Bayou Groff MTG Card

Bayou Groff - Strixhaven: School of Mages

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Plant Dog
Released	2021-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Strixhaven: School of Mages
Set code	STX
Power	5
Toughness	4
Number	121
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Ilse Gort

Key Takeaways

Bayou Groff encourages board control and synergizes with graveyard-based playstyles to create card advantage.
Its moderate casting cost accelerates resource management, enabling swifter deployment of threats and combos.
Combines well with instant speed spells to outmaneuver opponents, making it a tempo-shifting asset.

Text of card

As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature or pay .

"Groffs are great for tracking pests through the muck, but securing the pests before the groff devours them is a dicey endeavor." —Lisette, Witherbloom dean

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bayou Groff thrives on board presence and can be an integral part of leveraging card economy. By offering card synergy with graveyard strategies, this creature can help secure card advantage through various interactions within the game.

Resource Acceleration: Featuring a modest casting cost, Bayou Groff helps in resource acceleration by allowing players to deploy threats earlier or potentially unlocking powerful combos in rapid succession.

Instant Speed: While Bayou Groff itself is not an instant, it synergy with instant speed spells and mechanics can be vital. The ability to react to an opponent’s moves and then follow-up with a substantial creature like Bayou Groff can shift the tempo in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bayou Groff’s ability necessitates discarding a card. This can deplete your hand quickly and leave you at a disadvantage if you’re unable to maintain a substantial number of cards in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Bayou Groff includes both black and green mana, which could restrict its playability exclusively to decks that can generate these colors consistently, potentially limiting deck-building options and versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that might be deemed steep for its stats and effects, Bayou Groff faces stiff competition from other creatures and spells that could provide more bang for their mana buck within the same cost bracket.

Reasons to Include Bayou Groff in Your Collection

Versatility: Bayou Groff offers great adaptability for players, seamlessly blending into various deck types. Its use isn’t restricted to a single strategy, hence it can serve multiple roles depending on the deck’s needs, particularly those revolving around creature-based synergies.

Combo Potential: As a creature card, Bayou Groff can work wonders within combo-driven decks. Its capabilities can integrate with various card interactions, enabling strategic advantages that amplify your board presence and apply pressure to your adversaries.

Meta-Relevance: Given the card’s fitting in current gameplay trends, with the right meta, Bayou Groff can prove exceptionally beneficial. Its presence on the field corresponds strategically with prevalent deck types and can be a formidable asset amidst the competitive landscape.

How to beat

Bayou Groff might seem like a formidable force at a glance – a punchy creature that embodies the growth aspect found in the Green faction of Magic: The Gathering. Encountering this critter can be daunting on the battlefield. It’s often paired with other creatures to maximize its full potential, and this interaction can quickly turn the tide of the game in your opponent’s favor. Therefore, being prepared to counter Bayou Groff is crucial.

To successfully vanquish Bayou Groff, removal spells are your best ally. Instant-speed spells that can take out creatures regardless of their size, like Murder or Doom Blade, will serve you well. On the other end, board wipe spells such as Day of Judgment or Wrath of God can clear the field not only of Bayou Groff but also of any accompanying threats. The key is timing. Waiting for your opponent to commit to their play fully before wiping the board can leave them scrambling.

A strategic blend of patience and precise card choice can dismantle the advantage Bayou Groff offers to Green decks. Knowing when to strike and having the right removal tools at your disposal will ensure you maintain control over the game.

Cards like Bayou Groff

Bayou Groff commands attention in the creature pool of Magic: The Gathering as it holds its ground against other formidable creatures. Notably, it can be compared to Tarmogoyf, a creature often celebrated for its power that scales with the variety of card types in all graveyards. However, Bayou Groff maintains an edge by epitomizing consistency, as its strength isn’t reliant on graveyard contents.

Another parallel can be drawn with Leatherback Baloth, a creature known for its sheer size for a relatively low mana investment. Like Bayou Groff, it offers significant power and toughness, but without the additional requirement of sacrificing a creature. That said, Bayou Groff’s ability to grow by feeding on other creatures provides a different angle for strategic deck playstyle.

Moving forward, evaluating the utility and adaptability of such creatures reveals that Bayou Groff is a worthy contender within its category. It finds a sweet spot, offering players a creature that can become exceptionally powerful while engaging actively with the board state and synergizing with sacrifice-themed decks, accentuating its unique role in the ecosystem of Magic: The Gathering’s creature-based strategies.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bayou Groff MTG card by a specific set like Strixhaven: School of Mages, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Bayou Groff and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bayou Groff has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Bayou Groff card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2021-04-16	Players can respond to Bayou Groff only after it’s been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to destroy the creature you sacrificed to stop you from casting this spell or to make it cost more mana.
2021-04-16	You must sacrifice exactly one creature or pay an extra to cast this spell; you can’t cast it without paying one of those costs, and you can’t pay either multiple times.