MTG: Build me the ultimate Gruulfriends deck!

Original post by lyer_in_hellfyre

Omfg thnkzz
is it gruul focused due to Chandra n Nissa being fire and earth elementals?

Most Red/Green decks could be called Gruul, even if they don't contain actual Gruul Clan cards from a Ravnica set - it's just a quick one word nickname for decks of those two colours, that the majority of MTG players will recognize. But despite that, and the irresistible 'Gruulfriends' pun title, I'm happy to throw in cards from other Guilds if they work. Green Simic cards might work well with what we have already, for example.

Reply 41

OP

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by artful_lounger

Possibly off-topic, but have y'all seen/tried out this colour quiz: https://still-anchorage-15218.herokuapp.com/ ? It includes the various colour combinations (e.g. shards, guilds) as well as mono colours. Kinda interesting I think xD

Original post by artful_lounger

@AngryJellyfish :O

(I always get blue...sometimes blue and other things, like Esper or Izzet, but always at least one of the major colours is blue...)

I do use Blue with other colours (Izzet + Dimir mostly... perhaps this quiz is onto something!), but never with counter spells, so I'm probably doing it wrong. :laugh:

I like the card draw and bounce effects.

Reply 42

artful_lounger

21

Original post by AngryJellyfish

I do use Blue with other colours (Izzet + Dimir mostly... perhaps this quiz is onto something!), but never with counter spells, so I'm probably doing it wrong. :laugh:

I like the card draw and bounce effects.

Oh I like having counters, it's so nice to be able to just go "nope" at a given point xD I just don't like it where like, the entire deck is set up around countering and control, where I feel like I can't play anything on my turn until I have like 10 mana to make sure I have enough to also counter on their turns...

I updated MTGArena again though, after reading this thread after all the other new stuff that came out earlier in the year xD I had some kind of alternate art Ral, Izzet Viceroy from the closed beta phase I think (?) so I've jumped right back into my UR comfort zone with him :3 plus he's now officially gay, instead of only in my head, so that's a nice bonus too :biggrin:

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 43

OP

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by artful_lounger

Oh I like having counters, it's so nice to be able to just go "nope" at a given point xD I just don't like it where like, the entire deck is set up around countering and control, where I feel like I can't play anything on my turn until I have like 10 mana to make sure I have enough to also counter on their turns...

I fare the worst against those 100% counter/control decks, as I just don't have any answer to them most of the time (aside from Carnage Tyrant :colone:

). I'll play cards knowing full well they're going to be countered, because if the alternative is to do nothing, I'd rather make them use their counters early.

Original post by artful_lounger

I updated MTGArena again though, after reading this thread after all the other new stuff that came out earlier in the year xD I had some kind of alternate art Ral, Izzet Viceroy from the closed beta phase I think (?) so I've jumped right back into my UR comfort zone with him :3 plus he's now officially gay, instead of only in my head, so that's a nice bonus too :biggrin:

Ooh, the Mythic Edition version? I've been thinking of grabbing those versions of Ral and Vraska at least (since they're the two I use most), but I never seem to have the wildcards spare. :moon:

I had considered the possibility of making a Tomik + Ral deck to run alongside this one, but couldn't think of a strategy involving both cards that would even remotely work (Preventing your opponent doing stuff to their land cards is very much sideboard material for me). :colondollar:

Bit easier when they're both planeswalkers, and you only have to worry about two colours.

[EDIT] Guess that makes sense from a flavour point of view too, though, what with them being from very different guilds and their relationship being a secret. :frown:

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 44

artful_lounger

21

Original post by AngryJellyfish

I fare the worst against those 100% counter/control decks, as I just don't have any answer to them most of the time (aside from Carnage Tyrant :colone:

). I'll play cards knowing full well they're going to be countered, because if the alternative is to do nothing, I'd rather make them use their counters early.

Ooh, the Mythic Edition version? I've been thinking of grabbing those versions of Ral and Vraska at least (since they're the two I use most), but I never seem to have the wildcards spare. :moon:

I had considered the possibility of making a Tomik + Ral deck to run alongside this one, but couldn't think of a strategy involving both cards that would even remotely work (Preventing your opponent doing stuff to their land cards is very much sideboard material for me). :colondollar:

Bit easier when they're both planeswalkers, and you only have to worry about two colours.

[EDIT] Guess that makes sense from a flavour point of view too, though, what with them being from very different guilds and their relationship being a secret. :frown:

Yeah I think that's the version, it's pretty cool, although I like the standard art for that card as well. I agree that Tomik is pretty niche though, and trying to do a tricolour in standard is always a bit tricky (plus, for Jeskai you'd rather focus on the buffing enchants from all three colours than some weirdness with lands, and Izzet's instant/sorcery spam). Even in a W deck like you say, he's not really something you'd put in the main deck...maybe sideboard if you think you're going to see a lot of G land enchanting I guess, but otherwise...

Tomik generally seems a lot more suited for commander...I might actually buy him and Ral (and Nissa and Chandra :3c ) to use in a Commander deck, since I have the Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis deck already (because...gay...I also have the Kynaios and Tiro art playmat...also card backs...and a deck box... xD). Since K&T have all four of those colours in their identity anyway, you can have all of them anyway :tongue:

Reply 45

OP

This deck needs more red, so today's addition is Rekindling Phoenix! :biggrin:

Original post by AngryJellyfish

Most Red/Green decks could be called Gruul, even if they don't contain actual Gruul Clan cards from a Ravnica set - it's just a quick one word nickname for decks of those two colours, that the majority of MTG players will recognize. But despite that, and the irresistible 'Gruulfriends' pun title, I'm happy to throw in cards from other Guilds if they work. Green Simic cards might work well with what we have already, for example.

Cuul omg dats a guud pun!
i think ill hav green Simic for another day lol lotta thes terms r too new 2 me lol like somnomancers haha
Thnkzz btw 4 explaining em all

Reply 48

OP

Original post by lyer_in_hellfyre

The colour Green actually has its own page on the MTG wiki, given how important the five mana colours are to the game. :yes:

Green is generally focused on nature; elves, big creatures, seeks to hit opponents for lots of damage before they can get their more complicated strategies going. It overlaps a lot with Red, which doesn't hit quite as hard, but does hit fast thanks to keywords like Haste, and instant burn spells.

Given that you recommended three Green cards for this deck with no prior MTG knowledge (and one of them being Vivien, who is pretty much the embodiment of everything Green), the quiz might well be accurate. :p:

Reply 49

Original post by AngryJellyfish

The colour Green actually has its own page on the MTG wiki, given how important the five mana colours are to the game. :yes:

Green is generally focused on nature; elves, big creatures, seeks to hit opponents for lots of damage before they can get their more complicated strategies going. It overlaps a lot with Red, which doesn't hit quite as hard, but does hit fast thanks to keywords like Haste, and instant burn spells.

Given that you recommended three Green cards for this deck with no prior MTG knowledge (and one of them being Vivien, who is pretty much the embodiment of everything Green), the quiz might well be accurate. :p:

Wowwwzah interestingg-err

haha yh 4 now it looks like..what's Grixis Shard tho .is it ther in the links abt cards?

Reply 50

OP

Original post by lyer_in_hellfyre

Wowwwzah interestingg-err

haha yh 4 now it looks like..what's Grixis Shard tho .is it ther in the links abt cards?

In the same way you've got the five colours (a deck that only uses Red would be Mono Red, for example), and the Ravnican guild names for two colour decks (e.g. Gruul for Red + Green), you've got different names for three colour combos. The ones that feature allied colour combos are called Shards, because they first showed up in the Shards of Alara set. If I added White to the deck I'm making here, for example, it could be called a Naya deck. Adding Black instead of White would be Jund. And Grixis (link to cards, as requested!) would be Blue, Black and Red. :yes:

To make things more complicated, enemy three colour combos are called Wedges, because they form a different shape if drawn on the colour pie:

They get their names from a different set, Khans of Tarkir... and I hardly know anything about them, because I stopped playing MTG for years around about that time (I left university so had nobody to play against with the physical cards, and the online MTG Arena hadn't launched yet).

We're getting into quite advanced stuff here though!

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 51

Original post by AngryJellyfish

In the same way you've got the five colours (a deck that only uses Red would be Mono Red, for example), and the Ravnican guild names for two colour decks (e.g. Gruul for Red + Green), you've got different names for three colour combos. The ones that feature allied colour combos are called Shards, because they first showed up in the Shards of Alara set. If I added White to the deck I'm making here, for example, it could be called a Naya deck. Adding Black instead of White would be Jund. And Grixis (link to cards, as requested!) would be Blue, Black and Red. :yes:

To make things more complicated, enemy three colour combos are called Wedges, because they form a different shape if drawn on the colour pie:

They get their names from a different set, Khans of Tarkir... and I hardly know anything about them, because I stopped playing MTG for years around about that time (I left university so had nobody to play against with the physical cards, and the online MTG Arena hadn't launched yet).

We're getting into quite advanced stuff here though!

this izz zoo zkoool thnkzz 4 the gifs n links n all details!!!
ya too advanced but imight tweak into it n a bit lol

Reply 52

OP

Added Regisaur Alpha!

The first multicolour card of the deck provides two decently sized creatures in one, with the trampling token able to attack immediately that turn.

Reply 53

woah cool is Regi in Zendikar too?

Reply 54

OP

Original post by lyer_in_hellfyre

woah cool is Regi in Zendikar too?

Nah, Regisaur Alpha was new for Ixalan. As are *most* dinosaur cards TBH; there are a small number of them scattered about through older sets, where a generic 'big creature' was needed, but Ixalan was the block that made dinosaur tribal a theme.

Reply 55

Original post by AngryJellyfish

Nah, Regisaur Alpha was new for Ixalan. As are *most* dinosaur cards TBH; there are a small number of them scattered about through older sets, where a generic 'big creature' was needed, but Ixalan was the block that made dinosaur tribal a theme.

ooh i see another plane! Cool!

Reply 56

OP

Arena just launched a special Singleton event (where you can only use one copy of any non-basic land card in your deck). I figured that I'd adapt the one we're building here, add the rest of your suggestions, fill in the gaps with some Gruul Riot goodness, and see how it fares. :biggrin:

...I was originally going to post the full card list for my Singleton deck here, even going as far as to add all the individual Scryfall links for each card, but decided against it at the last minute. I still want this thread's (non-Singleton) Gruulfriends deck to be a collaborative effort, and showing what I'd go with if left to my own devices might influence people's picks. Still, I look forward to using some of these cards for the first time!

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 57

OP

Adding Song of Freyalise!

Provides mana ramp, provides +1/+1 counters for proliferate, and lets you swing with everything in full vigilant, tramply, indestructible glory. Generally works well with everything we have so far. :yep:

Reply 58

anosmianAcrimony