The Gift of Griselbrand

By Gerry Thompson

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When I saw this deck, I knew I had to feature it. Both Griselbrand and Gifts Ungiven are among my favorite cards and this deck is different than most of the things I've seen people doing in Modern.

Decks based on Gifts Ungiven typically feature an Unburial Rites and a fatty, as you can search for only two cards with Gifts and your opponent is forced to send them both to the graveyard. What this deck does differently is feature Gifts in a mostly aggressive deck.

I love that Smaland uses Griselbrand as the only fatty, as it's more aggressive than something like Iona, Shield of Emeria or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, cards that are both focused on locking someone out of the game. Griselbrand combos well with Vapor Snag and Lightning Bolt, spells that are incredibly cheap ways to affect the board.

If you're looking for a super fun deck to try in Modern, I can't recommend this one highly enough.

Smaland's Aggro Gifts

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Sort by:

Creature (9)

1 Griselbrand 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Young Pyromancer

Sorcery (1)

1 Unburial Rites

Instant (27)

2 Burst Lightning 4 Electrolyze 3 Gifts Ungiven 4 Izzet Charm 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Remand 2 Searing Blaze 4 Vapor Snag

Land (23)

4 Arid Mesa 2 Blood Crypt 2 Creeping Tar Pit 2 Island 4 Marsh Flats 2 Mountain 1 Plains 4 Steam Vents 2 Watery Grave

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

1 Gifts Ungiven 2 Searing Blaze 1 Blazing Archon 2 Dispel 2 Negate 2 Rakdos Charm 2 Shattering Spree 1 Spell Pierce 1 Steel Sabotage 1 Terminate

White (1)

1 Blazing Archon

Blue (22)

4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Gifts Ungiven 4 Remand 4 Vapor Snag 2 Dispel 2 Negate 1 Spell Pierce 1 Steel Sabotage

Black (2)

1 Griselbrand 1 Unburial Rites

Red (16)

4 Young Pyromancer 2 Burst Lightning 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Searing Blaze 2 Shattering Spree

Multi colored (11)

4 Electrolyze 4 Izzet Charm 2 Rakdos Charm 1 Terminate

Colorless (23)

4 Arid Mesa 2 Blood Crypt 2 Creeping Tar Pit 2 Island 4 Marsh Flats 2 Mountain 1 Plains 4 Steam Vents 2 Watery Grave

75 Cards

1 (16)

2 Burst Lightning 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Vapor Snag 2 Dispel 2 Shattering Spree 1 Spell Pierce 1 Steel Sabotage

2 (25)

4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Young Pyromancer 4 Izzet Charm 4 Remand 4 Searing Blaze 2 Negate 2 Rakdos Charm 1 Terminate

3 (4)

4 Electrolyze

4 (4)

4 Gifts Ungiven

5 (1)

1 Unburial Rites

8 (1)

1 Griselbrand

9 (1)

1 Blazing Archon

52 Cards

Common (27)

2 Island 2 Mountain 1 Plains 2 Burst Lightning 4 Izzet Charm 4 Remand 4 Searing Blaze 4 Vapor Snag 2 Dispel 1 Spell Pierce 1 Steel Sabotage

Uncommon (16)

4 Young Pyromancer 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Unburial Rites 2 Negate 2 Rakdos Charm 2 Shattering Spree 1 Terminate

Rare (31)

4 Arid Mesa 2 Blood Crypt 2 Creeping Tar Pit 4 Marsh Flats 4 Steam Vents 2 Watery Grave 4 Snapcaster Mage 4 Electrolyze 4 Gifts Ungiven 1 Blazing Archon

Mythic (1)

1 Griselbrand

75 Cards

Deal Another Hand

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Grave";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:4:"land";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:9;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:11:"Griselbrand";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"1";}i:10;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:15:"Snapcaster Mage";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:11;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:16:"Young Pyromancer";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:12;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:15:"Burst Lightning";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:13;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:11:"Electrolyze";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:14;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:13:"Gifts Ungiven";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"3";}i:15;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:11:"Izzet Charm";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:16;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Lightning Bolt";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:17;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:6:"Remand";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:18;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:13:"Searing Blaze";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"2";}i:19;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Unburial Rites";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"1";}i:20;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:10:"Vapor Snag";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";s:1:"4";}i:21;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Blazing Archon";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:8:"creature";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:22;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:6:"Dispel";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:23;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:6:"Negate";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:24;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:12:"Rakdos Charm";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:25;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:16:"Shattering Spree";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"sorcery";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:26;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:12:"Spell Pierce";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:27;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:14:"Steel Sabotage";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}i:28;O:8:"stdClass":3:{s:9:"card_meta";O:8:"stdClass":2:{s:5:"title";s:9:"Terminate";s:22:"field_card_image_front";a:0:{}}s:4:"type";s:7:"instant";s:10:"deck_count";i:0;}}

Posted in Feature on February 11, 2014

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The Gift of Griselbrand

Smaland's Aggro Gifts

Creature (9)

Sorcery (1)

Instant (27)

Land (23)

Sideboard (15)

White (1)

Blue (22)

Black (2)

Red (16)

Multi colored (11)

Colorless (23)

1 (16)

2 (25)

3 (4)

4 (4)

5 (1)

8 (1)

9 (1)

Common (27)

Uncommon (16)

Rare (31)

Mythic (1)

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