He is obv. as nice reanimation target, but is he needed? I am currently thinking to replace him with Kokusho, a card that is also ok in cheating into play and can be hardcast more easily. But than again Griselbrand is just so cool. So what do you think about him?
We play him. We love him. He gets reanimated. I've played him as a finisher in a U/B control deck that had 1 reanimation spell and 1 discard outlet, and I just cast him several times. We've also pushed ramp a lot here, so he sees play in G/B and Jund decks. I had him in an amazing Jund Sneak Attack deck a while back where I snuck him, drew 14, and then snuck 2 titans and something else.
I've never gotten him with Birthing Pod, and I think that's super unlikely, but I think Sneak Attack is very worthy of discussion. He may be the best sneak attack target out there, I mean, you deal 7 damage and draw 7 cards, maybe draw more if you want. Can you think of anything else you'd rather Sneak?
I think he's not for everyone, but he is really good. Next time you see him in a draft, take him and try to build a deck that casts him. It's not as hard as you think and the payoff is worth it.
I dislike having cards in the cube that are not intended to be cast.
Soooo, you like having Griselbrand in cube then, because he is not such a card?
Seriously, I don't see why he should be considered to be uncastable. UB control and esper control (with a heavy emphasis on the black part) aim to get into the late game with lots of mana, making Griselbrand a great finisher for those decks. Everyone is also running some green ramp effects and while GB ramp doesn't seem to be that popular an archetype, Griselbrand can be cast in that deck, too.
A complete house, worse than elesh norn but still much more powerful than just about anything else.
Biggest issue is that players keep losing themselves games by being tempted by his activated ability, one of my players has lost several games by using reanimate and immediately drawing seven without considering the board state or what sort of deck his opponent is playing. Dealing 15 to yourself is pretty bad against mono red.
So is anyone still playing this guy? Right now my cube is using Sheoldred, Whispering One as our top-end black reanimator fatty (although she is often hard-cast as well), but I'm tempted to add one more.
I love this guy. My group likes aspirational cards. Yes it has been reanimate, crypt ghast, gilded lotus, elvish piper etc. But there are times when it can be cast for 8. He is a badass but not oppressive. He's been countered, bounced, and patched when cheated out early, but the turn 2 control magic was the funniest comeback.
We had him in the cube and he was great. I hardcast him, I reanimated him, I won lots and lots of games with him.
Ultimately, my playgroup got tired of the reanimator player 4-0ing the tournament, and after repeated attempts to add maindeckable graveyard hate failed, we finally brought down the power level of the reanimator deck by removing him from the cube.
If you don't have the same problems we did, he's great.
I once won a game where my opponent reanimated grisel twice...
First time (turn 2) i had balance - the best answer.
Second time Oblivion Ring.
It proceeded to a grindy game where i ended by milling him out with deep analysus because he had drawn 14 extra cards.
Good ol' Griselbrand is also one of the best Bribery targets in the cube. Few things result in more joy then seeing him in your helpless opponent's library.
I cut him recently to support aggro for black. My playgroup has hardcasted him a couple of times, but as wtwlf mentioned he is mainly a reanimation target, which i do not really want.
Honestly I hadn't even considered him for cube...I just kind of glossed right over him without thinking about it. I might be willing to give him a shot if only for a little while. Seems difficult to cast, but possible in the right deck and reanimation is always looking for the best thing it can get. Reanimating a titan t3 isn't that exciting when you could cast it t4 off of ramp. (Of course there are cases where you reanimate t1, but those are rare and generally I see t2/mostly 3 reanimations in our cube).
Have a helicopter drop you off out front. Light your cigar with a small Indonesian boy holding a black lotus. Then bust out a craw wurm deck with no sleeves. Raw dog shuffle, loose terribly, flip the table, leave in a hovercraft.
Griz has been solid for us at 450. He doesn't get hardcast all that often, but he shows up plenty just the same. Lately he was thrown down with Show and Tell. Ouch! Mono black is actually a fringe possibility in my cube, with some high B casting cost spells, so if that's what you're in, he's good there too.
I was so happy when Griselbrand was spoiled. I have long supported reanimator and cheat strategies in my cube and it seemed such a shame that Black, the colour of reanimator, did not have a super-fatty worthy of the name.
I think inclusion of Griselbrand boils down to whether you support the cheating fatties decks. If you do he is probably in the top three of flexible superfatties, otherwise the few times he is hardcast are not worth the space in your cube.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
I was so happy when Griselbrand was spoiled. I have long supported reanimator and cheat strategies in my cube and it seemed such a shame that Black, the colour of reanimator, did not have a super-fatty worthy of the name.
I think inclusion of Griselbrand boils down to whether you support the cheating fatties decks. If you do he is probably in the top three of flexible superfatties, otherwise the few times he is hardcast are not worth the space in your cube.
I've decided to give him another spin in the cube. I want another fatty for reanimator that doesn't get stolen by Tinker and Natural Order decks with regularity, and this guy is so fun with Sneak Attack and the like that I want to give him some more time.
Might give G-Brand a look-in myself. Our control decks do get to eight mana and he's a sick (but fair) reanimator target. I feel black could use a second 6+ mana creature after Grave Titan. The 4 (!) black mana is a concern though.
Very rarely do I include a card for fun over power/versatility. I get the feeling that Massacre Wurm or Drana would be the "correct" call, but screw that. Grisel**** is already the stuff of legend in cube. It is juuust within castable range, and is fun as hell to reanimate/steal/kill.
He is obv. as nice reanimation target, but is he needed? I am currently thinking to replace him with Kokusho, a card that is also ok in cheating into play and can be hardcast more easily. But than again Griselbrand is just so cool. So what do you think about him?
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I've never gotten him with Birthing Pod, and I think that's super unlikely, but I think Sneak Attack is very worthy of discussion. He may be the best sneak attack target out there, I mean, you deal 7 damage and draw 7 cards, maybe draw more if you want. Can you think of anything else you'd rather Sneak?
I think he's not for everyone, but he is really good. Next time you see him in a draft, take him and try to build a deck that casts him. It's not as hard as you think and the payoff is worth it.
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So yeah, we love him and ain't cutting him anytime soon.
Soooo, you like having Griselbrand in cube then, because he is not such a card?
Seriously, I don't see why he should be considered to be uncastable. UB control and esper control (with a heavy emphasis on the black part) aim to get into the late game with lots of mana, making Griselbrand a great finisher for those decks. Everyone is also running some green ramp effects and while GB ramp doesn't seem to be that popular an archetype, Griselbrand can be cast in that deck, too.
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Biggest issue is that players keep losing themselves games by being tempted by his activated ability, one of my players has lost several games by using reanimate and immediately drawing seven without considering the board state or what sort of deck his opponent is playing. Dealing 15 to yourself is pretty bad against mono red.
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Ultimately, my playgroup got tired of the reanimator player 4-0ing the tournament, and after repeated attempts to add maindeckable graveyard hate failed, we finally brought down the power level of the reanimator deck by removing him from the cube.
If you don't have the same problems we did, he's great.
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First time (turn 2) i had balance - the best answer.
Second time Oblivion Ring.
It proceeded to a grindy game where i ended by milling him out with deep analysus because he had drawn 14 extra cards.
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I think inclusion of Griselbrand boils down to whether you support the cheating fatties decks. If you do he is probably in the top three of flexible superfatties, otherwise the few times he is hardcast are not worth the space in your cube.
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"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
I've decided to give him another spin in the cube. I want another fatty for reanimator that doesn't get stolen by Tinker and Natural Order decks with regularity, and this guy is so fun with Sneak Attack and the like that I want to give him some more time.
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