With the release of Core 2021 we have a slew of new cards that can easily slot into existing decks. We also have some great legendary creatures that can be placed at the helm to lead us to victory. Let's take a look at some of my favorite cards from this set and what decks can utilize these sweet new cards. I will be breaking the colors down into multiple articles to make sure these aren't too lengthy.
Green Means Go! Green is my all time favorite color in magic. Big creatures, solid card draw, and overrun effects. These green cards from Core Set 2021 are what I'm most excited about.
Elder Gargaroth is the epitome of a big dumb creature in green. This 6/6 body brings loads of value when it attacks and blocks. You have the choice of drawing a card, creating a 3/3 beast, and gaining three life. It also has the upside of having some amazing keywords. Vigilance, reach, and trample are nothing to scoff at.
Garruk is probably my favorite Planeswalker of all time. Garruk has had many iterations with some of his cards splashing black when he was cursed with The Chained Veil. This version of Garruk really speaks to me though. The +1 allows you take take a tiny or big creature and give it a little boost to get in the final blow or initiate some early game combat damage. The -2 helps you not only protect Garruk, but help build a decent board state over the course of a few turns. The -7 is potentially just an automatic I win. Being able to grab any creature from your deck and put it into play is just nuts. Imagine grabbing an Avenger of Zendikar at your end step, and then dropping a Craterhoof Behemoth the following turn. That's my kind of magic.
Remember when I mentioned good card draw in green? This is just one example. This enchantment is just a strict upgrade to Primal Rage, even if it costs one more mana. You get to draw a card on cast if you control a creature with power four or greater. Since we are playing green, this will most likely be the case. Giving your creatures trample makes your army more formidable. Trample is obviously the best keyword, right? On top of all of that, anytime another creature enters the battlefield and has power four or greater you draw card.
The Green Thumb So what deck will I be utilizing these cards in? Meet Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma. This mother bear is extremely dangerous. Just look at that flavor text.
Goreclaw is a fantastic green creature based commander. With green being the embodiment of beat down, we can utilize these new cards from Core 2021 in tandem with preexisting cards. By using Goreclaw as our commander she will help reduce our Elder Gargaroth by two mana, making it only coast one generic and two green. A 6/6 for three mana, how do you beat that? Garruk, Unleashed is really just a support card in this deck. Being able to provide a pump effect to your creatures and putting bodies on the board helps when this deck needs to recover from a board wipe. Garruk's Uprising is an essential draw ability attached to an enchantment. Since we are working with a power matters theme in Goreclaw, there are very few times that we won't get a draw from this sweet enchantment.
We Need Backup! Finally, let's take a look at some other commanders that may benefit from great new cards.
These commanders care about a creature based strategy. Xenagos packs a wallop by giving a single creature a huge boost in power. Samut gives your army haste, making those big beefy creatures even scarier. Animar helps reduce the cost of your big creatures allowing you to play the higher converted mana cost creatures sooner.
So how will you utilize these new green cards? Until next time, happy hunting Planeswalkers.
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