MTG reprint of Garruk, Primal Hunger fits Populate theme in Commander 2019

The call for a return of Garruk has been answered with Primal Hunger in the MTG Commander 2019 preconstructed deck, Primal Genesis. 

When it comes to stompy, think Garruk Wildspeaker. A planeswalker who aligns himself with nature, Garruk crossed paths with Liliana and almost overpowered her, forcing Liliana to use Chain Veil, leaving him cursed. 

Garruk, Primal Hunger is in the preconstructed Commander 2019 deck, Primal Genesis, commanded by Ghired, Conclave Exile. The deck is built around the mechanic Populate, creating a token that is a copy of a creature token that player controls. 

Both Garruk, Primal Hunger and Ghired, Conclave Exile produce beefy tokens, allowing Populate to do what its meant to do—flood the board with powerful creatures. It was confirmed at Gen Con that the smallest token in the Primal Genisis deck is a three/three, meaning Ghired should have plenty of powered up tokens to copy. 

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Much like Garruk, Primal Hunger’s minus six, that creates a six/six Wurm for each land a player controls. The issue, however, will be protecting Garruk a minimum of three turns for him to reach six loyalty counters. Another possible problem within the deck will be mana. 

The previous two Commander 2019 preconstructed deck spoilers had a decent amount of dual lands, which Populate needs, along with ramp. Garruk, Primal Hunger isn’t cheap to cast and neither is Ghired, Conclave Exile. For token players, though, the return of Garruk is cause for celebration as players wait for the reveal of a full Primal Genesis decklist.

The MTG Commander 2019 set releases on Aug. 19, along with four preconstructed decks built around the themes of Populate, Morph, Flashback, and Madness.