Magic Monday: Mr Frog Goes to Mill

Happy Magic Monday, Planeswalkers! Today, we’re diving into the murky waters of Commander with Grolnok, the Omnivore. This froggy friend is more than just a quirky commander; it’s a powerhouse of self-mill and card advantage that can turn the tide of any game.

Grolnok is a versatile commander that excels in self-mill strategies. Whenever a Frog you control attacks, you mill three cards.  But the real magic happens when those milled cards are permanent cards; they get exiled with a croak counter, and you can play them from exile! This means you’re not just filling your graveyard; you’re setting up a potentially massive second hand of powerful spells and lands ready to be cast.

To maximize Grolnok’s potential, consider these key strategies:

1. Frog Tribal: Lean into the theme with cards like Froghemoth and spore frog. These not only synergise with Grolnok’s abilities but also add flavour to your deck.
2. Self-Mill: Cards like Hedron Crab and Satyr Wayfinder help you mill your library efficiently, ensuring you always have a steady stream of cards to exile and play.
3. Card Advantage: Utilize cards like Laboratory Maniac and Thassa’s Oracle as win conditions. With Grolnok’s ability to exile and play cards, you can quickly draw your entire deck and win the game.
4. Landfall: building a massive secondary hand of cards should give you access to more lands. This means that you should look for two things. First, cards that let you play more than one land in a turn. Rites of Flourishing and Druid Class are good examples of this, though there are many more. These additional lands will make your landfall cards all the more powerful.

There are, of course, some key cards that will synergise well with this commander and deck:

• Frogify: Turn your opponents’ threats into harmless frogs while staying on theme.
• Scute Swarm: With Grolnok’s ability to play lands from exile, Scute Swarm can quickly flood the board with tokens. This also ties in well with the landfall strategy.
• Tatyova, Benthic Druid: Gain life and draw cards whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, synergising perfectly with Grolnok’s land plays.

Of course, Grolnok is only good if you play to his strengths and ensure that he’s on the table when he needs to be. Here are a few further considerations about playing Grolnok and really meeting his potential:

• Timing is Everything: Be strategic about when you attack with your frogs. Sometimes it’s better to hold back and mill more cards before making your move. As you mill cards, you open up more and more options.
• Protect Grolnok: Use counterspells and protection spells to keep Grolnok on the battlefield. Cards like Heroic Intervention and Counterspell are essential. That said, given his penchant for permanents, it might be more useful to grab counterspelling creatures with flash, rather than instants.
• Adapt and Overcome: Grolnok’s flexibility allows you to adapt to different playstyles. Whether you’re facing aggro, control, or combo decks, Grolnok can hold his own. If you’ve been effectively milling, you should have a ton of options at your disposal.

Full disclosure; I’ve started building a Grolnok deck. I’ve taken a first pass that focuses heavily on self-mill. I had some initial games last week that I really enjoyed. I’m going to come back to it later and see if I can revisit the landfall strategy and build out my options for that angle. I’ll let y’all know how it turns out.