The mark of a truly great Magic: The Gathering set is that it delivers quality cards at all rarities. Chase rares and mythics are all well and good, but it’s much harder to make humble commons and uncommons exciting. Thankfully, MTG Avatar has more than managed to achieve this feat.
A prime example of this is Gran-Gran, a new uncommon legend with applications in multiple MTG formats. She may look like the archetypal loving grandma, but don’t let that fool you. This is a one-drop that can end games before your cocoa has cooled down.
Gran-Gran In MTG Commander
Gran-Gran is definitely at her scariest in the MTG Commander format. Because the wording on her first ability handily doesn’t require her to attack, you can use it to loot if you tap Gran-Gran in other ways. Turns out, there are plenty of ways to do this infinitely to dig through your whole deck.
The easiest way to achieve this is by suiting Gran-Gran up with both Paradise Mantle and Freed from the Real. The former lets Gran-Gran tap for mana, while the latter lets you spend the mana Gran-Gran makes to untap her immediately. You can repeat this as many times as you’d like to draw and discard through every card in your deck.
Alternatively, you can Imprint Dramatic Reversal on an Isochron Scepter for similar results. Assuming you have mana rocks that can generate two total mana, you’ll be able to copy Reversal an infinite number of times, since it untaps both Scepter and the mana sources you need to use it every time. It also untaps Gran-Gran, so if you have something like Fatestitcher that can tap her again, then you’ll be able to dig through your deck.
From here, an instant win with Thassa’s Oracle or Laboratory Maniac is trivial to pull off. These kinds of combos aren’t new for Commander by any means, but Gran-Gran does facilitate them particularly well. Being a combo piece in the command zone is good enough, but being just one mana means you can get some very early wins with the right draws. While the idea of using Gran-Gran as a Commander is a bit of a meme right now, I seriously wouldn’t underestimate such a strategy.
The Old Standards
Being a great Combo Commander would be more than enough to put Gran-Gran above the majority of MTG uncommons. Turns out she has more to offer than that, however, as she’s actually already putting up results in the early days of Avatar Standard.
First and foremost, the card is a key part of the new Izzet Lessons deck that’s developing. Players like Koala40 are crushing Challenges and Leagues regularly with the deck, and Gran-Gran is one of its best synergy pieces. The strategy is all about getting Lessons in the graveyard ASAP, which Gran-Gran facilitates with her looting ability.
This, in turn, buffs up your Dragonfly Swarm and turns Accumulated Wisdom into the best draw spell in the format. On top of that, Gran-Gran’s second ability essentially makes her a mana dork in Lesson decks. Once you have the discount online, it’s trivial to tear through your deck with Artist’s Talent and build up a terrifying Sokka, Bold Boomeranger for the win.
Additionally, players are starting to test Gran-Gran out in the Sultai Reanimator decks in the format. Ted10 won today’s Standard Challenge with a version of the deck running the card, and it’s easy to see why. While the discount is never going to come up here, simply having a turn one play that can dump your big guys early is huge. This deck is still very much solidifying, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Gran-Gran sticks around for the final version.
Overall, Gran-Gran is a reminder that neither age nor rarity is an obstacle to success in MTG. If you have any spare copies from Prerelease, you may want to dig them out soon.
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