Don't get me wrong, I think Garruk Wildspeaker (the character) is awesome. He just doesn't really showcase a tremendous amount of depth. He's a guy who hunts stuff in the woods. He does it in a really cool way! ...That's pretty much it.
One of the problems I've found with Planeswalkers overall is that WotC can often strike gold with a resonant character that doesn't have much interesting design space. They want to keep putting said character in sets for the brand value, but the abilities are kinda stagnant and less novel with each iteration. This is partly why I found Planeswalkers like Chandra and Gideon relatively difficult to design for, and why I'm grateful for the relatively wider swath of experimentation for Walkers like Jace and Liliana.
Garruk is one such character. He's a stoic, angry strongman. But he was also cursed by Liliana fairly early on in his character's lifespan, and spent almost all of his time in the Vorthosphere as a mindless killing machine that's 2 colors. Not much to go on...but that's okay! Luckily for us, we can work with what we know so far! Green has a long, illustrious history of creatures that hunt, track, and fight and that's what we're gonna do.
Meet our strong, silent type and his forest friends:
Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Garruk, Primal Hunter by Andy Hurst
'Garruk, Primal Hunter' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!
Created By: Andy Hurst
Event:
Rank:
Freeform (Casual)
Market Price: $35.98
Beast Hunt
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.16
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/33258_200w.jpg
Reveal the top three cards of your library. Put all creature cards revealed this way into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/zendikar/beast-hunt
Broodhatch Nantuko
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.25
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/161856_200w.jpg
Whenever Broodhatch Nantuko is dealt damage, you may create that many 1/1 green Insect creature tokens.
Morph {2}{G} (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for {3}. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/masters-25/broodhatch-nantuko
Hunt the Weak
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/155774_200w.jpg
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. Then that creature fights target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/rivals-of-ixalan/hunt-the-weak
Forest
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.99
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/230468_200w.jpg
({T}: Add {G}.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/kaldheim/forest
Byway Courier
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.06
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/116365_200w.jpg
When Byway Courier dies, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with "{2}, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/shadows-over-innistrad/byway-courier
Memorial to Unity
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/164240_200w.jpg
Memorial to Unity enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {G}.
{2}{G}, {T}, Sacrifice Memorial to Unity: Look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from among them and put it into your hand. Then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dominaria/memorial-to-unity
Algae Gharial
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.20
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/98832_200w.jpg
Shroud (This creature can't be the target of spells or abilities.) Whenever another creature dies, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Algae Gharial.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/modern-masters-2015/algae-gharial
Gargos, Vicious Watcher
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $1.39
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/192785_200w.jpg
Vigilance
Hydra spells you cast cost {4} less to cast.
Whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a spell, Gargos, Vicious Watcher fights up to one target creature you don't control.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2020/gargos-vicious-watcher
Hunter's Ambush
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.06
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/91321_200w.jpg
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt by nongreen creatures this turn.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/magic-2015-m15/hunters-ambush
Mirri, Cat Warrior
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $3.35
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/15219_200w.jpg
First strike, forestwalk, vigilance (This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike, it can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a Forest, and attacking doesn't cause this creature to tap.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/10th-edition/mirri-cat-warrior
Unravel the Aether
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.32
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/78838_200w.jpg
Choose target artifact or enchantment. Its owner shuffles it into their library.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/born-of-the-gods/unravel-the-aether
Rhonas's Monument
Market Price: $1.40
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/129752_200w.jpg
Green creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Whenever you cast a creature spell, target creature you control gets +2/+2 and gains trample until end of turn.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/amonkhet/rhonass-monument
Feral Hydra
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.66
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/216091_200w.jpg
Feral Hydra enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.
{3}: Put a +1/+1 counter on Feral Hydra. Any player may activate this ability.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/jumpstart/feral-hydra
Foe-Razer Regent
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.40
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/96461_200w.jpg
Flying When Foe-Razer Regent enters the battlefield, you may have it fight target creature you don't control. Whenever a creature you control fights, put two +1/+1 counters on it at the beginning of the next end step.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dragons-of-tarkir/foe-razer-regent
Brightwood Tracker
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.03
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/192899_200w.jpg
{5}{G}, {T}: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2020/brightwood-tracker
Fierce Empath
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/219545_200w.jpg
When Fierce Empath enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost 6 or greater, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/fierce-empath
Bounty of the Hunt
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.17
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4113_200w.jpg
You may exile a green card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost. Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures. For each +1/+1 counter you put on a creature this way, remove a +1/+1 counter from that creature at the beginning of the next cleanup step.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/alliances/bounty-of-the-hunt
Rushwood Grove
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.38
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/6673_200w.jpg
Rushwood Grove enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Put a storage counter on Rushwood Grove.
{T}, Remove any number of storage counters from Rushwood Grove: Add {G} for each storage counter removed this way.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/mercadian-masques/rushwood-grove
Hunter's Insight
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.14
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/226661_200w.jpg
Choose target creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker this turn, draw that many cards.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-legends/hunters-insight
Fangren Hunter
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/11438_200w.jpg
Trample
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/mirrodin/fangren-hunter
Renata, Called to the Hunt
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.23
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/206842_200w.jpg
Renata's power is equal to your devotion to green. (Each {G} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to green.)
Each other creature you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/theros-beyond-death/renata-called-to-the-hunt
Awaken the Bear
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/93195_200w.jpg
Target creature gets +3/+3 and gains trample until end of turn.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/khans-of-tarkir/awaken-the-bear
Affectionate Indrik
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.16
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/215987_200w.jpg
When Affectionate Indrik enters the battlefield, you may have it fight target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/jumpstart/affectionate-indrik
Indrik Stomphowler
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.21
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/132067_200w.jpg
When Indrik Stomphowler enters the battlefield, destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-anthology/indrik-stomphowler
Dosan's Oldest Chant
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.09
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/12423_200w.jpg
You gain 6 life. Draw a card.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/saviors-of-kamigawa/dosans-oldest-chant
Bequeathal
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.24
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4296_200w.jpg
Enchant creature When enchanted creature dies, you draw two cards.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/exodus/bequeathal
Windstorm
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.20
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/93750_200w.jpg
Windstorm deals X damage to each creature with flying.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/duel-decks-anthology/windstorm
Brindle Shoat
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.18
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/216130_200w.jpg
When Brindle Shoat dies, create a 3/3 green Boar creature token.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/jumpstart/brindle-shoat
Treetop Village
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/162880_200w.jpg
Treetop Village enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {G}.
{1}{G}: Treetop Village becomes a 3/3 green Ape creature with trample until end of turn. It's still a land. (It can deal excess combat damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/duel-decks-elves-vs-inventors/treetop-village
Hunting Moa
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.09
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/37149_200w.jpg
Echo {2}{G} (At the beginning of your upkeep, if this came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost.)
When Hunting Moa enters the battlefield or dies, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/archenemy/hunting-moa
Durkwood Tracker
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.07
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/14212_200w.jpg
{1}{G}, {T}: If Durkwood Tracker is on the battlefield, it deals damage equal to its power to target attacking creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to Durkwood Tracker.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/time-spiral/durkwood-tracker
Adventurous Impulse
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.02
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/212713_200w.jpg
Look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or land card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ikoria-lair-of-behemoths/adventurous-impulse
Trophy Hunter
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.09
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/13454_200w.jpg
{1}{G}: Trophy Hunter deals 1 damage to target creature with flying.
Whenever a creature with flying dealt damage by Trophy Hunter this turn dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Trophy Hunter.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ravnica-city-of-guilds/trophy-hunter
Outmuscle
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.02
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/198867_200w.jpg
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control, then it fights target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.) Adamant — If at least three green mana was spent to cast this spell, the creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/throne-of-eldraine/outmuscle
Emergence Zone
Market Price: $0.26
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/187125_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Emergence Zone: You may cast spells this turn as though they had flash.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/war-of-the-spark/emergence-zone
Ulvenwald Tracker
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $2.71
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/128954_200w.jpg
{1}{G}, {T}: Target creature you control fights another target creature.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/modern-masters-2017/ulvenwald-tracker
Briarbridge Patrol
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.09
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/115902_200w.jpg
Whenever Briarbridge Patrol deals damage to one or more creatures, investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with "{2}, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
At the beginning of each end step, if you sacrificed three or more Clues this turn, you may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/shadows-over-innistrad/briarbridge-patrol
Epic Confrontation
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.07
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/161867_200w.jpg
Target creature you control gets +1/+2 until end of turn. It fights target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/masters-25/epic-confrontation
Garruk, Primal Hunter
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $1.46
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/196561_200w.jpg
+1: Create a 3/3 green Beast creature token. −3: Draw cards equal to the greatest power among creatures you control. −6: Create a 6/6 green Wurm creature token for each land you control.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-2019/garruk-primal-hunter
Brutalizer Exarch
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.41
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/125397_200w.jpg
When Brutalizer Exarch enters the battlefield, choose one — • Search your library for a creature card, reveal it, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. • Put target noncreature permanent on the bottom of its owner's library.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/planechase-anthology/brutalizer-exarch
Wilt
Color Identity:G
Market Price: $0.15
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/212274_200w.jpg
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Cycling {2} ({2}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/ikoria-lair-of-behemoths/wilt
Our main goal is to use our creatures and fight spells to punish smaller creatures on the other side, and attack with large creatures consistently to secure the win. Our early creatures aren't much to write home about, as they won't win many fights, but they do help set us up for success later. Broodhatch Nantuko and Brindle Shoat don't mind getting into fights they can't win, Fierce Empath goes and gets one of our Rare monsters, and Hunting Moa is just around to help out.
Once we get a little further up the curve, the threats start to get scary. The larger bodies are much scarier in combat or some brawls on the side, and the Rares help fix those fights. It'll be hard to imagine your opponent donating to the growth of Feral Hydra (Downshift Alert! Thanks Battlebond / Jumpstart!) but even if you're the only one contributing, it only takes a few turns to get out of hand.
Also keep in mind that if it's possible, land Algae Gharial before you start battling. It might not look like much, and its stats are crappy, but it gets absolutely massive if it gets to stick around for a few turns and the Shroud becomes game-breaking.
Our removal package contains several outstanding ways to get rid of artifacts or enchantments. But when it comes to creature kill, it's pretty much all based on fighting. So given that, it's very important to keep in mind when the opponent has open mana to cause some trouble when we're trying to get our scrap on. However, if your fight spells / effects end up resolving, it'll be difficult to lose, since our board will snowball quickly.
The First Rule of Ulvenwald Tracker is You Do Not Talk About Fight Club! Uh...I've said too much. Tyler Durden here is only happy when he can facilitate some brawls and if he gets active for a while the opponent will be in tough shape. Consider invoking Project Mayhem if the tracker contributes strongly to wins.
I'll be honest, this is here because I absolutely love the card and the character and it benefits from combat tricks. Its stats are very handy with any kind of creature enhancement and I just kinda feel like Garruk and Mirri would have found some sort of common ground in the lore. Maybe not exactly buddies, but perhaps a mutual respect?
Gargos is a...vicious beating (I'm sorry). Its stats are outstanding, especially for only 6 mana, and we're not concerned about the Green mana commitment since we're only Green. We even have another hydra to synergize with—Feral Hydra—no easy feat, considering that most Hydras these days tend to be Rares or Mythics. Oh yeah, and it also helps protect your entire board by acting as some sort of UFC matchmaker. It's likely that your opponent's creatures haven't been training!
The stats-to-cost ratio is a little rough, but all it takes is 1-2 fights before The Regent here rules the board and it gets the first fight automatically. Considering the themes of our deck, it's not unreasonable for this thing to end games in a single hit.
It's extremely satisfying whenever I see Masters sets and other supplemental products that are reprint-heavy which contain cards I've picked out for these decks, or maybe seeing new downshifted Rares that would be welcome additions to the card pool.
Hunter's Insight is a great example, as it's come out in Ikoria Commander decks, Jumpstart, and Commander Legends in 2020. I think it helps affirm that WotC recognizes these cards are potent and powerful, and that they should be around more so folks can play them.
I'm not sure if you've ever resolved a Hunter's Insight before, but boy oh boy is it a good one. Keep in mind two very important things: it draws cards equal to the damage dealt by its target, not just one card, and it's an instant. These two factors combine to make the Insight a game-defining card. And if you can, I'd try to play it with Gargos in play to protect your target from opposing tricks.