Goblins of the Multiverse: Alara

A long time ago, an unknown planeswalker attacked Alara and drained massive amounts of mana from it. As a result, the plane itself shattered into five Shards, each containing only three of the five colors. Alara’s native goblins, innately tied to red mana, became stranded on the shard known as Jund, separated from any semblance of civilization. Though Jund was arguably the most dangerous of the five shards, the goblins managed to thrive.





Goblin Deathraider by Raymond Swanland

Unknown millennia later, Jund’s goblins are uniquely suited to the dangerous, chaotic world. In a more recent turn of events, Nicol Bolas’ machinations have brought the Shards of Alara back together, setting Jund’s goblins free to explore worlds that haven’t seen goblins in recorded history. While it is unclear if Alara’s goblins were always like that or if they evolved to suit Jund, they are easily recognizable when compared to other goblins. Alara’s goblins have the following characteristics:





Dragon Fodder by Jaime Jones

Fur: Alaran goblins are among the few goblin races to have hair of any kind, and are notable for being completely covered in fur. This fur ranges from black to bright green, and is often thicker around the mouth and on the back of the head. This fur enables the goblins to better survive on high mountains.





Jund Hackblade by Dan Dos Santos

Tails: Alaran goblins possess long, slender tails, with much less fur than the rest of their bodies. By constricting or increasing blood flow to the tail, these goblins can better regulate their body temperatures. This allows them to benefit from their fur when necessary, but also to cool down in warmer temperatures. The long tail also assists in balance, enabling them to move more easily on Jund’s mountainous landscape. While many goblins live in mountains, few spend as much time climbing as Alara’s do.





Goblin Razerunner by Raymond Swanland

Jaws: Jund’s goblins have large, animal-like jaws suitable for combat use. Though most also use some sort of manufactured weapon, they bite foes frequently. This proves both an effective tactic and a way to get a quick snack before the battle is over.





Goblin Assault by Jaime Jones

Tactics: Jund has no strict herbivores to allow safe hunts, and the carnivores are rarely picky, thus placing goblins at the bottom of the food chain. In order to feed, goblins hunt in packs, using excessive numbers to kill creatures that would surely eat them given the chance. Small and stealthy, goblins excel at sneaking up on large targets, attacking all at once. Jund’s goblins also take advantage of gravity, and are prone to charging down mountainsides to attack their prey with more power.





Dragon Appeasement by Paul Bonner

Society: Knowing full well that everything on Jund wants to eat them, including inanimate objects such as “falling rocks” and “lava flows,” goblin religion developed such that the ultimate goal in life was to be eaten by the most glorious thing possible. Invariably, this meant a dragon. The goblins took dragons as their deities, and declared that their purpose in life was to serve them. This meant first spawning as many children as possible, and then climbing up to a high mountain to sacrifice themselves. This proved rather successful as a survival tactic for the species. By having many members of the species offer themselves up to dragons on the mountaintops, it mitigated the chance of a dragon searching out their homes and eating their young.

