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 is a curve where the same body that drops on turn 2 can sing a 4-cost song for free on turn 3, and a Shift 4 landing on a ready Powerline can sing I2I (cost 9) for free the turn it arrives.

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, free to sing off any character that counts as cost 3 or more. Gives chosen character +3 ¤ and Evasive until the start of your next turn. Sing it on Goofy - Super Goof, who already has Rush and gains 2 lore whenever he challenges. The +3 ¤ takes him to 5 ¤, and the Evasive rider means only an Evasive blocker can stop the swing. Or point it at Pete - Rotten Guy to push a 1/5 quester into a 4 ¤ board-clearer. That rider matters, because most of the meta's blockers do not have Evasive.

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 a lore apiece off the low curve, puts you at 6 to 8 lore a turn by T6 once 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-then-discard filter) + Powerline - Taking the Stage OR Roxanne - Powerline Fan (2c). Add a 3-cost body, either Pete - Pastry Chomper or Powerline - Musical Superstar, plus an inkable. You curve 1 → 2 → 3 with a Singer in play by T2.
• Option 2, song keep: Powerline - Taking the Stage (2c, counts as cost 4 for songs) + Stand Out (3c song) + any 3-cost body. Cast Stand Out free on T3: a 4 ¤ three-drop becomes a 7 ¤ attacker that only an Evasive blocker can stop.

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 lands on T2 and casts Stand Out free on T3.
• OTD: prefer Option 2 and keep Family Fishing Pole (2c item). The extra card plus a bounce-quester soft-protects Powerline from an early challenge.

Never keep blind: I2I (9c, dead until you have Singer 9 or enough bodies for Sing Together 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-plus drops in hand means ink one and 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 on T3, then Powerline sings Stand Out on him (now 7 ¤ with Evasive). Board: 3 characters, 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, and adds a 1-lore body on top of 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, along with any other song of cost 4 or less. 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" plus "I JUST WANNA STAY HOME: This character can't move to locations." A 4 ¤ body at 3 ink. He sings Stand Out free from his second turn onward. A character with wet ink cannot exert to sing, so Max waits one turn before the Singer 5 anchor comes online.
• 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 means he sings I2I (9c) free, triggers MASH-UP, and can cast a SECOND free song off the top-4 dig. Singing on the arrival turn REQUIRES Shift 4 onto a ready Powerline, because a shifted character keeps the ready state it already had; a hard-cast copy has wet ink and waits a turn. Shift 4 onto any Powerline also drops 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, and he charges 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." The buff stacks per song cast, so two songs in one turn is +4 ¤. Two songs take him from 3 ¤ to 7 ¤; if one of them is Stand Out aimed at him, he ends the turn at 10 ¤.
• 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, live the moment any Singer is on board. Effectively a 3 ¤ 2-lore body once Powerline - Taking the Stage 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 and challenge in the same turn for 2 lore. Sing Stand Out on him for a 5 ¤ swing that only an Evasive blocker can answer.
• Pete - Rotten Guy (4c Emerald, 1/5 2L, Inf-only S4, vanilla): Best lore rate in the deck. 1 ¤ doesn't trade, but 5 willpower walls 4-strength challengers and quests for 2. Stand Out on him means 4 ¤ plus 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 behind Evasive means he dodges most of the meta's challengers and outraces midrange unanswered.
• Goofy - Flying Goof (6c Ruby, 5/5 1L, uninkable): "Rush" and "Evasive" on one body. Drop and challenge immediately into anything without Evasive. Worth the uninkable slot for the 5 ¤ Rush swing: it kills 5-willpower threats clean and 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 for 4 ⬡ all in, 3 for Max and 1 for the trigger. Lower priority than the 4-of song payoffs, but worth the 2-of in 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 him for 4 ⬡ off a Rockin' Teen or Rebellious Teen base. Questing then replays Stand Out from the discard for free every turn. End of T6: 2 lore, a free song cast, and the song cycles to the bottom of your deck so it can be drawn again.

Songs:

• Stand Out (3c Emerald song): "Chosen character gets +3 ¤ and gains Evasive until the start of your next turn." Layer 2 spike, and any character that counts as cost 3 or more sings it for free. Turns a 3-4 ¤ body into a 6-7 ¤ threat that only Evasive blockers can touch. Best targets: Goofy - Super Goof for the Rush and the lore-on-challenge trigger, or Pete - Rotten Guy so the 2-lore 5-willpower body becomes a blocker with teeth.
• 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 means any group of your characters with total cost 9 or more can exert together to sing it free. Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star (6c) plus Powerline - Taking the Stage (2c) plus Roxanne - Powerline Fan (2c) is 10 cost: all three sing, all three ready, and you draw 2 and gain 2 lore. Each player draws and gains, so your opponent benefits too. Do not cast it while you are behind. Save it for the T6-plus turn where you have already drawn into the finisher line.

Item:

• Family Fishing Pole (2c Emerald): "WATCH CLOSELY: This item enters play exerted. THE PERFECT CAST: ⟳, 1 ⬡, Banish this item to return chosen exerted character of yours to your hand and gain 2 lore." Bounce-quester. Drop it on T2 (it enters exerted and cannot fire the same turn), then from T3 onward you gain 2 lore, bounce a damaged body to replay it at full willpower, and re-trigger SO CHEESY, SHOUT OUT LOUD!, or SUPER PEANUT POWERS. Costs 3 ⬡ across two turns and nets 2 lore plus 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 turns each of your threats into either two cards for them or a card off your board. Your Evasive answers: Goofy - Daredevil at 5c, Goofy - Flying Goof at 6c (uninkable), and Stand Out on any 3-plus ¤ body. Race plan: land 12 or more lore by T5 with the Stand Out and Musical Superstar line, and close before their top end assembles. Sing I2I ONLY when you are already at 15-plus lore, because 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 are wider, you are 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 clears their key quester and nets 2 lore from SUPER PEANUT POWERS. The +3 ¤ makes him a 5 ¤ attacker, and the Evasive rider means only an Evasive blocker can stop him. Watch for Under the Sea: it bottoms every opposing character with 2 ¤ or less, so Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid and an unbuffed Roxanne - Powerline Fan are the two at risk. Keeping any Singer on board lifts Roxanne out of range.

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 willpower bodies, but 5 willpower on Pete - Rotten Guy and P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music, and 4 willpower on Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star after a Shift, all survive a standard +2 challenge swing. Strength of a Raging Fire scales with the number of characters THEY have in play and dumps all of it on one of yours, so it snipes your key wall around T4-T5. Keep an extra 2-cost body in hand as a bait quester. The Stand Out and Musical Superstar line clears Beast cleanly when timed right.

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

vs. Ruby/Sapphire Control (Favorable): Watch for: Maui - Hero to All, A Pirate's Life Their answer pile is single-target removal, and your board is wide and replayable through Family Fishing Pole bounce. Max Goof - Chart Topper lands on T6 for 4 ⬡ with Shift 4 onto a Max Goof base such as Max Goof - Rockin' Teen. Questing then replays Stand Out free from the discard for 2 lore a turn. Maui - Hero to All is a 5-ink 6/5 with Rush and Reckless, so he swings the turn he lands and must challenge every turn he can. He cannot touch Goofy - Daredevil or a body carrying Stand Out, so an all-Evasive board leaves him with nothing to do. Past T7 they stabilize, so close before that.

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

Against Evasive-heavy meta (Amethyst/Sapphire Dumbo and Hades shells, anti-Villain Darkwing variants): -2 Max Goof - Rebellious Teen / +2 Goofy - Flying Goof (to 4). Problem: a 2-of song-recursion body does not show up often enough to matter against fast Evasive boards. Goofy - Flying Goof brings a 5 ¤ Rush and Evasive body, so it trades into Dumbo and dodges their ground blockers. Uninkable, but worth the slot when a large share of the field is going straight over your non-Evasive board.

Against challenger-heavy meta (Amethyst/Steel, mirror): -1 Family Fishing Pole / +1 Max Goof - Rebellious Teen (to 3). Problem: the bounce plan is too slow when their challenges land faster than your tempo cycle. A third recursion body means more turns where Stand Out hands a body Evasive, which locks out every ground attacker they have.

Against control-heavy meta (Ruby/Sapphire removal decks): -1 I2I / +1 Family Fishing Pole (to 4). Problem: I2I hands them two free cards as well, and the symmetrical draw fuels their answer pile. A fourth bounce item lets you save a damaged body, replay it at full willpower, re-fire its play trigger, and add 2 lore, which is exactly the grind a removal deck does not want.

Core-only variant: there is no clean one, and the gap is wider than it looks. 18 of the 60 cards sit outside Core: Pete - Pastry Chomper (Set 5), Goofy - Flying Goof (Set 6), Goofy - Super Goof (Set 4), Pete - Rotten Guy (Set 4), and Goofy - Daredevil (Set 1). The song engine itself is fine, because the whole Set 9 package is Core-legal: Powerline - Taking the Stage, Powerline - Musical Superstar, Powerline - World's Greatest Rock Star, Max Goof - Rockin' Teen, Max Goof - Rebellious Teen, Max Goof - Chart Topper, Roxanne - Powerline Fan, P.J. Pete - Caught Up in the Music, Bobby Zimuruski - Spray Cheese Kid, Stand Out, I2I, and Family Fishing Pole. What Core cannot give back is the payoff shell: a 4-ink Rush body that banks 2 lore on every challenge, a 4-ink 1/5 that quests for 2, and a 5-ink Evasive 2-lore quester. Build this one for Infinity and treat a Core version as a different deck, not a swap list.

Outlook: Infinity-locked by Goofy - Daredevil (Set 1), Goofy - Super Goof (Set 4), Pete - Rotten Guy (Set 4), Pete - Pastry Chomper (Set 5), and Goofy - Flying Goof (Set 6). The Set 9 song package is the modern spine and is still Core-legal, so any future set that prints a cheap "when you play a song" payoff upgrades this list directly. The deck's ceiling rises with every new Singer and every new song.