Sprout Swarm is well-known for its combo potential. There are a multitude of ways to generate infinite tokens in Commander with Sprout Swarm.
Outside of its impact in Commander, though, Sprout Swarm hasn’t seen much play in recent years. Yet, a full playset of the unique Future Sight instant just made its presence felt in a sweet Gruul tokens Pauper deck. This archetype that boasted a 5-0 Magic Online Pauper League finish is perfectly built to maximize Sprout Swarm as a fair token producer.
Tons of Tokens
The goal behind this archetype is to flood the board with tokens. There are a handful of payoffs present that heavily reward you for going wide, but before we discuss what they bring to the table, we first need to take a look at all of the enablers.
Most of the cards that produce tokens in this deck are simply strong cards on their own. Malevolent Rumble is an excellent piece of card selection, and in this deck, the 0/1 Spawn token is more impactful than you’d expect.
Between Malevolent Rumble and Nest Invader, you have plenty of ways to accelerate out Writhing Chrysalis, which is undoubtedly one of your strongest cards. Any future copies of Malevolent Rumble or Nest Invader only make additional Eldrazi tokens, which can be sacrificed at will to grow Writhing Chrysalis.
The same can be said for Glimpse the Impossible. Glimpse doubles as a card advantage engine in the late game as well as a token-spewing machine.
Other cards that make tokens include Khalni Garden and Mysidian Elder. Having access to a land that furthers your gameplan is nice, and the Wizard token that comes with Mysidian Elder will deal a lot of damage over the course of the game if left unchecked.
The more tokens you produce, the easier it is to cast Sprout Swarm without investing any mana. Thanks to Buyback, Sprout Swarm gives you inevitability against decks that don’t feature Counterspells, especially with cards like Mysidian Elder in the mix.
Token Payoffs
By themselves, the 1/1s from Sprout Swarm and the Eldrazi Spawn tokens from various other cards aren’t that scary. However, it doesn’t take much before they become a real nuisance.
First and foremost, you have a few different effects that ping your opponent whenever another creature enters. Molten Gatekeeper and Impact Tremors work wonders with all of your token makers. Molten Gatekeeper even has Unearth, so after it dies, you can set up a big turn in the future where you bring the Golem back and flood the board with tokens.
To keep the pressure on, Cloakwood Swarmkeeper is the perfect one-drop to facilitate this strategy. Nearly every other card in your deck grows it, so it doesn’t take long before it becomes an enormous body.
Finally, Essence Warden is a must-kill one-drop for any burn archetype. Burn decks are quite popular in Pauper, so having access to a full playset of Essence Warden between the maindeck and sideboard goes a long way.
A Slow Grind
Your gameplan is robust, but unfortunately, it is on the slower side. Your combo matchups are far from ideal. Both High Tide combo and Spy combo are fully capable of winning games within the first four turns. Your best bet is to have a fast Cloakwood Swarmkeeper draw and back it up with either Red Elemental Blast or Relic of Progenitus out of the sideboard, but you won’t always have a perfect hand for the matchup.
Luckily, there are a number of slower top tier decks that you can take advantage of. Writhing Chrysalis, Glimpse the Impossible, and Sprout Swarm all excel in attrition battles. It’s not always easy for Jund Wildfire or Affinity to keep pace with you, and you have a sea of blockers. “Edict” effects such as Tithing Blade won’t get the job done in the face of a bunch of 0/1 and 1/1 tokens, either.
Ultimately, your grindy yet slow gameplan that doesn’t feature a ton of interaction can make your games and matchups feel rather polarizing. High Tide combo’s big presence in the metagame is concerning, though if you expect a minimal combo showing at your next local event, Gruul tokens isn’t an outrageous deck choice. It’s cool to see Sprout Swarm in action in a Constructed format, and we hope this deck catches on.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!