(Grolnok, the OmnivoreGrolnok, the Omnivore | Art by Simon Dominic)

Fight or Croak

Greetings and salutations everyone, from a place teeming with Spring spirit, lovely weather and blasted alle... alle...... ATCHAAAA. Well, you get the idea. I'm Arnaud (or what remains of it), and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey towards muddy swamps, sneaky tactics and budget options.

Following our colorless spree last time, I left you with our usual three choices. Third place went to Rodolf DuskbringerRodolf Duskbringer, with 42 votes (23%). It's true we've already toyed with lifegain and reanimation both in the past, so I can't really blame you there. The second spot was more uncertain. For a while, Rivaz of the ClawRivaz of the Claw took the lead, before finally collapsing in second place, with a final 61 votes (34%). I'm keeping this one on the back of my mind for a potential future poll.

With 79 votes (43%), the top spot therefore went to the froggy king, Grolnok, the OmnivoreGrolnok, the Omnivore.

Despite doing what Simic colors do best, i.e., accruing value, the wording on Grolnok is actually quite peculiar. Sure, it's a decent self-mill outlet, but it's also a great card advantage engine, should you manage to exile many cards with your commander. In a way, it's not unlike indirect card draw. Oh, and said cards are relatively safe tucked in exile from pesky graveyard removal spells. Just make sure you protect your froggy adequately.

Let's get to work. We're dumping each and every card from Grolnok's EDHREC page, both from the regular and budget sections, netting us some nice 340 cards in the end. Time to cut.

First Trim - The Cardboard Chainsaw Massacre

Let's begin with our usual spiel. To all new readers out there, welcome, welcome, don't be shy, there's plenty of room in the front rows!

The premise of this series is simple: build an efficient deck with no cards worth more than $1.10. Why that 10-cent difference, you may ask? To account for price variance, of course!

Off to axing then, no expensive trinket will survive this initial onslaught. After optimising the list to get the cheapest prices available, we're already down to 242 cards worth $2 or less.

Before we cut some more, let's take a look at some of the goodies that lie between $1.10 and this upper price bracket.

• NeoformNeoform: A nice and cheap tutor. Can't say I'll really miss it though.
• Eldritch EvolutionEldritch Evolution: Same as above
• Increasing ConfusionIncreasing Confusion: This on the other hand I'll be reluctant to part with. It's a fantastic mill spell for the end game.
• Muddle the MixtureMuddle the Mixture: What's with all the tutors?
• Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus: Because having Frogs is good, but having ALL THE FROGS is better.
• Mystic SanctuaryMystic Sanctuary: Another utility land that sees its price steadily creep up. Where are the reprints???
• Into the Flood MawInto the Flood Maw: I have a strong feeling this is here only because of the Frog in the art.
• Murkfiend LiegeMurkfiend Liege: A more than decent buff, and the best ability of all of the Lieges.
• Hedge ShredderHedge Shredder: Probably one of the best ramp outlets you can have in this specific sort of deck.

This leaves us with the following cards in the $1-$1.10 range:

• Fortune Teller's TalentFortune Teller's Talent: Again, probably here for the Frog in the art. I'm not impressed.
• Nature's ClaimNature's Claim: One of the cheapest ways to get rid of a pesky artifact or enchantment.
• Thought VesselThought Vessel: In these colors, this is one of my favourite rocks
• Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization: Removal for a puny , I'll take that everyday.
• Sol RingSol Ring: Can you believe it? It's back under our arbitrary threshold!
• Bloodline PretenderBloodline Pretender: This time, it pretends to be a Frog.

After this initial shaving, we're down to 221 cards. There's still a long, a very long way to go.

Second Trim - Cardward Scissorhands

Tell me kids, did you eat your greens? Did you have your share of vitamins? No, pizza does not count, not even for a mono-red deck.

With that in mind, I have to I'm a bit puzzled by what we have at hand. See, in these colors I'm used to seeing a huge amount of card draw. And, well......

I get that Grolnok is likely to generate a lot of value, but still, I expected more card advantage than that. And the 2 board wipes, situational at that, are definitely on the low end.

Since I'm still unsure where this list is going at the moment, I'm going to play it safe. About 12 ramp spells, 12 draw and 7-8 removals. I'll leave both wipes in and add a personal favourite of mine: Flood of TearsFlood of Tears.

Let's cut.

There, much better.

The mana base has also been trimmed to a healthier 36 land count, including a fair number of basics.

Down to 172 cards, and now the fun and hardships truly begin.

Third Trim - Cutting Off the Rough Edges

Before we begin delving in and getting our hands murky, I'd like to tell a short story. I once played against a Grolnok deck.

Granted, it was not budget, not by a mile. But I was thoroughly impressed by how resilient that thing was. He played a lot of ramp and consequently had a lot of mana available, which allowed him to cast and recast his commander four or five times, and benefit from an avalanche of cards safely stashed in exile.

Now, I'm not saying we're going to achieve something similar. But it does give a hint of where to actually start, because let's be honest, at the moment this list is a major mess.

Before trying to sort things out a little, there were about a gazillion different categories, often with three to four cards tops in them. I've seen evasion and clones and copies and counterspells and tokens and...

All right, all right, let's try ordering our thoughts a bit.

Let's start with the elephant in the roomelephant in the room: there are a lot of Frogs, ranging from decent to abysmally bad. I feel like a lot of cards have been added only for the sake of playing Frogs and more Frogs and then Frogs again. I get it.

It's a theme, it's fun, Bloomburrow provided a slew of Batrachia to play with, and yes, our strategy somewhat revolves around attacking with a lot of Frogs to mill ourself. Still, there's a hefty cleanup required here.

Speaking of mill, there are, at the time of writing, 29 cards labelled as such in the list, and while I enjoy decking myself as much as the next brewer, this is decidedly too much.

What else... There are a couple of spells tinkering with +1/+1 counters, a bunch of recursive stuff that leave me a bit perplexed, as our graveyard's fate is to be exiled, a few counterspells (never was a fan of those in budget decks), some protection... That's a handful.

With all of that in mind, let's choose a path.

I'm going to keep a decent amount of Frogs, the Cream of the CropCream of the Crop so to speak, to make sure our commander isn't the only one to trigger its ability.

Since we're playing a decent number of creatures, we need a few ways to close the game. I'm going to arbitrarily add a very recent favourite of mine: Preposterous ProportionsPreposterous Proportions. No, it's not optimal, but it's a card that will generate stories of its own.

Well, I honestly thought this would be harder. We're down to the final stretch, with only 10 cards to go, and a healthy mix of creatures and spells of various kind.

I'm also happy that most cards happen to be permanents. Let's finish this, shall we?

Final Trim - Heart-Wrenching Choices

All right, this is the final countdown. As usual, please note that none of the cards I'm about to cut are inherently bad. At this point in the build, it's more a matter of personal taste.

• Papercraft DecoyPapercraft Decoy: An expensive hoop to jump through for a puny card.
• Urban EvolutionUrban Evolution: While I like the idea of keeping some direct card draw, the sheer advantage provided by our commander coupled with the high mana cost of this spell make this card a goner in my book.
• Turn to FrogTurn to Frog and Nature's ClaimNature's Claim: Thematic and efficient both, but both are also instants, and the least convincing of our removal package.
• Sakura-Tribe ElderSakura-Tribe Elder: Given the state of our curve, we can afford one less ramp spell.
• Cut Your LossesCut Your Losses: While I like the idea of milling 75% of what remains of our deck in one fell swoop, 6 mana is a lot to pay.
• Filter OutFilter Out: I've been disappointed by this spell time and again. It never seems to do exactly what you want it to.
• Lilysplash MentorLilysplash Mentor: Good stats, but that blink ability limited to sorcery speed added to our limited EtB package incites me to cut it.
• CrocanuraCrocanura: Cute, but not impactful enough in my book.
• Jace, Memory AdeptJace, Memory Adept: Milling 10 cards a turn is nice, but let's be real, it will die before the rotation ends, and 5 mana for that one-time effect is a lot to ask for.

And... tadaaa !!!

Additional Trim - A Look Into the Past

Before we part ways, let's take a look at a list from a year and a half ago, and see how kind (or not) time has been.

Today's look into the past is dedicated to Kaalia of the Vast.

Honestly, seeing the overall recent surge in prices, I feared the worst, but it's not that bad. See for yourselves:

• Talisman of HierarchyTalisman of Hierarchy: $1.11 (!)
• Kaya's GhostformKaya's Ghostform: $1.17
• Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares: $1.18
• Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act: $1.93
• Isshin, Two Heavens as OneIsshin, Two Heavens as One: $2.37
• SunforgerSunforger: $2.39
• Sephara, Sky's BladeSephara, Sky's Blade: $2.78

Let's make some adjustments:

• Commander's SphereCommander's Sphere: A Talisman it is not, but it will fix our colors nonetheless.
• Not Dead After AllNot Dead After All: Will replace the Ghostform nicely.
• Path to ExilePath to Exile: What best way to replace Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares?
• Liesa, Forgotten ArchangelLiesa, Forgotten Archangel: Give some life back, exile our opponents' dying stuff and provides card advantage.
• Aurelia, the Law AboveAurelia, the Law Above: Give me more cards!
• Shilgengar, Sire of FamineShilgengar, Sire of Famine: Recursion anyone?
• Sol RingSol Ring: Let's get it while it's in our price range!

You can find the updated list here.

Conclusion

Another day, another article, another trim. This one's been fun and unexpected. Which brings me to a question: what do you prefer? Uncanny commanders, or established patriarchs of the format?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and I'll see you in two weeks!