Unexpected Gruul Deck Becomes Unstoppable Thanks to Thunder Junction!

Since the release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction, the Pioneer metagame has received a major shakeup. Pillage the Bog Pillage the Bog Look at the top X cards of your library, where X is twice the number of lands you control. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Plot {1}{B}{G} (You may pay {1}{B}{G} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.) has helped Niv to Light reach new heights, while Kaervek, the Punisher Kaervek, the Punisher Whenever you commit a crime, exile up to one target black card from your graveyard and copy it. You may cast the copy. If you do, you lose 2 life. (Targeting opponents, anything they control, and/or cards in their graveyards is a crime. Copies of permanent spells become tokens.) has contributed to mono-black Waste Not Waste Not Whenever an opponent discards a creature card, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
Whenever an opponent discards a land card, add {B}{B}.
Whenever an opponent discards a noncreature, nonland card, draw a card. ‘s recent rise in popularity. A new mono-blue Training Grounds Training Grounds Activated abilities of creatures you control cost {2} less to activate. This effect can't reduce the mana in that cost to less than one mana. shell emerged as well, utilizing a playset of Harrier Strix Harrier Strix Flying
When this creature enters, tap target permanent.
{2}{U}: Draw a card, then discard a card. of all cards.

Perhaps the largest shift in the metagame has occurred thanks to the printing of Slickshot Show-Off Slickshot Show-Off Flying, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
Plot {1}{R} (You may pay {1}{R} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.) . This card is a multi-format staple. Modern Prowess decks have been flourishing since its printing, and red aggressive shells have begun dominating Pioneer. The best of these red beatdown strategies, at least early on, appears to be none other than Gruul aggro.

Gruul aggro won a recent Magic Online Pioneer Challenge, and it has the necessary tools to win the vast majority of matchups out there. This deck features multiple new Thunder Junction cards, each of which make the deck even better. Let’s take a closer look at what this deck is trying to accomplish and how these new cards play a pivotal role in the deck’s success.

Prowess Threats

At its core, this deck is very similar to a typical Prowess strategy. Soul-Scar Mage Soul-Scar Mage Prowess
If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to a creature an opponent controls, put that many -1/-1 counters on that creature instead. and Monastery Swiftspear are elite one-drops that help give this deck a very aggressive slant. Meanwhile, Slickshot Show-Off proved to be the missing two-drop this shell desperately needed. Now, the deck has a higher density of must-kill threats, which is incredibly important in a format defined by cheap removal spells.

Kumano Faces Kakkazan Kumano Faces Kakkazan (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — This Saga deals 1 damage to each opponent and each planeswalker they control.
II — When you next cast a creature spell this turn, that creature enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
III — Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control. also makes an appearance and is essential to the archetype. Much like traditional mono-red decks, Kumano is an excellent turn one play. By turn three, the card has dealt the opponent one damage, pumped your turn two play, and transformed into a 2/2 with Haste.

In this scenario, the card looks incredible. The only case in which the card looks worse is when you topdeck it late, but in this deck, that is hardly an issue. The fact is, Kumano fills the role of a Creature in the early game while helping pump your Prowess Creatures later.

In a similar manner, Questing Druid Questing Druid Whenever you cast a spell that's white, blue, black, or red, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. is a solid threat in its own right but is also an elite card advantage source at the same time. Outside of Swiftspear, Soul-Scar Mage, and Slickshot Show-Off, every other card in the deck is capable of giving these Creatures a power boost. This adds a nice element of consistency to the deck’s strong gameplan.

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Red Aggro and Heroic Overlap

The rest of the deck is made up of efficient non-Creature spells to help grow your squad. Some of them, like Play with Fire Play with Fire Play with Fire deals 2 damage to any target. If a player is dealt damage this way, scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.) , have been staples of mono-red aggro decks in Pioneer for quite some time. Playing green even opens the door for you to utilize Atarka’s Command Atarka’s Command Choose two —
• Your opponents can't gain life this turn.
• Atarka's Command deals 3 damage to each opponent.
• You may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.
• Creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain reach until end of turn. , which can add a ton of extra damage out of nowhere.

On top of that, this deck also borrows a lot of ideas from typical Boros Heroic strategies. Monstrous Rage Monstrous Rage Target creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn. Create a Monster Role token attached to it. (If you control another Role on it, put that one into the graveyard. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has trample.) is an incredible pump spell in this deck. Giving Trample to Slickshot Show-Off for the rest of the game is a huge boon and makes blocking nearly impossible for the opponent. Audacity Audacity Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+0 and has trample. (It can deal excess combat damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.)
When this Aura is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, draw a card. and Demonic Ruckus Demonic Ruckus Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has menace and trample.
When this Aura is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, draw a card.
Plot {R} (You may pay {R} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.) , while not Instants, are still quite strong for the same reason.

Of course, the weakness of these cards is that if your opponent can remove the threat you target right away, you get blown out. Fortunately, you aren’t always just out of luck if your opponent leaves up Fatal Push Fatal Push Destroy target creature if it has mana value 2 or less.
Revolt — Destroy that creature if it has mana value 4 or less instead if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn. . Boros Heroic decks generally make use of Loran’s Escape Loran’s Escape Target artifact or creature gains hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. Scry 1. and Gods Willing Gods Willing Target creature you control gains protection from the color of your choice until end of turn. (It can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, enchanted, or equipped by anything of that color.)
Scry 1. as protection spells, and while this deck doesn’t have access to white mana, green provides a similar effect in Blossoming Defense Blossoming Defense Target creature you control gets +2/+2 and gains hexproof until end of turn. (It can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.) . Blossoming Defense doubles as a protection spell and a pump spell, making it quite a scary card to play against.

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Gruul’s Sudden Emergence

At first, it may seem a bit strange that the printing of Slickshot Show-Off would be enough to cement Gruul as one of the top decks in the format. After all, Boros Heroic was already putting up solid results. So, what makes this deck so threatening?

First and foremost, this deck has an easier time fighting through removal than Boros Heroic. Even with Monstrous Rage in the mix, this deck doesn’t run the risk of putting all its eggs in one basket. One of the issues with Boros Heroic is that, even if you control multiple copies of Favored Hoplite Favored Hoplite Heroic — Whenever you cast a spell that targets this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature and prevent all damage that would be dealt to it this turn. and Illuminator Virtuoso Illuminator Virtuoso Double strike
Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell you control, it connives. (Draw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a nonland card, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.) , your pump spells will only grow the Creature you target. As such, if your opponent successfully removes the Creature you sink your resources into, your other Creatures may not be prepared to brawl.

On the flip side, Gruul aggro is quite different. All of your Creatures can collectively grow at will with any non-Creature spell (or red spell in the case of Questing Druid). This makes combat a nightmare for your opponent to navigate, while simultaneously making it easier to push through damage.

Additionally, Questing Druid’s presence cannot be overstated. The value it generates at such little cost makes it a premier inclusion and a big reason to play green as a support color over any other. Add in Pick Your Poison Pick Your Poison Choose one —
• Each opponent sacrifices an artifact of their choice.
• Each opponent sacrifices an enchantment of their choice.
• Each opponent sacrifices a creature with flying of their choice. as a sideboard answer to Vein Ripper Vein Ripper Flying
Ward—Sacrifice a creature.
Whenever a creature dies, target opponent loses 2 life and you gain 2 life. and beyond, and Gruul starts looking better and better.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Gruul’s domination in recent tournaments definitely showcases its ability to win against other tier one strategies. This deck is extremely fast. It can easily race past Niv to Light and Lotus Field Lotus Field Hexproof
This land enters tapped.
When this land enters, sacrifice two lands.
{T}: Add three mana of any one color. combo. Questing Druid is excellent in attrition-based matchups like Izzet Phoenix, as is Magebane Lizard Magebane Lizard Whenever a player casts a noncreature spell, this creature deals damage to that player equal to the number of noncreature spells they've cast this turn. out of the sideboard.

Where things get a lot trickier is against decks with lots of removal and hand disruption. Mono-black midrange shells, for example, come equipped with Thoughtseize Thoughtseize Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life. and Duress Duress Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a noncreature, nonland card from it. That player discards that card. to strip you of your important resources. From there Fatal Push and Sheoldred’s Edict Sheoldred’s Edict Choose one —
• Each opponent sacrifices a nontoken creature of their choice.
• Each opponent sacrifices a creature token of their choice.
• Each opponent sacrifices a planeswalker of their choice. can keep your battlefield clear, while Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Deathtouch
Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life.
Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life. can shut the door in short order.

Still, even in these types of matchups, Slickshot Show-Off can win games out of nowhere. You can Plot the card on turn two, wait until you have Blossoming Defense at the ready or the opponent taps low on mana, and cast it with all your mana available when you feel comfortable. As a Hasty threat, your opponents will always have to fear it as a potential topdeck.

It’s truly incredible how many archetypes Slickshot Show-Off has provided new life to. Whether you’re looking to play Standard, Pioneer, or Modern, make sure you have this card on your radar. Take this as your warning: this powerhouse isn’t going anywhere, so make sure you’re prepared to fight it.

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