Pointed Discussion

Gristle Grinner has some of the best artwork in recent sets. The breath that is shown does more than just show it is cold outside, it shows heat coming from the frozen dead. From the snow comes flesh and muscle unlike any other. Also with "Grinner" in his name it shows me that there is some sort of thought and cognition within his frozen, reanimated, brain. Which is intimidating. Coming from upstate New York I understand snow very well, and the cold even more.

I wish this card was more powerful on the field. His mana cost is far too much too be playable for his very mediocre ability that isn't even very synergistic with the picture. I could see "sacrifice a snow permanent, Gristle Grinner gets +2/+2 until end of turn."

Fleshbag Marauder is your friend here.

His ability could be best used as some type of tag along with Nantuko husk and Vampire Aristocrat, even then he is not that good for his cost. There are better choices out there.

@ foresthowl
Only that would be nuts, because there are snow lands.

Provided you have enough little guys to throw away, having him out and playing both Fleshbag Marauder and Barter in Blood effectively equals a board wipe for your opponent and optimally gives +12/+12 in a two player game. In multiplayer? You'll absolutely kill an opponent this way.

Also him and Mortivore are bros.

@foresthowl

I disagree with your idea that "Grinner" means he has cognitive thought. Think about it, when you have a corpse that's rotted so much its lips are gone, it's perpetually bearing its teeth. So any skeleton is technically a grinner.

withstand death if splashing green or that which was taken or shield of kaldra if you wanna keep it black and damnation. or Nevinyrral's Disk if you wanna be evil.

undead warcheif makes him cost 1 less to play i guess tha makes him a little better. Run red black zombies with deathbring thoctar and death baron for real fun with this guy!! is kathri bomber a zombie?

I wish this card was more powerful on the field. His mana cost is far too much too be playable for his very mediocre ability that isn't even very synergistic

Cards that play nicely with him:
Grave Pact
Innocent Blood
Reassembling Skeleton
Bloodthrone Vampire
There's sort of a combo forming here.

This guy wrecks face with Massacre Wurm. After the dust's cleared and your opponent has no blockers and less life, he can swing in as an almost guaranteed 7 or 9 damage. Even if he's blocked, chances are he'll win the combat against pretty much anything.

@GruesomeGoo
Arcbound Ravager did it at two mana, I'm sure that at 5 mana it would be relatively safe.

Still, I like this guy as is, since he plays double duty with Nantuko Husk

The only thing holding Gristle Grinner back is its converted mana cost, but this just indicates a late game win. From the same block, I added Fallen Ideal and Enduring Renewal to a deck of slivers (try Basal Sliver, Mindlash Sliver for cheap cost, and Necrotic Sliver). Grave Pact wipes your opponent's board. Add Bitter Ordeal for an alternate win condition. I gave this card 4 stars. Wizards was smart to limit this card due to its globally-triggered ability.

To illustrate with Grave Pact and Fallen Ideal: enchant Gristle Grinner, sacrifice one creature to Fallen Ideal: your zombie gets +6/+5, for one creature sacrifice (its ability triggers for your creature, your opponent's creature, and the +2/+1 bonus for the enchantment). A 9/8 flying zombie sounds great for a single sacrifice, no?

Interesting card, great art