Goblins of the Multiverse- Tarkir

Of all the planes, in all the multiverse, it’s hard to find a place where it’s betterworse to be a goblin than on Tarkir.

Hordeling Outburst by Zoltan Boros

Tarkir is a wild world, characterized mostly by overpopulation and scarcity. The prime conflict on Tarkir isn’t one of good versus evil, man versus beast, or magical rituals. Tarkir is five clans, five families, waging eternal war against each other to obtain and hold enough resources to sustain them. Each of these clans is led by its most powerful member, referred to as the KhanDragonlord. The KhansDragonlords range from semi-benevolent to tyrant, and each has a vastly different relation with its clan.

Mardu Ascendency by Jason Chan

As in many worlds with strongly segmented factions, most of the clans aren’t willing to accept goblins as members, but goblins find a place among the most red aligned. The vast majority of Tarkir’s goblins are members’members’ of the MarduAtarka clan, where they are treated primarily as beloved war dogsemergency rations. Goblins of Tarkir have the following characteristics:

Goblin Token by Kev Walker

Hair and Fur: Goblins of Tarkir have large amounts of hair over much of their body, varying depending on where they live. In the warmer areas of Tarkir, this means thick hair atop their heads and strong facial hair, with patches elsewhere. In the colder, mountain regions, Goblins of Tarkir can be nearly completely covered in fur, though their faces are always as exposed as a human’s. This creates large variety in goblin fashion, with some goblins dressing like their clanmates while the furriest often eschew clothing entirely. When properly maintained, this fur is soft, fluffy, and innately huggable.

Butcher’s Glee by Jesper Esjing

Diet: Due to the relative scarcity of food on Tarkir, the Goblins of Tarkir evolved for selective diets. While goblins in most worlds have pointed teeth consistent with a carnivorous diet, many Goblins of Tarkir have sharp incisors and flatter molars to enable them to eat more plant matter. Teeth vary heavily among individuals, suggesting that different races of goblins have diets best adapted to their local environment.

Goblin Heelcutter by Jesper Ejsing

Build: While goblins on most worlds are somewhat lanky, Goblins of Tarkir tend to be stout and thick. They possess significant muscle mass, often capable of lifting objects many times their weight, and can strike with as much power as creatures many times their size. Strong legs and feet help them dash quickly across battlefields, striking opponents and retreating before a counterattack.

Goblin Boom Keg by Viktor Titov

Roles: Goblins of Tarkir act much as they do on other worlds, but are rewardedpunished more for the same behaviors and activities. Primarily seen as part of the MarduAtarka clan, their clansmen take full advantage of the goblins’ natural tendencies. These clans often treat goblins as lesser members, butand due to a strict meritocracyracial heirarchy, the goblins have someno chance for advancement.



Ponyback Brigade by Mark Zug

Mardu goblins ride alongside their clansmen into battle, live with them, train with them, and eat with them. Goblins rarely ride their own horses, but often ride with a larger warrior, leaping off at opportune moments to attack their enemies. With the exception of the rare goblin who earns a warname, the humans and orcs of Mardu tend to treat the goblins as pets. Furry, aggressive, loyal, and willing to eat table scraps, a Mardu goblin serves a similar role to a dog, though is far more capable. Mardu goblins are provided with weapons and armor, equipped as full clan members, and benefit greatly from their alliance with the orcs and humans. The Mardu truly understand what it means to be a goblin, and the clan provides an avenue for goblins to prosper, have fun, and live life according to their own values.

Dragonlord’s Servant by Carl Frank



Atarka goblins are slaves, beasts of burden, and rations. The whole of the Atarka clan exists only to obtain food for their ravenous queen, a gluttonous dragon who devours all she can. She rules her clan in the most tyrannical fashion possible, eating any who cannot provide her with their weight in meat, and some who do so when the mood strikes her. Her goblins are required to hunt for her constantly, and those who attempt to leave are quickly taken by others of the clan as part of their meat offerings. The larger members of Atarka’s clan force the goblins to do the dangerous job of actually delivering the meat to the great dragon, putting them at risk of being immediately devoured. Even worse, when food is low, larger clansmen will slay the goblins themselves to ensure the dragonlord has something to eat other than them. Serving Atarka is a cruel fate, only slightly better than living a brutal life in the ice and snow until being eaten by a dragon or hunted by Atarka’s clan.

Goblinslide by Kev Walker

Not all of Tarkir’s goblins are Mardu, though. Many goblins live in the frozen mountaintops. These goblins enjoy a more traditional lifestyle, surviving off the land as ambush predators. While they’re often at odds with the Temur clan, they’ve made an unusual alliance with the mountains’ ogres. Only barely intelligent, ogres often mistake goblins for young of their species and adopt them. This arrangement allows both species to help the other survive.

Dragon Fodder by Jesper Ejsing

Not all of Tarkir’s goblins belong to Atarka. Some follow Kolaghan on her regular rampages. These goblins are less likely to be killed by their own clan, but life following Kologhan is a harsh one. Sustenance is obtained primarily from eating the fallen on the battlefield, and gear is only acquired through scavenging. Combat is constant and unpredictable, and there is little camaraderie to be found. Those deemed weak are punished, and no aid is ever given. These goblins have to work twice as hard as their clanmates just to keep up, with few ever earning respect.

Hordeling Outburst by Zoltan Boros

Overall, Tarkir is heavenhell for its goblins, and it’s all thanks to the warrior code of the Mardu clanone rat-faced planeswalker who couldn’t leave well enough alone and decided to travel through a hole in space and time, unleash a magical rock he barely understood, and revive the progenitor of an extinct race of gargantuan murderbeasts to devour all that is good and pure in a bid to ride an Orzhova-damned dinosaur without any thought to the potential consequences.