Standard: Gruul Aggro - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

While the eyes of the world were attentive to the final matches of the Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor, the Standard Challenges gained an excellent new feature with the list ran by the player Heir_of_Elendil15 to win Sunday's event, which mixed the already known Mono Red Aggro shell with key cards from Gruul Stompy's lists to create a functional strategy with greater reach and versatility.

Considered a decent Meta Call, the deck called Gruul Aggro became a highlight of the weekend and one of the most exciting strategies in the format in recent times.

In this article, we will dissect the list ran by the player and how each card in it operates in the current Standard Metagame!

This was the list from the event, and the one I've been testing in ranked matches when I want to take a break from pressing the free win button in Pioneer with Rakdos Vampires.

Despite the name “Gruul Aggro”, the list is closer to a Mono Red Aggro with a splash to green for specific pieces: the inclusion of Questing Druid for more reach and Pick Your Poison on the Sideboard as a versatile answer against Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Temporary Lockdown on the same slot.

Gruul Aggro tries to take a little of both Mono Red Aggro and Gruul Stompy to transform it into its own strategy, capable of interacting with the board and putting pressure on the opponent while increasing its answers with green cards, making it a solid option for lovers of fast archetypes who are tired of Mono Red's linearity while also not wanting to deal with the huge target on its back that Boros Convoke has today.

Maindeck

Our threats. Most of them interact very well with the rest of our spells.

Cacophony Scamp still allows pressing the free win button after the first points of damage against the opponent if it is accompanied by Monstrous Rage. However, it has doubled its role in the format due to the rise of Boros Convoke, where there are plenty of relevant X/1 creatures for it to deal with, as well as also resolving a Deep-Cavern Bat on the second turn, preventing Raffine, Scheming Seer from turning it into a big delay for our clock.

Monastery Swiftspear is our main means of generating pressure in the first few turns and interacts with absolutely everything this deck seeks to do. There is no reason to run less than four copies.

Questing Druid is the main reason to run green in the maindeck and the main way to gain extra reach while becoming a respectable threat on the battlefield in a few turns with our cheap spells.

Fugitive Codebreaker may have been the other card to motivate the creation of Gruul Aggro, interacting as well as Monastery Swiftspear with our spells while benefiting from the amount of them in our graveyard to replenish our hand.

Feldon, Ronom Excavator makes blocks punishing by giving us more resources. A 2/2 body with haste that offers more cards in a turn can often be better than Bloodthirsty Adversary, especially in a list with just 20 lands.

Kumano Faces Kakkazan works as an extra threat while making Feldon , Ronom Excavator or Fugitive Codebreaker even more threatening on turn two, and its permanent type interacts well with Prowess.

Case of the Crimson Pulse is a good way to keep our resources flowing in an archetype of which empties the hand quickly. Since it doesn't generate much value on its own, this enchantment doesn't deserve a set in the maindeck, but it does enough to warrant its place on the list.

Ancestral Anger and Monstrous Rage are excellent for pulling more damage against blockers when our creatures are big enough.

They are a perfect combination alongside Questing Druid, Monastery Swiftspear or Fugitive Codebreaker when we cast two or more spells in a turn.

Play with Fire is excellent early game removal, but we can use it to pull some more damage as the game goes on, either through direct target to the opponent, or with combat tricks alongside Ancestral Anger, or Monstrous Rage.

Witchstalker Frenzy is easy to enable for one or two mana in this list, making it essential for dealing with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and high-toughness creatures, of which can block and survive against our threats for consecutive turns.

As our list is mostly red, there is no reason to risk harming the mana base with individual green sources. Eight untapped duals tend to take care of the little use of green mana we make in this list, but a few copies of Thran Portal can be added if necessary.

Sideboard

Our main reason for splashing for green is the possibility of dealing with artifacts and enchantments with Boseiju, Who Endures and Pick Your Poison, which also deals with one of the biggest threats of red aggressive decks in the format, Atraxa, Grand Unifier.

This inclusion makes cards like Wedding Announcement, Subterranean Schooner and Virtue of Loyalty easier to deal with before they become too much of a trouble.

End the Festivities helps against the dozens of blockers that Boros Convoke and Soldiers can put in the way, as well as resolving Deep-Cavern Bat, Faerie Mastermind and Wedding Announcement before the enchantment transforms.

Obliterating Bolt deals with larger threats and Planeswalkers, in addition to its exile clause serving on some more specific occasions, such as preventing two-for-one trades from Dennick, Pious Apprentice.

Lithomantic Barrage is essential for dealing with Esper Midrange and responding The Wandering Emperor against Azorius Control, in addition to offering more mana efficiency than other removals against Boros Convoke and Soldiers.

Urabrask’s Forge is a necessity for games with a lot of permission, removals or sweepers, where it can take over the game in a few turns. Essential against Control and some Midranges focused on removals and high-cost threats.

Boros Convoke

IN

OUT

Domain Ramp

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Mono Red Aggro

IN

OUT

Esper Midrange

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!