Also appearing in the Magic 2014 set is the fourth iteration of Garruk. This time sees the green planeswalker at his most expensive, as Garruk, Caller of Beasts requires six mana to cast, two of which must be green. He enters the battlefield with four loyalty counters and has three abilities. Six-mana planeswalkers need powerful abilities to make them worth the wait. Is Garruk, Caller of Beasts worth it?

The first ability adds a loyalty counter. You reveal the top five cards of your library and put any number of creature cards revealed into your hand. The rest go to the bottom of your library in any order. This ability could net you two, three or even four creatures in the right green deck. As Garruk costs so much to cast, chances are you’ve already cast all the creatures you’ve drawn so far, so this helps keep your hand full of threats to play. It doesn’t help if you are hoping to draw a crucial non-creature card though.

The second ability is connected to the first, and for the cost of removing three loyalty counters you can put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. Take that, counterspells! Naturally this encourages you to play the biggest creatures you have alongside Garruk, Caller of Beasts in order to get the most out of this ability.

After reading the third ability though, you may want to skip the second ability altogether. For seven loyalty counters you gain an emblem. Yes, another planeswalker that gives you an emblem. This emblem has “whenever you cast a creature spell, you may search your library for a creature card and put that card onto the battlefield…” So every creature spell you cast is now two creatures, and you get to choose the second one. I like the sound of that. Also, where it counts the creature you search for will enter the battlefield before the creature you cast, and there may be some way of taking advantage of that.

Any decks looking for a combination of creatures to win the game (eg Triskelion and Mephidross Vampire) will want to at least consider Garruk, Caller of Beasts. The card leads you to build a deck filled with expensive creatures. This may or may not work out.

Verdict: Marginal. Garruk, Caller of Beasts is a useful addition to some decks, but a deck built around him will struggle to do well at the multiplayer table.

Connections: Like Garruk, Caller of Beasts? You may also like: [Xenagos the Reveller] [Domri Rade] [Elspeth Tirel]
Don’t like Garruk, Caller of Beasts? You may prefer [Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas] [Sorin, Lord of Innistrad] [Liliana of the Dark Realms]