This makes an excellent turn one play. For the
next six or seven turns, your opponent knows
that every guy he manages to kill brings a hasty
9/7 one turn closer, and there isn't much he can
do about it. The looming threat is often enough
to warp opponent's play in your favor, as the
psychological edge can increase the likelihood
of play errors. And the fact that it can bring a
healthy opponent down to 2 in two turns all by
itself is nothing to sneeze at. Finally, its
exorbitant mana cost that you don't actually
have to pay gives it excellent synergy with
Clash cards and Riddle of Lightning. If you play
red, it's worth consideration.
Constructed- 4
Casual- 4
Limited 3.5
Aethereal
Tuesday -
Greater Gargadon
A nice utility card thanks to the suspend cost.
You suspend this on turn 1, and then anytime
your opponent is about to blow something up, you
get to take off a free counter instead. He can
also be used as a sacrifice outlet for decks
needing one (*cough* goblins). And to top it all
off, you get a huge body when he does hit play.
All in all, a highly useful constructed card
that has seen plenty of play; just never, ever
hardcast it.
In limited, it's not as good, because drawing it
late is a waste of a draw, and hardcasting it is
not worth it at all. Maybe if it had trample,
but no.
Constructed - 3.5
Casual - 3
Limited - 2
David Fanany
Player since
1995
Greater
Gargadon
They do say the waiting is the hardest part. Ten
turns is a long time, but with all the copies of
Tendrils of Corruption you'll foil with the
Gargadon's activated ability, the time will just
fly by. You can even overextend with this guy
suspended, and if the opponent Wraths your
creatures, all he'll achieve is exchanging
several small creatures for one huge, angry
creature with haste. The only disadvantage is
that people will sometimes save their
ineffective Tendrils and Faith's Fetters for the
Gargadon - which just means your existing
creatures can beat them down. A very solid
creature for aggro, and even some non-aggro
decks.
Constructed: GG has been a staple of the
constructed scene ever since he first dropped in
Time Spiral and it’s easy to see why. Cheating
out fat creatures has been a favored pastime of
Spikes for years harkening back all the way to
the Survival of the Fittest/Recurring Nightmare
decks. Red aggro decks have always been able to
bash right out of the gates and hit for early
damage but after the first few turns if your
opponent isn’t dead then odds are they’ve
started putting a crimp in your plan by blocking
or wrathing (among other things). GG is a threat
that can power your way through the endgame as a
fat monster that does what red does best,
damage. Block season was filled with red decks
playing Gargs for the sac effect that let them
get benefit out of not paying for Mogg War
Marshal and the quick vanishing of Keldon
Marauders but it’s best use was as an
anti-Tendrils card, denying your opponent much
needed life. Teferi does put a damper on your
fun and your opponent does know he’s coming, but
there are lots of times where I’ve seen a tapped
out opponent stare blankly as lands are chucked
to the bin to bring a 9/7 out to bash face. Just
be careful of Pacts.
Casual/Multi: Fat creatures tend to be the ones
that dominate the casual game as games with
multiple players tend to drag out a bit longer
as everyone waits for a Wurm, Dragon or Angel to
rescue them. GG is going to let you get some
advantage out of wrath situations, ticking you
ever closer to beef, and the Haste on something
this big should really be illegal. Not having
any kind of evasion or protection hurts a card
like this though as you can find yourself in a
situation where you’re getting chumped every
turn to a 1/1 Saproling and shaking your fist at
your opponent. This is though one of my favorite
cards to combo with Jhoira though as only having
to deal with 4 counters > dealing with 10.
Limited: Easily splashed I guess, but the fact
is you really want to be able to suspend this
guy on turn 1 which isn’t really that feasible
for a splash color, and odds are you won’t be
paying retail for it anytime soon. If you see a
lot of good suspend ards like Rift bolt and
Errant Ephemeron then be on the look out for
cards like Fury Charm, Jhoira’s timebug or
Shivan Sand-Mage as then can help you power out
these cards early. And if it works in block, it
works here too so jump on those empty the
Warrens and Mogg War-Marshals to feed you GG.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 2.5
Limited: 3
PsychoAnime
#1
Magic Noob in Canada since 2002
Greater
Gargadon
I think this card has lost some power in
Standard because Tendrils of Corruption is less
popular now and Lowryn is very creature based so
sacking your creatures for a 9/7 isn't the best
way to win. There's a decent amount of
non-damage removal out there in the form of
Oblivion Ring, Crib Swap, Slaughter Pact and
Shriekmaw making a 9/7 not very threatening at
all.
In casual, this gives you a big beat stick if
any player decides to Wrath of God the entire
creature field away. It doesn't have a big
impact on the game though as there's so much
stuff to kill it even if it comes out and
there's less targeting removal here.
In limited, this is a 9/7. Very good.
Constructed: 2.5/5
Casual: 2.5/5
Limited: 4/5
Meb9000
Greater
Gargadon
Today we're reviewing one of the early underdogs
from Time Spiral that is now a frequently-played
BEAST in many different top tier decks.
Everybody knew this guy was interesting, but it
took the introduction of Tarmogoyf for everyone
to realize how nuts it was to be able to fill
your graveyard at will while powering out a
gigantic threat with haste at the same time.
Gargadon works to minimize damage from any X for
1 spells and can do crazy things with damage on
the stack. The fact that Gargadon also has haste
when he pops into play just makes him the nuts.
Look for this guy to be played alongside Mr.
Goyf for quite some time.
