GolgariLegendary Creature — Hydra HorrorGrakmaw, Skyclave Ravager
Mana value3Rank#9,495
The Commander
Grakmaw enters with three +1/+1 counters on it.
Whenever another creature you control dies, if it had a +1/+1 counter on it, put a +1/+1 counter on Grakmaw.
When Grakmaw dies, create an X/X black and green Hydra creature token, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Grakmaw.
Guide
Gameplan
Grakmaw is a BG +1/+1 counters aristocrats commander: load up creatures with counters, sacrifice them for value, and grow Grakmaw whenever a counter-bearing creature dies. When Grakmaw eventually dies it leaves behind a huge Hydra, so it's resilient and self-perpetuating. You grind value through proliferate, sac outlets, and counter synergies until you assemble a big board or a combo finish.
Strengths
- Built-in resilience: dies into a large Hydra token, so removal rarely sets you back fully
- Deep synergy with the strong BG +1/+1 counters and proliferate package
- Aristocrats angle gives reliable value engines and incremental advantage
- Low mana value (3) makes it easy to recast and abuse sacrifice loops
Weaknesses
- Counter synergies are fragile to board wipes and exile-based removal
- Relies on enablers; a slow start without counters or sac outlets stalls
- Grakmaw itself is small unless counters accumulate, so it's a poor early attacker
- No card advantage built into the command zone beyond the death trigger
Key Cards
- Hardened Scales — Multiplies every counter you add, turbocharging Grakmaw and the whole counters core.
- Branching Evolution — Doubles counters placed, dramatically inflating the Hydra token and your board.
- Viscera Seer — Free sac outlet that lets you trigger Grakmaw's growth at will and dig for combo pieces.
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed — Combos with sac outlets and undying creatures while pumping non-human creatures with counters.
- Inkshield — Punishes removal aimed at Grakmaw and turns commander damage into a swarm of tokens.
- Pir, Imaginative Rascal — Adds an extra counter to every counter placement, stacking with doublers.
Upgrade Path
Add counter doublers (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Doubling Season) and proliferate engines to snowball faster, then layer in free sac outlets (Ashnod's Altar, Carrion Feeder) and undying creatures plus Mikaeus to enable infinite combos. Tighten mana with fast rocks and dual lands, and include protection like Heroic Intervention and recursion to survive wraths.
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
- ▸Overrun the table with a counter-pumped board plus an anthem like Craterhoof Behemoth
- ▸Infinite sacrifice loops (Mikaeus + undying creature + sac outlet) draining or milling the table
- ▸Repeatedly trading Grakmaw into ever-larger Hydra tokens until you swing for lethal
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist / Zulaport Cutthroat as creatures die in loops
Archetypes
- +1/+1 Counters — Grakmaw rewards loading creatures with counters and proliferating them across the board.
- Aristocrats — Sacrificing counter-bearing creatures grows Grakmaw and fuels death-payoff engines.
- Combo — Undying creatures plus sac outlets create infinite death loops with Grakmaw and Mikaeus.
- Go-Wide Tokens — Counter doublers and overrun effects turn a counter-heavy board into lethal swings.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BG), by popularity.
