GruulLegendary Creature — HumanElmar, Ulvenwald Informant
Mana value3Rank#12,586PartnerYes
The Commander
Haste
Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, untap target creature, then investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with "
, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
Partner—Friends forever (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)
Guide
Gameplan
Elmar rewards you for casting two spells a turn, untapping a creature and investigating each time, which fuels both ramp (untap mana dorks) and card advantage (Clues). Curve out with cheap spells and rituals so you can comfortably double-spell every turn, snowball Clue tokens into draw, and use the untap trigger to power big-mana creatures or pseudo-vigilance attackers. Close with an overwhelming board, a big mana-untap engine, or a Friends forever partner that converts the resources into a kill.
Strengths
- Free repeatable card advantage and a built-in ramp/untap engine just for playing normally
- Untapping a mana dork effectively makes spells cheaper, snowballing into more double-spells
- Friends forever lets you pair it with any color-identity-legal partner to fill gaps
- Haste means immediate pressure and the engine works the turn it lands
- Clue tokens fuel artifact and sacrifice synergies as a bonus
Weaknesses
- The trigger requires consistently casting two spells per turn, which stalls on low-card hands
- Mana value 3 in GR with no protection makes it removal- and bounce-prone
- Generates value, not immediate board impact, so it can be slow to actually win
- Wants cheap spells, which can dilute deck power if not built tightly
- Color identity lacks the best card-draw and interaction efficiency of blue/black
Key Cards
- Dockside Extortionist — Untapping it after casting can't re-trigger it, but its treasures let you chain a second spell every turn to fire Elmar.
- Birgi, God of Storytelling — Treasure off each spell makes hitting your second cast trivial and turbocharges the engine.
- Tireless Provisioner — Turns lands and tokens into Treasures, smoothing the mana to reliably double-spell.
- Selvala, Heart of the Wilds — A massive mana creature that Elmar can untap for explosive ramp into giant spells.
- Goblin Anarchomancer — Cost reduction makes casting two spells per turn effortless, keeping Elmar's trigger online.
- Lonis, Cryptozoologist — A second clue-and-investigate payoff that piles onto Elmar's tokens for huge draw and creature generation.
Upgrade Path
Lower your curve and add ritual/treasure effects (Jeska's Will, Birgi, Tireless Provisioner) so you reliably double-spell and untap mana producers for explosive turns. Add Clue and untap payoffs (Lonis, The Reality Chip, Aetherflux-style draw) plus protection like Heroic Intervention and Lightning Greaves to keep Elmar alive. For higher power, choose a Friends forever partner that closes games fast and lean into a focused combo or mana-burst finish rather than pure value.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Overwhelm with a wide, ramped-out creature board and combat damage
- ▸Convert massive untap-fueled mana into a game-ending X spell or big finisher
- ▸Out-card-advantage the table with Clues and grind to victory
- ▸Pair with a combo-oriented Friends forever partner to assemble a kill
Archetypes
- Spellslinger — The second-spell trigger pushes you to play many cheap spells and reward sequencing.
- Ramp / Big Mana — Untapping mana dorks each turn accelerates into oversized green threats.
- Artifacts / Clues — Constant Clue generation feeds sacrifice payoffs and artifact-matters cards.
- Value Midrange — Steady card advantage and untap value grind opponents out over time.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GR), by popularity.
