Planeswalker Alert: Garruk, Apex Predator

M15 Spoiler season is on top of us, and Wizards of the Coast has finally let us see the new card that all their marketing has been focused on. Now I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure it's worth all the hype.

Drink in that tall glass of water, ladies and gentleman.
Or don't. It might not agree with you.

Now, as a player myself, I don't have a lot of experience playing with most planeswalker cards. I have a distinct affinity to burn spells, and I've always found that planeswalkers make excellent targets for my Lightning Strikes and Magma Jets. Fated Conflagration in particular made me a very happy player. Plus most of the red planeswalkers have left me feeling a little burned. (Yeah, bad pun, I know.)

But this Garruk is just a bit too big for me to dismiss as "flammable". You're more than likely going to open up with one of his +1 abilities as soon as he hits the table, especially if you need to deal with a Jace, Architect of Thought or Elspeth, Sun's Champion. And that's going to land him on the table with 6 loyalty counters. Too big to burn out quickly, even with my new favorite burn spell.

Seriously, these guys are everywhere.

Everywhere!

Now let's address the Loxodon in the room, his cost. Yes, seven is a lot of mana. A LOT of mana. So he's hardly going to be hitting the ground every game, and you definitely don't want four of him in your Standard deck. But if any color can reliably get to seven mana, it's green. Especially while Return to Ravnica block is still in Standard. So while I do think that he'll be making an appearance there, (5 color Super-Friends? Please?) he's probably going to blow up even bigger in multiplayer. 

Remember, this guy is still in Standard.
Garruk will find a way onto the battlefield.

With four abilities, you can react to anything around you. Planeswalkers and creatures alike. And that ultimate! Picture your friends' reactions in Commander when you have 8 counters on Garruk and you get to decide which of them get mowed down by EVERYONE ELSE'S CREATURES! Especially with there currently (and for the foreseeable future) being absolutely no way to remove emblems.

So here's hoping we all get to crack a pack with our new big baddie inside and make emblems for our opponents, then run them over with 8/8 trampling, deathtouching Beasts. Hunt Bigger Game, indeed!