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Commanding Gruul Fight Beasts with Slinza

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Hello happy folks! A new Gruul colored leader just debuted in Foundations Jumpstart with the Beast caring type. Here they are:

Slinza, the Spiked Stampede

They have a five-cost, mono Green mana, and a 5/5 Beast body that gives them a cost reduction of two mana and then each other one arrives with a perma-pump of a +1/+1 counter. When it or another power 4 ETBs you can spend two Gruul hybrid mana to have this fight a dork. Note that's this, not what arrived, so if you can give it deathtouch...

Ready for my deep dive?

Mana, Ramp, and Lands

Flare of Cultivation
Bushwhack

Let's start with ramp spells! Since our Commander costs five, we can drop him a turn early with three mana ramp spells that ramp one tapped and another to your hand for the land drop next turn. Three are in the game, all three are here, including the free one above that sacs a dork! The one-drop common Standard legal one will cost one, either your dork will fight as removal or you'll toss a basic to your hand for the drop next turn.

Now let's turn to synergetic ramp dorks. The1/4 Fanatic of Rhonas taps for Green, and then for four Green if you control 4 power which Slinza is! It also has eternalize for four mana. The 2/2 Drumhunter taps for colorless and then you'll draw EOT if you have a big enough dork! Exuberant Firestoker EOT will shoot a foe for 2 damage and taps for that precious mana!

The cycling Krosan Tusker 6/5 seven-drop vanilla is next! The cycling will basic land cycle to your hand and draw too, so card advantage. Note it's a Beast. The mythic three-drop 2/3 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds will tap with a Green for tapping for your largest power dork, minimum five with your Commander. You and your foes will also passively draw when each of you drops the biggest power dork to the battlefield!

The Great Henge
War Room

Now let's to more card draw beyond Drumhunter and Selvala! The mana rock costs a rough nine but can be as little as two if you control a bigger powered dork, and taps for two Green mana and a pair of life too! Then when a non-token dork arrives, you'll put a +1/+1 counter on it and draw that card!! The land taps for colorless, EOTs untapped and taps with three to swap two life for a card! I also tossed in Bonders' Enclave.

Arena doesn't tap for mana, you'll tap it with mana to tap your dork and a foe's dork they choose. Then they fight. Contested Cliffs taps for colorless and then with two mana to have a Beast you control fight! The legendary land Three Tree City chooses Beasts on arrival and then taps with two mana to make your Beast count in lands. I also tossed in Nykthos!

Kessig Wolf Run
Rogue's Passage
Cavern of Souls

The rare colorless tapping land will tap with Gruul mana and X to pump a dork's power by X and then give it trample too. I also tossed in Skarrg, the Rage Pits for pumping. The uncommon colorless identity one will tap with four to make your fat dork smash for damage without being blocked! The last land will choose a creature type on arrival, tap for that mana for it and then it's uncounterable! I also tossed in Secluded Courtyard which can tap for any color of mana for Beasts or their abilities too.

Fun Beasts and Lords!

Krosan Warchief
Canopy Crawler
Herd Baloth

Now let's turn to the fun stuff we're built around! The three-drop 2/2 uncommon will reduce your costs just like Slinza, and if dropped turn three, will give you a fourth-turn Commander drop too, and can spend two mana to regenerate any Beasts, like fighters. The four mana 2/2 uncommon will let you show X number of Beasts on arrival to pump it with +1/+1 counters! Then it taps with no mana to pump a dork of yours equal to its counter count. You'll also give it a counter as it arrives if you drop it post-Commander, ditto the five dork 4/4 uncommon vanilla Beast that when counters are put here will make a 4/4 Beast token!

Rampaging Baloths
Spawning Grounds
Banner of Kinship

Let's go wide with Beasts and then up too with this trio! The six-drop 6/6 trample landfall Beast will make more with our landfall also of a 4/4 persuasion! The Aura costs eight to enchant a land you can tap for a 5/5 token Beast with trample too! The five-drop colorless artifact will reward you for going wide by entering with counters equal to your Beast count and then perma pumps that kindred type! I also tossed in Craterhoof Behemoth for the kill of going wide and is a Beast too. I am not running Tooth and Nail or tutors to get it, so it's fair.

The five-drop Elder Gargaroth comes with a 6/6 body with trample, vigilance and reach, great keyword combo with reach and vigilance making it hard to swing through and trample evasion. It has an attack and block trigger to draw, make a 3/3 Beast or gain three life, love it loads! The legendary four-drop Questing Beast has 4/4 size and haste, deathtouch and vigilance too, rough with deathtouch. It cannot be chump blocked with small power stuff, and then your combat damage cannot be prevented with Fogs or protection. When it smashes face you can also send that damage to their planeswalker so it's control of that too. Love it here loads!

Synergies and Win-Cons

Now let's turn to synergies and back-up win cons! Let's start with ways to get not countered, like Cavern. The Gruul Beast four-drop Spellbreaker Behemoth cannot be countered and neither can your big stuff! The three-drop enchantment Rhythm of the Wild prevents all of your previous critters from counter age and gives the nontokens riot, so haste or pumps. You might want to pump the +1/+1 counter caring duo above. Domri, Chaos Bringer costs four for a five loyalty on curve and then +1s to make mana and if used for a dork its rioted, again, the +1/+1 counter dorks would be great there. You can -3 him once to dig four and draw up to two creatures so he's card flow too.

Now let's turn to ways to get in our fight kills with Slinza! I tossed in the deathtouch granting Basilisk Collar, duh, but also Questing Spike and Nazgul Battle-Mace. The three-drop equip three gives deathtouch and a combat damage trigger to reduce the damaged foe's life by half. The five-drop three equip gives it menace, deathtouch and annihilator 1 and a sac trigger to put it on your side unless they lose a trio of life. I then needed to protect and keep safe my Fight Beast. I tossed in a pair of indestructible granting equipment. The obvious flashing Mithril Coat to equip instantly and surprise and then the slower three-drop two equip that has indestructible too.

I need backup win cons in case someone shuts down the Red Zone. The four-drop 3/3 Beast Herald of Ilharg with trample will turn casts of creatures into two +1/+1 counters here and then if they cost five or more you'll shoot with its counter count each foe! Nasty with the casts here. The six-drop Warstorm Surge will turn arrivals of dorks on your side to shooting any target equal to their power. You can use that as planeswalker or creature removal, but it's here to shoot foes for a lot of damage. Love this pair here loads!

Vivien, Monsters' Advocate
Kona, Rescue Beastie

Now let's turn to free dropping Green stuff! The five-drop three loyalty will let you cast the top card of your library if it a dork, card flow. You can +1 her to make a 3/3 Beast with vigilance, trample or reach, dealer's choice. You can -2 her once to cast your next creature spell you'll drop a free cheaper dork to the battlefield from your library. Nasty strong!! The four-drop mono-Green legendary leader with Beast and 4/3 has survival to drop a permanent to the battlefield second main phase if tapped. Nasty duo!

Let's turn to recursion! The six-drop Paleoloth will give you a cast trigger for big powered stuff to recur a dead dork back to your hand from your graveyard. Then the six-drop Beast Grave Sifter will ETB and Regrowth draw all Beasts to your hand from your graveyard. One of this is slowly over time and the other all of them at once.

Aggravated Assault is a mana sink for five mana to untap your dorks for another attack this turn at sorcery speed as many times as you have the mana I choose not to run the Aura and Equipment to untap your lands to have infinite combats, although you could. The five-drop enchantment dork Nylea's Forerunner has a 5/3 Beast body! It has trample and grants it to your team as well! Love it loads here since it's got 5 power and 5 cost.

Answers

Heroic Intervention
Smuggler's Surprise

Now let's turn to answers, like ways to stop people from messing with your stuff - key in a go wide deck here. The classic two-cost instant will give everything you control (not just dorks) hexproof and indestructible to shut down targeted removal or sweeping stuff too. The spree instant can do it for two mana for bigger powered stuff, or mill four and draw two lands/dorks from them, or drop two dorks from your hand to the battlefield for free or two or three!

Now let's turn to targeted removal! Beast Within will destroy anything and leave a Beast behind is great! It even triggers Wirewood Savage! The five-drop 4/4 Beast Indrik Stomphowler will destroy any artifact or enchantment on arrival to the battlefield! Love it here much!

Domri Rade
Ezuri's Predation
Gruul Ragebeast

Since I am built around fighting removal with my Commander, I added a bunch of support. The three-drop three loyalty Gruul colored planeswalker will +1 to draw the top card of your library if it's a dork and then -2 to fight. The sorcery costs eight and makes a 4/4 Beast token for each opposing dork and they fight! Then you'll drop the seven-drop 6/6 and when it or another ETbs you fight. Love this fight trio!

Card Draw

Let's finish with card draw! This great Elf Druid combo starts. The three-drop common Woodland Liege will draw you that card for each Beast that you control ETBs. The 2/3 Beast Whisperer for another mana draws when you cast any creature instead. That won't work for tokens, but it will for non-Beasts here that support the team!

Garruk's Packleader
Garruk's Horde
Realmwalker

Let's turn to these three Beasts! The uncommon 4/4 Beast for five mana draws when a three power or more arrives to the battlefield! The rare seven-cost on curve 7/7 trampler will let you reveal the top card of your library and cast it if a dork! The three-drop Changeling will choose Beasts and then you can cast them from the top of your library too!!

Shamanic Revelation costs five and draws equal to you creature total loads. You could also gain a massive metric ton of life too, with this high-powered brew! The five-cost Ohran Frostfang Snow Snake with a 2/6 body gives our attacking stuff deathtouch and then when it deals that combat damage you'll draw a card! Great with our going wide brew Then the four-drop rare legendary Squirrel Toski, Bearer of Secrets cannot be countered and has indestructible, rough to answer. It has to attack and then has the same card flow from damage combo.

Let's turn to my deck!

Gruul Fight Beasts with Slinza | Commander | Abe Sargent

Card Display


There we go! I am running four modal spell/lands and 36 lands since I don't want to not have mana and much of my ramp is dork based and easily messed with. I have all three Fight modal spells here and then the studly Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood here. What did you think of my Beast brew? Anything in here you liked or thought was missing? Let me know!

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