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Gro Mini Primer
The GAT Era:
January 2003 to June 2003
The culprit
Quirion Dryad
Creature – Dryad
Casting Cost: 1G
Power/Toughness: 1/1
Whenever you play a white, blue, black or red spell, put a +1/+1 counter
on Quirion Dryad.
The accomplices:
Gush
Instant.
Casting Cost: 4U
You may return two islands you control to their owner’s hands rather
than pay Gush’s mana cost. Draw 2 cards.
Fastbond
Enchantment
Casting Cost: G
You may play as many lands as you choose on your turn. Whenever you put
a land into play other than the first land of the turn, Fastbond deals
one damage to you.
Gush Pre-Restriction
Pre-restriction GAT was just sick. With a fastbond in play, it’s not
uncommon to have a 10/10 on turn 2- the deck cycles through the library
faster than a kingkong trampling over lego-buildings.
If the Quirion Dryad doesn’t finish the opponent, the follow up
Psychatog will. With so many cards in your graveyard, the game usually
ends the moment the player draws Berserk.
For Reference:
//NAME: GAT, June, 2003
// Mana (18)
4 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
R Library of Alexandria
R Mox Emerald
R Mox Jet
R Mox Sapphire
R Black Lotus
// Beatdown (8)
4 Pshychatog
4 Quirion Dryad
// Control (11)
4 Force of Will
4 Misdirection
3 Duress
// Cantrips (19)
4 Brainstorm
4 Gush
3 Sleight of Hand
2 Merchant Scroll
1 Cunning Wish
R Ancestral Recall
R Demonic Tutor
R Time Walk
R Regrowth
R Yawgmoth’s Will
// Sick Stuff (4)
1 Berserk
R Fastbond
R Mystical Tutor
R Vampiric Tutor
The deck was straightforward. You drop Quirion Dryad as fast as you can,
and protect it with your 8 pitch countermagic spells. With so many
cantrips, you’ll have (sooner than later) a mammoth sized dryad with
which to whack your opponent.
Gush was so good in GAT that it caught the eye of DCI and was soon
restricted. With Fastbond in play, Gush was two mana and two
cards for the price of two life. Casting Yawgmoth’s Will with Gush in
your graveyard virtually sealed the game right there.
The Restriction of Gush and Modern Gro
The restriction of Gush started a new era for Gro- gone were the
combo-fests where one could literally draw half the deck on turn two-
the deck was a lot slower- and needed to compensate by adding more
control elements and backup win conditions.
There are two distinct styles of playing Gro- aggro control and control.
There are obvious benefits to both ways of playing Gro- and one would
have to find out what style fits one’s style best-
There is really no “definitive” way of building Gro. I’d be lying
if I didn’t tell you that Gro is a very metagame dependent deck.
Depending on what you play against, there will usually be the best
version of Gro to play in a given metagame- how you build and determine
your meta- will determine how successful you’re going to be in playing
Gro.
I’ll try keep the primer simple by putting up the more popular
variants and their benefits over the other versions.
GAT
Rewind to the past. The monstrosity, that is Psychatog.
With the total domination of Gro in Extended that time, it wouldn’t be
long before t1 caught on with the deck, and with so many cards going to
the library every turn, it wasn’t long before Psychatog- or what
others call [I}Cookie Monster[/I] or Mr. Teeth was soon added to
the mix to make things even more interesting.
Psychatog
Creature – Atog
Casting Cost: 1UB
Discard a card from your hand: Psychatog gets +1/+1 until end of turn
Remove two cards from your graveyard from the game: Psychatog gets +1/+1
until end of turn.
Grow-A-Tog was born, or what others fondly call, GAT.
Fast forward to the present. With the restriction of Gush, the deck got
a little slower. If I were using martial arts as an analogy, whereas, if
you played the old version, you went for your opponent’s throat with a
poisoned dagger just when the announcer reveals the name of the
opponent, this time, you go through your opponent’s throat on round 5-
with an AK47. There is no doubt that Gush will be missed, but it’s
just as deadly as before.
//NAME: GAT (three color version)
// Mana (21)
4 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Island
R Library of Alexandria
R Mox Emerald
R Mox Jet
R Mox Sapphire
R Black Lotus
// Beatdown (6)
4 Quirion Dryad
2 Psychatog
// Control (12)
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
2 Daze
2 Duress
// Cantrips (18)
4 Brainstorm
4 Opt
2 Deep Analysis
2 Cunning Wish
1 Merchant Scroll
R Ancestral Recall
R Demonic Tutor
R Gush
R Time Walk
R Yawgmoth’s Will
Utility (3)
1 Pernicious Deed
R Mystical Tutor
R Vampiric Tutor
//NAME: GATr (four color version)
// Mana (20)
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
R Library of Alexandria
R Mox Emerald
R Mox Jet
R Mox Ruby
R Mox Sapphire
R Black Lotus
// Beatdown (6)
4 Quirion Dryad
2 Psychatog
// Control (11)
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Duress
// Cantrips (20)
4 Brainstorm
4 Opt
4 Accumulated Knowledge
2 Cunning Wish
1 Merchant Scroll
R Ancestral Recall
R Demonic Tutor
R Gush
R Time Walk
R Yawgmoth’s Will
Utility (3)
1 Fire/Ice
R Mystical Tutor
R Vampiric Tutor
There are minor contrasts one of which is the mana base. The first
version runs a higher mana curve with the use of Deep Analysis (DA), and
as such, runs one more mana source than the latter. The presence of
Island from the first version will also help against one of type 1’s
best known hoser- Blood Moon. The second deck could fit in Island easily
by replacing one of the Volcanic Island with the basic land- however,
there will be times when Blood Moon is just not present in your meta-
you will have to find that out yourself.
While the eternal debate of Sleight of Hand vs Opt rages on, I’ll
leave it to you to figure out what works best for you. A part of me
wants Sleight because of it’s bigger digging effect, one can argue,
that the instant speed of Opt is more than enough reason to use it
instead of the former- especially if you’re packing non-pitch
countermagic like Mana Drain.
The next thing one would notice are the card drawing engines of Deep
Analysis vs Accumulated Knowledge. Deep Analysis is better on its own,
as it gives a +3 card advantage on it’s own, against an opening with
accumulated knowledge. Deep Analysis is also exceptional against control
and suicide- where a Duress or Hymn to Tourach aimed at Deep Analysis is
card advantage for you. However, much like the Sleight of Hand vs Opt
debate, one can always argue about the usefulness of Deep Analysis
against decks not directly affected against it- like combo- or
aggro. One can certainly use both and cut the other one drops. Although
I have a personal bias against Deep Analysis, you can be sure that
it’s a house against the right deck.
An obvious advantage of using the four color version is the versatility
of red in the sideboard- red opens up a wide array of sideboard options
previously not available in the three color versions, especially, more
pinpoint artifact destruction, and the anti-blue mage tool, Red
Elemental Blast.
Aggro Control vs Control
Again, when building, any Gro version, this question will linger long
after you’ve built the deck. Would I be better off with more cantrips
(i.e. 4 Sleight of Hand, 4 Opt) in the deck? Or will I be better off
with more control spells (i.e. 4 Mana Drain)- and again, the correct
response will be- and should be- it depends entirely on what you play a
lot against. One of the arguments of running too much cantrips is that
it’s dead on an opening hand without Quirion Dryad. But running more
control elements could theoretically stop your opponents early threats
while buying for time- but, take note, using a lot of cyclers will allow
you to filter into your deck- while using more control elements will not
get you any closer to your elusive win condition.
Card Options:
Quirion Dryad, Psychatog
If you don’t know why they’re here, you shouldn’t be reading this.
Cyclers (Accumulated Knowledge, Sleight of Hand, Opt, Brainstorm)
The reason why Qurion Dryad and Psychatog “grows”.
Force of Will, Misdirection, Daze
Counters for free and adds a +1/+1 counter on Quirion Dryad.
Misdirection has the added advantage of gaining you valuable tempo.
Cunning Wish
The sideboard works like a toolbox- or grab that game winning Berserk if
you have the opportunity.
The restricted Stuff
General all purpose utility spells. Occasionally being able to seal the
game right there when it hits is another bonus.
Sideboard Options:
Artifact Mutation, Rack and Ruin, Energy Flux, Naturalize, Oxidize, Null
Rod
Red Elemental Blast, Pyroblast
From Illusions of Grandeur to general control decks. Red Elemental Blast
is arguably one of the best one casting cost counterspells available.
Blue Elemental Blast
Sligh never goes away. Also hits Worldgorger Dragon.
Misdirection
A decent sideboard choice if you’re not packing them maindeck.
Especially useful against blue, red, and black mages.
Pernicious Deed
General all-purpose board sweeper. Takes care of everything.
Coffin Purge, Tormod’s Crypt, Ground Seal,
Graveyard hate. Slows down Survival based decks and takes care of
Dragon.dec (Ground Seal).
Diabolic Edict, Smother, Terminate, Fire/Ice
Bullets against aggro.
Fact or Fiction,
Occasionally used when you need more card drawing options.
Berserk
Taken from Hulk Smash, this gem ends game when it hits.
Daze, Disrupt
Additional countermagic if you feel the need for it.
The Next Best Thing:
We now come across the inevitable- “How do I build GAT on a budget?”
question.
Well, GAT is already pretty budget on it’s own- with only 7 cards over
$100 and with the option to not run Mana Drains- it’s a pretty
good deck of choice for people who wish to play on a budget.
While playing with power and the big blue will definitely make the deck
better, I honestly feel that GAT is one of the few decks- like U/R Fish
and Landstill, which budget players can use and still have a decent
chance of winning.
//NAME: GAT (four color version), Budget
// Mana (20)
4 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Wasteland
1 Island
R Strip Mine
// Beatdown (6)
4 Quirion Dryad
2 Psychatog
// Control (16)
4 Force of Will
3 Counterspell
3 Fire/Ice
2 Duress
2 Daze
2 Misdirection
// Cantrips (16)
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
3 Opt
2 Cunning Wish
R Demonic Tutor
R Gush
R Yawgmoth’s Will
Utility (2)
R Mystical Tutor
R Vampiric Tutor
Without the moxen and Mana Drains, Deep Analysis automatically gets
axed. Since you’re playing a slower game, a few wastelands/strip mines
will slow down the opponent while you build up your dryad, Fire/Ice is
there to take out opposing one tougness critters and taps Maze of Ith if
you ever need to deal the final blow. The rest of the deck is really
self-explanatory, and by now, you should be able to understand why these
cards are there.
Super Gro
The name Super-Gro is differentiated from the traditional Gro decks
because of the presence of white.
The deck was originally conceptualized to go battle traditional Gro
decks which were the rage that time. It proved successful in this
matchup because of the presence of one card- Swords to Plowshares.
//NAME: Super-Gro (three color version)
// Mana (18)
4 Tropical Island
4 Tundra
3 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
R Library of Alexandria
R Mox Emerald
R Mox Pearl
R Mox Sapphire
R Black Lotus
// Beatdown (7)
4 Quirion Dryad
3 Mystic Enforcer
// Control (17)
4 Force of Will
4 Misdirection
4 Daze
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Seal of Cleansing
// Cantrips (18)
4 Brainstorm
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Opt
1 Cunning Wish
1 Merchant Scroll
R Ancestral Recall
R Gush
R Regrowth
R Time Walk
//NAME: Super-Gro (four color version)
// Mana (19)
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Flooded Strand
2 Tundra
2 Polluted Delta
R Library of Alexandria
R Mox Emerald
R Mox Jet
R Mox Pearl
R Mox Sapphire
R Black Lotus
// Beatdown (8)
4 Quirion Dryad
3 Meddling Mage
1 Mystic Enforcer
// Control (14)
4 Force of Will
3 Duress
3 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
2 Swords to Plowshares
// Cantrips (19)
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
3 Opt
2 Cunning Wish
1 Merchant Scroll
R Ancestral Recall
R Demonic Tutor
R Gush
R Time Walk
R Yawgmoth’s Will
Super Gro lacks the big explosiveness of the traditional Gro because ran
fewer cantrips. The deck was slower, but it ran a better topdeck
creature- Mystic Enforcer.
With two different decks presented above, one can see how, this version
of Gro is metagamed. The first version, running 4 Swords to Plowshares
and 4 Misdirection- is geared towards heavier aggro (sligh, suicide)
environment- while the second version- with the presence of Meddling
Mage and Duress- is geared towards a more control/combo environment.
While it would be futile to argue which version is better, there are
some obvious similarities between the two decks.
The second deck also differs not only because of the addition of a
fourth color, but also because of it’s mana curve- while the first
version runs primarily 1cc and “free” spells in the form of Sleight
of Hand, Daze and Misdirection, the second deck runs Mana Drain (as
opposed to more Misdirections), Duress (as opposed to Daze) and
Accumulated Knowledge (as opposed to Sleight of Hand)- thus running one
more mana source.
Card Options
Swords to Plowshares
The best pinpoint creature removal ever printed is a no brainer in a
deck, which can support it. While the amount of Swords to Plowshares
will vary on what you play against, it would be foolish to not include
at least two copies of the card because it’s so good at what it does.
Mystic Enforcer
A 6/6 flyer with protection from Nantuko Shade is nothing to scoff at.
With the speed at which you’re going through you’re library. It will
almost always be a 6/6 flyer by the time this creature hits play. While
the number of Enforcers one runs maindeck will depend entirely on what
you play against- there is no doubt that it’s a bargain for four mana.
Meddling Mage
This small beatstick is a curious choice for such a deck. It doesn’t ”grow’,
and it’s not a big beatstick- however, it’s so good on it’s own
that it soon found it’s way into most decks that can support it’s
casting cost. Very good against combo- as it stops their win condition,
one of Gro’s hardest matchups.
Other Card Options Options:
Werebear
A solid choice if you're looking for another beatstick, or if you can't
find one or two of the beatdown components-
Lotus Petal, Chrome Mox
Accelerators. While i personally do not suggest using them as gro needs
all the card advantage it can get, it can be used in a more laxed
metagame.
Sideboard Options:
note: see previous sideboard options for other card choices.
Disenchant, Seal of Cleansing
Self-explanatory.
Sacred Ground
Against land destruction and Smokestack.
Balance, Swords to Plowshares, Meddling Mage
Additional control elements if you haven’t exhausted your maindeck
slots.
The Next Best Thing:
As previously mentioned, Gro is a very good deck if you’re starting
into T1- but don’t want to ruin you plans for retirement just yet…
Super-Gro is no exception.
//NAME: Super-Gro (three color version), Budget
// Mana (19)
4 Tropical Island
4 Tundra
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Windswept Heath
2 Island
1 Forest
// Beatdown (10)
4 Quirion Dryad
3 Meddling Mage
3 Mystic Enforcer
// Control (16)
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Counterspell
2 Misdirection
2 Seal of Cleansing
2 Daze
// Cantrips (15)
4 Brainstorm
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Sleight of Hand
2 Cunning Wish
R Gush
Again, because you’re building a budget version, it’s always good to
pack more control elements- you obviously can’t explode earlier
because of the lack of jewelry and Time Walk, you’re better off trying
to stabilize the early game and winning on the early-mid game.
You could always play aggressive and drop the dryad early- since you
still have 8- 0cc countermagic available- and if all else fails, the 6/6
pro-black flyer will finish up the job in a jiffy. Three swings with it
and a small nick from an unblocked Meddling Mage is usually enough to
seal the game any day. |
