Commander Showcase 2: Wilson, Refined Grizzly & Raised by Giants
Written by Adam the Gathering - Oct 18 2022
Welcome back to Commander Showcase! We’ll be taking a look at Wilson, Refined Grizzly, “named after his father, who was believed to have also been a bear.” But what if he was raised by giants instead? This £200 build aims to simply bulk up and punch face, utilising commander damage to maximum effect.
Wilson is part of a recent wave of commanders with the ‘Choose a Background’ mechanic, aimed to give you access to colour combinations without stoking the flame of the powerful ‘Partner’ mechanic. However, a 2 mana commander with vigilance, reach, trample AND ward 2 is just screaming to be a 10/10, so pairing it with Raised by Giants was a no brainer. Throw in some cards like Exponential Growth or Fireshrieker to really beef up Wilson’s power and you’ve got yourself a party!
Obviously with such a large and in charge commander, we’re going to be the target of removal and although Wilson’s ward 2 helps a lot, it’s nice to have something like a Swiftfoot Boots to protect the little fluffy gentleman. Equipment can make a lot of difference in this deck, especially when you’re trying to make Wilson big enough to take out a player in one hit. Blackblade Reforged is a great inclusion in any mono green deck built around damage, we’ll be ramping out a lot of lands and quite easily see this adding at least +7/+7.
On the subject of ramping lands, is there anything that green does easier?! Raised by Giants is a hefty 6 mana and with the inevitable enchantment removal, is going to see its own share of commander tax. There are a tonne of spells we can include to gain us a land advantage, with the likes of Kodama’s Reach, Cultivate and Nature’s Lore.
Along with taking advantage of extra lands, we can make use of Wilson’s size for some even spicier value. With Wilson and Raised by Giants in play we can draw 10 cards with Return of the Wildspeaker, play The Great Henge for only two mana or windmill slam a Primeval Protector onto the table for a single green mana!
Building a mono coloured deck can often cause some troublesome restrictions, but green has plenty of key cards that can cover its supposed weak areas. Our first area of concern is running out of gas, so including cards like Beast Whisperer to ensure we can keep the card draw flowing is a vital part of the deck. Secondly, having a way to grab cards back from the graveyard after they’ve been removed is a huge safety net for a deck with a narrow game plan, so Eternal Witness is an absolute must.
In summary, swinging a giant commander with trample never gets old and Wilson has a surprising amount of staying power for a simple build. It’s mono green giving an awesome showcase of what mono green does best! If you want to check out the full deck list then follow the link below. See you next time!
