How They Brew It - A Fool For a Client

Grusilda, Monster Masher | Illustrated by Mathias Kollros

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You Wouldn't Download A Deck

I'm Michael Celani, Esq., though you can refer to me by my sue-donym, Pasquali Fontina. I prefer boxers to briefs, but that doesn't change what I'm allowed to file to the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

You're here because you want to play a Grusilda, Monster Masher deck, and you're worried about breaking the law. As a professional, I'm obligated to tell you that Grusilda is not a legal card in Commander. Of course, you wouldn't visit a lawyer if you wanted to do something above-board. Let's talk about how to get away with it!

Shredded Documents

I've had many clients over the years. Some of them have done truly terrible things, like run Urza, Lord High Artificer or violate the Magna Carta. There are times I've wanted to just tell the judge that they were guilty, but I've learned to check my attorney-client privilege. I realized that it could've been me in their shoes had I not had rich parents to pay my way through law school. Once my morals were safely squared away, I got to work doing the one thing lawyers do best: throwing all the evidence in the trash.

For , Grusilda returns two creatures from the graveyard combined into one. That new permanent has the names, type lines, and text boxes of the two creatures, making them terrifying abominations. Of course, to start this confusing process, we need to get creatures in the graveyard first.

• Our opening statement will consist of a robust set of red rummage effects. These shouldn't need further explanation; we're running Faithless Looting, Cathartic Reunion, Tormenting Voice, Seize the Spoils, Cathartic Pyre, Faithless Salvaging, Thrill of Possibility, Electric Revelation, and Unexpected Windfall.
• Of course, we bill lunches. Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar searches up The Underworld Cookbook, which lets you butcher arbitrary cards into Food tokens.
• Anje Falkenrath won't be pitching any madness cards (except for Terminal Agony), but she's got haste and taps to discard and draw for free.
  • Hazoret's Monument will discount her and add another layer of card selection to the game.
  • Bone Miser and Surly Badgersaur gets some additional value out of each discard, too.
• Not only does Ox of Agonas discard your whole hand to replace it with three cards, it also has the benefit of being a potential Grusilda target itself later in the game.
• Geier Reach Sanitarium and Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace are both lands that let you discard evidence for a small fee.
• Though self-mill is a lot less reliable than choosing what to discard, Wand of Vertebrae provides consistent enough value over time that it's worth the include, and it also shuffles cards back into your library if you're about to get your graveyard exiled.
• Key to the City is a useful tool for getting Grusilda's monsters through for a cost you want to pay anyway.
• Finally, Valakut Exploration might be slower than your average rummage, but it turns your late-game land drops into more gas when you need it in addition to throwing those creatures into the graveyard at the start.

Power of Attorney

Grusilda decks aren't particularly complex, so let's just dive right into the meat of it. What sort of crazy combos does GamesfreakSA put in his Grusilda deck? Sure, everyone likes combining Pack Rat with Massacre Wurm. But you want to get away with playing a Grusilda deck, and doing terrifying things like winning the game all but guarantees your opponents will just Rule 0 away your Rule 0 commander. Consider instead:

An often overlooked piece of fine print is that the power and toughness of Grusilda's combined creature is equal to the sum of its parts. Summon Ball Lightning or Lightning Skelemental early in the game to commit an intentional tort, only to use its haste and power level later when you combine it with a smaller creature. Maybe you've discarded an Artisan of Kozilek or Pathrazer of Ulamog and are salivating at that double-digit power total. What can we mash it up with?

• Dreadhorde Butcher and Juri, Master of the Revue both deal damage equal to their power when they die, whereas Murderous Redcap and Flayer of the Hatebound deal that damage to any target when they enter the battlefield.
  • Spikeshot Elder has the power to punch anyone at any time at instant speed, but that ability is very mana-intensive. Go all in to finish out a game or wait until health totals are low to snipe an opponent.
  • Marionette Master will force an opponent to lose life equal to its power whenever you sacrifice an artifact. There's enough incidental Treasure in the deck that this can be a real threat, and even if you don't have any on hand you can always create Servos from the fabricate ability.
• Need to cast any instant and sorcery from your graveyard? Slap a Warchief Giant onto a Dreadhorde Arcanist and watch the magic happen.
• Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin merged with Lightning Skelemental rewards you with eight free Goblin tokens, and since your opponents are unlikely to block a trampling creature that'll simply die anyway, it'll even knock a card out of an opponent's hand.
• Grenzo, Dungeon Warden is a great creature to combine with something high-power, because his activated ability becomes an all-but-guaranteed way to cheat out even the priciest creatures.
• And on the simpler side, Vampire Nighthawk and Blazing Specter are both great targets just to get some damage in. Their on-hit effects and evasion make them really annoying to deal with, but not so threatening as to draw removal.
  • Similarly, Lightning Runner is the only double-striker with haste, making it a natural pair with Pathrazer of Ulamog or Artisan of Kozilek.

Closing Statement

You know, my actual, real-life father is a lawyer.

I wonder if he'd approve of this article.

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