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Commander Nexus
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Command zone

Gríma Wormtongue

Gríma Wormtongue

Legendary Creature — Human Advisor

Gríma Wormtongue wants a deck that sacrifices its own creatures to drain opponents' life. It also suits a deck that plays small creatures that make life hard for opponents.

  • Mana cost2 genericblack
  • Black ()
  • Power / toughness1 / 4
  • RarityUncommon

Your opponents can't gain life.

tap, Sacrifice another creature: Target player loses 1 life. If the sacrificed creature was legendary, amass Orcs 2.

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Themes

Cards That Fit Gríma Wormtongue

Picked for what they do in Gríma Wormtongue's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Gríma Wormtongue's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

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The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

Rulings for Gríma Wormtongue

explain how Gríma Wormtongue works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

Amass abilities are now written as "amass [subtype] N." Previous cards with amass have received errata to say "amass Zombies N."

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

Amass Zombies works the same way, except you create a 0/0 black Zombie Army creature token if you don't control an Army. If the Army creature you chose isn't already a Zombie, it becomes a Zombie in addition to its other types. By combining cards with amass Orcs and amass Zombies, you can end up with an Orc Zombie Army.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

Gríma Wormtongue's activated ability checks whether the sacrificed creature was legendary as it last existed on the battlefield. It doesn't matter whether or not it's legendary in the graveyard.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

If an effect says to set an opponent's life total to a number that's higher than the opponent's current life total while Gríma Wormtongue is on the battlefield, the player's life total doesn't change.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

If you don't control an Army, the Orc Army token you create enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature before receiving counters. Any abilities that trigger when a creature with a certain power enters the battlefield, such as that of Mentor of the Meek, will see the token enter as a 0/0 creature before it gets +1/+1 counters.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

In the rare case that you control multiple Army creatures (perhaps because you played a creature with changeling) while you amass Orcs, you choose which of your Army creatures to put the +1/+1 counters on. If that creature isn't an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

Some cards refer to the "amassed Army." That means the Army creature you chose to receive counters, even if no counters were placed on it for some reason.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

Some spells and abilities that amass Orcs may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. You won't amass Orcs.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

Spells and abilities that cause opponents to gain life still resolve while Gríma Wormtongue is on the battlefield. No opponent will gain life, but any other effects of that spell or ability will still happen.

Wizards of the Coast 16 Jun 2023

To amass Orcs N, if you don't control an Army creature, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token. Then you choose an Army creature you control and put N +1/+1 counters on it. If that Army isn't already an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types.

10 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Gríma Wormtongue, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.AristocratsAristocrats decks sacrifice their own creatures on purpose and profit every time one dies, often by draining life from each opponent. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you like, decides when that happens.Open the Aristocrats pageLife DrainAn opponent loses life and you gain that life from the same effect. Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat. It lets Aristocrats decks win without ever attacking. Every drain card is also tagged Life Gain; this tag is the part where the life comes out of somebody.Open the Life Drain pageSacrifice OutletA permanent that lets you sacrifice your own creatures or artifacts whenever you want, usually for free. Every Aristocrats deck needs one, because cards that reward a creature dying only help if you choose when it dies. Ashnod's Altar, Viscera SeerOpen the Sacrifice Outlet pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker pageHatebearsHatebears decks play cheap creatures that each carry a rule making life harder for opponents, such as spells costing more. Each one is small, but together they slow the whole table down while they attack.Open the Hatebears pageHatebearA cheap creature, costing 3 mana or less, with a rule that slows everyone else down. Spells cost more, things enter tapped, or players cannot do something. It is the community's word for it, and a deck of them is a Hatebears deck. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Drannith Magistrate, Collector OupheOpen the Hatebear pageStax/TaxMakes the game more expensive or more restrictive for everyone: taxing spells and attacks, or stopping permanents from untapping. Propaganda, Ghostly Prison. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check what your table expects first.Open the Stax/Tax pageSacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageGame ChangerCards that warp the game disproportionately around themselves, requiring immediate answers.What the brackets meanLegends MatterCards that care about legendary cards: rewards for casting them, discounts, or bonuses for each one you control.Open the Legends Matter page