"HEY JACE!" Garruk yells, approaching his blue compatriot. "What?" Jace sneers, throwing the green planeswalker a withering look. "YOU'RE A BEAST!" Garruk says back, giving Jace a thumbs up. Jace gasps with indignation. "How dare you liken me to your uncivilized rabble!" But Garruk has already left.
"HEY CHANDRA!" Garruk shouts, flashing a big grin at the pyromancer. "Yes?" Chandra replies, raising an eyebrow. "YOU'RE A BEAST!" he responds. "Um... Thanks?" But Garruk has already left.
"HEY AJANI!" Garruk calls. "Yes, my friend?" The cat replies. "YOU'RE A BEAST!" Garruk exclaims. "Racist pig! Why, I'll have you know..." But Garruk has already left.
"HEY LILLY!" Garruk vociferates. "Yes hun?" Liliana says. "YOU'RE A BEAST!" "Oh, I know," she replies silkily, before slowly waltzing away.
DaLucaray
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
He looks sorta... derpy.
Flyheight
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
-3: Say hello to my little friend!
Totema
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Actually, Sabisent, this would probably be Liliana's reaction.
SyntheticDreamer
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
And now you can have Progenitus for free, in two different ways. The emblem is absolutely sick, though.
Arachibutyrophobia
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
finally, a true timmy planeswalker!
JaxsonBateman
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
While most walkers are pretty bomby in limited, Garruk's going to be a biggun. His +1 is straight up strong card advantage, and his -3 means you can put a big body out to protect him on the turn you play him. In casual he should also be a lot of fun, though being so combolicious many playgroups are gonna hate him.
Sheoldreds_Chosen
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
His +1 is great, rest not so much, 6cmc is too high, even for him.
Superllama12
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I really hope this sees no competitive play to keep the price down
Well, like all planeswalkers he is good. But he seems to me to be one of the weaker guys. The +1 and -3 ability are both somewhat random, and might sometimes do nothing at all. The +7 one is creat of course. But it's not as super powerful as the ultimates of certain other planeswalkers. And if you cast him by turn 6, then you can use his ultimate by turn 9, if keep using his +1 each turn and if he never takes any damage...
And the -3... Well of course it's a good ability. But he costs six mana already, so it's not as if you could cheat guys into play much earlier. Unless you have a huge amount of super expensive creatures in your deck, which is rarely a good idea.
infernox10
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
It's saying a LOT about Garruk (and his previous incarnations) when one says "This is the weakest version of Garruk yet." Do I agree with this statement? Not completely. I do see where one gets the idea from, But I must admit, even this coined "weakest" version is awfully powerful.
Gcrudaplaneswalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Has much potential to be banned in Commander.
TheWaddleDeeKing
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(3 votes)
What an awesome Planeswalker. Sure, his high cost means he won't see any real tournament play, but for all us EDH players out there this guy is just sick.
accsavious
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(8 votes)
-3: HOOF, there it is.
mdakw576
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(7 votes)
He's the worst garruk yet (although he isn't horrible like tibalt or gideon champion of justice, but he isn't particularly good).
1) 6 mana is a lot. Starting at 4 loyalty with only a +1 for positive means he's also relatively easy to kill if you can't protect him. 2) His +1 doesn't protect himself directly. It will not protect him the turn you play him, becuase you will not have any mana to cast the creatures you revealed (because you tapped out to play Garruk). It also needs a deck like Domri Rade in that your whole deck basically needs to be creatures so his +1 can get the most value, which restricts the deck building. 3) His -3 is also pretty awkward at defending himself. If you drop him, you need something else good in your hand to get it in to defend him, which could be asking for too much. The problem here is that you have access to 6 mana at this point, and his -3 basically says "You get extra mana this turn", but at 6 lands why would you need extra mana? Also, cheating in worldspine wurm is magical christmasland. What happens when you don't get your garruk and your worldspine wurm is just sitting in your hand? Dramatic entrance was never a tournament-level card for a reason, and there's no reason to assume that dramatic entrance on a PW ability is going to fare any better. Worldspine wurm also isn't even an auto-win; azorius charm and tamiyo's +1 can deal with it easily, jund has olivia to just steal it or putrefy to break it into manageable 5/5s, tragic slip in a good deck will give it -13/-13 to kill it and break it into manageable 5/5s, etc.
Garruk has some uses, mostly against control and slower midrange decks. He'll be one of your worst cards against aggro and that will prevent him from being good.
SAUS3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Gcrudaplaneswalker Why the hell would this guy be banned in commander?
1 - counterspell and he's dead. 2 - being a planeswalker, there is no way to reanimate him. 3 - there are MUCH faster threats that are much more threatening than him - especially in commander. 4 - you: 'I tap out and play garruk. -3, I drop sylvan primordial...' them: 'My turn? okay, I clone the primordial 3 times blowing up garruk and your lands you just grabbed. Cyaz!' alternatively: them: 'My turn? okay, I go infinite. Any responses?'
HotHit
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Compare his +1 to Domri Rade's. Garruk is significantly less likely to wiff than Domri.
Now, consider Domri Rade has seen pro play due to his low casting cost and ability to give huge amounts of consistency to Naya decks. Think about this, elves supported by Garruk leading the stampede every single turn and Beck.
rollinsclone
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(6 votes)
Now I know that for competitive reasons, the ultimate should not be what you judge a planeswalker by.
But LOOK AT IT.
LOOK AT IT.
IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL.
spiney
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Every standard player may have groaned when seeing him, but every EDH player jumped for sheer joy.
There's no doubt that this guy will be a legend in any creature heavy EDH deck; he sure will in my 5 colour one.
And I was quite happy to crack him in pre-release.
JCthulhuM
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I may be a little hopeful here, but I can definitely see getting him out turn 3 or 4.
Turn 1: Forest, Elvish Mystic. Turn 2: Second Forest, then Farseek, tap the first elf for a second elf. Turn 3: Lay another Forest, tap all four of them plus your elves to bring Garruk down.
You'd need to be insanely lucky to get all the drops you need for it, but it could potentially be done. I really wanna see someone do this to bring down a Worldspine Wurm turn 3.
nullsurface
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(5 votes)
Some planeswalkers exist in a vacuum: they are a complete package in and of themselves. Garruk, Caller of Beasts is not like this. I can see why a lot of people might look at him and think "where are all the 3/3 beasts?" Well, that's where Garruk needs the support of the rest of your deck. With the right mix (especially in sealed/draft), the +1 ability can draw you 2-3 creatures per turn, which you can cast with your 6+ mana or just pop into play with the -3 ability. Or if you already have a hand full of good creatures, just immediately start putting them out for free and drawing more when you run out. The guy is a card advantage machine and it's something green hasn't, historically, been all that good at.
Planeswalkers "protecting themselves" is a false hope anyway: no planeswalker can ever be perfectly protected. Knowing when to cast them so they don't immediately die is a skill, and no amount of token generation or direct damage from the walker itself will save you from having to learn it. Garruk, Caller of Beasts, if you play him right, will win you games.
Purplerooster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Apparently Garruck likes creatures.
psychichobo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
There are two kinds of MTG players in this world, and they can be determined by their reaction to Garruk.
If their reaction is 'WOOT PROGENITUS FOR 6 MANA' or 'EDH TIME LET'S GO NUTS!' then they're the kind of person who can see the potential in all cards, and recognise the different types of magic matches.
If their reaction is 'He sucks! Too expensive! Can't create tokens or cause control!' then they're the kind of people who still live in that world where there's only one type of magic game, the basic one-on-one, the only differences being the legality of the cards, and in that world money is the most important factor and any game lasting beyond turn 5 is one where you might as well scoop if you haven't won yet.
I just don't get how hard it is to recognise that Wizards doesn't cater to that second player exclusively, but people still rage.
HunterWiseman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I played him in the M14 pre-release event and I have to say I absolutely loved him. At first I figured he would be hard to play and overall not as good, however, I soon realized once I got to play him that he was the most valuable asset I had. I could quickly spawn 2-5 creatures a turn. It wasn't hard to reach his -7 ability and once the emblem was obtained the match was pretty much done. This was just in my personal use of him. I was lucky enough to play him about 6 times and he thoroughly impressed me.
chainsmoker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
the creatures are coming! would build an elf deck with him and name him the 'elf caller", u mad nissa?
ServentofTheNight
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I want this guy for my Advocate of the beast deck. I currently only use Primal Hunter but that's the one I need
Coralus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is an Elvish Piper, with Haste, that's harder to kill, and can only be activated any time you could cast a sorcery, with extra options. What is not to love? You euther play him, and play Craterhoof, or you draw cards until you get Craterhoof, and if it realllly takes that long to find it, then just use the -7... to get Craterhoof. Every ability either lets you play your win con, or search for it directly. Garruk is a great tutor for green.
Loozar402
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just because Caller may be worse than Wildspeaker and Primal Hunter doesn't necessarily make him bad. 6 CMC is a bit high, but the chance of netting up to five cards from his +1 sounds like a great deal. And in a deck properly built to support him, you'll probably be maximizing this often. -3 isn't bad either since cheating big and expensive things into play is almost always a plus. I virtually never judge Planeswalkers based on their ultimates since I always assume that they won't survive long enough to pull them off. But his -7 should just win you the game because of how many game-ending creature pairs there are: Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Con***s, Avenger of Zendikar + Sylvan Primordial/Craterhoof Behemoth, etc.
MithosFall
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Had someone turn 3 this into Worldspine Wurm.
I lost that game.
DarthParallax
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This is finally a Garruk I can like for Bad Reasons instead of Good Ones :3
Why is that Good? CUZ HE'S GREEN! THE COLOR OF TIMMY! I want Timmy cards to be 'good', but I also want them to have 'bad but fun' things to use them for. 2 previous Garruks there was no way to use them that wasn't REALLY good. They were Awesome. But this one, you can give to a Timmy and they can lose badly with him pretty easily but not care because they just love their deck. :3
You know what Garruk Wildspeaker's problem was? He was ridiculously Spike. He was ''4 cost'' but REALLY he was ''2 COST!!'' and 4 cost is also pretty cheap for a Green card that Wins Games.
Garruk Relentless/Garruk the Veil-Cursed? That guy was just so Art Housey. He was far more aesthetically pleasing than Garruk would actually be irl. Like some kind of PlayBeast Magazine Centerfold? It's just so TRY HARD and Melvin.
No, you know what's awesome about THIS GARRUK?!
HE'S A BIG FAT STUPID GIANT GARRUK WITH BIG FAT STUPID GIANT ABILITIES FOR A BIG FAT STUPID GIANT MANA COST AND LADIES AND GENTLEMAN:
IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME! GARRUK SMASH! NO APOLOGIES, NO MERCY, IT'S TIME FOR TIMMY! XD XD XD
he is ridiculously inefficient and will be bad after Standard, and he is RIDICULOUSLY powerful and will break faces something awful at kitchen tables XD Most Planeswalkers are Standard Playable just for being Planeswalkers. Fewer really break into Modern and you can count the Legacy Walkers on one hand. It's fine, PERFECTLY fine, that Garruk #4 is the Anti-Jace. Blue and Green are opposites this is Right! Wildspeaker was far too much like Beleren for my taste if you know what I mean.
JimmyNoobPlayer
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Garruk, Caller of the BEATS! I fired off his ultimate in the prerelease, and I think I had every creature in my deck on the field. It was awesome.
And now for something completely different. I saw someone online complain that Wizards uses the female planeswalkers as eyecandy, but I strongly disagree. Liliana of the Veil is the only sexy female planeswalker, and she's not too extreme. Well, Chandra shows a little leg, but not as much as Garruk here. Every planeswalker is pretty darn attractive, but most of'em dress sensibly and modestly.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like this, he is not just an auto include in any green deck like the other garruks have been kind of, you need to protect this guy and build a bit around him, but if you do, he can win you the game with sheer card advantage. Well designed planeswalker.
Digitalhawk96
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
There's quite a few green cards Garruk can throw down in standard right now. I see a creature heavy Gruul deck being very plausible with Garruk considering you will probably use Elvish Mystics and Zhur-taa Druids and also the fact you probably want him out as soon as possible to slap down something like Kalonian Hydra, or Ruric Thar, the unbowed; splashing some simic cards would be sweet, pulling off a Progenitor Mimic with the Hydra would be pretty insane, but a single hydra can pretty much end the game anyway if left unchecked.
Kontrah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Won a copy of this in my draft of M14, and drafted it for my deck too. I had put together a G/U deck with green beasts, blue fliers and blue control. This guy was an utter card advantage monster, especially in the late-game, he easily drew me into the win every time I played him.
I first-picked him over Liliana (not the hottest card pool, but so what). Was I wrong? Maybe, and it was a tough choice. But this guy is totally contructed worthy if you build your deck around him. He's not quite the auto-include of his previous iteration, but so what?! This card makes you think before playing it. Personally I have a G/U/W control deck full of ETB creatures and recurring self-bounce. This has crazy synergy with my entire deck and its mana curve. It's three years old, and to see this come along now just gives me more mechanics to play with.
Because I favour planeswalkers with sideways power, rather than self-evident boom boom power, I am excited about this. A mono green ramp-aggro deck could play this, but his abilities definitely set up combo plays too, and not just cheating green fatties into play. 4/5 minimum
sweetgab
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I guess he is the answer to the question, "What do I do with all this mana from Gyre Sage?"
raginglittepycho
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Sabisent garruk screams at bolas your a beast bolas then bolas looks at him like an ant and then kills him then takes control of the creature you put out.
What's that? I've got my Liquimetal Coating out? Okay, I'll slap that fancy-ass artifact coat on Garruk and double his counters. If it's late enough game, I can pop off his ult the turn he comes out.
I honestly think he is a pretty strong planeswalker WHY? Because getting creatures in your hand and cheating creatures on the field can pretty much make hm a huge target and potentially over whelm your opponent. He may be up high on the curve but used properly he is not very hard to cast at all. now im not sure how strong he will be in standard play but i am pretty certain that he would be great in modern or EDH.
HippieSpartan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Garruk = Bear Grylls. WHY? Because every thing you need is in the deck. Of course there is skill involved but green is the most basic color to learn yet that is why this card is so good. Oh you know that Worldspine wurm I drew a while back. Its turn six but it says hi. And that is why Garruk is powerful
0rin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Garruk has always been my favorite planeswalker (due in large part to my favorite color being green) but this version fits PERFECTLY into my G/B face masher deck. Not only does he bring the card advantage needed in mid-late game, but he also has the option to allow me to drop two bombs a turn with limited mana, or three if I've got the ramp engine chugging along full-steam.
He may not be up to the current "turn 5 win" standards, but I think he's pretty awesome! 5/5 for my first ever rating/comment :D
Master__of__Nature
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Stop. Look no further. Garruk, Caller of Beasts is without question the best 6 drop green has seen since Primeval Titan.
The +1 lead the stampede will draw more cards once you have ramped out and add possibly add more creatures to your arsenal. It's a clock that will grind your opponent down by sheer card advantage.
The impact of Garruk's -3 is not to be underestimated, as both Garruk and a large untamed beast will hit the board aka armada wurm, prime speaker, progenitor mimic, perhaps worldspine wurm if you really push it. What a lot of people seem to be missing is that you get a giant beat stick with the -3 AND a planeswalker with a plus one loyalty counter. This is not a "could have just hard casted it" situation in that regard. If the -3 was a -4 I would agree with that assertion. And the idea that planeswalkers must be able to defend themselves to be good? Let's put it this way. Planeswalkers do their share of work by protecting you form losing the game and assist you in winning the game. If that happens to be one turn and done so be it. The bottom line is the -3 is a counter proof dramatic entrance that still leaves Garruk on the field.
One last thing - Garruk's ultimate. If you get to this stage and you can't seal the deal - hang up the phone because you've dialed the wrong number.
Hunter06
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dat minus 3...
4/5 Stars
JRE47
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Favorite use so far is as Garruk, Caller of Slivers.
...I don't think he'd like that, but it works for me!
Deadling
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Holy Hell I Love This Guy In My Mana Ramp Mono Green! 4 Evlish Mystics 4 Arbor Elves 4 Evlish Archdruids 4 Predator Oozes 1 This Guy! + Assorted Big Hitters with trample. And just about anything else I want. Don't even need his ultimate! Just the first ability alone, gets me all the creatures I need. Hell, currently I run Thorn Elementals as big hitters, that can get through enemy defenses. But I think I may replace them with 4 Giant Adephages. Plus, his final ability, makes it so when I draw those worthless one drop elves late in the game, it's an easy search for something bigger! I was so happy the day I pulled this out of a booster. This card is a definite 5/5.
NekrosVite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have this guy in my Yeva EDH deck (which is focused on ramp, elves and big creatures) and he is a bomb. Out of the 100 cards in my deck, 46 are creatures, so using his +1 is usually enough to be a game changer. Plus, if I get his ultimate off after using his +1 three times it just becomes play my 1,2,3 and 4 drops get my 7,8,9,10 and 11 drops for free. Also, casting primordial hydra to search for kalonia hydra is such a good feeling.
Todris052
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I find it amazing that people hated him when they first saw him. His +1 is easily "draw four cards" in the right deck, and dropping a 'hoof with him is just amazing. the ultimate is just gravy, really, the +1 is all you need to make him awsome.
mpitcock
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Look in his background. He's summoning a Thragtusk. Now that's awesome
Ranger6
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i like it as a card, but in terms of art, every previous iteration of garruk looks better.
Basilica_Syndicate
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I keep seeing or hearing all this complaint about how expensive this guy is; people need to remember that we're talking about a GREEN Planeswalker here. I am currently playing this Garruk in a R/G deck along with Kalonian Hydra and Ruric Thar; the way I get this guy, or any of my other massive creatures, out early is by using Arbor Elf on a Forest that has been enchanted with Verdant Haven. Turn three Kalonian Hydra, Ruric Thar, or Garruk Caller of Beasts? Absolutely
@kinghydra510: I believe I read somewhere that the core sets don't always tie into the current storylines of MtG folklore. In other words, Garruk could still very well be cursed, this is just another version of him, and a pretty groovy one at that
mattrva77
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Shouldn't the rulings for this card (and several other more recent 'Walkers) explain the general emblems ruling from 1/1/2011 (as seen, for example, on Venser, the Sojourner)??? Just a thought.
Today's forecast is cloudy, with a high of 79 and a %90 percent chance of card advantage-related death by beat sticks.
car2n
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Garruk, Drunk-Dialer of Beasts.
littleboyblue
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love his synergy with his color but he is not great. I would say his rating of a 3.7 is about right. I don't know who the people on this site play against but if you play against someone good all of his abilities are easily dealt with. Ever hear of Supreme Verdict?
DoorDie
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think you absolutely go for his emblem in competition. Drawing cards is his +1 after all, so the only reason to stop doing that is to get a badge that plays a free dragon or hydra of your choice for every elf you cast. The -3 doesn't save much mana in the competition this guy sees anyway; he's usually the top end at 6.
Shame he hasn't made it into the eternal formats due to his cost; in Standard an unchecked Garruk is completely backbreaking.
Mr.Freshness-Timmy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When I saw his name in the spoilers I was hoping that he'd have a duck call and a huge redneck beard. I guess the fact that it would be a redneck thing just couldn't fit in green.
Oh well. Somebody alter this art with willy or psy from duck commander haha
Kingnolybear
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I got my dad into magic so he went out and baught a couple booster packs and a deck builder. He pulled this, Ring of three wishes, and Akroma's memorial....beginners luck right?
theindigoeffect
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When using Garruk, are you required to use one of his three abilities every turn, or can you choose to do nothing?
I've been trying to learn as much as I can about planeswalkers recently, and that's one question I'm not sure about, though I'm assuming that you don't have to use one of Garruk's three abilities every turn.
He's green's version of Sphinx's rev. He's the card that taught me green, not just as a fixer or a splash but as a primary color, can be good: 5/5.
rockshard
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Is it just me or is the axe sticking out of the card frame in a way that defies 3-dimensional space? Am I the only one bugged by this? If this card is in Core Set 2015, I hope they fixed it. As it is, I don't want the card as much.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Because having an ultimate builder ability that draws yourself 2-3 cards on average is balanced.
Comments (69)
"What?" Jace sneers, throwing the green planeswalker a withering look.
"YOU'RE A BEAST!" Garruk says back, giving Jace a thumbs up. Jace gasps with indignation.
"How dare you liken me to your uncivilized rabble!" But Garruk has already left.
*****************************************************
"HEY CHANDRA!" Garruk shouts, flashing a big grin at the pyromancer.
"Yes?" Chandra replies, raising an eyebrow.
"YOU'RE A BEAST!" he responds.
"Um... Thanks?" But Garruk has already left.
******************************************************
"HEY AJANI!" Garruk calls.
"Yes, my friend?" The cat replies.
"YOU'RE A BEAST!" Garruk exclaims.
"Racist pig! Why, I'll have you know..." But Garruk has already left.
******************************************************
"HEY LILLY!" Garruk vociferates.
"Yes hun?" Liliana says.
"YOU'RE A BEAST!"
"Oh, I know," she replies silkily, before slowly waltzing away.
WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT...
The +1 and -3 ability are both somewhat random, and might sometimes do nothing at all.
The +7 one is creat of course. But it's not as super powerful as the ultimates of certain other planeswalkers. And if you cast him by turn 6, then you can use his ultimate by turn 9, if keep using his +1 each turn and if he never takes any damage...
And the -3... Well of course it's a good ability. But he costs six mana already, so it's not as if you could cheat guys into play much earlier. Unless you have a huge amount of super expensive creatures in your deck, which is rarely a good idea.
Do I agree with this statement?
Not completely.
I do see where one gets the idea from,
But I must admit, even this coined "weakest" version is awfully powerful.
1) 6 mana is a lot. Starting at 4 loyalty with only a +1 for positive means he's also relatively easy to kill if you can't protect him.
2) His +1 doesn't protect himself directly. It will not protect him the turn you play him, becuase you will not have any mana to cast the creatures you revealed (because you tapped out to play Garruk). It also needs a deck like Domri Rade in that your whole deck basically needs to be creatures so his +1 can get the most value, which restricts the deck building.
3) His -3 is also pretty awkward at defending himself. If you drop him, you need something else good in your hand to get it in to defend him, which could be asking for too much. The problem here is that you have access to 6 mana at this point, and his -3 basically says "You get extra mana this turn", but at 6 lands why would you need extra mana?
Also, cheating in worldspine wurm is magical christmasland. What happens when you don't get your garruk and your worldspine wurm is just sitting in your hand? Dramatic entrance was never a tournament-level card for a reason, and there's no reason to assume that dramatic entrance on a PW ability is going to fare any better. Worldspine wurm also isn't even an auto-win; azorius charm and tamiyo's +1 can deal with it easily, jund has olivia to just steal it or putrefy to break it into manageable 5/5s, tragic slip in a good deck will give it -13/-13 to kill it and break it into manageable 5/5s, etc.
Garruk has some uses, mostly against control and slower midrange decks. He'll be one of your worst cards against aggro and that will prevent him from being good.
Why the hell would this guy be banned in commander?
1 - counterspell and he's dead.
2 - being a planeswalker, there is no way to reanimate him.
3 - there are MUCH faster threats that are much more threatening than him - especially in commander.
4 - you: 'I tap out and play garruk. -3, I drop sylvan primordial...' them: 'My turn? okay, I clone the primordial 3 times blowing up garruk and your lands you just grabbed. Cyaz!' alternatively: them: 'My turn? okay, I go infinite. Any responses?'
Now, consider Domri Rade has seen pro play due to his low casting cost and ability to give huge amounts of consistency to Naya decks. Think about this, elves supported by Garruk leading the stampede every single turn and Beck.
But LOOK AT IT.
LOOK AT IT.
IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL.
There's no doubt that this guy will be a legend in any creature heavy EDH deck; he sure will in my 5 colour one.
And I was quite happy to crack him in pre-release.
Turn 1: Forest, Elvish Mystic.
Turn 2: Second Forest, then Farseek, tap the first elf for a second elf.
Turn 3: Lay another Forest, tap all four of them plus your elves to bring Garruk down.
You'd need to be insanely lucky to get all the drops you need for it, but it could potentially be done. I really wanna see someone do this to bring down a Worldspine Wurm turn 3.
Planeswalkers "protecting themselves" is a false hope anyway: no planeswalker can ever be perfectly protected. Knowing when to cast them so they don't immediately die is a skill, and no amount of token generation or direct damage from the walker itself will save you from having to learn it. Garruk, Caller of Beasts, if you play him right, will win you games.
If their reaction is 'WOOT PROGENITUS FOR 6 MANA' or 'EDH TIME LET'S GO NUTS!' then they're the kind of person who can see the potential in all cards, and recognise the different types of magic matches.
If their reaction is 'He sucks! Too expensive! Can't create tokens or cause control!' then they're the kind of people who still live in that world where there's only one type of magic game, the basic one-on-one, the only differences being the legality of the cards, and in that world money is the most important factor and any game lasting beyond turn 5 is one where you might as well scoop if you haven't won yet.
I just don't get how hard it is to recognise that Wizards doesn't cater to that second player exclusively, but people still rage.
would build an elf deck with him and name him the 'elf caller", u mad nissa?
I lost that game.
Why is that Good? CUZ HE'S GREEN! THE COLOR OF TIMMY! I want Timmy cards to be 'good', but I also want them to have 'bad but fun' things to use them for. 2 previous Garruks there was no way to use them that wasn't REALLY good. They were Awesome. But this one, you can give to a Timmy and they can lose badly with him pretty easily but not care because they just love their deck. :3
You know what Garruk Wildspeaker's problem was? He was ridiculously Spike. He was ''4 cost'' but REALLY he was ''2 COST!!'' and 4 cost is also pretty cheap for a Green card that Wins Games.
Garruk Relentless/Garruk the Veil-Cursed? That guy was just so Art Housey. He was far more aesthetically pleasing than Garruk would actually be irl. Like some kind of PlayBeast Magazine Centerfold? It's just so TRY HARD and Melvin.
No, you know what's awesome about THIS GARRUK?!
HE'S A BIG FAT STUPID GIANT GARRUK WITH BIG FAT STUPID GIANT ABILITIES FOR A BIG FAT STUPID GIANT MANA COST AND LADIES AND GENTLEMAN:
IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME! GARRUK SMASH! NO APOLOGIES, NO MERCY, IT'S TIME FOR TIMMY! XD XD XD
he is ridiculously inefficient and will be bad after Standard, and he is RIDICULOUSLY powerful and will break faces something awful at kitchen tables XD Most Planeswalkers are Standard Playable just for being Planeswalkers. Fewer really break into Modern and you can count the Legacy Walkers on one hand. It's fine, PERFECTLY fine, that Garruk #4 is the Anti-Jace. Blue and Green are opposites this is Right! Wildspeaker was far too much like Beleren for my taste if you know what I mean.
And now for something completely different. I saw someone online complain that Wizards uses the female planeswalkers as eyecandy, but I strongly disagree. Liliana of the Veil is the only sexy female planeswalker, and she's not too extreme. Well, Chandra shows a little leg, but not as much as Garruk here. Every planeswalker is pretty darn attractive, but most of'em dress sensibly and modestly.
I first-picked him over Liliana (not the hottest card pool, but so what). Was I wrong? Maybe, and it was a tough choice. But this guy is totally contructed worthy if you build your deck around him. He's not quite the auto-include of his previous iteration, but so what?! This card makes you think before playing it. Personally I have a G/U/W control deck full of ETB creatures and recurring self-bounce. This has crazy synergy with my entire deck and its mana curve. It's three years old, and to see this come along now just gives me more mechanics to play with.
Because I favour planeswalkers with sideways power, rather than self-evident boom boom power, I am excited about this. A mono green ramp-aggro deck could play this, but his abilities definitely set up combo plays too, and not just cheating green fatties into play. 4/5 minimum
What's that? I've got my Liquimetal Coating out? Okay, I'll slap that fancy-ass artifact coat on Garruk and double his counters. If it's late enough game, I can pop off his ult the turn he comes out.
He may not be up to the current "turn 5 win" standards, but I think he's pretty awesome! 5/5 for my first ever rating/comment :D
The +1 lead the stampede will draw more cards once you have ramped out and add possibly add more creatures to your arsenal. It's a clock that will grind your opponent down by sheer card advantage.
The impact of Garruk's -3 is not to be underestimated, as both Garruk and a large untamed beast will hit the board aka armada wurm, prime speaker, progenitor mimic, perhaps worldspine wurm if you really push it. What a lot of people seem to be missing is that you get a giant beat stick with the -3 AND a planeswalker with a plus one loyalty counter. This is not a "could have just hard casted it" situation in that regard. If the -3 was a -4 I would agree with that assertion. And the idea that planeswalkers must be able to defend themselves to be good? Let's put it this way. Planeswalkers do their share of work by protecting you form losing the game and assist you in winning the game. If that happens to be one turn and done so be it. The bottom line is the -3 is a counter proof dramatic entrance that still leaves Garruk on the field.
One last thing - Garruk's ultimate. If you get to this stage and you can't seal the deal - hang up the phone because you've dialed the wrong number.
4/5 Stars
...I don't think he'd like that, but it works for me!
4 Evlish Mystics
4 Arbor Elves
4 Evlish Archdruids
4 Predator Oozes
1 This Guy!
+ Assorted Big Hitters with trample.
And just about anything else I want. Don't even need his ultimate! Just the first ability alone, gets me all the creatures I need. Hell, currently I run Thorn Elementals as big hitters, that can get through enemy defenses. But I think I may replace them with 4 Giant Adephages. Plus, his final ability, makes it so when I draw those worthless one drop elves late in the game, it's an easy search for something bigger! I was so happy the day I pulled this out of a booster. This card is a definite 5/5.
P.s. not rehtorical, please answer.
Shame he hasn't made it into the eternal formats due to his cost; in Standard an unchecked Garruk is completely backbreaking.
Oh well. Somebody alter this art with willy or psy from duck commander haha
I've been trying to learn as much as I can about planeswalkers recently, and that's one question I'm not sure about, though I'm assuming that you don't have to use one of Garruk's three abilities every turn.