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Editor: Yaro Starak. Sunday 14 April 2002.
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 Card Review: Gurzigost
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Gurzigost unless you put two cards from your graveyard on the bottom of your library.
GG, Discard a card from your hand: You may have Gurzigost deal its combat damage to defending player this turn as though it weren't blocked.
6/8
Expansion: Torment
Ah yes, cheap fatties with drawbacks.
The key word in that sentence in regards to limited play is definitely "fatty".
The fact that he costs 5 is just the nuts.
Generally speaking, if you can swing 3 unblocked times with Gurzigost your
opponent will be reduced to 0 or less life.
How lucky that you can't block him...AND then he only requires 3 cards in
your graveyard. I think your green would have to be pretty poor not to use Gurzigost in any
limited environment.
For constructed you basically HAVE to turn his drawback into a positive, or
at least a neutral. The way I attempted to do this at my regionals (keep in
mind I was not going to qualify for Nats, so don't abuse me if it's god
awful) was using it in a Green/Red/Blue Wild Research/Madness deck
Infinite to the dome is some good.
He's also pretty good as a random dude in that deck as it does get a bit in
the graveyard.
In general, in T2 and block at any rate, I think Mr Gost is being fairly
underrated. 6/8 for 5 is the nuts, just make sure you don't want threshold
and well, it is the right question, will they have the right answer?
I think it could be particularly useful as a red/green answer to that
dagnabbed Roar of the Wurm which I have seen incur many a scoop from the
R/G player. I think 2, maybe 3 is the optimal amount to go for...getting 2 in the
opening hand could be pretty poor.
Value wise, definitely better than the average rare from Torment, I'd plump
at 8ish. Depends if he actually ends up being used though, obviously.
As a parting remark, let me just say that Gurzigost + False Memories can
quickly get you a demonic tutor per turn.
yarkshamarsh
Danesh
Scott Smith
Gurzigost - Super Fatty and a nice guy
Gurzigost encompasses many of Greens better qualities.
It is HUGE (6/8), it gets cards from your graveyard
back into your library (think half a dwell a turn), is
a guaranteed 6 points of damage even if it is blocked
(assuming he is not instanted away... and yes I just
made up that word), and he is HUGE (thats in there
twice because, well, he is).
Limited
1st pick all the way. The only reason not to pick
this guy is if your not going green. A 6/8 for 5 mana
is indeed nothing to shine at. Not very many things
can deal with Gurzigost and usually when he hits the
table it means game. Not as good in a B/G deck as a
G/U deck with all its nice graveyard fillers (think
cephallid broker, think tank, cephallid looter, etc
etc). G/R with a heavy burn load should be able to
stock enough cards in the graveyard before say turn
five to make him worth it. G/W.... well we don't like
talking about this combination do we....still if
Gurzigost is in the deck, it makes it that much
better. Once this guy hits, it should take a maximum
of 3 turns before your opponent bites the dust.
TIPS for using: if no cards are in your graveyard
begginning of turn, use his ability to put cards from
your hand into your graveyard... it may seem obvious
but I have noticed that some people actually put him
into the graveyard when they've had 4 cards in hand.
There should be a minimum of 3-4 cards in your
graveyard before playing him, and you shouldn't have
to rely too much on threshold.
Past experience: I haven't actually used Gurzigost in
limited but I have had it played against me by Kim
Brebach (you know the one). It was a three game match
at PTQ Nice where he was playing a G/R/b deck. The
only reason I beat him was because the two games I won
were the ones where I had waste-away in my hand and a
three offence guy on the table when I had it in my
hand. (the game I lost I didnt have it in hand)
Type II
Let's face it, no one has broken him yet so he is
still in the development stages of coming into his
own. The problem is there are so many different ways
to deal with him (terminate, pernicious deed,
vindicate) that he is not the game breaker you think
he should be. And when it all boils down, he is only
a creature and they are very vulnerable to a wide
array of kill methods.
Tips: G/U is definatly the way to go. With cards
like Fact or Fiction, Tolarian Winds, counters to keep
him alive and cantripable bounce (yes I made that one
up too) he is surely not going to die often to the
inability to return cards from graveyard to library.
Tip2: Use cards like diligent farmhand, rampant
growth, and other library manipulaters so that when
you do return the two fact or fictions you have cast
you can shuffle them to the top (or middle) to reuse
again and again. Although if he does get down and
isn't killed in the first few turns you should've
already won.
PRICE: Limited he's a beast but he is also free if you
open him, or god forbid get passed him, Type II... not
as good as you'd think. Not playable and not in any
of the tier 1 decks. I value the Biggest Green Fatty
in torment - $6+$1=$7... he has little kiddie value so
add a dollar...or in TBS's case add $2.
Until next time.. I'll see you next time
Jason Street
I'm going to look at the Extended and Type 1 uses for the Gurzigost. I
believe the point of using a card like this is to turn its disadvantage into
an advantage. Type 1 and Extended already make use of cards like Gaea's
Blessing to put cards back in your library, so where does that leave
Gurzigost?
In Extended Gaea's Blessing is the card of choice for recycling in a green
deck, though with Gurzigost you have a two in one effect - it's big, and it
acts as a free Soldevi Digger every turn. I once saw a deck using a
combination of Sylvan Library and a splash of blue for Portent and Lat-Nam's
Legacy, the idea being to shuffle the deck and put new cards into the Sylvan
Library. By adding in the Soldevi Digger - Sorry, Gurzigost, you are putting
cards back every turn that have been used and can then pull them up higher
with a good shuffling. Gurzigost really makes the Soldevi Digger obsolete
for green players, but you can't stop - you really need to be losing a bunch
of cards every turn to keep him in play. This is where Hermit Druids or
Mulch come in, since there are benefits to using the Hermit Druid every turn
(think Masticore) there's another card to go with the Gurzigost. Just add
some spells you will always want to cast when you draw them (land
destruction, life gain, anything you always have a use for), and you're set.
Type 1.... Hmmmm.... you don't really use cards there, you abuse them. There
are certainly a few cards that end up in the graveyard the turn you draw
them, Strip Mine being the stand out that most Type 1 players have. Any
extra recycling in Type 1 is good, even if you aren't getting Time Walks
back for use later. The real question is will you be alive long enough to
make a difference with the Gurzigost? I suppose the other question is, if
you put him out early can you fill your graveyard up with cards so he will
stay out for the four turns of pounding you need him for? An early Gurzigost
will need defending, so Foil would be a good way to counterspell whatever
people try to use on him. Cheap cards that do something useful will be
required, so Strip Mine, Tutors, and cheap card drawing will all be useful
as you can always play them.
I leave it as an exercise for the player to find ways to use Gurzigost in a
casual Type 1 game. Myself, I'd love to get him out with a Deep Spawn....
Value? Around $8, since he's undercosted for size and ability, which is
good, and his drawback is workable.... But of course the whole point of
undercosted cards is that they come out early, whereas the longer you've
been playing the happier Gurzigost is....
Jason
Spencer Allen
Type 2 -- Gurzigost is a great card, being a green creature for 5 mana and a
6/8. The ability for this card is questionable, but it does fits the set of
Torment. But to see a big green creature like the ones that are in Type 1
printed in Type 2, especially in Torment, the black colored set. Gurzigost
has a good mana cost for it's abilities and power/toughness. They made it
an all out even card. All together I give it a 7 out of 10.
Deck -- Well first you need to understand it's ability, because it's power
and toughness for 5 mana is real good. Then you have to think about what
decks would you want to try to beat with it. Usually the Ichorid,
Phsycatog, or any graveyard targeting decks. You would also want to think
of a fast deck to put it in. Maybe a Fires deck, Blue and Green, or even
Opposition deck. Here's my idea of a good Gurzigost deck. Deck: 4 - Yavimya Coast 10 - Island 10 - Forest 4 - Opposition 4 - Mystic Snake 4 - Gaea's Skyfolk 3 - Gurzigost 4 - Counterspell 2 - Boomerang 4 - Fact or Fiction 4 - Squirrle Nest 2 - Blurred Mongoose 2 - Nimble Mongoose 4 - Llanowar Elf (Maybe Birds of Paradise instead) Sideboard: 4 - Static Orb 2 - Nimble Mongoose 2 - Blurred Mongoose 1 - Gurzigost 4 - Washout 3- Repulse
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Gurzigost (Rare)
Danesh Jogia