Ceratophrys Ornata: The Gitrog Monster

Commander / EDH Budget Combo Discard Dredge

Flagellum

Land (39)

• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crystal Vein
• 1x Dakmor Salvage
• 1x Drownyard Temple
• 1x Esper Panorama
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 9x Forest
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Glacial Chasm
• 1x Grixis Panorama
• 1x Naya Panorama
• 1x Polluted Mire
• 1x Slippery Karst
• 1x Sunscorched Desert
• 8x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Tranquil Thicket
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Burgeoning
• 1x City of Solitude
• 1x Faith of the Devoted
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Oblivion Crown
• 1x Squandered Resources
• 1x Wild Growth

Creature (21)

• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Deathcap Cultivator
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Elvish Spirit Guide
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Golgari Grave-Troll
• 1x Golgari Thug
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Lotus Cobra
• 1x Noose Constrictor
• 1x Putrid Imp
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Riftsweeper
• 1x Skirge Familiar
• 1x Stinkweed Imp
• 1x Sylvan Safekeeper
• 1x Trespasser il-Vec
• 1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
• 1x Wild Mongrel

Instant (12)

• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Culling the Weak
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Darkblast
• 1x Geth's Verdict
• 1x Harrow
• 1x Natural State
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Putrefy
• 1x Realms Uncharted

Commander (1)

Sorcery (15)

• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Gaea's Blessing
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Life from the Loam
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Praetor's Grasp
• 1x Raven's Crime
• 1x Regrowth
• 1x Splendid Reclamation
• 1x Sylvan Scrying

Artifact (5)

• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mesmeric Orb
• 1x Sol Ring

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Maybeboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya

Land (1)

• 1x Lake of the Dead

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Introduction

Ever since I was a child I was obsessed with catching frogs. As an adult I still enjoy catching frogs but now it's as a biologist. When The Gitrog Monster was spoiled I knew I wanted to make a deck and it was in a color combination that I really like. However, the pricier cards like Crucible of Worlds or Bazaar of Baghdad were just simply out of the question (see the notable omissions section below) so I didn't bother much to my dissatisfaction. I came to the conclusion that the inclusion of such cards adds to the deck's overall power level but they are not a necessity. Mr. Froggy only needs Skirge Familiar, Exsanguinate, Dakmor Salvage/dredge, an eldrazi titan, and a discard outlet; simple enough in . So with that in mind I looked at various decks and I pieced together a deck of my own. It's a "budget" deck in the sense that it's missing the more expensive cards but it's not what I would typically call budget in the true sense of the term i.e. < $100.

Strategy

To understand the deck, it helps to look at our commander. Looking at Mr. Froggy can tell us several things: first off, he's a 6/6 Deathtouch creature for . That alone is value and makes for one hell of an attacker and can be an effective deterrent to would-be attackers. His first ability may seem like a downside, but how it interacts with his other abilities and the deck turns it into CA. His next ability: being able to play 2 lands a turn helps to negate the land lost to Mr. Froggy and allows us to still stay on track with our land drops. His last ability is a card draw engine. It's important to note that his ability says from ANYWHERE meaning from the battlefield or from our library. This ability is key to enabling our combos below.

Combos

Primary Dakmor Salvage Combo

The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage + Gaea's Blessing/Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre + discard outlet:

Allows us to draw through our entire deck and reshuffle our library to repeat the process.

Alternative Combo Loop

The Gitrog Monster + Basalt Monolith + Mesmeric Orb + Reshuffle effect:

This allows us to dig through our deck as well.

The Above Loops Enable The Following:

Infinite Draw Triggers

We simply discard Dakmor and Dredge in response to Kermit's draw trigger allowing us to rack up infinite draw triggers. This is how we can assemble our wincons.

Infinite Mana

With the Dakmor loop going, we can cast rituals over and over again which gives us infinite mana. Or we can utilize Skirge Familiar and discard our deck over and over again.

Defeating Opponents

So we can generate infinite draw triggers and infinite mana, what do we do with it? We can either repeatedly use the following:

Praetor's Grasp: exiles opponent's libraries.

Geth's Verdict: damages opponents 1 at a time.

Crop Rotation + Sunscorched Desert + Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre + discard outlet: requires Sunscorched Desert to be in play and Ulamog in hand. Sac the land to pay the alternative cost of Crop Rotation. With Crop Rotation still on the stack discard Ulamog in response shuffling your grave yard (and Sunscorched Desert) back into your library. Let Crop Rotation resolve fetching Sunscorched Desert and put it into play. Repeat.

Exsanguinate: no need to repeatably use this, just generate infinite mana and hose everyone.

Faith of the Devoted + Dakmor Loop + Infinite mana: also pings opponent's to death.

Other Combos

Infinite Draw (on stack) + Infinite Mana + Riftsweeper + Culling the Weak + Necromancy + Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre:

Allows us to fetch cards in exile should an opponent banish a card. Discard Riftsweeper and reanimate it with Necromancy pulling a combo piece from exile. Sac the Riftsweeper to Culling the Weak and discard Ulamog. Note: if playing with Elvish Spirit Guide you can generate infinite mana this way.

Other Tidbits Of Note

There are many interactions in this deck and hidden gems. For instance if we have several lands in hand and the Dakmor loop enabled we can effectively nullify instant speed removal aimed at our commander or even graveyard hate.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 0 Mythic Rares 18 - 0 Rares 29 - 0 Uncommons 33 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.23