Week one of Zendikar Rising spoilers comes to an end with a collection of powerful mythic rares, two of which empower Gruul Aggro strategies.
Moraug, Fury of Akoum
- CMC: 4(RR)
- Type: Legendary Creature – Minotaur Warrior
- Stats: 6/6
- First ability: Each creature you control gets +1/+0 for each time it has attacked this turn.
- Second ability: Landfall – Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, if it’s your main phase, there’s an additional combat phase after this phase. At the beginning of that combat, untap all creatures you control.
For six mana this is an incredibly powerful effect. This seems like it will fit in with a Terror of the Peaks focused Gruul deck. If you are able to untap with this creature and trigger its landfall ability that is probably enough to beat your opponents. Also, Historic Minotaurs gets a new piece.
Sea Gate, Reborn // Sea Gate Restoration
- CMC: 4(UUU)
- Type: Sorcery
- First ability: As Sea Gate, Reborn enters the battlefield, you may pay three life. If you don’t, it enters the battlefield tapped. Tap to add blue mana.
- Second ability: Draw cards equal to the number of cards in your hand plus one. You have no maximum hand size for the rest of the game.
Sea Gate Restoration should see play in some control decks. It fills a similar slot to Finale of Revelation from War of the Spark. It can come in as a land if you need to hit your drops. Later in the game, it doubles your hand size and lets you keep them all. If it sees play, then it’ll appear alongside Thassa’s Oracle in control decks who win through self-mill combos.
Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass
- CMC: X(RR)
- Type: Sorcery
- First ability: As Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass enters the battlefield, you may pay three life. If you don’t it enters the battlefield tapped. Tap to add red mana.
- Second ability: Shatterskull Smashing deals X damage divided as you choose among up to two target creatures and/or planeswalkers. If X is six or more, Shatterskull Smashing deals twice X damage divided as you choose among them instead.
Another piece for midrange Gruul strategies. Aside from the versatility provided to all of the modal double-faced lands, this seems to be the most reasonably costed for its intended deck. While Gruul decks won’t be running three or four copies of this card, even two or one copies should be enough to pull its weight. If X is six or more, that’s a minimum of 12 damage to throw around on your opponent’s blockers. Casting Shatterskull Smashing should get you a game-winning alpha strike.
