Deck Building 101: Building Your First Competitive Deck

From Pile of Cards to Battle-Ready Deck

A great deck doesn't happen by accident. In Goblins & Gunslingers, deck building is a craft — one that balances faction synergies, resource curves, and board-state planning before a single card is drawn. Whether you're building your first 52-card stack or tuning an existing list, this guide will give you the framework to build something that wins.

When you're ready to put it all together, use the GNG Deck Builder to construct and save your decks.

The Core Rules of Deck Construction

Before getting into strategy, know the hard rules:

• Deck size: Exactly 52 cards.
• Deputies: Choose exactly 2 Deputy cards. They live outside the deck and are summoned through specific card effects — not drawn normally. Only 1 Deputy can be on the field at a time.
• Faction limit: Max 2 main factions per deck. Beasts are neutral and don't count toward this limit — include as many as you like.
• There is no per-card copy limit (beyond what your collection contains), so you can run multiple copies of strong cards.

Step 1: Choose Your Faction Pair

Your faction pair determines your deck's identity and game plan. Don't pick two factions randomly — pick two that cover each other's weaknesses.

Questions to ask:

• Does one faction provide early pressure while the other provides late-game power?
• Do both factions use the same resource efficiently (mana-heavy vs. gold-heavy)?
• Do their keywords chain together? (e.g., Ambush creatures deal damage immediately, building gold for Double Barrel follow-ups)

Proven starter pairings:

• Goblins + Desert Devils — Pure aggression. Flood the board with Ambush creatures, deal damage for gold, and close with Overshot chains.
• Humans + Straw Elves — Control and attrition. Warrants protect your Straw Elf healers; Quickdraw creatures trade favorably all game.
• Humans + Beasts — Midrange tempo. Human removal clears the way for efficient Beast creatures to close out games.

Step 2: Plan Your Mana Curve

Your mana curve is the distribution of mana costs across your 52 cards. A well-curved deck has something to play on every turn from Turn 1 onward.

General curve guidelines:

• 1-mana cards (8–10): Early plays that develop board presence and generate gold income quickly.
• 2-mana cards (12–16): The backbone of your deck. Efficient creatures and spells that trade well.
• 3-mana cards (10–14): Your mid-game threats and removal tools.
• 4-mana cards (6–8): Heavy hitters and game-changing spells. Use them to swing momentum.
• 5-mana cards (2–4): Win conditions. Cards so powerful they end the game if left unanswered.

Aggro decks skew heavily toward 1- and 2-mana cards. Control decks can afford a higher curve because they're designed to stabilize and reach late-game turns. Midrange decks sit in the middle, with a smooth curve from 2 to 4.

Step 3: Balance Your Gold Economy

Gold is easily overlooked by new players, but building a healthy gold income is the difference between a functional deck and a dominant one.

Gold income strategies:

• Include Gold Rush cards. These generate 1 gold immediately on play, providing acceleration even in turns where you can't attack.
• Run creatures that attack often. Every hit on the opponent generates +1 bonus gold for next turn. Double Barrel creatures attack twice, generating double the income.
• Don't overspend gold early. If your deck has expensive gold-cost cards, hold your bonus gold across turns instead of burning it on cheap effects.

A consistent rule of thumb: if your deck has 5+ cards with gold costs, you need an active gold generation strategy, not just the base 1/turn.

Step 4: Build Your Removal Suite

No matter your strategy, you need ways to deal with your opponent's threats. GNG offers several removal archetypes:

• Targeted removal spells — Destroy or debuff a specific creature in a lane. Note: these cannot target High-Rise creatures.
• Lane sweepers — Clear an entire lane or multiple creatures at once. More mana-intensive but swing-worthy.
• Combat tricks — Instant-speed buffs or keywords that let your creature win a trade it otherwise wouldn't.

Aim for at least 8–10 dedicated removal or tempo spells in any non-aggro deck. Aggro decks can run fewer, relying on combat and Ambush creatures to clear lanes naturally.

Step 5: Select Your Deputies

Deputies are your deck's secret weapons. You choose 2, but only 1 can be on the field at a time, and they're summoned through specific card effects — not drawn from your deck.

Deputy selection principles:

• Match your strategy. A control deck wants a Deputy that generates card advantage or locks down the board. An aggro deck wants a Deputy that deals immediate damage or has Ambush.
• Build toward your Deputies. If you pick a Deputy that requires 4 gold to summon, make sure your deck generates enough gold to reach that threshold at a meaningful point in the game.
• Cover weaknesses. Your Deputies should patch the holes your main deck can't address — not just double down on your strengths.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Top-heavy curve. Running too many 4- and 5-mana cards means dead hands in the early game. You'll lose before you can play them.
• Ignoring gold costs. Building a deck with many gold-cost cards but no gold generation plan leads to awkward hands where you can't afford what you're holding.
• Splitting three factions. It's tempting to include that one amazing card from a third faction, but diluting your synergies almost always hurts more than it helps. Stick to two.
• Forgetting Deputies. Deputies don't draw themselves — you need the effects that summon them. If you're running a gold-sink Deputy, make sure you have the gold-generating cards to support it.
• No end-game plan. Aggro decks that fizzle out around Turn 7 with nothing to close on lose to any deck that stabilizes. Have at least 2–4 high-impact finishers.

Your First Deck: A Starting Template

Not sure where to begin? Try this framework for a Goblins + Desert Devils aggro deck:

• 10x 1-mana Goblin Ambush creatures
• 14x 2-mana Goblin/Desert Devil creatures
• 12x 3-mana creatures and spells
• 10x 4-mana payoff cards (including Overshot creatures)
• 6x Spells (removal, combat tricks, Gold Rush effects)
• Deputies: 1 aggressive Goblin Deputy + 1 burn-focused Desert Devil Deputy

Load this into the Deck Builder, play a few games, and adjust based on what you're losing to. Deck building is an iterative process — every loss teaches you something.