MTG: Gruul Commander Staples Guide

MTG: Gruul Commander Staples Guide

Quick Links

• Ramp
• Removal
• Card Draw
• Board Wipes
• Small Creatures With Big Dreams
• Big Beasts
• A Few Fun Tricks
• Enchantments
• Lands

What do you get when you combine the unfettered life and growth of green with the destruction and rage of red? Very big, very angry monsters that love to smash everything in their path. In Magic: The Gathering, Gruul is all about aggressively playing creatures that come out swinging and don’t stop until they’ve crushed everything in their path. Related: Every Card Revealed For Magic: The Gathering’s Commander Masters. You’ve still got the burn and artifact hatred of red, and you’ve also got the ramp and enchantment hatred of green, which can lead to some spectacular synergies. There are loads of red/green cards you’ll want for your Gruul commander deck, so read on to see if you’re missing these Gruul commander staples.

Ramp

With green in the mix, Gruul has access to the best mana ramp around. Birds of Paradise, Rampant Growth, and Sakura-Tribe Elder ensures you’ll never be without lands to cast your big spells. But Gruul has its own special flavor of ramp that (as you might have guessed) centers around aggression. Radha, Heir to Keld, Savage Ventmaw, Grand Warlord Radha, and Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient add big mana whenever they attack, while other cards like Atalan Jackal incentivize attacking to fish out basic lands from your deck.

Other cards encourage mana-generation as a form of damage dealing, such as Zhur-Taa Druid, or land-drops as buffs for your creatures, such as Mina and Denn, Wildborn. And don’t forget cards like Mana Geyser and Braid of Fire from the red team for powering some truly huge hydras later on.

Removal

Disclaimer: When I said the big monsters like to smash everything, I wasn’t talking about deck removal!

Lightning Bolt and Abrade are going to be two cards that’ll be near-instant picks, and don’t forget Chaos Warp and Beast Within for removing anything with more than three toughness. But there are a few Gruul-specific spells that definitely bear consideration. Chief among them is Hull Breach, which can hit both an enchantment and an artifact at once, and Decimate, which can throw in a creature and land as a four-for-one spell. Dire-Strain Rampage eventually reaches two-for-one status with a flashback, while Road/Ruin and Ground Assault deal damage based on the number of lands you control. Artifact Mutation might not have nearly as much card advantage as Vandalblast, but getting an army of saprolings out of an opposing Wurmcoil Engine has value all its own.

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Card Draw

As you likely suspected by now, Gruul’s card draw mostly centers around aggression. But unlike blue and black, it’s usually not enough to merely do damage with a creature. Samut, Vizier of Naktamun requires that damage to come on the first turn the creature entered the battlefield (necessitating haste), and Dragonborn Champion needs you to deal five damage or more.

A few notable red/green card draw spells include Escape to the Wilds, SGameTropical the Clans, and Reap the Past. Escape to the Wilds is notable for allowing an additional land drop, while both SGameTropical the Clans and Reap the Past add an element of randomness to the cards you get. If that doesn’t sound appetizing, there’s always the green standbys of Beast Whisperer, Harmonize, and Guardian Project to keep your hand full even as it keeps belching out giant monsters.

Board Wipes

Klauth’s Will and Savage Twister are the two notable Gruul board wipes, although both have their limitations. Klauth’s Will is perhaps the better of the two as it also hits artifacts and enchantments, but both require a lot of mana to be effective. Firespout is a cheaper option for those looking to stifle weenie or token strategies.

Beyond that, you’re largely going to rely on red spells like Blasphemous Act, Chain Reaction, and Starstorm to keep board states from becoming unreasonable, and artifacts like Nevinyrral’s Disk.

Small Creatures With Big Dreams

Before we get to the big monsters, Gruul has lots of little creatures that either help get those monsters into play or help make those monsters bigger and better. Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard and Halana and Alena, Partners are perfect examples. Other creatures, like Burning-Tree Shaman and Vexing Shusher, seek to stifle your opponents and ensure your big bads make it to the battlefield.

Others are simply growing threats. Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, Gimli, Mournful Avenger, and Radha, Heart of Keld are all powerful creatures that can become big problems later on.

Bloodbraid Elf isn’t exactly a threat on its own, but it can cascade into most of the aforementioned creatures. And don’t discount Jolene, the Plunder Queen. She can turn games all on her own.

Big Beasts

One should never discount the power of Woodfall Primus, but with red in the mix, Gruul has a lot of options when it comes to gigantic, aggressive creatures.

Omnath, Locus of Rage and Phylath, World Sculptor are great at turning late-game lands into game-ending threats. Ruric Thar, the Unbowed cracks non-creature Commander decks. Dragonlord Atarka is both a giant flying beast and a five-damage burn spell in one. And Savageborn Hydra is a double-striking threat that grows larger as the game goes on.

You’ve got plenty of options in Gruul, so consider this merely a few suggestions.

A Few Fun Tricks

It’s hard to categorize these cards, but they’re definitely worth mentioning. Atarka’s Command and Gruul Charm are both situational but potentially game-saving or game-ending, depending on how they’re employed. Tamiyo’s Safekeeping and Heroic Intervention are good tricks for keeping your big beasts alive and swinging.

But it’s Treacherous Terrain that really deserves the most attention. Eight mana is a lot, but players can wind up with a lot of land in casual commander games, and this spell can single-handedly win games. And if you draw it early, you can just cycle it.

Enchantments

They might not be creatures, but these Gruul enchantments are just as aggressive.

Rhythm of the Wild, Fires of Yavimaya, and Invigorating Hot Spring basically all do the same thing: get your creatures swinging as soon as they hit the board. Xenagos, God of Revels does it too, but he eventually turns into an indestructible god once your devotion ramps up.

Cindervines can rack up a surprising amount of damage, while Arni Slays the Troll offers a lot for very little mana. Shadow in the Warp is technically ramp for you, but also direct damage for opponents whenever they play a non-creature spell–something that stacks neatly with Cindervines.

Lands

As always, red/green decks should try and use as many red/green-producing lands as you can find, but there are a few other non-basic lands that Gruul mages should consider.

Kessig Wolf Run is late-game firebreathing that pairs well with Rogue’s Passage to ensure your commander gets in those last few points of damage. Skarrg, the Rage Pits offers a smaller boost but is certainly worthy of consideration. Mosswort Bridge is often easily achieved with the power of Gruul.

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