Deck Building Tips: How to Build a Winning GNG Deck

The Art of the Deck

A card game is only as good as the deck you bring to the table — and in Goblins & Gunslingers, deck building is where strategy begins. Before the first card is drawn or the first creature enters a lane, the choices you make in the deck builder determine your game plan, your win conditions, and how you respond to whatever the opponent brings.

This guide walks you through the complete deck building process: understanding the structural rules, choosing a faction identity, building around a mana curve, balancing creature and spell counts, managing gold-cost cards, selecting Deputies, and avoiding the most common beginner mistakes. Whether you're building your first deck or refining your third, there's something here for every level of player.

When you're ready, build and save your deck in the deck builder, then test it in the play area.

The 52-Card Rule

Every GNG deck is exactly 52 cards. Not 50, not 60 — 52. This is a fixed number, not a minimum.

Why 52? The number was chosen deliberately to create consistent games. At 52 cards with a 7-card starting hand and 1 draw per turn, a game that runs 10–15 turns will see about 17–22 cards from your deck. That means roughly one-third of your deck is "in play" in an average game. Every card you include needs to be worth seeing in that third — if you'd be disappointed to draw it, cut it.

Deputies sit outside the deck. Your 2 Deputy cards are not counted in the 52. They are separate and summoned through specific in-game effects. This means your deck is built entirely around your 52 cards, with Deputies as a bonus layer of strategy.

Faction Pairing: Choosing Your Identity

GNG decks can use a maximum of two main factions. Beasts are neutral — they can appear in any deck alongside any faction combination. This rule creates strategic identity: every deck has a theme, and the two factions you choose define how that theme plays out.

Viable Faction Pairs and Their Identity

• Humans + Goblins: The "Trick Shot" combo — Goblin speed with Human precision. Flood early with cheap Goblins, then leverage Human Quickdraw and Warrant to protect your key pieces. Aggressive with a mid-game safety net.
• Humans + Desert Devils: The "Law & Fire" control deck. Human board control tools (Warrant, Quickdraw) pair with Devil burn spells for a slow, methodical opponent-denial strategy. Best in long games.
• Humans + Straw Elves: The "Sheriff's Grove" defensive combo. Straw Elf healing and Cover Tokens protect Human Warrant creatures, creating nearly unkillable defensive walls. Slow to win but nearly impossible to break through.
• Goblins + Desert Devils: The "Starter Deck" — fast Goblin pressure backed by Devil burn as a finishing tool. Excellent for new players; natural synergy between Goblin gold income and Devil gold-cost spells. Recommended starting pair.
• Goblins + Straw Elves: The "Swarm & Sustain" combo. Goblin flood pressure with Straw Elf healing to keep your swarm alive longer. Unusual but effective against attrition opponents.
• Desert Devils + Straw Elves: The "Scorched Earth" midrange. Devil stat monsters protected by Straw Elf Cover Tokens and healed back to full health. Difficult to execute but oppressive when set up correctly.

Adding Beasts: Beasts can supplement any of the above pairings. They typically offer neutral utility — bodies that fill mana curve gaps, or Ambush creatures that any deck can use. A good rule of thumb: include 6–10 Beast cards in any deck if you need specific curve slots filled that your primary factions don't cover.

Mana Curve: The Foundation of Every Deck

Your mana curve is the distribution of mana costs across your 52 cards. Getting the curve right is the single biggest factor in whether your deck "feels" smooth to play.

Remember: mana ramps each turn (Turn 1 = 1 mana, Turn 2 = 2 mana, etc.). If all your cards cost 4 mana, you'll have nothing to do for the first three turns — and the opponent will be ahead on board before you've even started.

Recommended Curve Distributions

• Aggro (Goblin-heavy): 12–14 one-drops, 8–10 two-drops, 4–6 three-drops, 2–4 cards at 4+. Play something every turn from Turn 1 and overwhelm before the opponent ramps high.
• Midrange (Desert Devil/Human): 4–6 two-drops, 10–12 three-drops, 6–8 four-drops, 2–4 five-drops. Stabilize early, dominate mid, close with high-cost finishers.
• Control (Straw Elf/Human): 4–6 two-drops (mostly spells), 8–10 three-drops, 6–8 four-drops, 4–6 five-drops, 2 six-drops. Survive the early game, win the late game with superior card quality.

General rule: Your deck should have at least 8–10 cards at 2 mana or less regardless of archetype. Dead early turns lose games.

Creature vs. Spell Ratio

The eternal tension in any card game is: how many creatures, how many spells? GNG has a clear framework:

• Aggro decks: 30–36 creatures, 16–22 spells. You need bodies to fill lanes and generate gold. Spells should be cheap and immediate (burn, buffs, Ambush triggers).
• Midrange decks: 24–30 creatures, 22–28 spells. Balance of quality bodies and reactive spells. Each creature should be a meaningful threat; each spell should answer a real problem.
• Control decks: 18–24 creatures, 28–34 spells. Fewer creatures, but each one is a major threat. Heavy spell suite for board control, resource denial, and healing.

Minimum creature floor: Never go below 18 creatures. You need bodies in lanes to generate gold income and apply pressure — a deck with 10 creatures and 42 spells will run out of gold and have nothing attacking.

Gold Cost Considerations

Some cards have both a mana cost AND a gold cost. These are usually more powerful than mana-only cards of the same mana value. The key question: does your deck generate enough gold to play them consistently?

• Goblin decks: High gold income from frequent small attacks. Can support 6–8 gold-cost cards comfortably.
• Midrange decks: Moderate gold income from fewer, harder-hitting attacks. Support 4–6 gold-cost cards.
• Control decks: Lower gold income (fewer attacks per turn). Limit gold-cost cards to 2–4, and only include them as premium finishers.

Don't get stranded. Including a gold-cost card you can never afford is worse than not including it at all. Track your expected gold income per turn when building and be honest about what you can realistically pay.

Deputy Selection

Your 2 Deputies are outside the deck and summoned by specific card effects. They are powerful, game-changing, and often determine your deck's identity. Consider:

• Synergy: Does your Deputy's ability complement your deck's game plan? An offensive Deputy in a control deck wastes its timing; a defensive Deputy in an aggro deck slows you down.
• Summoning condition: How does your deck trigger the Deputy summon? Build at least 2–3 cards that can summon Deputies so the condition isn't a dead draw.
• One at a time: Only 1 Deputy can be on the field at once. Don't build around both Deputies being active simultaneously — plan for sequential use.
• Late-game timing: Most Deputies are best summoned in the mid-to-late game when their effects have maximum impact. Don't rush the summon unless your Deputy is designed as an early game stabilizer.

Common Deck Building Mistakes

1. Too many expensive cards

A deck full of 4 and 5-mana cards looks powerful on paper but dies to fast aggro before it can play anything. Always check your curve before finalizing a deck — if your average mana cost is above 3.0, you have a problem.

2. Ignoring gold income

Players often build with gold-cost cards without asking "can I generate enough gold to play these?" Build gold-cost cards in proportion to your expected gold income. When in doubt, leave the gold-cost cards in the collection and run mana-only alternatives.

3. Playing three factions

The two-faction limit exists for a reason. Three-faction decks lack identity — they can't commit to an early game plan, their Deputies don't synergize, and their curve is awkward. Stick to two factions (plus Beasts as neutral filler).

4. Too many situational cards

A card that's incredible in one specific matchup but dead in all others is a liability. Build for consistency — cards that are good in every game are better than cards that are outstanding in one game and useless in the next five.

5. Not testing and iterating

Your first draft of a deck is almost never your best deck. Play 10 games, note which cards you never want to draw and which ones you always want, and cut the former for more of the latter. Iteration is the core of deck building.

Your First Build: A Recommended Starting Point

For new players, we recommend the Goblins + Desert Devils pairing:

• 22 Goblin creatures (mix of 1 and 2-drops with some Ambush and Last Stand)
• 8 Desert Devil creatures (3 and 4-drops with high stats)
• 10 Beasts (neutral utility, fill curve gaps)
• 10 Spells (6 burn from Desert Devils, 4 Goblin buff/draw spells)
• 2 Deputies (1 offensive Goblin Deputy, 1 burn-effect Desert Devil Deputy)

This starter framework is fast, forgiving, and teaches the fundamentals of gold income management. Once comfortable, branch out into more complex faction pairings.

Build your deck now in the deck builder and bring it to the frontier in the play area. The cards are waiting.