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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Image from Wizards.com

Garruk, Caller of Beasts
- M14

Reviewed July 25, 2013

Constructed: 3.88
Casual: 4.40
Limited: 4.40
Multiplayer: 4.13

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

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Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Garruk, Caller of Beasts

His +1 ability is classic green draw. Right out of the gate, you're refilling your hand with creatures... or maybe you're not. Since it's whatever's on top of your library, you can indeed whiff with Garruk's +1 and have nothing to show for it. Odds are you'll get at least one card though, and it's possible you'll get more.
That ability segues nicely into his -3 ability-- to drop a green creature directly into play. Since he starts with 4 loyalty, you can use that immediately if you need to, in which case you just spent 4GG for whatever you just played. I can see casual players using Garruk to cheat out a Progenitus.

But if you do that, you're likely not charging up his Ultimate. For 7 loyalty (at which point your hand is probably loaded with monsters) you get to search your deck for a creature and drop it into play EVERY time you play a creature. How many creatures do you even have left in your deck by then?

My biggest concern is that such a creature-focused strategy is very susceptible to a Day of Judgment. But then again, Garruk's +1 is as good a way as I can think of to recover from a board wipe, so maybe Garruk is actually insurance against the very counter-measure he seems to suggest?

Constructed- 3
Casual- 4.5
Limited- 4.5
Multiplayer- 4

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Garruk, Caller of Beasts
 
I'd love to know if there's a procedure for deciding which planeswalkers get new versions and when. I certainly didn't expect Garruk to have a new incarnation now, especially since his previous one was already pretty interesting. Nonetheless, I don't doubt that his new incarnation will have an impact at some point. While all three of his abilities relate to creatures, they all do powerful things in that vein: Sneak Attack is widely considered broken and this has an even cheaper activation cost (though it makes you pay more for the permanent it's attached to), and a repeatable version of Lead the Stampede is exactly what creature-heavy decks have been waiting for since about 2007 or so. Definitely one to watch.
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Garruk, Caller of Beasts which is a six mana planeswalker with four loyalty. The fairly high mana cost keeps this Garruk more oriented towards a mana acceleration build than previous versions. His +1 ability is a solid source of card advantage and supports acceleration well by giving the available mana something to be spent on. The -3 can be situational in this kind of deck as it is a lot of loyalty to spend when mana should be readily available, but can be used alongside very high mana cost creatures that connect to the -7.
The -7 is extremely powerful with the right creatures and after the +1 fills the hand, though finding the right balance to avoid slowing the deck down early and still have enough targets to win is going to be vital. Overall this is a powerful card in a very specific build, which may keep it from higher end competitive settings, yet should become a reasonably popular alternative in smaller tournaments, casual, or Commander.

In Limited the card advantage of the +1 and -7 make for an extremely dangerous card and absolute first pick in Booster. Supporting it by drafting Mystic Elves and some bomb creatures should make for a solid deck strategy, but even without an ideal pool the +1 is impressive. In Sealed the pool just may not work well for this Garruk which can make playing him dependent on your other color choices. He works best in mono-Green which is unlikely in Sealed and support may just not be available.

Constructed: 4.0
Casual: 4.0
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.0


Franky
Green

Card draw, a specialized “sneak attack” effect, and the buddy system makes it clear that Garruk and his leather loincloth are a fierce force of nature!

If Garruk wasn’t a planeswalker, I think he would have a good shot at a career in professional wrestling.  Garruk the Gnarled Giant! Powering up Garruk helps you hunt down the best creatures on the top of your deck, while simultaneously sending all those useless lands and non-creatures to the bottom of the deck where they belong. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!  If the creatures on the field can’t defend Garruk while he’s in the ring, he’ll make a sacrifice and summon any green creature from your hand! Mana cost? We don’t need no stinking mana cost! If that’s not tough enough for you, when the emblem brings the heat it makes sure your creatures always bring a friend. Summon a skinny Elvish Mystic and his macho friend Kalonian Hydra comes to play as well! It’s a tag team match!

Casual:
When I read Garruk’s emblem effect the Timmy player in my head just screams “…and now I search my deck and summon Emrakul the Aeons Torn to the field!”
Every time I use that emblem I’m going to call out “Avengers Assemble” and summon a hulk, and any card that let’s me feel like Samuel L Jackson has got to be a good card.  

Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.5


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