Thoughts on Gruul and the Importance of Achievement
After slogging through 75+ matches in Platinum over six days last week, I decided to start my Diamond run in Standard with something a bit more reliable than my Jeskai Yorion build: Gruul Adventures.
Trust me, I’m all about embracing the struggle, but I’m also a fan of playing smart and efficiently. By the way, playing the best deck comes with its own struggles and challenges - like navigating mirror matches and facing an increasing number of decks specifically designed to beat yours (e.g., Esper Doom).
My plan was to run Gruul for at least a few matches and see how I did with it. Though after starting with four straight 2-0 victories on the 8th, I decided to stick with it for a bit longer - all the way to Mythic. I got there on the 10th with a 16-7 record, winning several matches against the mirror and Esper Doom variants. Here’s the list that got me there:
My Take On Gruul
While Gruul Adventures is truly an Embercleave deck, The Great Henge is instrumental to winning mirror matches. As a general rule of thumb, your sequencing in the mirror should prioritize resolving a Great Henge ASAP, even if that means taking some Brushfire Elemental beats along the way. You also need to keep your opponent off of their Henge, which may not always be possible once a Lovestruck Beast is on the other side of the battlefield, or if the opponent is off to a fast start.
I noticed a number of Gruul lists running three Henges, but I’m leery about reducing the number of slots that should be dedicated to creatures. Again, Gruul is an Embercleave deck at its core, so if you do decide to run three Henge, perhaps look to cut a non-creature spell to make room for it. As good as Henge is, I don’t know that adding a third is going to help the Esper Matchup. The win against Esper looks like putting as many creatures on the battlefield as fast as possible. You will not win against Esper by trying to draw a bunch of cards and playing a long game.
The Rogues matchup is all about loading up on Ox of Agonas and Phoenix of Ash, going wide and trying to win without Embercleave. Aside from the occasional post-board Extinction Event, they’re relying on spot removal and Thieves’ Guild Enforcer to deal with our creatures. It doesn’t take much to overwhelm them, and their creatures rarely trade off profitably for them in combat. Post-board, this is a good matchup.
Rakdos is tricky. The deck is built to play brutally long games, but it can win quickly once Kroxa sticks. Again, we’re bringing in escape creatures and Klothys, if running him. Vivien is also an all-star here, and remember to give your Elk tokens reach in case Rankle makes his way to the red zone. Try not to play your Scavenging Ooze until after your opponent has Kroxa in the yard. Doing otherwise can easily cost you a game, if not the entire match.
Gruul is a fairly straightforward deck to pilot, but those who are most successful with the it are those who know the intricacies of the mirror inside and out. Outside of the mirror you generally always play the role of beatdown, so your decisions will typically come down to answering the question of “what’s the fastest way I can win?” In the mirror it’s more a case of, “what can I do to achieve a sustainable lead?”
I still have yet to master the archetype, but those are my most notable observations and pointers so far when it comes to Gruul. Give the deck a go if you haven’t already and enjoy a positive win rate against everything in Standard.
One Achievement Leads to Another
After reaching Mythic on Tuesday night I decided to go for my second run of the week. Hang with me here, because this is super relevant to succeeding in the game.
A little background: I’ve been a weight lifter for more than 15 years, and I’ve never been much of a runner. C-19 changed that, and since March I’ve been running 2-3 times a week and doing bodyweight workouts 2-3 times a week.
As new runners do, I gradually built up my speed and stamina over time, and as long as I complete a 5K (3.1 miles) every time I run, I’m typically happy. Lately I’ve started increasing my pace and my distance though, and I’ve been logging some 4+ mile runs here and there, which has felt great. But Tuesday night marked a new personal record, as I completed my first 5+ mile run.
I’d be lying if I said that reaching Mythic had nothing to do with it - I was probably a bit too excited for doing something I’ve done about 20 times already. That said, struggling through Platinum and really not having much success in ZNR Standard over the past few weeks made it a little bit sweeter to make it back to the top of the ladder. It added some juice to my legs and my mind, and reaching a record distance in running served as a great reminder that one achievement leads to another when you refuse to let up on personal growth.
Magic is a game - and it won’t always provide many opportunities for achievements that matter to you. Additionally, many times the achievements you’re seeking out in this game can be extremely difficult to attain. Especially with C-19 restrictions still in place, it’s more important now than ever before that you seek out achievement opportunities in as many areas of your life as possible.
Motivation ebbs and flows, but you do have control over it. And when your motivation to play Magic wanes or when you fall short of that goal, you need something in life to provide a sense of accomplishment and keep your motivation fueled. Whether that’s physical fitness, philanthropy, doing projects around the house or simply crushing it at work/school, make sure that you have a variety of goals to pursue in life and different ways to grow so that no day goes by without a win. Eventually winning becomes a habit - and that’s an edge that no opponent wants to be paired against.
Don’t wait to start your winning streak.
