Magic: The Gathering Gatecrash Review Part 3: Boros and Gruul

And here it is folks! Part 3 of 3 of my Gatecrash review! Here I talk about Boros and Gruul. Lets get started!

BOROS

The Boros Legion is the military guild on Ravinca. Representing red and white mana, there are two ways to play a Boros deck: either straight tokens or using the mechanic Battalion. The way battalion works is when a creature with battalion attacks with 2 other creatures, their battalion effect will trigger. The effect differs from card to card. One creature may get flying, another might bulk up other creatures or itself and one might deal 3 damage to target opponent or creature. The biggest Boros creature would be their guildleader, Aurelia, seen here:

The fact that she has flying, vigilance and haste is one thing, but her ability is amazing. She gives you 2 combat phases and untaps all your creatures that were previously tapped from the first one. Being that Boros is a fast deck, you can get out a lot of creatures before you get Aurelia out. Then once you have her and a bunch of creatures out, start giving yourself 2 combat phases. Your opponent will not stand a chance. If your a big fan of red spells as well, another Boros card is Aurelia's Fury:

Essentially, you can deal X damage to anything you want and prevent anyone from casting creature spells that turn. Being that it's an instant, you can cast it the the beginning of your opponents' turn and destroy them. If you like fast decks with damage causing potential, Boros is for you.

GRUUL

The Gruul Clans are clans of barbarians that live in the sections of Ravnica that have been destroyed.  Representing green and red, the Gruul use the mechanic Bloodrush. Bloodrush works by paying a small mana cost and discarding a creature with bloodrush in your hand. That creature's bloodrush ability will bulk up another creature somehow. Gruul plays off the creature part of red and green, meaning Gruul decks have a lot of creatures. Bloodrush can be used with one of the 2 Gruul deck types: big creatures and the faster smaller creature deck. The Gruul planeswalker, Domri Rade, who I covered in my last review, works with either strategy. However, the guildleader Borborygmos works better in the big creature deck:

The most expensive mana cost wise of the Gatecrash Leaders, Borborygmos allows you to find land in your deck so you have enough mana to use bloodrush. Gruuls decks tend to be large anyway, so having Borborygmos won't hurt. However, don't count on playing him every game because he is very costly. Another great Gruul card is Rubblehulk:

While it does have a high mana cost, Rubblehulk works in either type of Gruul deck. Bloodrush it to bulk up a creature a lot or play it and have a pretty large creature that keeps getting stronger. He can be a great win condition if you can give him trample using bloodrush or an enchantment. If you like the creatures of red and green, and maybe just looking for some damage to deal, Gruul is right for you.

And there ends my Gatecrash reviews! I'll be reviewing a couple cards from Dragon's Maze when that comes out. Any other cards, deck types or anything magic related you want to to review, just let me know! Until next time, keep walking those planes and conquer Ravinca!