Counting Scars--or, Commander Cribbage.

Commander / EDH

Snickers

Creature (30)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Archetype of Aggression
• 1x Archetype of Endurance
• 1x Deadly Recluse
• 1x Elvish Aberration
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Feral Animist
• 1x Gatecreeper Vine
• 1x Geist Trappers
• 1x Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip
• 1x Invasive Species
• 1x Ivy Lane Denizen
• 1x Karametra's Acolyte
• 1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1x Longshot Squad
• 1x Ogre Battledriver
• 1x Quirion Elves
• 1x Radha, Heir to Keld
• 1x Roaring Primadox
• 1x Rubblebelt Raiders
• 1x Skarrg Guildmage
• 1x Sporemound
• 1x Thorn-Thrash Viashino
• 1x Valley Rannet
• 1x Wirewood Guardian
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Yavimaya Barbarian
• 1x Zhur-Taa Ancient
• 1x Zhur-Taa Druid
• 1x Zhur-Taa Swine

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Koth of the Hammer
• 1x Xenagos, the Reveler

Land (32)

• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 10x Forest
• 1x Gruul Guildgate
• 1x Kazandu Refuge
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Khalni Garden
• 1x Kher Keep
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 10x Mountain
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Enchantment (13)

• 1x Alpha Authority
• 1x Alpha Status
• 1x Braid of Fire
• 1x Curse of Predation
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Fires of Yavimaya
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Ordeal of Nylea
• 1x Parallel Lives
• 1x Perilous Forays
• 1x Primal Cocoon
• 1x Primal Vigor
• 1x Squirrel Nest

Artifact (8)

• 1x Bow of Nylea
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Fleetfeather Sandals
• 1x Gorgon's Head
• 1x Gruul Keyrune
• 1x Illusionist's Bracers
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Soul Foundry

Instant (6)

• 1x Artifact Mutation
• 1x Defend the Hearth
• 1x Destructive Revelry
• 1x Dynacharge
• 1x Unravel the Aether
• 1x Wild Hunger

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Frenzied Tilling
• 1x Fungal Sprouting
• 1x Hunt the Weak
• 1x Hunting Wilds
• 1x Ranger's Path
• 1x Reap and Sow
• 1x Spoils of Victory
• 1x Tempt with Vengeance

Commander (1)

---

Sideboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Kobolds of Kher Keep

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Why, despite falling in love with Gruul when I started playing Magic and acquired the intensely-artworked Frenzied Tilling Gatecrash card, could I never make a RG deck I was happy with? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the playstyle--Just as Green and Black remain my most-used colors independently but Dredge isn't terribly appealing to my tastes, Red and Green together often encouraged a level of aggro which I was capable of but not quite tickled by. A few years later, here I am with the missing clue to the gameplay puzzle--a unique deck building challenge that encourages off-the-wall combos.

Please note that I am aware that a handful of the cards here aren't fantastic, I shall continue to update the deck as I acquire more powerful options. (I was able to replace Scarwood Goblins with Radha, Heir to Keld, for example, and am thinking I shall replace Yavimaya Barbarian with Burning-Tree Emissary if I can get my hands on one.) Let me know any and all thoughts!

As another side note, Kobolds of Kher Keep isn't actually in my sideboard, but I keep it with my deck to use for its own token, just as I did when I ran Prossh, Skyraider of Kher as a commander. I remain amused that the card displays the correct cmc of both itself and any and all tokens that share its name.

As for important strategies here, I have never yet had a match in which Dryad Arbor didn't join the party. Being able to bring out even one more creature towards Ulasht or Xenagos's counting abilities really does help in the long run, so the reliability of land ramp into Arbor is a key component of this deck. With that said, as a side effect of already putting in Forest-specific search, I obtained a Stomping grounds, which will also help make sure Koth of the Hammer has a target. Using Koth's plus one and then casting Ulasht is a good idea and very intentional. Similarly, if I am able to pay the kicker cost for Hunting Wilds and haven't already brought a Dryad Arbor out, I will bring out any other forests instead. The Arbor's coming out eventually, I don't need to waste the opportunity for one more green creature. Ivy Land Denizen works beautifully with Ulasht, and Nim Deathmantle's ability to re-animate empty Ulasht husks into a being fiercer than before is a combo I feel very proud of--just remember that equipping the mantle to anything other than Ulasht for very long puts you in danger of fewer counters on his re-entry (similarly, Skarrg Guildmage's purpose is almost never to animate lands as his will still be colorless).

Date added	9 years
Last updated	9 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 20 - 0 Rares 28 - 0 Uncommons 28 - 1 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.40
Tokens	Copy Clone, Elemental 1/1 R w/ Haste, Emblem Koth of the Hammer, Human 2/2 G, Kobolds of Kher Keep 0/1 R, Ogre 3/3 R, Plant 0/1 G, Saproling 1/1 G, Satyr 2/2 GR, Squirrel 1/1 G, Wolf 2/2 G