Gristleback

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Gristleback

Creature — Boar Beast

Bloodthirst 1 (If an opponent was dealt damage this turn, this creature enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.)

Sacrifice Gristleback: You gain life equal to Gristleback's power.

legendofa on How is Camaraderie a Bend?

1 year ago

Skagra42 Which part of Shamanic Revelation do you think is the bend?

As I see it, Collective Unconscious and Regal Force show that can draw cards based on number of creatures, although it's more typically based on power, like Greater Good or Momentous Fall. Both Unconscious and R.Force might also be bends, but I don't think they are.

Momentous Fall bring us to the life gain side. ability to gain big chunks of life has quite a bit of precedent, with cards like Blossoming Wreath, Nourish, and Wandering Stream. Gaining life based on power has become more prevalent recently, but has been around since at least 2006, with Gristleback, and Feed the Pack was printed just before Shamanic Revelation.

Furthermore, S.Revelation has been reprinted in eight different products, and is virtually a staple for precon Commander decks. I don't think a bend card would receive that much exposure, but that's entirely my speculation.

So my interpretation is that while the individual parts may not come together often, every part of Shamanic Revelation is acceptably , with established and demonstrative precedent. is probably the second or third best color for both drawing and life gain, but it's reasonable for it to do both.

lagotripha on Hydratic Rampage

3 years ago

I highly reccomend avoiding expensive cards for first decks- if you are going to spend >$5 on a card, you want to be picking up a card that fits into lots of decks as a format staple (for green, stuff like Birds of Paradise). A lot of cards are expensive because there isn't enough supply for a format (in whiptongue's case, commander), rather than them being the best options. There are diminishing returns on copies of legendary creatures too, and no shortage of inexpensive cards that never quite made the cut into modern that are super fun. Old standard staples are frequently <$0.30

If there are hydras you want to spend money one anyway, pick up one and run tutors like Uncage the Menagerie.

If you get bored, start messing around with synergies; a lot of 5/6/7 drops are playable in a green ramp shell like this- some will perform outstandingly, and others can sit it out with minor cost.

In terms of fighting fliers, Grappling Sundew, Wall of Tanglecord or Traproot Kami offer a delay, there is a lot of cheap spot removal like Aerial Volley, multiplayer options like Clip Wings, sweepers like Corrosive Gale/Hurricane/Skyreaping, options to turn flying into a downside like Bower Passage/Dense Canopy, utility answers like Crushing Canopy and Crushing Vines, 'total shutdown' effects like Elvish Skysweeper, Scattershot Archer or Gravity Well.

Then there are options like a 'fight' subtheme using your own fliers- allowing for answers to more than just flying Foe-Razer Regent is a lot of fun, Frontier Siege is cute, Kraul Harpooner has seen competitive modern play in sideboards.

I really reccomend packing in one answer and a couple of planned search effects- knowing that Uncage the Menagerie can get you a Vastwood Hydra/Overgrown Battlement/Kraul Harpooner makes it decent when you only have a few options, while it encourages a relaxed and varied decklist.

Feed the clan sees great sideboard play for a reason- its a good card when facing lightning bolt effects, but if they have repeatable damage it starts looking lackluster. I'd look at creatures with lifegain stapled on- Gilded Goose will be rotating soon, and so should get cheap and remain somewhat relevant in that neiche, while cards like Healer of the Glade, Pelakka Wurm or Oracle of Nectars do the thing in the meantime.

Finally, the 'I'm optimising a deck' thing- with 24 basic lands you can swap for 2-3 utility lands. There are budget cards that fix major problems without competing for slots; Emergence Zone against counterspells, Labyrinth of Skophos/Mystifying Maze to Fog attackers, small-scale lifegain like Sapseep Forest/Glimmerpost/Radiant Fountain, card advantage like Memorial to Unity, manlands like Treetop Village or threats like Rogue's Passage.

The reason deckbuilding in casual magic is so fun is that there is rarely a 'right' answer- there are about twenty ways to solve any problem, and its more about which one you enjoy more than what exactly you pick. I had a deck which aimed to use Gutter Grime with Brindle Boar and Gristleback for a while and it did great. Look around, don't worry too much about optimising and have fun.

lagotripha on

5 years ago

Servant of the Scale/Simic Initiate? Sits a little better with the hardened scales plan in my testing, but still solid.

That said, this deck is a lot more midrangey than my brews. I'd honestly feel worried playing it without a stronger disruption/lifegain package. Perhaps Gristleback/Aven Riftwatcher and maindeck Scavenging Ooze/Spike Feeder

Araignee on God ham-it!

6 years ago

I was wondering: if you cast Boar Umbra on Gristleback, can you choose to sacrifice him to gain 5-6 life (depending on if he had the bloodthirst counter or not? Because "destroyed" does not mean "sacrifice"?

Lame_Duck on This Little Piggy Went to War

7 years ago

Despite appearances, Gristleback actually is a Boar. It was printed as a Beast but creature subtypes are something that get changed from time to time, so it's now a Boar Beast for some reason.

divinagon on This Little Piggy Went to War

7 years ago

Interesting idea, but you do realize that Gristleback isn't a boar, but a beast. That puts your boar creature count at 16.

lagotripha on Saproling Kozilek

7 years ago

Ok, I see a few ways this could turn into a solid teir 2.5 modern deck: a saproling/fungus or eldrazi(Kozilek's Predator/Nest Invader swarm running stuff like Obelisk of Urd,

A Cryptolith Rite/Life and Limb/Utopia Mycon/Psychotrope Thallid/Vitaspore Thallid type 'I play my library through mana/sacrifice combo shenanigains,

A Bloodbriar/Tukatongue Thallid/Rot Shambler/Emrakul's Evangel beatdown/sacrifice/bulk up build with a bunch of token producing critters, sac outlets, and stuff that gets bigger when you sac stuff.

Sakura-Tribe Elder and Utopia Mycon could also assist a ramp style sacrifice deck.

Theres also the possibility of an Eldritch Evolution/emerge combo deck running creatures like Root-Kin Ally/Tangle Golem for a cheap Decimator of the Provinces Mockery of Nature and convoke token generators like Scatter the Seeds or similar.

A 'stall for big spells' is also a thing- Thelonite Hermit doesn't use the stack for morph, so running a control setup aiming to get him morphed on the battlefield with Aspect of Mongoose on him is possible.

Fog/Blunt the Assault/Brindle Boar/Gristleback etc to stall to midgame then cast some high value eldrazi or beating down with Moldgraf Scavenger/Undergrowth Scavenger and similar delirum will work. Harrow will help a lot with this.

Splashing blue could allow for Prophet of Kruphix shenanigans, and that blue/green return to hand emerge eldrazi, along with combo options.

Splashing black could also allow Distended Mindbender and Nezumi Bone-Reader for hand control.

If you decide the archetype you want to play (aggro, midrange, control) I'll try to come up with cards to help support it. Building something strong normally involves emphasising its strengths as much as possible- meaning some cards get silly expensive, but cheaper cards with synergy to almost match them exist. Good luck and happy brewing.

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