"The Strongest Garruk"

"The Strongest Garruk"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     Garruk entered the room and he heard locks clicking behind him as the massive doors rolled shut. The huge room did not seem to have any borders at all save for when the forest stretches and eventually hits a far off wall in the distant horizon. He could feel the presence of the others. Probing. Hunting. Making sure of what they were feeling.
Who are you he asked with his mind as the others emerged from the dark shadows of the trees.

I am you Garruk...Wildspeaker
I am you Garruk...Primal hunter
I am you Garruk...The Relentless / The Veil cursed

     We are you and you are us the others answered without saying a word. He sensed  the rich green mana emanating from the one called Primal Hunter but there was something else from the one called the Relentless. He looked at him warily and he sensed the dark mana that was leaking out , a corruption that was almost choking in his presence. Face to face the 3 Garruks seemed to engulf the surrounding space around them because of their sheer size. They all heard of this room before. They knew that there would only be one planeswalker walking out of this place alive.

     Storywise the original Garruk actually seemed more like a utility/support type planeswalker rather than an assault type. He could untap lands , which could allow a player to cast more creatures , create 1 3/3 beasts and then use the Overrun as his Ultimate ability. In contrast Primal Hunter creates a 3/3 beast token as his first skill which will lead him to his final ability faster whereas in the creation of beast tokens from the original Garruk it actually lessens his loyalty counters. Primal hunters second ability also allows you to do draw cards equal to the greatest power of creatures you control and since you are normally playing green then you do have access to really massive creatures , this skill also gives you access to more lands ( and since you are playing green you can also mana ramp to your hearts content) which would in turn be a big advantage in Primal Hunters last skill...putting 6/6 Wurm Tokens for each Land you control. A devastating mix for the later turns.

     The last version of Garruk is more at home in a Black/ Green deck with the ultimate skill dependent on the number of creatures in your  graveyard. That is the effect of Liliana and Innistrad on this version of Garruk , the sacrifice a creature to search for another one to put into your hand is a handy skill and also ties in to the Morbid mechanic of Innistrad and increases the body count in your graveyard as well to power up creatures like Boneyard Wurm or Splinterfright or even power out a Ghoul Tree. This is also the first flip Planeswalker  , which gives him the most number of skills than any planeswalker in existence. You can only get at the other 3 after transforming him though. Transforming him is a tricky thing as well. In this fight though , having the most skill does not guarantee victory because in the battle of green mages the mightiest will always emerge victorious.

     The battlefield was already littered with the mangled remains of beasts and wolves. More Creatures were already charging each other. When the wolves touch the beasts they both die in a mutual bite that leaves most of their bodies rotting. The Wildspeaker and The Relentless were locked in battle , summoning creatures left and right so that they can both attack and defend against one another. It was then that they heard the distant rumbling coming closer. It was a horde of Wurms that was coming towards them at an unnatural speed. Behind them was the Primal Hunter  , on one knee , his body trembling with the effort it took to summon all of these voracious creatures.

     After the Wurms have devoured his other selves Garruk , The Primal Hunter stood and angrily punched the air. A rip of green mana opened a door way to another plane. Garruk did not wait for the portal to form , he merely slipped through the rip and was gone.