Goof Troop: Strategy Guide

Emerald/Ruby song-engine aggro. The whole deck is wired around Singer characters and free-cast songs. Powerline - Taking the Stage is Singer 4 at 2 ink, Max Goof - Rockin' Teen is Singer 5 at 3 ink, and Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star is Singer 9 — that's a curve where the same body that drops on turn 2 can sing a 4-cost song for free on turn 3, and the body that drops on turn 6 can sing I2I (cost 9) for free the same turn.

The song cast is the trigger, not the cost. Powerline - Musical Superstar gains Rush this turn IF you've played a song this turn. P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music gets +2 ¤ until end of turn EACH time you play a song. Roxanne - Powerline Fan sits at +1 ¤ AND +1 ◊ as long as ANY Singer is on board. Every song you cast lights up two or three payoffs at once.

Stand Out is the Layer 2 spike. 3-cost Emerald song, sung free by Powerline-Taking. Gives chosen character +3 ¤ AND Evasive until your next turn. Sing it on Goofy - Super Goof for an 5 ¤ Evasive Rush attacker that gains 2 lore on challenge, or on Pete - Rotten Guy to push a 1/5 quester to a 4 ¤ board-clearer. Evasive matters — most of the meta's blockers aren't.

Matchup role: beatdown into midrange (you're faster), grind into control (your songs out-tempo their answers). You fold to wide Evasive decks unless you race past T5.

Lore math: Pete - Rotten Guy at 2 lore + Max Goof - Chart Topper at 2 lore + Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star at 2 lore plus the 1-lore curve = 6-8 lore/turn by T6 when the Shift line lands.

Two-option keep — pick a song-cast turn, then build to it.

• Option 1 — Curve keep (default): Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid (1c, draw+discard filter) + Powerline - Taking the Stage OR Roxanne - Powerline Fan (2c) + a 3-cost (Pete - Pastry Chomper or Powerline - Musical Superstar) + an inkable. You curve 1 → 2 → 3 with a Singer in play by T2.
• Option 2 — Song keep: Powerline - Taking the Stage (2c Singer 4) + Stand Out (3c song, free-sung by Singer 4) + any 3-cost body. Cast Stand Out free on T3, push a 3-cost to 6 ¤ Evasive for a clean swing.

Always keep if drawn:

• Powerline - Taking the Stage — your Singer 4 enabler. Cheapest free-cast for Stand Out and the on-switch for Roxanne.
• Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid — 1-drop with SO CHEESY draw-then-discard. Filters dead 6-drops and I2I out of opening hands.
• Stand Out OR Pete - Pastry Chomper as the 3-cost slot — either one lands T3 on schedule.

OTP vs OTD:

• OTP: prefer Option 1. You curve harder; the Singer dries on T2 and casts Stand Out free on T3.
• OTD: prefer Option 2 + keep Family Fishing Pole (2c item). The extra draw-step card AND a bounce-quester soft-protects Powerline from an opening turn-1 challenger.

Never keep blind: I2I (9c, dead until T5 with Singer 9), Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star (6c Shift target), Goofy - Flying Goof (6c uninkable), Max Goof - Chart Topper (6c Shift), Goofy - Daredevil (5c). Two 5+ drops in hand = ink one, mulligan the rest.

Ideal T1-T3 line: Ink → Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid T1 (1 lore on T2). Ink → Powerline - Taking the Stage T2, quest Bobby. Ink → Pete - Pastry Chomper + Powerline sings Stand Out on Pete (now 7 ¤ Evasive) T3. Board: 3 chars, 1 song-cast trigger fired, Roxanne (if drawn) at +1 ¤ +1 ◊.

1-drop filter:

• Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid (1c Emerald, 1/2 1L): "SO CHEESY — When you play this character, you may draw a card, then choose and discard a card." T1 filter. Discards dead 6-drops and the surplus copy of I2I. 1 lore body in addition to the digging.

Singer enablers (these light up the rest of the deck):

• Powerline - Taking the Stage (2c Ruby, 3/2 1L): "Singer 4 (This character counts as cost 4 to sing songs.)" 2-cost body that sings Stand Out (3c) free AND most other 4-cost songs. The deck's most important 2-drop — quest him T3, then sing on dry turns.
• Max Goof - Rockin' Teen (3c Ruby, 4/3 1L): "Singer 5" + "I JUST WANNA STAY HOME — This character can't move to locations." 3-cost Singer 5 with a 4 ¤ body. Sings Stand Out free (cost 3) from his second turn onward — drying characters cannot sing (wet-ink rule), so Max must wait one turn before activating his Singer 5 anchor.
• Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star (6c Ruby, 6/4 2L, Shift 4, Singer 9): "MASH-UP — Once during your turn, whenever this character sings a song, look at the top 4 cards of your deck. You may reveal a song card with cost 9 or less and play it for free. Put the rest on the bottom of your deck in any order." Singer 9 = he sings I2I (9c) free, triggers MASH-UP, and potentially casts a SECOND free song from the top-4 dig. The arrival-turn sing line REQUIRES Shift 4 onto a ready Powerline (Shift inherits ready state); hard-cast WGRS dries and waits one turn before singing. Shift 4 onto any Powerline lets you drop him for 4 ⬡ instead of 6.

Song-cast payoffs:

• Powerline - Musical Superstar (3c Ruby, 4/3 1L): "ELECTRIC MOVE — If you've played a song this turn, this character gains Rush this turn." The combo: cast Stand Out → drop Musical Superstar → he Rushes in as a 4 ¤ attacker. Pairs with Pete - Rotten Guy or Goofy - Daredevil to remove a key blocker the turn he lands.
• P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music (4c Ruby, 3/5 1L): "SHOUT OUT LOUD! — Whenever you play a song, this character gets +2 ¤ this turn." +2 ¤ STACKS per song cast — two songs same turn = +4 ¤. With Stand Out + I2I in the same turn he's a 9 ¤ wall.
• Roxanne - Powerline Fan (2c Ruby, 2/3 1L): "CONCERT LOVER — While you have a character with Singer in play, this character gets +1 ¤ and +1 ◊." Static buff, fires the moment any Singer is on board. Effectively a 3 ¤ 2-lore body once Powerline-Taking lands. Best 2-drop in the deck after Powerline himself.

Curve threats:

• Pete - Pastry Chomper (3c Ruby, 4/3 1L, vanilla): 4 ¤ at 3 ink challenges most 3-drops up cleanly. No abilities — pure curve filler.
• Goofy - Super Goof (4c Ruby, 2/4 1L, Inf-only S4): "Rush (This character can challenge the turn they're played.) SUPER PEANUT POWERS — Whenever this character challenges another character, gain 2 lore." Drop + challenge = 2 lore this turn. Pair with Stand Out for a 5 ¤ Evasive Rush attacker that gains 2 lore on the challenge.
• Pete - Rotten Guy (4c Emerald, 1/5 2L, Inf-only S4, vanilla): Best lore rate in the deck. 1 ¤ doesn't trade, but 5 WP walls 4-strength challengers and quests for 2. Stand Out on him → 4 ¤ + Evasive for a clean turn of removal.
• Goofy - Daredevil (5c Ruby, 3/4 2L, Inf-only S1): "Evasive (Only characters with Evasive can challenge this character.)" The deck's best baseline quester. 2 lore + Evasive means he dodges most of the meta's challengers AND outraces midrange unanswered.
• Goofy - Flying Goof (6c Ruby, 5/5 1L, uninkable): "Rush + Evasive." Drop + immediate challenge into anything not Evasive. Worth the uninkable slot for the 5 ¤ Rush-Evasive swing — kills 5 WP threats clean, dodges blockers.
• Max Goof - Rebellious Teen (3c Emerald, 2/2 1L): "PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK — When you play this character, you may pay 1 ⬡ to return a song card with cost 3 or less from your discard to your hand." Stand Out recursion — 4 ⬡ total (3 for Max + 1 for the trigger) to get Stand Out back into your hand. Lower priority than the 4-of song payoffs but worth the 2-of for matchups where you need repeat Evasive pushes.

Shift finishers (T6+ closers):

• Max Goof - Chart Topper (6c Emerald, 4/5 2L, Shift 4): "NUMBER ONE HIT — Whenever this character quests, you may play a song card with cost 4 or less from your discard for free, then put it on the bottom of your deck instead of into your discard." Shift 4 onto any Max Goof = drops for 4 ⬡ from a Rockin' Teen / Rebellious Teen base. Then questing replays Stand Out from the discard for free every turn. End of T6: 2 lore + a free song cast + the song cycles to deck bottom (so it can be drawn again).

Songs:

• Stand Out (3c Emerald song, Singer 3+ sings free): "Chosen character gets +3 ¤ and gains Evasive until the start of your next turn." Layer 2 spike. Turns any 3-4 ¤ body into a 6-7 ¤ Evasive threat for a turn. Best targets: Goofy - Super Goof (Rush + Evasive + lore-on-challenge), Pete - Rotten Guy (the 2-lore 5 WP body becomes a 4 ¤ blocker too).
• I2I (9c Ruby song, Sing Together 9): "Each player draws 2 cards and gains 2 lore. If 2 or more characters sang this song, ready them. They can't quest for the rest of this turn." Sing Together = any combination of your characters totaling 9+ cost can ⟳ together to sing free. Powerline-WGRS (6c) + Powerline-Taking (2c) + Roxanne (2c) = 10 cost, all three sing together, all three ready, draw 2 + gain 2 lore. Each player draws + gains — your opponent benefits too, so don't cast this when behind. Best on the T6+ Shift turn where you've already drawn into your finisher line.

Item:

• Family Fishing Pole (2c Emerald): "WATCH CLOSELY — This item enters play exerted. THE PERFECT CAST ⟳, 1 ⬡, Banish this item — Return chosen exerted character of yours to your hand to gain 2 lore." Bounce-quester. Drop on T2 (enters exerted, can't fire same turn), use T3 onward to: (1) gain 2 lore + (2) bounce a damaged body to replay with full WP + (3) re-trigger SO CHEESY / SHOUT OUT LOUD! / SUPER PEANUT POWERS. Costs 3 ⬡ total over two turns; nets 2 lore + a free re-trigger.

vs. Amethyst/Sapphire Evasive (Unfavorable): Watch for: Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe, Hades - Looking for a Deal The format's biggest archetype (~22% metashare). Their Evasive bodies quest right past your non-Evasive board, and Hades - Looking for a Deal out-values your tempo plan past T6. Your Evasive answers: Goofy - Daredevil at 5c, Goofy - Flying Goof at 6c (uninkable), and Stand Out on any 3+ ¤ body. Race plan: land 12+ lore by T5 with the Stand Out + Powerline-Musical Rush combo, close before Hades assembles. Sing I2I ONLY when you're already at 15+ lore — the symmetrical draw helps them stabilize otherwise.

vs. Amber/Emerald Aggro (Even): Watch for: Tramp - Street-Smart Dog, Under the Sea Mirror-shape race — they're wider, you're taller. Pete - Rotten Guy at 1/5 walls their 2-3 ¤ Dogs at 2 lore for 4 ink, which is above-rate trading per ink. Stand Out on Goofy - Super Goof for a 5 ¤ Evasive Rush attacker clears their key 2-lore quester AND nets 2 lore from SUPER PEANUT POWERS. Watch for Under the Sea — don't commit a full board of 3+ questers without holding a follow-up song to refill on board strength.

vs. Amethyst/Steel Challengers (Even): Watch for: Beast - Snowfield Troublemaker, Strength of a Raging Fire Mirror-shape grind — their Challenger threats trade up into your 1-3 WP bodies, but Pete - Rotten Guy (5 WP), P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music (5 WP), and Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star (4 WP after Shift) all survive the standard Challenger +2 swing. Strength of a Raging Fire at T4-T5 hits your wider board hard — keep an extra 2-cost body in hand as a bait quester. The Stand Out / Musical Superstar Rush line clears Beast cleanly when timed right.

vs. Amber/Steel Steelsong (Favorable): Watch for: Angel - Experiment 624, He Hurled His Thunderbolt Songs vs. songs — but yours have direct payoffs (Rush, +2 ¤, +3 ¤ + Evasive) while theirs accumulate over turns. He Hurled His Thunderbolt clears your 2-3 WP bodies but Pete - Rotten Guy and P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music survive on 5 WP. Your tempo plan peaks T5-T6 with Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star Shift + MASH-UP free song from top-4; theirs peaks T6+. Outrace.

vs. Ruby/Sapphire Control (Favorable): Watch for: Maui - Hero to All, A Pirate's Life Their answer pile is single-target removal — your board is wide AND replayable via Family Fishing Pole bounce. Max Goof - Chart Topper at T6 with Shift 4 from a 3-cost Max base lands for 4 ⬡, then quests for 2 lore + replays Stand Out free from discard. Maui - Hero to All is their best Shift-stopper — bait it on Goofy - Daredevil before committing Chart Topper or Powerline-WGRS. Past T7 they stabilize; close before.

vs. Mirror (Emerald/Ruby Song Aggro) (Even): Watch for: Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star, Stand Out Whoever lands the Stand Out + Musical Superstar Rush combo first establishes board control. P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music at +2 ¤ per song cast can outscale their P.J. Pete if you stack 2+ songs same turn. I2I Sing Together in the mirror is a coinflip — both decks gain 2 lore + draw 2, so the symmetrical effect favors whoever's ahead on board.

Against Evasive-heavy meta (Amethyst/Sapphire Dumbo/Hades, anti-Villain Darkwing variants): -2 Max Goof - Rebellious Teen / +2 Goofy - Flying Goof. Problem: 2-of song-recursion doesn't draw often enough to matter against fast Evasive boards. Goofy - Flying Goof at 5 ¤ Rush + Evasive trades into Dumbo and dodges their non-Evasive blockers; uninkable but worth the slot when 60% of the meta is bypassing your non-Evasive board.

Against challenger-heavy meta (Amethyst/Steel, mirror): -1 Family Fishing Pole / +1 Pete - Pastry Chomper. Problem: bounce-quester is too slow when their challenger removal is faster than your tempo cycle. A 5th 3-cost body keeps the on-curve threat density high.

Against control-heavy meta (Ruby/Sapphire Maui-removal): -1 I2I / +1 Stand Out. Problem: I2I gives them 2 free cards too — symmetrical draw fuels their answer pile. A 5th Stand Out spreads the Layer 2 spike across more turns; control matchup wants you to apply pressure every turn, not save for a Sing Together haymaker.

Core-Only Variant (drops Inf-only cards): Pete - Rotten Guy (S4 ×4), Goofy - Super Goof (S4 ×4), and Goofy - Daredevil (S1 ×4) are all Inf-only. Core swaps: -4 Pete - Rotten Guy / +4 a different Emerald 2-lore 4-cost (no clean substitute exists in Core for a 1/5 2-lore body — closest is Madam Mim - Snake if Emerald 4c body is the priority, or shift to a 4-cost 1-lore curve filler with relevant ability). -4 Goofy - Super Goof / +4 Pete - Pastry Chomper to deepen the 3-drop slot at the cost of the lore-on-challenge trigger. -4 Goofy - Daredevil / +4 a Core 5c body with Evasive or 2 lore. Without these three cards, the deck loses ~50% of its character density and the engine integrity breaks — Core-Only is not viable; this list is Infinity-format-locked.

Outlook: Infinity-format-locked by Goofy - Daredevil (S1), Goofy - Super Goof (S4), and Pete - Rotten Guy (S4). All three are core engine pieces that no Core-legal card meaningfully replaces. The S9 song-engine package (Max Goof - Chart Topper, Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star, P.J. Pete, Roxanne, Bobby Zimuruski, Stand Out, I2I) is the modern spine; any S12 Wilds Unknown reveal that adds a 2-3-cost "when you play a song" payoff would directly upgrade the list. The deck's ceiling rises with every new Singer or song card printed.