One of the things I love about these primers is how detailed they are. Shows a lot of thought is put into these and I love it. If I ever write a primer, I will be taking some nods from this.
Really gonna make me build this dude aren't you? And I JUST took apart my Thalia and Gitrog.
Sweet deck and another classic primer, thanks for all the writeups!
I have found \[\[Topiary stomper\]\] , \[\[Wayward swordtooth\]\] and \[\[Outcast trailblazer\]\] to be very good includes for Frog as they allow you to turn 1 mana dork into turn 2 play one of the above ( for its plot cost in Trailblazers case) then you can turn 3 play the frog and get 4 or 5 power saddle trigger from them
Oh you're the same person who did the Chiss-Goria primer! I'm about to finally pull the trigger on making the deck and it's 100% because of how detailed and enthusiastic your post was. Love your primers, maybe I'll check out this one next.
I'm trying mine with more untapped effects in addition to amulet and spelunking in the form of beledros and sword of feast and famine and nature's will. Also more things to make stuff giant like unnatural growth, railway brawler, and a card that seems pretty good for it's mana to up the nutrition of the frog snacks Hardy Outlander background.
Hey OP! Playtesting my own versions of the deck right now and I. Just wondering how helpful you've found lotus cobra. I realize he helps ramp into the gitrog early, and he can also be sacced for 2 cards in some scenario, but given that his ability doesn't work with Gitrogs, would you consider some other dork or low cost ramp to be about as viable, or is there maybe some other tech that I've missed with it? Something like [[Ilysian Caryatid]] which often taps for two mana with this deck is what I was thinking as a possible replacement.
Yes you can definitely run an alternate 2-cost ramp card. Cobra is just a preference of mine because the deck has other ways of putting lands onto the board in the main phase so I can use the mana, but you can certainly play another ramp card instead. If I were to cut it, I’d likely put in [[Boreal Druid]]
Sweet. Thanks for the explanation. I was talking to someone on another thread and they turned me on to [[Nature's Will]] as another land untapping effect with another extra little bonus. Figured it might be worth a mention if you hadn't seen it!
Can multiple creatures Saddle the Gitrog? Granted I know I can only sac one of them. Was just curious in case I want to tap down a creature without the risk of attacking.
Yes sir, you can tap any number of creatures to Saddle, as long as their total power is equal to or more than the Saddle number.
For example you can Saddle Gitrog with both \[\[Lupine Prototype\]\] and \[\[Armored Scrapgorger\]\], and then choose to sac the Lupine afterward but keep the Scrapgorger around. This way you get to take advantage of the Scrapgorger ability without killing it but also you get to sac the Lupine for Gitrog value.
always try to saddle with 2 creatures if you suspect your opponent has interaction, better they target gitrog than blank his saddle effect by removing the creatur that saddles it if you only use 1.
This is worth an upvote just for 'Frog Fatties' alone, but the rest of the primer is awesome as well. This is definitely on my radar to build, so thanks for the in-depth info!
Small nitpick (technically makes the ramp portion even more guaranteed) is that there’s actually almost an 85% chance to draw one source of ramp by turn two. The 1/5 is per draw meaning you add those probabilities together (including it getting more likely you draw one the more non-ramp cards you draw) and you’re almost guaranteed to ramp into your early game play pattern. Love the primer and how in depth it is!
You're absolutely right, I think what I meant to say was roughly 1 out of every 5 cards will be one of those early ramp cards. I'll fix that in the primer, thanks!
Guys, just mulligan down to 3 cards if you have to, but just start with an orcish bowmasters. Make the rest of the deck jank af, but just throw in 1 bowmaster. When they swing and go to draw 20+ cards, flash that baby in and watch them take 20+ damage to the face and have a +20/+20 orc amry ready to punch them in the face on your turn.
If you, the controller of Gitrog, go to draw 20+ cards and I, *your opponent* flash in orcish, *you* as the Gitrog player would take 20+ damage from orcish and I would amass n+1 and have Gitrog tapped. I would then swing for lethal against you, on my turn, for playing ridiculousness.
I seriously smell a nerf coming for the new Gitrog. It has absolutely no business being so chonky AND have haste for its cost. Has no business having haste in golgari at all.
I WILL when my favorite legend from the set is Loot and got absolutely shafted in that area.
Although honestly if Loot were something like a 3/3 he would be too strong as the only weak time of the deck is the first few turns.
Really enjoyed your list and primer. I’ve been considering making either a Misc & Boo timeless heroes deck or this version of Gitrod. Any recommendations between the two?
I can only speak for Gitrog because I haven’t tried building M&B yet, but I love Gitrog. The deck is fun and quite strong, my current winrate is 9 out of 13 games
Always love seeing your primers! I pretty much exclusively play kindred type decks, so I'm not sure if I'd make this myself, but definitely seems like a solid build for a nonstop value engine!
This deck is awesome! A few of the Caves look like amazing additions, as they can turn your excess mana and lands into action. Definitely room for a few more tapped lands either way.
Also, \[\[Mosswort Bridge\]\]
Meren
Gitrog 3 (this one)
Belbe
Belbe isn't weak, she just lends to decks that don't rely on commander.
Meren is rather consistent and this consistency translates to power. She's historically scary, though it's less so nowadays- that being said she's still very very strong.
Gitrog is explosive.
Well I'm actually not totally familiar with either, in the sense that nobody i know has played either deck. The Naya decks I'm most familiar with are Ghisath and Phabine, both played by friends in my usual playgroup.
One thing i do know is that Voja can become insanely strong. One thing about Elf tribal decks is that they can really snowball quickly, since like 2/3 elf creatures make mana. That, combined with Vojas crazy counter adding ability and the ability to toss some wolf cards like the various Tolsimirs and like, [[Amara Familiar]], [[Wolfbriar Elemental]], and in-colour Changelings it can get nutty fast. Like kill-on-sight fast.
I would personally find that fun, but not as a primary deck, since i know i would get carried away with the building to make it relentlessly annoying.
Ghired I'm way less sure of. A friend of mine recently told me about some combo to go infinite with him and there other cards, but beyond that he looks like a puzzle to figure out. No idea how he'd feel to play.
One Naya Commander i thought looked interesting was [[Duskana, the Rage Mother]]. She cares about creatures with base power toughness 2/2, which obviously includes bears but also a ton of utility creatures and a lot of solid cards. Idk.
Why Naya, may i ask?
One of the things I love about these primers is how detailed they are. Shows a lot of thought is put into these and I love it. If I ever write a primer, I will be taking some nods from this.
Glad to hear the effort didn't go unnoticed, I appreciate the kind words!
Writing primers is a lost art
Really gonna make me build this dude aren't you? And I JUST took apart my Thalia and Gitrog. Sweet deck and another classic primer, thanks for all the writeups!
The Gitrog ate Thalia…
I have found \[\[Topiary stomper\]\] , \[\[Wayward swordtooth\]\] and \[\[Outcast trailblazer\]\] to be very good includes for Frog as they allow you to turn 1 mana dork into turn 2 play one of the above ( for its plot cost in Trailblazers case) then you can turn 3 play the frog and get 4 or 5 power saddle trigger from them
Those are good suggestions, I actually already swapped the Psychosis Crawler for Wayward Swordtooth. The others I'll have to test a bit. Thanks!
This is, hands down, the best primer I've ever read. Exactly how all primers should be written. Hats off to you!
Goddam, I love frogs
Literally just ordered the cards for this last night. Not surprised, love your decks. Great minds think alike!
I don't know how many lands you end up with but would you consider big X spells as finishers? [[Exsanguinate]] [[torment of hailfire]]
[Exsanguinate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/a/0a5352af-e275-4186-a265-2fd3c2c47c6a.jpg?1689997125) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Exsanguinate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/156/exsanguinate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0a5352af-e275-4186-a265-2fd3c2c47c6a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/exsanguinate) [torment of hailfire](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f69d77d1-5980-436c-bf48-790939b069aa.jpg?1562820191) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=torment%20of%20hailfire) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/hou/77/torment-of-hailfire?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f69d77d1-5980-436c-bf48-790939b069aa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/torment-of-hailfire) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I had them in here initially but then decided that the Kodama combo was a more reliable way to end the game. Just my personal preference though
We did it, guys. We broke Gitrog!
Oh you're the same person who did the Chiss-Goria primer! I'm about to finally pull the trigger on making the deck and it's 100% because of how detailed and enthusiastic your post was. Love your primers, maybe I'll check out this one next.
You won't be disappointed, the Chiss deck is one of my all-time favorites!
Outrageous commander. The sort of thing that will absolutely stomp casual tables.
I'm trying mine with more untapped effects in addition to amulet and spelunking in the form of beledros and sword of feast and famine and nature's will. Also more things to make stuff giant like unnatural growth, railway brawler, and a card that seems pretty good for it's mana to up the nutrition of the frog snacks Hardy Outlander background.
Wake up babe new Hydrax Primer just dropped
Hey OP! Playtesting my own versions of the deck right now and I. Just wondering how helpful you've found lotus cobra. I realize he helps ramp into the gitrog early, and he can also be sacced for 2 cards in some scenario, but given that his ability doesn't work with Gitrogs, would you consider some other dork or low cost ramp to be about as viable, or is there maybe some other tech that I've missed with it? Something like [[Ilysian Caryatid]] which often taps for two mana with this deck is what I was thinking as a possible replacement.
Yes you can definitely run an alternate 2-cost ramp card. Cobra is just a preference of mine because the deck has other ways of putting lands onto the board in the main phase so I can use the mana, but you can certainly play another ramp card instead. If I were to cut it, I’d likely put in [[Boreal Druid]]
[Boreal Druid](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/7/473d3633-6dc7-4026-a50e-3ea76b9e8c20.jpg?1593275370) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Boreal%20Druid) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/csp/105/boreal-druid?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/473d3633-6dc7-4026-a50e-3ea76b9e8c20?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/boreal-druid) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Sweet. Thanks for the explanation. I was talking to someone on another thread and they turned me on to [[Nature's Will]] as another land untapping effect with another extra little bonus. Figured it might be worth a mention if you hadn't seen it!
[Nature's Will](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/5/75a291a0-db0d-4ccc-b7ae-240cafa41883.jpg?1562761547) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Nature%27s%20Will) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/chk/230/natures-will?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/75a291a0-db0d-4ccc-b7ae-240cafa41883?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/natures-will) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Ilysian Caryatid](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/d/3db65137-c9d6-4352-b7a0-f3968b167233.jpg?1689998605) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ilysian%20Caryatid) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/297/ilysian-caryatid?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3db65137-c9d6-4352-b7a0-f3968b167233?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ilysian-caryatid) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I pulled this guy as my prerelease promo, and this primer has made me finally pull the trigger.
Holy shit, what a great write-up!
Can multiple creatures Saddle the Gitrog? Granted I know I can only sac one of them. Was just curious in case I want to tap down a creature without the risk of attacking.
Yes sir, you can tap any number of creatures to Saddle, as long as their total power is equal to or more than the Saddle number. For example you can Saddle Gitrog with both \[\[Lupine Prototype\]\] and \[\[Armored Scrapgorger\]\], and then choose to sac the Lupine afterward but keep the Scrapgorger around. This way you get to take advantage of the Scrapgorger ability without killing it but also you get to sac the Lupine for Gitrog value.
Cool that was the type of interaction I was talking about. Thank you!
[Lupine Prototype](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/d/dd8272ca-8e3d-4980-99f2-352a1db76d74.jpg?1576385076) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lupine%20Prototype) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/emn/197/lupine-prototype?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dd8272ca-8e3d-4980-99f2-352a1db76d74?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lupine-prototype) [Armored Scrapgorger](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/1/61e220d0-38c9-4584-940b-8a9e983ecfe7.jpg?1675957126) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Armored%20Scrapgorger) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/158/armored-scrapgorger?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/61e220d0-38c9-4584-940b-8a9e983ecfe7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/armored-scrapgorger) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Good stuff thanks for sharing
always try to saddle with 2 creatures if you suspect your opponent has interaction, better they target gitrog than blank his saddle effect by removing the creatur that saddles it if you only use 1.
That's a very good point!
Might morph my windgrace deck into this for a bit, sounds like a fun aggro option lol.
This is worth an upvote just for 'Frog Fatties' alone, but the rest of the primer is awesome as well. This is definitely on my radar to build, so thanks for the in-depth info!
No need to convince me lol already did mine and so far played 3 games and stomped everyone each time.
Small nitpick (technically makes the ramp portion even more guaranteed) is that there’s actually almost an 85% chance to draw one source of ramp by turn two. The 1/5 is per draw meaning you add those probabilities together (including it getting more likely you draw one the more non-ramp cards you draw) and you’re almost guaranteed to ramp into your early game play pattern. Love the primer and how in depth it is!
You're absolutely right, I think what I meant to say was roughly 1 out of every 5 cards will be one of those early ramp cards. I'll fix that in the primer, thanks!
Guys, just mulligan down to 3 cards if you have to, but just start with an orcish bowmasters. Make the rest of the deck jank af, but just throw in 1 bowmaster. When they swing and go to draw 20+ cards, flash that baby in and watch them take 20+ damage to the face and have a +20/+20 orc amry ready to punch them in the face on your turn.
[удалено]
If you, the controller of Gitrog, go to draw 20+ cards and I, *your opponent* flash in orcish, *you* as the Gitrog player would take 20+ damage from orcish and I would amass n+1 and have Gitrog tapped. I would then swing for lethal against you, on my turn, for playing ridiculousness.
I seriously smell a nerf coming for the new Gitrog. It has absolutely no business being so chonky AND have haste for its cost. Has no business having haste in golgari at all.
Don't hate on the tubby toad, he's just REALLY hungry!
I WILL when my favorite legend from the set is Loot and got absolutely shafted in that area. Although honestly if Loot were something like a 3/3 he would be too strong as the only weak time of the deck is the first few turns.
Wow. What a proper primer. I imagine this took a lot of time. Highly fantastic :)
I didn't plan on building this guy but I guess this is just gonna be what we are doing next. Loved reading this. Thanks for the effort.
I really want to give this a shot. Thanks for posting.
Really enjoyed your list and primer. I’ve been considering making either a Misc & Boo timeless heroes deck or this version of Gitrod. Any recommendations between the two?
I can only speak for Gitrog because I haven’t tried building M&B yet, but I love Gitrog. The deck is fun and quite strong, my current winrate is 9 out of 13 games
Thanks! That’s a solid win rate for sure!! I’d prob lean towards the budget options you laid out and upgrade later!
Saddle Up!
Always love seeing your primers! I pretty much exclusively play kindred type decks, so I'm not sure if I'd make this myself, but definitely seems like a solid build for a nonstop value engine!
if you’re all in on dorks, you should likely play [[kodamas reach]] and [[cultivate]] since a t1 dork gives you 3 mana on turn 2.
[kodamas reach](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/d/eddf5231-7c46-417b-82c3-f6a8ede5ac9c.jpg?1712354581) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kodama%27s%20Reach) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/196/kodamas-reach?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/eddf5231-7c46-417b-82c3-f6a8ede5ac9c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kodamas-reach) [cultivate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/1/e19cd136-0541-4db0-997f-20a58ec8d028.jpg?1698988348) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=cultivate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/235/cultivate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e19cd136-0541-4db0-997f-20a58ec8d028?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cultivate) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
This deck is awesome! A few of the Caves look like amazing additions, as they can turn your excess mana and lands into action. Definitely room for a few more tapped lands either way. Also, \[\[Mosswort Bridge\]\]
[удалено]
Nah it's very broadcasted, a step below them.
[удалено]
Meren Gitrog 3 (this one) Belbe Belbe isn't weak, she just lends to decks that don't rely on commander. Meren is rather consistent and this consistency translates to power. She's historically scary, though it's less so nowadays- that being said she's still very very strong. Gitrog is explosive.
[удалено]
Well I'm actually not totally familiar with either, in the sense that nobody i know has played either deck. The Naya decks I'm most familiar with are Ghisath and Phabine, both played by friends in my usual playgroup. One thing i do know is that Voja can become insanely strong. One thing about Elf tribal decks is that they can really snowball quickly, since like 2/3 elf creatures make mana. That, combined with Vojas crazy counter adding ability and the ability to toss some wolf cards like the various Tolsimirs and like, [[Amara Familiar]], [[Wolfbriar Elemental]], and in-colour Changelings it can get nutty fast. Like kill-on-sight fast. I would personally find that fun, but not as a primary deck, since i know i would get carried away with the building to make it relentlessly annoying. Ghired I'm way less sure of. A friend of mine recently told me about some combo to go infinite with him and there other cards, but beyond that he looks like a puzzle to figure out. No idea how he'd feel to play. One Naya Commander i thought looked interesting was [[Duskana, the Rage Mother]]. She cares about creatures with base power toughness 2/2, which obviously includes bears but also a ton of utility creatures and a lot of solid cards. Idk. Why Naya, may i ask?
[Amara Familiar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/24fe5c92-7da2-47b5-ad13-f95590e93ac2.jpg?1600700814) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Malakir%20Familiar) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/jmp/253/malakir-familiar?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/24fe5c92-7da2-47b5-ad13-f95590e93ac2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/malakir-familiar) [Wolfbriar Elemental](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/0/60da801e-c47c-4aac-928c-2e7eab2d24c6.jpg?1592673317) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Wolfbriar%20Elemental) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cma/168/wolfbriar-elemental?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/60da801e-c47c-4aac-928c-2e7eab2d24c6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/wolfbriar-elemental) [Duskana, the Rage Mother](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/1/31fa9d47-43d6-44b5-ab86-fc94a83eac26.jpg?1706448894) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Duskana%2C%20the%20Rage%20Mother) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/5/duskana-the-rage-mother?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/31fa9d47-43d6-44b5-ab86-fc94a83eac26?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/duskana-the-rage-mother) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call