Best Golgari Cards of 2024
Drag to the Roots | Art by Deruchenko Alexander
Golgari is one of Magic: The Gathering's two-color guilds aligning with . Black and green excel at graveyard interaction, such as returning creature cards to the battlefield or a player's hand.
Golgari leverages graveyard synergies to disrupt opponents and ensure you don't run out of resources. Deadbridge Chant and Grime Gorger are examples of Golgari cards that interact with graveyards.
Winning with Golgari usually means outlasting your opponent in terms of resources. Removing an opponent's threats and cards in hand while keeping creatures on your battlefield is a path to victory. Another winning strategy may involve utilizing Golgari's dredge or scavenge mechanics. Both mechanics involve using your graveyard for value generation to overwhelm your opponents.
In Commander, Golgari aligns with strategies like Graveyard, Mill, Sacrifice, and Tokens. Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Baba Lysaga, Night Witch, and Chatterfang, Squirrel General are several Golgari commanders synergizing with the strategies mentioned above.
Newly designed Golgari cards appear periodically in MTG sets, including sets released in 2024. Fascinating and versatile cards appeared in sets like Duskmourn: House of Horror (DSK), Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ), and Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM). Let's discuss some of the best Golgari cards for Commander released in 2024.
Insidious Roots
With Insidious Roots on your battlefield, creature tokens you control gain the ability to to add one mana of any color. Additionally, whenever one or more creature cards leave your graveyard, you receive a 0/1 green Plant creature token and get to place a +1/+1 counter on each Plant you control.
Insidious Roots shines brightest in Tokens-themed Commander decks. Generating tons of mana through an army of creature tokens is ideal for commanders like The Necrobloom and Chatterfang, Squirrel General. Decks led by the The Necrobloom want to trigger its Landfall ability to create multiple 0/1 green Plant or 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens. Insidious Roots can turn those Plant or Zombie creature tokens into mana-generating machines.
Chatterfang, Squirrel General is an excellent Tokens-focused commander with an incredible ability that says, "If one or more tokens would be created under your control, those tokens plus that many 1/1 green Squirrel creature tokens are created instead." Having Insidious Roots and Chatterfang, Squirrel General on your battlefield can lead to some mind-blowing turns thanks to token creature synergies. You should highly consider adding a copy of Insidious Roots to any Commander deck with multiple token-producing capabilities.
Vraska Joins Up
Golgari players may want to saddle up because Vraska Joins Up can turn your legendary creatures into deadly attackers. Upon entering the battlefield, Vraska Joins Up lets you place a deathtouch counter on each creature you control. Moreover, you draw a card whenever a legendary creature you control deals combat damage to a player.
Decks with a high concentration of legendary creatures can leverage Vraska Joins Up's abilities. Ezio Auditore da Firenze and its legendary Assassin counterparts from Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed (ACR) can maximize Vraska Joins Up. A prominent spot for Vraska Joins Up is in the 99 of legendary-focused decks led by Jodah, the Unifier.
A secondary home for Vraska Joins Up is in deathtouch-centric decks helmed by Vraska, the Silencer, Aphelia, Viper Whisperer, or Chevill, Bane of Monsters. Deathtouch-themed decks leverage the deathtouch ability to destroy creatures with a single point of damage. Vraska, the Silencer and Chevill, Bane of Monsters generate incremental value when creatures die depending on the scenario. Fynn, the Fangbearer can also turn creatures with deathtouch into poison-counter-producing threats. Vraska Joins Up's deathtouch counter distribution ensures whatever creatures you have on the battlefield maintain the deathtouch ability.
Vraska, the Silencer
Vraska, the Silencer has more uses than commanding a deathtouch-themed deck. Vraska, the Silencer stats are decent for three mana, but her special ability is spectacular. With Vraska, the Silencer on your battlefield, you may pay whenever a nontoken creature an opponent controls dies to return that card to the battlefield tapped under your control; it loses all other card types, and gains ", Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color."
Turning opponents' creatures into Treasure can help with casting multicolor spells. In addition, sacrificing the Treasure artifact can trigger abilities on other cards, like Marionette Master, Marionette Apprentice, and Viridian Revel. You can use any Treasures on your battlefield to cast Deadly Dispute, Eviscerator's Insight, or Costly Plunder.
One other use for Vraska, the Silencer is in the 99 of an Assassin kindred deck led by Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Even though the vast majority of Assassin commander options do not identify with , Ezio Auditore da Firenze is an exception. Vraska, the Silencer's deathtouch ability can assist with casting Assassin spells for the freerunning cost of if an opponent doesn't want to lose a blocker when it attacks.
Honest Rutstein
OTJ gave Golgari a few new allies, including Honest Rutstein. Three mana gives you a legendary 3/2 Human Warlock with two fantastic abilities. When Honest Rutstein enters the battlefield, you return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand. Furthermore, creature spells you cast cost less to cast with Honest Rutstein under your control.
Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of creature-centric commanders that identify with . Karador, Ghost Chieftain and Sidisi, Brood Tyrant want many creature cards in the graveyard (and in play). Honest Rutstein synergies with Karador, Ghost Chieftain and Sidisi, Brood Tyrant by making them cheaper to cast and bringing back the best creature milled by Sidisi, Brood Tyrant or destroyed by an opponent.
There are several Golgari commanders focused on creatures such as The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride and Meren of Clan Nel Toth. The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride wants to sacrifice creatures saddling it and keep swinging at opponents. Honest Rutstein can return a creature sacrificed by The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride' ability and bring it onto the battlefield a turn faster. Meren of Clan Nel Toth can use Honest Rutstein to cast creatures for a cost reduction and bring back a creature with a mana cost higher than the number of experience counters you possess.
Camellia, the Seedmiser
Bloomburrow's (BLB) Camellia, the Seedmiser is a legendary 3/3 Squirrel Warlock with four abilities. Camellia, the Seedmiser has menace and grants menace to other Squirrels you control. Interestingly, Camellia, the Seedmiser creates a 1/1 green Squirrel each time you sacrifice one or more Foods. Lastly, you may forage by paying and exiling three cards from your graveyard or sacrificing a Food to give each other Squirrel under your control a +1/+1 counter.
Camellia, the Seedmiser is an excellent addition to Sacrifice-themed decks, especially those based on Food. Ygra, Eater of All and Camellia, the Seedmiser are a fantastic pair together since Ygra, Eater of All turns all creatures into Food artifacts in addition to their other types with the ability for you to pay and sacrifice it to gain three life. Fascinatingly, Camellia, the Seedmiser, Ygra, Eater of All, and Ashnod's Altar form a three-card infinite combo providing infinite +1/+1 counters, death triggers, and other beneficial effects. If you want to try out Camellia, the Seedmiser in the 99 of other Sacrifice-themed decks, consider decks led by Gyome, Master Chef and Greta, Sweettooth Scourge.
Another consideration for Camellia, the Seedmiser is in the 99 of Squirrels kindred decks. Giving Squirrel creatures menace and +1/+1 counters fits well in decks helmed by Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Hazel of the Rootbloom, and The Odd Acorn Gang. All three commanders want to swarm the battlefield with Squirrel cards and tokens to overwhelm opponents. Even if you don't run Food-generating cards in a Squirrels deck, Camellia, the Seedmiser's other abilities are still worthy of inclusion.
Drag to the Roots
Drag to the Roots from DSK is a four-mana instant with Delirium. Paying will destroy a nonland permanent. However, enabling Delirium by having four or more card types among cards in your graveyard will reduce Drag to the Roots's casting cost by . Reaching Delirium's requirement for activation is relatively easy in Commander since many decks contain lands, creatures, artifacts, instants, and other card types.
Drag to the Roots follows in the footsteps of Mortality Spear and Atomize as a four-mana, nonland permanent removal card with upside. Each Golgari removal spell excels with different deck strategies. For instance, achieving Delirium may be easier than gaining life in decks led by Winter, Cynical Opportunist, Coram, the Undertaker, and Glarb, Calamity's Augur. Although Drag to the Roots may be the newest card among its fellow removal spells, it has the potential to outshine them in playability and versatility.
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