Why do people think Griselbrand is good?

General forum

Posted on Nov. 7, 2018, 4:30 a.m. by vasarto77

How is it even remotely possible that Cards like Griselbrand is a "win" condition? He isn't even anything I would consider a good creature and it boggles my mind why you would waste a perfectly good Goryo's Vengeance on him.

So, first off his power and toughness are substandard for any modern day magic deck. Almost anything deck is going to match his deck, and the number of spells that can easily dispatch of him are numerous enough to where any deck of any color has an answer for him.

Then, there is his draw seven cards ability which cannot possibly be a win condition for any deck I have seen him in since you are paying MORE than a third of your life to draw seven cards. That would make griselbrand a "utility" card, not a win condition like I keep seeing people claiming he is. To make things more confusing for me about this trash card, no deck I have seen works off of using his ability to draw cards in any way. Nothing about when you lose life your opponent loses the same amount of life cards. Nothing with dealing damage to your opponent when you draw a card. It's, reanimate the guy and you win?...somehow? Despite the fact that he is not indestructible or hexproof or the decks he is in uses anything that can protect him.

Oh, and he doesn't have haste, so when you do Use the GV on him, you don't even get to attack with him. So what's the deal about this what "should" only be a 1.00 rare that I am missing that makes people think he is so great?

enpc says... #2

Griselbrand is insanely good. In modern, the idea behind griselcannongriselcannon decks is that yes, while they are a glass cannon build, they are stupid fast.

The ability to pay life to draw cards is super good - especially when the deck is built around cards like Chancellor of the Tangle and Nourishing Shoal to gain back chunks of life. From there, you can use him in conjunction with his life gain) to chain together extra combat phases.

I think this is something that quite a few players forget, there is no different between winning on two life as there is on twenty life. And often being able to trade life for resources will end up giving you the upper hand. Griselbrand embodies this. Risk/reward profiles and all that.

November 7, 2018 7:43 a.m.

shadow63 says... #3

I smell a troll here

November 7, 2018 11:45 a.m.

Caerwyn says... #4

I second TypicalTimmy's first post. I think it pretty much had it covered.

Just to add some additional thoughts:

Magic is all about resource management. Your life total, your hand, and your cards in other zones are all resources to be exploited for victory.

Life is, in and of itself, not a valuable resource--it prevents you from losing, but it does not further your chance to win. Cards, on the other hand, do further your ability to win, by giving you access to the answer or threat necessary at that given moment.

That is why Griselbrand is good--it turns a relatively worthless resource into an incredibly valuable one. It's a Necropotence--a card that's Banned in Legacy and Restricted in Vintage--that gives you the cards right away and has a built-in ability to restore the health you pay.


I do think TypicalTimmy's mill proposal has some significant issues--Mill is already a deck that can win on turn 3 or 4, even without perfect draws or comboing cards together. This proposal has a few too many moving parts to be consistently competitive. That said, it does look like it might be fun to play in a casual setting.

November 7, 2018 12:24 p.m. Edited.

Eledain says... #5

Go to channelfireball.com and watch a stream of the BR Reanimator Deck in Legacy and you'll see why Griselbrand is a hell of a card. :-)

November 7, 2018 2:23 p.m.

Azdranax says... #6

Don’t forget tin fins reanimator with Children of Korlis as well. My all time favorite legacy deck. T1 draw your deck and win.

November 7, 2018 2:33 p.m.

Dredge4life says... #7

10/10 good troll post. Would read again.

November 7, 2018 3:15 p.m.

vasarto77 says... #8

@dredge4life. I am not trolling. I for the life of me cannot see a single redeeming quality to paying a third of your life for drawing some cards. But, now that some people have explained it to me well enough I understand.

November 7, 2018 4:58 p.m.

loricatuslupus says... #9

Play a game where you only draw every other turn but your opponent gets an additional card each draw step and see how that works out for you. Having no cards in hand means your opponent has free reign to do as they please without trying to factor in your hand, while every card they have could be the answer they need or a combo piece to win. One of the strongest aspects about control decks is having cheap cantrips which keep their hand full and allow them to find whatever they need at a given moment. It's not chance that they always seem to have a Counterspell or Path to Exile when they need them, it's card advantage. Griselbrand gives this not only alongside a powerful, evasive body with an ability that essentially nullifies the cost of drawing but ALSO is in black rather than blue. As mentioned above, keeping decks in as few colours as possible makes them both more reliable and cheaper to build; so not having to splash blue for draw in a B/R deck lets you circumvent the assumed limitations of the colour pie.

November 11, 2018 11:58 a.m.

Please login to comment