The Gitrog, Ravenous RideThe Gitrog, Ravenous Ride | Art by Johan Grenier

The Ribbit Rodeo

YEEEEEE-FROG. Hello fellow brewer and welcome back to Brew For Your Buck, where we swap out the top 10 most expensive cards in a deck with 10 budget cards that add a unique twist. No sense in a long intro. We're diving into Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ) with the newest version of one of my favorite commanders: The Gitrog, Ravenous RideThe Gitrog, Ravenous Ride.

This Gitrog is far more aggressive than the original versionoriginal version, losing deathtouch and picking up trample and haste. Obviously, the real power is in the saddle-to-sacrifice ability. This allows the glorious hypnotoad to eat anything that tries to ride it and turns it into huge amounts of mana and card advantage, the two best things to be doing in Commander. People have already been brewing with the new Gitrog, with 777 decks already on EDHREC at time of writing, which is technically before OTJ is even legal in the format. Together, these decks shake out into an average list which comes to $375.22, with these cards at the top of the price list:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. The Great HengeThe Great Henge ($51.62)
               2. Lumra, Bellow of the WoodsLumra, Bellow of the Woods ($30.00)
               3. Amulet of VigorAmulet of Vigor ($22.80)
               4. Vaultborn TyrantVaultborn Tyrant ($13.90)
               5. Greensleeves, Maro-SorcererGreensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer ($12.88)
               6. Selvala, Heart of the WildsSelvala, Heart of the Wilds ($11.50)
               7. Zopandrel, Hunger DominusZopandrel, Hunger Dominus ($8.90)
               8. Ob Nixilis, the FallenOb Nixilis, the Fallen ($8.74)
               9. Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention ($7.17)
               10. Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge ($6.04)

Total Value of Cuts: $173.55

Note that Lumra, Bellow of the WoodsLumra, Bellow of the Woods is an upcoming card from Bloomburrow. Even though it's far from being released, it does make it into the average list for Gitrog. If you want to ignore it for now, The Skullspore NexusThe Skullspore Nexus would be the next card out.

There are a surprising amount of expensive lands in the deck, driven primarily by Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothUrborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Replacing these with Forests and Swamps leads to an additional $105.96 in savings, for a total of $279.51.

To me the list looks great, with a focus on creatures with high power but low mana value that can saddle up the frog for immediate value. Only problem is that these creatures tend to be "one-shot", meaning once we sacrifice them, they're gone. Our budget package will look to focus on recursion: ideally creatures that do it themselves, or other effects that can get the job done.

Additions

Recycling Riders Resume Ribbiting Rampage

Let's start off by looking at some self-recursive creatures. There are plenty of these throughout Magic, but we want ones with that high power-to-mana value ratio that really makes Gitrog pop. GigapedeGigapede ($0.64) is first: a five-mana, six power creature that can let us pitch a useless card that we draw with Gitrog so we can replay it and draw six more. As we do, Gitrog ramps us even further so paying five mana every turn becomes less and less of an issue. Old One EyeOld One Eye ($0.56) does more of the same, trading cards in hand to recur itself. The best part is this Tyranid brings another 5/5 with it, and grants any of our other big creatures trample as well.

Maybe one of the cards you discard to GigapedeGigapede and Old One EyeOld One Eye is GenesisGenesis ($0.31) which can rebuy any of our non-recursive creatures just by being the graveyard. Finally, Multani, Yavimaya's AvatarMultani, Yavimaya's Avatar ($1.58) can become absolutely massive and help re-trigger landfall effects like Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar and Scute SwarmScute Swarm.

Croaked Creatures Continue Cacophony

Self recurring creatures are great, but since we're only adding a few I want some ways to rebuy any of the creatures we sacrifice. Mimic VatMimic Vat ($0.33) is an oldie but a goodie, letting us repeatedly sacrifice one of our giant creatures. Mimic VatMimic Vat on turn three, Daemogoth Woe-EaterDaemogoth Woe-Eater on turn four, into Gitrog on turn five seems like an especially strong line. UnearthUnearth ($0.24) has a place in this deck, since over half our creatures can be targeted with it. In a sense, it could become a one mana, draw-six if you rebuy Shakedown HeavyShakedown Heavy or something similar. Continuing with our theme of pitching the useless cards, Restless DreamsRestless Dreams ($0.21) allows us to trade them to get a bunch of creatures back from the graveyard at once. Remember, Gitrog says "up to X land cards" so you can hold on to some of them if you're already swimming in mana to trade for more impactful cards later.

Finding Folks For Feeding Frogs

I'm doing it again. We have yet another deck where Mausoleum SecretsMausoleum Secrets ($0.86) is an all-star. Our graveyard will fill up with creatures quickly, and it's utility as an instant speed tutor is insane. Play it. 'Nuff said. There are some other tutors that work well here though. The new Lively DirgeLively Dirge ($0.25) can pull one of our low mana value creatures out of the deck and then reanimate it and another one. I think the best case scenario is Lupine PrototypeLupine Prototype and Hunted HorrorHunted Horror, but it's flexible enough to do more than just that. Rushed RebirthRushed Rebirth ($0.27) is another fun tutor effect, especially for a deck that's planning to sacrifice creatures at a high rate. Sacrifice Yargle and MultaniYargle and Multani, draw eighteen cards, then go get Yargle, Glutton of UrborgYargle, Glutton of Urborg so you can draw nine cards on the next turn, and crush your opponents with amphibian value.

Wrap Up & Savings

Let's see what we saved:

After all that, we bring the deck's price down to just over $100, with most of the cards to keep it functioning still in the list. With the Omenpaths open, I hope we get to see more of Gitrog terrorizing the Multiverse. As more and more OTJ commanders continue to get built, we'll check out their lists and see how we can save. If you have any suggestions for which commander to value engineer next, or if I missed any sweet tech for my favorite frog, let me know in the comments and I'll see you next time when we brew for your buck!

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Please note: card prices listed in this article are accurate at the time of writing, but prices can vary over time and between locations.

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Brian Cain

Brian played Magic intermittently between 2003 and 2017 when he fully embraced his love for Commander. Finding ways to maximize the value of each piece of cardboard in the deck is one of his favorite things to explore, especially if it involves putting lands in the graveyard! Outside of Magic, Brian works as a consultant in the marine industry, turning his passion for boats and ships into a career.