GruulLegendary Creature — Human Beast WarriorThe Howling Abomination
Mana value5Rank#14,157
The Commander
Haste
The Howling Abomination has trample as long as you've cast three or more spells this turn.
Whenever The Howling Abomination becomes the target of a spell, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn and deals 2 damage to each opponent.
Guide
Gameplan
Play The Howling Abomination as a haste-enabled threat and target it with your own cheap spells to pump it, drain each opponent for 2, and crash in for big trample damage. You chain pump and protection spells off it each turn to swing the game while burning the table down. Spellslinger storm-lite turns let you grow it huge and trample over chumps for lethal commander damage.
Strengths
- Haste plus self-targeting gives immediate, repeatable value and a passive damage clock on all opponents
- Rewards casting your own spells targeting it, doubling as protection and pump
- Trample makes it hard to chump-block in multispell turns
- Color identity supports both big-mana ramp and spell-velocity strategies
Weaknesses
- Relies on opponents/you targeting it; whiffs against decks with little interaction
- Vulnerable to non-targeted removal like board wipes and edicts
- Can be mana-hungry needing both ramp and cheap spells to function
- Single-creature focus makes you fragile to repeated removal and commander tax
Key Cards
- Temur Battle Rage — Cheap targeted pump that triggers the ability and grants double strike for explosive trample damage.
- Berserk — Targets it for the trigger, doubles its power, and pushes lethal trample swings.
- Snakeskin Veil — Cheap protective spell that triggers +2/+2 and the drain while saving it from removal.
- Blossoming Defense — One-mana hexproof and pump that triggers the ability twice over a turn for value and safety.
- Veil of Summer — Cheap reactive spell that protects, triggers the ability, and counters targeted removal.
- Fork — Copy targeting effects to multiply triggers and damage while doubling your spells.
Upgrade Path
Lean into cheap, efficient instants that target your commander—protection spells, pump, and copy effects like Fork or Twincast—to maximize triggers per turn. Add fast mana (Sol Ring, Ragavan-style ramp, dorks) and tutors for your combo pump pieces, plus cost reducers to enable explosive multispell turns. Round out with reliable ramp and protective haste enablers so a removed commander can recast and threaten again immediately.
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
- ▸Connecting with a pumped trampling Abomination for lethal commander damage
- ▸Repeatedly targeting it to drain all opponents for 2 each spell
- ▸Double strike combat blowouts via Temur Battle Rage or Berserk
Archetypes
- Voltron — It becomes a fast, growing trampler you protect and pump for lethal commander damage.
- Spellslinger — Casting many cheap spells each turn fuels trample and stacks the drain triggers.
- Burn/Aggro — Each target triggers 2 damage to every opponent, letting cantrips and pumps double as reach.
- Stompy Ramp — Gruul ramp deploys it early and powers out fight/pump spells to dominate combat.
Combos
- The Howling Abomination + Runaway Steam-Kin + Crown of Flames + Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
→ Infinite damage, Infinitely large creature until end of turn, Infinite storm count
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GR), by popularity.
