Grist, Voracious LarvaGrist, Voracious Larva | Art by Chris Rahn

Hey nerds! A few weeks ago I wrote a deck tech to honor the great Colossal DreadmawColossal Dreadmaw. And the restriction of only six-drop creatures got me thinking: What other weird restrictions should I try building a deck with?

This time, instead of going big with a bunch of 6/6 creatures, I wanted to go as small as possible, only using one-mana creatures. And who's smaller than Grist, Voracious LarvaGrist, Voracious Larva at one mana?

You might be wondering why I chose Grist specifically over powerhouses like Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer, Rhys the RedeemedRhys the Redeemed, or Tamiyo, Inquisitive StudentTamiyo, Inquisitive Student. And the simple answer is win conditions. At one mana, black offers several options to grind out victory, while green provides Hydras to soften up opponents and mana dorks to cast said Hydras.

What Does Grist, Voracious LarvaGrist, Voracious Larva Do?

Grist wants creatures to enter from the graveyard so she can flip and turn into a planeswalker. Generally, planeswalkers in commander are pretty weak since you have three players who can swing at them. But Grist can flip as early as turn two with the right setup, allowing you to create enough deathtouch blockers to deter anyone from attack.

She can also remove any pesky artifacts or enchantments at little cost.

Despite being full of one-drop creatures, I'd classify this deck as more midrange than aggro. You can have some explosive starts, closing out games quickly, but you can also grind out victory in some surprising ways.

Key Cards for Grist, Voracious LarvaGrist, Voracious Larva

Scaleable Cards

Some people might consider X spells cheating; however, I consider them a vital part of the deck.

Having mana outlets that scale with the game is critical, so you don't fall behind on board later in the game.

There are several Hydras in the deck. Goldvein HydraGoldvein Hydra has several powerful keywords and refunds most of its mana cost when it dies. SporocystSporocyst can protect Grist and let us turn mana from our dorks into actual lands. And Pest InfestationPest Infestation provides key removal and bodies we can sacrifice for value and use as fodder to protect our queen.

From the Graveyard

To get Grist to flip, we need creatures to enter from the graveyard.

Spells like UnearthUnearth and ReanimateReanimate are great for this, though they aren't repeatable. We also want to have creatures we can sacrifice early, or mill into, as a way to flip Grist. Bloodsoaked ChampionBloodsoaked Champion only requires us to attack to return him. Cauldron FamiliarCauldron Familiar with Witch's OvenWitch's Oven provides repeat life drain. And GravecrawlerGravecrawler just requires a Zombie in play to cast it from the graveyard.

Everything Is Kicker

There is a long-standing joke that everything is either horsemanship or kicker.

The offspring ability on creatures like Iridescent VinelasherIridescent Vinelasher and Pawpatch RecruitPawpatch Recruit is kicker. Joraga WarcallerJoraga Warcaller has multikicker, so it is actual kicker. And Insatiable AvariceInsatiable Avarice with spree is a mandatory kicker. It also provides a budget option to Vampiric TutorVampiric Tutor and Imperial SealImperial Seal, both of which are one mana, but not included for budget reasons.

Much like the scalable cards mentioned above, kicker effects allow you to use mana that you'd otherwise lose later in the game.

How Does Grist, Voracious Larva Win?

Despite being a deck of one-drops, I managed to include a variety of win conditions.

Punch Their Teeth In

The first option is to punch them in the face.

Okay, don't actually punch your opponents. But you can sneak a win with a buffed creature and Tainted StrikeTainted Strike. Or turn all of your 1/1s into 6/4 Wurms with an overloaded Scale UpScale Up.

Even for one mana, you can buff a Nested ShamblerNested Shambler before sacrificing it to make six Squirrel tokens.

Drain Them Out

We don't have any one-mana Blood ArtistBlood Artist effects...yet.

But you can do the next best thing with Bloodchief AscensionBloodchief Ascension. While you can't control when this triggers as easily as Blood Artist, it still adds up quickly.

Lead PipeLead Pipe is a deep cut from Murders at Karlov Manor. You do need to equip it to trigger the drain, but for only two mana it won't be a problem.

Plan C

If all else fails, you can mill them out Altar of the BroodAltar of the Brood. This isn't the best option since there aren't any infinite combos in the deck. But you still create enough tokens that it'll add up over time.

And finally, Helix PinnacleHelix Pinnacle is the ultimate mana sink. Karn's BastionKarn's Bastion is the only way to proliferate in the deck, so you'll be limited to just pumping mana into this turn after turn.

These last two options are truly last resorts, but they fit the theme, so I had to include them.

Grist, Voracious Larva Commander Deck List

Conclusion

I'm loving brewing with restrictions like this. Not just for the challenge, but for the reaction people get when I share the deck. Will this deck win 50% of the time? Probably not. But it's fun playing weird decks that won't work in 1v1 Magic and seeing if the table figures out the gimmick. Or giving it to a friend but telling them nothing. Just let them figure it out on the fly. That's my favorite thing about the format.

I'd love to hear about what weird restrictions you'd like to see next. Would you like to see this become a running series? Let me know down below!

Also, if you want to see even more Magic content from me, you can find plenty of that on my YouTube channel BathroomBrewsMTG. Alrighty nerds, I'll see you in the next one!