The meta choice for Sarulf is as a mutate commander since you get all the benefits from mutate and don't exile those cards, but I prefer to play him as a control style deck with a bunch of big stuff, especially ones that can be made cheaper like The Great Henge. Fair warning though, you will be targeted constantly
I don't think mutate is all that great in sarulf. Because you need to spend a lot of mana to get his base power from 3/3 to 6/6 and get some keywords like trample or flying. If wizards ever releases more mutate cards that less focused on the whenever this creature mutates effects and more on their general effects this might become a good strategy but right now I believe a spell slinging deck with many each player/opponent sacrifices effects is the best for sarulf. Also cards that transform into lands are a nice way to get other permanents that stick around.
Sarulf doesn’t see more play because normal, well adjusted people realize that having an exile-wrath in the command zone gets really boring really quickly.
Love gyome. I had a deck with him at the helm for a long time, then I wanted red so I could put the other chef (Ms. LONG NAME) into so now it's a korvold food deck. korvold is just a regular who shows up a lot chef rarely comes out the kitchen but when he does I'm having a good time
Love my Sarulf Yeetus Deletus deck! My play group not so much lol. I get that he's a not fun doggo, but the minute I saw his artwork spoiled I knew I had to build him.
I built Sarulf when kaldheim came out. I run a handful of mutate cards, old ulamog, emrakul the aeons torn (we play no ban list commander in my group), and the rest of the deck is 90% removal or put however many counters on target creature, and a small splash of ramp. But you just run a lot of wipes and removal, the good mutate cards to make Sarulf larger, and just swing away. It's pretty damn strong.
I can’t believe no one is mentioning Hapatra. There’s barely a handful of dedicated -1/-1 counters Commanders out there, but she’s the only one in Golgari. Is it cause she makes tokens or what? Cause even with that, the deck plays 90% (nonland) cards that you just do not see anywhere else in the game, let alone Golgari.
I filled my Sarulf deck with low cost +1 counter and kill spells and high cost creatures that I reanimate or cast lategame to back him up. It's a really vicious deck, so I don't play him unless everyone is looking to be cutthroat. But I've gotten him up to 48/48 before and just swung in for game.
@@benjaminsutphen4711 just for theme lol. I like seeing players work around it. The more that die, they stronger he gets, then you can sweep the board lol
I've not tested him but he let's you play insects and lands from your graveyard but with the downside of putting insects on the bottom of your library when they die but you mill 2 cards
@@Breviparopus oh. Not sure if I would play him, my deck is heavily based on sacrificing for value (skullclamp and such) and then reanimating. Last game, my opponent put a minus one minus one counter on hornet queen. I immediately smacked skullclamp onto the battlefield and let it die, drawing two including a reanimation spell and putting hornet queen back on the table, getting 4 more tokens etc. Also, this "dies put on bottom" phrase is not really helpful considering my oversold cemetery and cards like that. But I'm pretty sure I'm gonna brew around Zask one day.