Previews for Dragon's Maze are just beginning, but we've already seen some amazing new cards. Today, I'll be taking a look at the first card that was revealed: Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Big Gruul decks sporting higher-cost cards like Wolfir Silverheart or Thundermaw Hellkite have been doing rather well lately, and Ruric Thar seems to be an excellent top end for that strategy. Here's the list I came up with.

"Big Gruul"

• Creatures (33)
• 3 Wolfir Silverheart
• 4 Arbor Elf
• 4 Burning-Tree Emissary
• 4 Experiment One
• 4 Flinthoof Boar
• 4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
• 4 Gyre Sage
• 4 Strangleroot Geist
• 2 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

• Spells (4)
• 4 Searing Spear

• Lands (23)
• 12 Forest
• 7 Mountain
• 4 Rootbound Crag

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Volcanic Strength
• 3 Tormod's Crypt
• 3 Triumph of Ferocity
• 1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
• 4 Rolling Temblor
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run

Buy This Deck

The Deck

Arbor Elf helps you ramp up and cast your big spells faster. It can give you a hasty Flinthoof Boar on the second turn and let you drop a massive Wolfir Silverheart on turn four. It can also substitute for a land drop if you miss one, and it can be paired with the Silverheart later to give you an extra threat.

Experiment One gives you an early threat that will keep growing bigger as the game goes on. Unlike most other 1-drops, it won't become easily outclassed by the creatures your opponent casts on turn three or four.

Gyre Sage combines the best aspects of Arbor Elf and Experiment One to create a dangerous threat that can accelerate you enough to cast Ruric Thar on turn four. With a curve of creatures that goes off the charts in power and toughness, there's almost no limit to how large your evolve creatures can grow.

Strangleroot Geist is a fast and resilient threat that can potentially evolve Experiment One and Gyre Sage twice all on its own. Against faster aggro decks, it can easily trade with two different creatures, making it difficult for your opponent to push damage through.

Burning-Tree Emissary gives you your fastest starts, making Experiment One attack for 3 on turn two or putting two counters on a Gyre Sage to prepare for a turn-four Ruric Thar. It can even evolve Gyre Sage to give you more mana than you had before you cast it.

Flinthoof Boar is the main creature you're going to be casting with Burning-Tree Emissary. As long as you have a Mountain on the battlefield, the Boar will evolve Experiment One and Gyre Sage up to 3 power. Arbor Elf can give you an extra mana with which to give Flinthoof Boar haste on turn two, but if you don't have one, a Watchwolf is still a fine card in a deck like this.

Wolfir Silverheart gives you an enormous amount of power for its mana cost. When you cast it, it will immediately make one of your creatures giant, giving you 4 extra damage immediately. It's also an 8/8—big enough to take down anything your opponent throws in its way. Ghor-Clan Rampager is especially happy to be paired with the Silverheart, and an 8/8 trample will make your opponent especially dead.

Ruric Thar, the Unbowed really punishes control players but is effective against almost any strategy. Spell-based decks won't be able to dig for answers with cards like Think Twice, and any answer your opponent does find will cost him 6 life to use. Against aggro decks, a 6/6 is big enough to kill most of your opponent's creatures, and vigilance makes it so when you attack each turn, you do so with impunity, still having your giant guy back to block.

Searing Spear is one of the premier removal spells in the format right now—and for good reason. It deals with dangerous threats such as Frontline Medic, Silverblade Paladin, and Olivia Voldaren at instant speed, which can be particularly important. Silverblade Paladin has a major impact as soon as it enters the battlefield, and Olivia has to be killed with her ability on the stack if your opponent has the 2 mana to activate it. Frontline Medic can be an immediate threat when paired with Lightning Mauler, and killing it before it attacks and triggers its battalion ability can be the difference between winning and losing. Although Searing Spear doesn't deal with every problem in the format, it's strong enough in the current Standard environment that I would be suspicious of any red deck not running the full play set.

The Sideboard

Tormod's Crypt gives you at least some defense against Junk Rites, which has been quite dominant recently. If you can eliminate the unfair part of the deck, your opponent's Thragtusks will usually be run over by your Wolfir Silverhearts and Ruric Thars.

Triumph of Ferocity gives you a steady draw engine against control decks, making it incredibly difficult for your opponent to run you out of threats. It also helps you dig for Ruric Thar, which is your best card against these strategies. I've included another copy of him in the board as well since I'm not sure you want all three in the main deck with so many aggressive decks around.

A single Kessig Wolf Run also comes in to help you crush control, giving you an extra land with which to reliably cast Ruric Thar as well as the ability to turn any of your creatures into a major source of damage.

Rolling Temblor helps you crush very aggressive decks like Naya Humans. It may seem odd to include it in a deck with so many small creatures, but it's surprisingly easy to minimize its effect on your own board. Experiment One and Gyre Sage can evolve to survive it, Flinthoof Boar survives as long as you have a Mountain, and Strangleroot Geist will come back from the dead even stronger. The only two creatures it will kill every time are Burning-Tree Emissary and Arbor Elf, and that's not a major sacrifice compared to the ability to destroy your opponent's entire board position, save perhaps a Frontline Medic or Flinthoof Boar.

Playtesting

Game 1

I drew a Mountain, played it, and attacked for 1, My opponent took the damage, and I cast my second Experiment One before passing the turn. My opponent put Godless Shrine onto the battlefield tapped and passed back.

I drew Rootbound Crag, played it, and cast Burning-Tree Emissary, evolving the Experiments. I attacked for 4 and ended my turn. My opponent cast Grisly Salvage during my end step, grabbing another Arbor Elf and putting Thragtusk in the graveyard. On his turn, he played a tapped Overgrown Tomb and then cast Arbor Elf and Mulch, putting an Angel of Serenity into the graveyard.

He passed the turn, and I drew a Forest. I played it, cast Ghor-Clan Rampager to evolve the Experiments, and dropped my opponent to 5. I passed the turn. My opponent played Woodland Cemetery and cast Angel of Serenity, exiling everything but Burning-Tree Emissary. He passed the turn.

I drew a Mountain, played it, and cast Wolfir Silverheart, pairing it with the Emissary. I attacked for 6, and my opponent blocked with Arbor Elf. I passed the turn. My opponent played Gavony Township and cast Unburial Rites with flashback to grab a Thragtusk. He gained 5 life and then attacked for 5 with the Angel and passed the turn.

I drew another Strangleroot Geist, played it, and attacked. My opponent blocked the 6/6 Emissary with Angel of Serenity and Wolfir Silverheart with Thragtusk. He put counters on his creatures with Gavony Township and took 5 from the Geists. Burning-Tree Emissary and Thragtusk died, the latter making a Beast token. I passed the turn. My opponent played a land and passed back.

I drew Searing Spear and attacked with everything. My opponent flashed in Restoration Angel and blocked the larger Strangleroot Geist with it, blocking Wolfir Silverheart with Angel of Serenity. He took 2, and I cast Searing Spear for the final 3 damage.

Sideboarding:

−4 Searing Spear

+3 Tormod's Crypt

+1 Kessig Wolf Run

Game 2

My opponent played Sunpetal Grove and cast Mulch, grabbing a Woodland Cemetery and putting Restoration Angel and Craterhoof Behemoth into the graveyard. He cast another Avacyn's Pilgrim and passed the turn. I drew another Gyre Sage, played my Forest, and cast it. I ended my turn.

My opponent played Woodland Cemetery and then cast and flashed back Lingering Souls. I drew Tormod's Crypt, cast it, and then cast my second Gyre Sage. I ended my turn.

My opponent cast Unburial Rites on the Behemoth, and I exiled his graveyard with Tormod's Crypt. He passed the turn. I drew Wolfir Silverheart and cast Strangleroot Geist, evolving both Gyre Sages. I tapped Arbor Elf and a Gyre Sage to cast Flinthoof Boar and then attacked with the untapped Sage and Strangleroot Geist. My opponent took 4, and I passed the turn.

My opponent cast Mulch, putting Thragtusk and Angel of Serenity into the graveyard and keeping an Overgrown Tomb. He played the Tomb and passed the turn. I drew Burning-Tree Emissary, cast it, and then tapped Arbor Elf and a Gyre Sage to cast Ghor-Clan Rampager. I evolved both Gyre Sages and attacked with the untapped Gyre Sage, Flinthoof Boar, and Strangleroot Geist. My opponent traded a Spirit for Strangleroot Geist and took 5. I ended my turn.

My opponent attacked for 5 with Angel of Serenity and passed the turn. I drew Strangleroot Geist, cast it, evolving Experiment One, and attacked with the Geist. My opponent took 2 and put counters on his creatures with Gavony Township when I ended my turn.

He attacked for 6 and passed back. I drew a Mountain, played it, and attacked with the Geist. My opponent blocked with Avacyn's Pilgrim and put a counter on it with the Township. Strangleroot Geist came back with undying, putting a counter on Experiment One. I passed the turn.

My opponent put Overgrown Tomb into play tapped and dropped me to 2 with the Angel, and he ended his turn. I drew Flinthoof Boar, cast it, gave it haste, and attacked with everything for exactly enough damage to win the game.

Wrap-Up

Although it took some lucky draws in the second game to pull it out despite not seeing a third land until very late, I think winning through Angel of Serenity both games demonstrated how resilient this deck is. Even when most of your creatures are exiled, you can still pull it out with big creatures, like Wolfir Silverheart, or hasty guys, like Flinthoof Boar and Strangleroot Geist. Although I'm disappointed I didn't get to see Ruric Thar in action, he seems to be an awesome source of damage, and he can even kill Angel of Serenity if your opponent attacks or blocks with it. If you want to try out a Gruul deck that still has teeth late in the game, give this one a try.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @MTGCannon, or simply leave a comment below.