Kraven, Proud PredatorKraven, Proud Predator | Art by Alexander Mokhov

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Khalni HydraKhalni Hydra is the only green creature that can reduce its mana cost by pips, rather than generic mana?)

So, building a Kraven, Proud PredatorKraven, Proud Predator deck is easy, right? Just do the Gruul thing: Make a ton of mana, throw down huge creatures, make Kraven huge!

...but what if we could skip that first part?

Top 10 Gruul Permanents That Cost More Than Six, But Can Cost Less

Criteria: Permanents within the Gruul color identity that have a mana value of seven or more that also have an alternate casting cost or a reducible cost. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Earthquake DragonEarthquake Dragon

(39,988 Inclusions, 1.27% of 3,147,384 Decks)

I'd say that I don't know why Earthquake DragonEarthquake Dragon keeps on showing up on all my lists, but that's not true. Dragons are the most popular creature type in Commander, and the most popular commanders for them play all five colors. In other words, Earthquake DragonEarthquake Dragon usually costs one mana for a 10/10 flampler that can easily recur itself in one of the most popular decks ever.

As for our purposes, with Kraven, Proud PredatorKraven, Proud Predator? It's gonna depend on how many Dragons we end up playing, which I thought would be an easy no, but it turns out, a lot of Dragons reduce their cost!

Top 10 Dragons That Can Cost Less Than Their Mana Value

1. [REDACTED] (Further up this list)
2. Earthquake DragonEarthquake Dragon
3. Scion of DracoScion of Draco
4. Chiss-Goria, Forge TyrantChiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant
5. DracoDraco
6. Obsidian CharmawObsidian Charmaw
7. Furnace HellkiteFurnace Hellkite
8. Moltensteel DragonMoltensteel Dragon
9. Capricious HellraiserCapricious Hellraiser
10. Stingerback TerrorStingerback Terror

The various DracoDracos aren't gonna work in two-color, but the rest of this list is precisely what we're looking for to make Kraven huge: creatures that cost a ton that we don't have to pay that much for. In other words? I think we finally found the non-Dragon, non-lands deck that wants Earthquake DragonEarthquake Dragon!

9. Nissa, Ascended AnimistNissa, Ascended Animist

(40,127 Inclusions, 1.27% of 3,147,384 Decks)

It's not just huge creatures that turn Kraven on, however. Any kind of permanent will do, and Nissa, Ascended AnimistNissa, Ascended Animist qualifies. A seven-mana planeswalker that you can cast for five, Nissa will come down with only three loyalty counters if you do so. That still has both her +1 for a 4/4 and her -1 for a NaturalizeNaturalize available, however, all while Kraven becomes a 7/4 for your trouble... which brings me to the elephant in the room: Kraven can be huge, but what does it matter if he doesn't have trample? Luckily, Nissa can also solve that problem if she sticks around for a while, or if you cast her for full cost.

8. Ancient Stone IdolAncient Stone Idol

(43,434 Inclusions, 0.64% of 6,793,664 Decks)

If I'm honest, I know that Ancient Stone IdolAncient Stone Idol is a trap. I've put it in too many decks over the years only to have it sit in my hand as turn after turn, folks with huge board states decide it's too risky to swing out and they pass. I've sat and counted out what creatures were likely to attack in a given turn cycle and left open the requisite amount of mana, only to have those across the board be more conservative than I estimated. All of which leaves this huge Golem in your hand, useless and taunting you.

But if I'm honest? I don't care. That one time that Ancient Stone Idol works is worth 20 times that it doesn't.

7. Metalwork ColossusMetalwork Colossus

(62,604 Inclusions, 0.92% of 6,793,664 Decks)

Okay, so we're already trying to do Dragons to a great enough extent that we can do Earthquake DragonEarthquake Dragon. Can we do artifacts to a great enough extent that we can do Metalwork ColossusMetalwork Colossus?

Well, as you might have noticed, a fair amount of those Dragons actually cared about artifacts.

In other words? I think we already care about artifacts. And decks that care about artifacts? They can pretty easily play Metalwork ColossusMetalwork Colossus, especially when that gives them two creatures with 11 power.

6. Emrakul, the Promised EndEmrakul, the Promised End

(Helms 869 Decks, Rank #1,379; 62,541 Inclusions, 0.92% of 6,793,664 Decks)

What I do think would be stretching it a bit too much, however, would be trying to squeeze in an Eldrazi that will still cost seven mana at its max reduction, which--let's be honest--we're just not gonna hit. Combine that with EmrakulEmrakul being extremely unfun in what's bound to be one of the biggest romps of a Timmy/Tammy deck we've ever seen, and this one's easy to leave on the shelf.

5. Cavern-Hoard DragonCavern-Hoard Dragon

(81,130 Inclusions, 2.42% of 3,353,338 Decks)

The remaining Dragon on our list will almost always cost way less than its max of nine mana in a world of Treasures, Clues, Food, Blood, Maps, and Landers. Combine that with it being a 6/6 flampler that can swing in immediately to create Treasures of our own, and we're immediately cooking with gas.

4. The Skullspore NexusThe Skullspore Nexus

(84,809 Inclusions, 2.72% of 3,118,112 Decks)

X being the greatest power of creatures we control in a Kraven deck can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if things are already going well for us and Kraven is an 11/4 as a result, then The Skullspore NexusThe Skullspore Nexus will only cost two mana and will provide a nice backup plan for when all our huge creatures get board wiped. On the other hand, if this is the big spell in our hand to make Kraven huge, Nexus is going to cost five mana to make that happen. Which raises the question: Is Skullspore Nexus worth five mana? It doesn't actually do anything when it comes down, only making a huge Fungus Dino when our creatures die, unless we happen to have two more mana sticking around, which is unlikely without the full cost reduction.

I wouldn't call it a slam dunk, but I think the answer is yes. At five mana, a backup plan to still have a huge creature available is acceptable, given how often the best answer to our nonsense is going to be to wipe the board.

3. Excalibur, Sword of EdenExcalibur, Sword of Eden

(89,602 Inclusions, 1.72% of 5,218,767 Decks)

Well, if we weren't already committed to the artifact plan before, then we are now. Excalibur, Sword of EdenExcalibur, Sword of Eden will make our commander a 22/22, with double vigilance just to make sure. And for those of you who have played with this card before, getting it to zero is difficult, but getting it to manageable is not. In other words? I think we can manage to put this one in the deck.

2. Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger

(Helms 6,632, Rank #272; 174,470 Inclusions, 5.54% of 3,147,384 Decks)

It may not be a Dragon or an artifact, but all the same, we're going to love Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger. A 12/4 commander and a 12/12 trampler, all for what's likely to be a cost of two green pips? Yes, please!

1. The Great HengeThe Great Henge

(299,544 Inclusions, 9.52% of 3,147,384 Decks)

I'm somewhat less enthusiastic about The Great HengeThe Great Henge, given the ever-increasing price tag it calls for. It also has the same issue as The Skullspore NexusThe Skullspore Nexus, except it will cost six if we only have our commander available, rather than five. All that said, it's just the correct choice if you do have the cash laying around for a copy. I think for my purposes, however, I'd rather say that I don't and that we shouldn't be continuing to play near-hundred-dollar pieces of cardboard in our fun decks. They don't need them, and neither do we.

Honorable Mentions

We talked a bit about affinity when it came to Dragons, but the true MVPs of the deck are going to be the pure affinity creatures, like Sojourner's CompanionSojourner's Companion, Myr EnforcerMyr Enforcer, and Frogmyr EnforcerFrogmyr Enforcer. Playing down a bunch of early Equipment that make Treasures will ramp us into them, and then we can can use them to make our commander huge, which will feed our various draw spells to draw more free affinity guys. In a nutshell, that's the whole wheel of what the deck wants to do.

Outside of that, however, there are still some real gems that we missed in our top ten. Primeval ProtectorPrimeval Protector will turn Kraven up to 11, and then throw down some +1/+1 counters, all for what's almost always going to de a severely discounted rate. Molten MonstrosityMolten Monstrosity is terrible as your first expensive option, still costing five if you have an unimproved Kraven, but will often be a 5/5 trampler for a single red pip if you've landed an affinity creature.

There are a few more, however, that didn't quite fit our criteria.

With our cutoff being things that were seven or more, we cut out some very good options that were just a tiny bit less. EmbercleaveEmbercleave is notorious for a reason, often coming down out of nowhere and killing a player outright. By single-handedly making Kraven a 6/4 double striker with trample, it does have the ability to do that, but where this really shines is after we've landed a "huge" monster that will give Kraven 10+ power. That's when you start seeing people get taken out of games by a combat trick that resulted in lethal commander damage in one shot.

Railway BrawlerRailway Brawler, on the other hand, is much more on the go-wide plan, and is one of the few options in the deck you'll want to take the time to do before casting your commander. That will also result in an epically huge Kraven, throwing out five +1/+1 counters as he enters the battlefield.

Lastly, Avatar of GrowthAvatar of Growth gets dismissed by many as a group hug option, but in a Kraven deck it's a three-mana guy that will have Kraven already at six power, with you also getting two extra lands to start landing more huge creatures. I wouldn't call it breaking parity, but I would call it more than enough upside.

Speaking of that upside, let's take a look at the decklist and see how much of it we can create!

There's a version of this deck that plays every Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves and comes swinging out of the gates, but this is not that. Instead, this often will plop down some Equipment with nothing to attach it to and not enough mana to do so anyway, and then plops down Kraven on turn three, untapping into him either getting Equipment on him to make Treasure and doing so, or immediately landing a "huge" permanent and swinging in for ludicrous damage... which is kind of the whole point. This isn't a complicated Johnny romp, nor a list that's trying to appease any Spikes. This deck is for Timmy and Tammy to see how big a number they can make, and it's pretty darn good at making that huge number. And if I can say so, it's pretty fun doing it, too.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

And finally, what is your favorite permanent that costs less than it says on the tin? Is it huge? Does it make Kraven huge?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table that would be too tall for any of us to reach, if it weren't for the giant chairs we can climb into.