“I didn’t want to make a fuss, but now that you mention it…”
Art:Anzrag, the Quake-Mole
by Helge C. Balzer
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Anzrag is a commander I wanted to feature during MKM week but never got the chance too, I am very excited to showcase this deck today. While this deck is pretty straightforward and is nothing more than a Gruul stompy deck with extra combats, I found it to be fun and interactive, and while decently powerful and certainly requiring the right table with appropriate power levels, it’s still an absolute blast to play. If you are a fan of a ton of combats or just Gruul in general, I think you will like this one. Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Anzrag, the Quake-Mole Extra Combats!
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Where does this deck fall on the power scale?
I would say this deck falls comfortably around a power-level seven; while we do have infinite combos in the deck, they all focus on Aggravated Assault
, and that can easily be taken out by removal. We are pretty oppressive against creature strategies, especially more aggressive ones, but pair decently well against midrange strategies. This is a deck I would only bring out at a table of appropriate power-level and not something I would likely bring to an FNM as we draw hands that can be quite oppressive.
Why Anzrag, The Quake Mole?
Anzrag is a huge part of our deck and one of the biggest enablers for our deck; because of this, they are absolutely a removal magnet for our opponents and often get targeted, while we don’t have many ways to stop this besides giving Anzrag indestructible we are decently heavy on-ramp so we can re-cast them with ease. We also have a ton of support cards that allow us to force our opponents to block an indestructible Anzrag and keep those extra combats rolling. I typically don’t cast Anzrag until we are ready to go off and swing hard.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck! The infinite combos and loops in the deck are listed below in the “Main Win Conditions” Section.
Creatures:
To start off, we have some strong early game ramp creatures like Elvish Mystic
, Llanowar Elves
and Birds of Paradise
which are all great cheap ways to get ahead. Archetype of Aggression
is one of my favorites in the deck since it allows us to deal a ton of damage and stops our opponents who are trying to do combat shenanigans like we are. Anara, Wolvid Familiar
is arguably one of the most important creatures in our deck giving Anzrag indestructible throughout our turn is a great way to guarantee us some extra combats. Even if we don’t have Anzrag we can still get some extra combats through cards like Combat Celebrant
, Karlach, Fury of Avernus
and Bloodthirster
which are all great alternatives if we don’t have Anzrag out. If we have a ton of extra combats there is not a better creature than Moraug, Fury of Akoum
which makes our damage go absolutely crazy and allows us to hit like an absolute truck. Since we have an emphasis on blocking throughout the deck we get a ton of value out of cards like General Marhault Elsdragon
which is perfect if we have a way to force our opponents to block. Once we ramp in the early-game we are always looking to cast Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
which reduces the cost of nearly evey creature in our deck.
Planeswalkers:
We only have one planeswalker, but they are quite cheap and strong; I really like Domri, Anarch of Bolas
for the deck as they provide a ton of utility for the deck. The passive buff increases our damage output and makes us generally stronger in combat, which is great, the ramp is nice as well, and not getting our creatures countered for a turn is very strong as well. Domri also gives us a pseudo form of removal through fighting, and since many of our creatures are huge, we can take out most creatures/commanders within the format.
Instants:
Hunter's Insight
is arguably one of the best cards in our deck because it allows us to draw a ton of cards, and since we typically have quite a few extra combats, we can draw an absolutely ridiculous amount of cards. You Look Upon the Tarrasque
is quite strong no matter which option we choose, but we typically choose the bottom option so we can swing freely with Anzrag and guarantee some extra combats. Since we often control our commander Obscuring Haze
is often free and preventing damage can be great if we swing out on our turn. Winds of Qal Sisma
is a strong fog effect normally but in this deck we can easily have the ferocious trigger and prevent our opponents damage and go-off with Anzrag especially if we have a way for them to force-block our commander.
Sorceries:
Our sorcery package is where many of our forced blocks happen like Compelled Duel
which is a strong cheap buff and forces our opponents to block our commander for more and more combats. We also have Irresistible Prey
which is a great cantrip for the deck and achieves arguably the most important effect in the deck. When we have a big board established I love using Last Night Together
to buff up our commander and the indestructible is a great way to get more and more combats. Now let’s get down to the nuts and bolts we have quite a few strong pieces of ramp like Cultivate
, Kodama's Reach
and Rampant Growth
which are all great ways to get ahead on mana and fill up our board as quick as possible. World at War
and Seize the Day
are two great ways to get extra combats even if our commander keeps dying or we can’t keep them out.
Artifacts:
We have quite a few strong pieces of ramp like Gruul Signet
, Talisman of Impulse
and Sol Ring
which are all great ways that we can use to get ahead within the early game. Dolmen Gate
is one of the best artifacts in our deck since we can have Anzrag get blocked but take no damage and give us a ton of extra combats. Embercleave
is a card I love putting onto our commander and since we are quite heavy on creatures this very often can cost only two red mana, this is a great combat trick for the deck and an amazing way to take an opponent by suprise.
Enchantments:
Lure
is a very important card for our deck and when combined with indestructible it can get out of hand very quickly. Shadow in the Warp
is quite cheap and heavily discounts our first creature spell while punishing our opponents for casting noncreature spells just a win-win card for the deck. Asceticism
is one of the ways we can fight back against opponetns that are heavy on removal and being able to regenerate a creature for cheap is quite nice as well, and in this deck getting up to five mana is very easy for us to do. Colossal Majesty
is a great card for the deck and provides pretty consitent card draw on nearly every turn.
Land Base:
Since we have a pretty high overall cost within the deck, we are running above average at thirty-seven lands, which allows us to commit a lot of lands to the board and ramp hard. We are pretty heavy on basics, but we have quite a few strong non-basics. We have some lands that give us speed, like Stomping Ground
and Wooded Foothills
, as well as Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
which allow us to get our colors established early. Beyond that, we have some other strong non-basics like Rogue's Passage
, which can easily allow us to one-shot an opponent in the late-game and is just a great card. I like this landbase a lot and think it works well for the deck.
Strengths of the Deck:
- We are pretty heavy on-ramp and can get our commander out as well as our higher-value permanents pretty easily.
- We have a ton of different ways to give our commander and some of our best attackers indestructible, and a few ways to give them deathtouch we are a nightmare to deal with in combat.
- We can present a ton of damage and easily one-shot an opponent across multiple combats on a turn.
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- With the exception of combat, we don’t have a ton of ways to damage or kill our opponent’s creatures.
- Our commander is a huge removal magnet and gets targeted typically the second they come out.
- We don’t have a ton of supplemental card draw throughout the deck.
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
We are a combat deck through and through, and we use cards like our commander to take on a ton of additional combos. We also have some strong extra payoff cards like Moraug, Fury of Akoum, which helps us maximize damage. We also have some cards that help us get extra combats like Combat Celebrant, Karlach, Fury of Avernus, and Bloodthirster, which are all great ways to keep on swinging. Speaking of keep on swinging, we have quite a few combos within the deck, all centered around Aggravated Assault, which allows us to go infinite. Below are all of the combos in the deck explained:
Aggravated Assault + Old Gnawbone
Requires:
Aggravated Assault must be on the battlefield. Old Gnawbone must be on the battlefield. You control creatures that can deal at least six combat damage that cannot be blocked by an opponent.
Steps:
- Attack with the creatures to deal at least six combat damage to a player, triggering Old Gnawbone’s ability, creating at least six Treasure tokens.
- Activate five Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, to add 3RR.
- Activate Aggravated Assault by paying 3RR to untap all creatures you control and to get an additional combat phase and an additional main phase after that.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite colored mana. Infinite combat phases. Infinite Treasure tokens. Infinite untap triggers.
Aggravated Assault + Bear Umbra
Requires:
Aggravated Assault must be on the battlefield. Bear Umbra must be on the battlefield. You control an additional creature. An additional creature does not have summoning sickness. Bear Umbra attached to that additional creature you control. You control lands that can tap to produce at least 3RR. An opponent is unable to block and kill creatures you control.
Steps:
- Declare enchanted creature as attacker.
- Bear Umbra triggers, untapping all lands you control.
- Proceed to your next main phase.
- Activate Aggravated Assault by paying 3RR, untapping all creatures you control and getting an additional combat and main phase after this one.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite combat phases.
Aggravated Assault + Savage Ventmaw
Requires:
Savage Ventmaw must be on the battlefield. Aggravated Assault must be on the battlefield. Savage Ventmaw does not have summoning sickness. An opponent is unable to block and kill Savage Ventmaw.
Steps:
- Declare Savage Ventmaw as an attacker, attacking an opponent unable to block and kill it.
- Savage Ventmaw triggers, adding RRRGGG.
- Move to your post-combat main phase.
- Activate Aggravated Assault by paying 3RR, untapping all creatures you control and causing you to get an additional combat and main phase after this one.
- Repeat.
Results:
Infinite combat damage. Infinite combat phases. Infinite green mana. Infinite red mana. Infinite untap of creatures you control.
Conclusion:
I hope you all enjoyed this one; while this deck is a little higher power than I typically make, I couldn’t think of another way to build this absolute beast of a commander, I find this commander very interesting, and while the way you build them is pretty straight forward, I think this deck is an absolute blast at the right table. Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!