I’ve previously written about planning a frog-themed deck around Grolnok. I love this Commander, and he’s actually my favourite at the moment. I’m really enjoying the self-mill gameplay and the alternative win conditions that this deck employs. Today, I’m going to look at some of my favourite cards that make this deck work.
Of course, in any such post, I need to start by looking at the commander, himself:
Grolnok, the Omnivore is a fantastic, fun commander that fundamentally changes how you play your game. Although not an imposing creature in his own right, Grolnok opens up interesting options each time he attacks. So long as he is out, any attacking frog will cause you, the attacker, to mill three cards. As soon as any permanent is milled into the graveyard, they then bounce into an exile pile marked with croak counters. These cards are playable at any time, so long as Grolnok is in play. What’s really great about this, is that any permanent that is milled for any reason will be added to the croak pile. This gives you absolutely massive levels of card advantage.
Let’s look at a few of my favourite cards from this deck:
Spore Frog
I often joke with folks around the table that Spore Frog is my favourite card in the deck. Except… I don’t know that I’m actually joking. I really, really, really like this little guy. One green mana, and the ability to just shut down a combat phase that isn’t going my way? Yes, please! Couple this with Molting Skin and Broken Fall to immediately regenerate the wee guy once he’s been sacrificed, or Eternal Witness to retrieve him from the graveyard and you’ve got a stew goin’! He’s also a frog. That helps.
Desecrated Tomb
This one actually didn’t make it into my first draft of the deck, but I added it more recently and it’s a real game changer. It created a 1/1 bat whenever a creature leaves the graveyard. There are 27 possible creatures in this deck which could be milled into the graveyard, and then bounce into the croak pile. It’s a circus of value, friends! And you can then use Maskwood Nexus or Arcane Adaptation to turn these bats into frogs and continue the milling.
Dreamborn Muse
This is probably one of the most hated cards in my deck by many of my opponents. It’s just a bit dirty, innit? At the start of a player’s upkeep, before they draw for the turn, they must mill X cards where X is the number of cards held in their hand. This is most useful in this deck when used one oneself, but is satisfyingly annoying to other players, too. This is the card that persuades me to play lands out of the croak pile rather than my hand so as to try to keep my hand as full as possible. It’s especially fun when you pair this card with Croaking Counterpart (one of the very few non-permanent cards in this deck) to make a second one and really double down on the misery!
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
Prior to grabbing Jace, I hadn’t really used many Planeswalkers, and they were certainly never a key part of my deck or strategy. Jace, however, is really important to my deck. First of all, he’s yet another source of mill and card draw. He’s also a win condition, letting me win the game when I go to draw (not mill!) a card from an empty deck, much in the same way as Laboratory Maniac, which also features in the deck. He’s been the deciding win condition for a few of my games with this deck. I also like Jace as a character… am I a filthy blue player?
Tamiyo, Collector of Tales
Tamiyo was a borderline addition to this deck that, in hindsight, I am delighted I ended up including. What can I say… I was high on Jace! It is yet another source of mill. That is always welcome to power my way through the deck as quickly as possible. As an aside, when asked to name a nonland card, I always say Spore Frog. I should probably call for one of my sorceries, but I will always call for Spore Frog, even if that card is already out of the deck. One’s principles are non-negotiable. I also really like the ability to fish around in the graveyard. It makes sure that I can use and re-use the sorcery and instant cards that can get milled right into the graveyard. Also, I can fish out Spore Frog. The protection against forced sacrifice also came in really handy in a recent game!
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