadily at a $4-5 per BCX market value for the last 3 months, up until this previous month, during which time the DEC bonus was announced for Betas, causing a spike to $6-7 in cost. It's very difficult to tell if this spike will continue, or dip, as the increased DEC bonus will add value to the card, and its removal from the Starter Set will cause many new players who heavily rely on it to either adapt or purchase a copy of their own.

Having a very consistent pricing bodes well for the card though, as this appears to simply be a price fluctuation caused by that added utility of the DEC bonus, rather than any type of market manipulation.

Whether that makes it a good deal for you is another thing entirely.

𝕎𝕙𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕀 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕥𝕠?

Honestly, first off, you should only really be considering buying this card if you're planning to do two things in particular: Play in WILD Format when it releases, and more importantly, play Fire teams where an HP Debuff and Magic may be a powerful play.

I'd recommend him for Bronze/Silver Players looking for a card that's not super expensive, at about $33 to gain magic attack, which they could pair with a card like Delwyn, Prismatic Energy, and others, for an excellent anti-magic AND anti-Fire team that can be utilized effectively against other common Fire teams in Bronze/Silver. I also think he can be used very effectively with Yodin magic, if a player has that option, and the -1 HP really gives an edge there as well. Facing other Yodins, his -1 HP and armor ignoring magic could be the difference that's needed to take down their tank/attackers that much faster, as Magic directly devastates many of Yodin, and Fire's core cards, such as Spark Pixies, Fire Elemental, Living Lava, and Lava Launcher.

I do NOT really recommend him beyond those levels, as he quickly becomes nearly 5x the cost to remain relevant in high Silver/Gold level, and his functionality is still very niche within Fire, requiring other magic attackers, Delwyn, and/or expensive additions to really begin to offer more than those niche benefits.

Furthermore, because of Chaos Legion fast approaching, I don't recommend him for anybody planning to play on a budget in Modern, since he will be leaving the Modern format, as well as the Starter Set of cards

Finally, his Cost/CP Ratio is about $0.45 per Collection Power point, which, along with many other Beta and Alpha cards, is an awful Collection Power ratio. If you're a player searching for Collection Power, and not something like Versatility or a power up for your main, Goblin Shaman is NOT for you.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤

Goblin Shaman synergizes surprisingly well with Fire's teams in low mana, despite being seemingly out there as a magic attacker in a largely melee dominant and ranged dominant splinter.

Wild Format Starter Cards

Out of the Wild Format Starter cards, Kobold Miner and Lava Beetle capitalize off of Golbin Shaman's -1 HP the best, allowing them to pick off the backline and non-melee attackers more easily. At the Bronze/Silver level, these cards are both especially strong due to receiving +1 Range and +1 Melee at their Level 3 counterparts, allowing you to bring them into Bronze for a measly 8 Mana total, and be dealing 5 damage across three damage types, hitting frontline, backline, and anything in-between!

Modern Format Starter Cards

This combination costs slightly more mana than the Wild Format Starter cards, but Fire Elemental and Serpentine Spy fulfill similar, but much faster roles, with Fire Elemental's blast attack hitting frontline and position 2, and Serpentine Spy's Opportunity hitting whoever has the lowest health. These two synergize nicely with Goblin Shaman, but cost a total of 11 Mana, making them slightly more expensive.

Other Cards

As another section, some other cards that offer unique options for Fire, I like Flame Imp and Beetle Queen. This one is a bit more effective at higher levels, where Beetle Queen gains Heal, but when paired with Delwyn Dragonscale, you have a powerful magic attacking core, similar to Water's magic team, however this one costs about 10 Mana for 3 Magic attackers dealing 6 magic total, and this team can completely throw off your opponents. Out of the three sets of teammates, this is a much more niche choice, which is strongest in Bronze/Low Silver, but allows for some fun cheeky plays with other cards, such as Naga Firewizard, Goblin Firemage, or Efreet Elder to wonderful effect.

𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟 ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤

Okay, so with Chaos Legion fast approaching, it's time to speculate on what might Empower, or Replace Goblin Shaman in the meta... We'll start with what might Empower him.

Empowering Goblin Shaman

First off, Doctor Blight offers an absolutely wicked bonus to Goblin Shaman, combining together to form 7 Mana cost, a Slow, a Weaken, AND Affliction with 2 MAgic attack at Bronze level. That alone will be a wicked opportunity in Modern...

But what if Fire finally gets a Void tank aside from Caladuum? Bye Water Magic Meta being a huge threat for Fire. Also, keep in mind that Alric will also be removed from the Starter set, meaning +1 Magic will NOT be as rampant as it is currently, allowing Fire to have a better chance to flourish.

What if the Fire Summoner is +1 Magic, and suddenly you have Dr. Blight, Goblin Shaman, Flame Imp, Enchanted Pixie, Beetle Queen, Goblin Firemage and so many other Fire magic attackers for an impressive repertoire of magic spam for Fire's new summonr in both Modern and Wild?

Replacing Goblin Shaman

To some degree, Dr. Blight WILL replace Goblin Shaman as he levels, becoming more and more of a better choice, and replacing Goblin Shaman as a whole as you move up in leagues.

If Fire does NOT get a good Void tank, Goblin Shaman will continue to see low use against anything except Death's low health monsters, and with the addition of Owster, there is always risk to a Magic Goblin Shaman attacking Death.

Likewise, if Fire does NOT get a +1 Magic Summoner, you will be stuck utilizing him almost solely in Wild, with Delwyn, where you'll need a Level 3 Delywn in order to even utilizie him properly...

Finally, what if there is a new HP Debuffer, similar to Goblin Shaman, only he offers something like Ranged attack, and higher speed, synergizing better with Pyre and Yodin, and leaving Goblin Shaman in the past, with no Summoner that can really bring out his potential?

A lot can go wrong, a lot can go right, let's wait and see where Chaos Legion takes us, and see if a Goblin Shaman is worthy of the Chaos Legion that comes.

𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟 𝕌𝕡 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕊𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨!

Wanna play with a Goblin Shaman too? Join me on Splinterlands! Goblin Shaman is currently a starter card and you'll be able to use him to your heart's desire! But don't wait too long! He will be leaving the Modern format AND the Starter Cards when Chaos Legion arrives!

Join me on Splinterlands, if you use my link, here:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=jakkal
I'll send you 100 DEC when you sign up and get a spellbook, (as long as you show up as referred) which should help you get started via renting! Also, feel free to message me, I can answer any questions, give tips, etc.