Ruric Thar, Reading the card makes you take 6 damage by AlexMitcham

Format: Commander

Commander: Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

Bracket: 4

Deck overview

This Gruul deck is a high-tempo, creature-centric stax-combo build helmed by Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. The primary game plan is to accelerate into a dense field of mana dorks and utility creatures, then deploy Ruric Thar to punish opponents for casting noncreature spells while the deck itself focuses on creature-based threats. The deck wins through multiple lines: the classic Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Hyrax Tower Scout infinite attackers combo, a Tooth and Nail entwined grab for the same pieces, or a massive Finale of Devastation for X 10 to pump the entire board. Stax elements like Possibility Storm, Trinisphere, and Collector Ouphe lock opponents out while the deck's creature tutors (Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, Worldly Tutor, Chord of Calling) ensure reliable access to combo enablers. The commander acts as a powerful deterrent rather than a required piece, allowing the deck to function at high capacity even if Ruric Thar is repeatedly answered.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 Abrade
• 1 Arbor Elf
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Ash Barrens
• 1 Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
• 1 Augur of Autumn
• 1 Beast Whisperer
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Birds of Paradise
• 1 Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
• 1 Blast Zone
• 1 Cathartic Pyre
• 1 Chord of Calling
• 1 Cinder Glade
• 1 Circle of Dreams Druid
• 1 Collector Ouphe
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
• 1 Crop Rotation
• 1 Crystal Vein
• 1 Destiny Spinner
• 1 Dragonborn Champion
• 1 Duskwatch Recruiter // Krallenhorde Howler
• 1 Eldritch Evolution
• 1 Elvish Mystic
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Finale of Devastation
• 7 Forest
• 1 Fyndhorn Elves
• 1 Gamble
• 1 Goblin Anarchomancer
• 1 Goblin Matron
• 1 Great Oak Guardian
• 1 Green Sun's Zenith
• 1 Hyrax Tower Scout
• 1 Imperial Recruiter
• 1 Joraga Treespeaker
• 1 Karplusan Forest
• 1 Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar
• 1 Keen Sense
• 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1 Kogla, the Titan Ape
• 1 Lightning Bolt
• 1 Llanowar Elves
• 1 Manglehorn
• 1 Mossfire Valley
• 4 Mountain
• 1 Nature's Claim
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Oakhame Adversary
• 1 Orcish Lumberjack
• 1 Outland Liberator // Frenzied Trapbreaker
• 1 Possibility Storm
• 1 Priest of Titania
• 1 Professional Face-Breaker
• 1 Quirion Ranger
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 1 Rhythm of the Wild
• 1 Roiling Vortex
• 1 Rootbound Crag
• 1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
• 1 Saryth, the Viper's Fang
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 1 Scryb Ranger
• 1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
• 1 Shaman of Forgotten Ways
• 1 Simian Spirit Guide
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Somberwald Sage
• 1 Spire Garden
• 1 Springleaf Drum
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Sylvan Library
• 1 Temur Sabertooth
• 1 Thorn of Amethyst
• 1 Thran Quarry
• 1 Tooth and Nail
• 1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
• 1 Treasonous Ogre
• 1 Trinisphere
• 1 Veil of Summer
• 1 Verdant Catacombs
• 1 Vivien, Monsters' Advocate
• 1 Wall of Roots
• 1 Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands
• 1 Wild Growth
• 1 Worldly Tutor
• 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
• 1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
• 1 Zhur-Taa Druid