I had to read Gluntch a few times before I really understood what an expertly designed group hug commander they are! Here are a few other group hug commanders to think about as a comparison.

Helping the whole table equally can further unbalance a casual commander pod and allow the strongest deck to take over and win the game before it has properly begun! Being able to target yourself with one of the abilities is huge and then choosing how to distribute the other two is super fun and really rewarding, if done correctly. Choosing incorrectly can also be fun but leads to some very unbalanced play patterns! I gave a Maelstrom Wanderer player two treasures and I (and the rest of the table) quickly saw how bad a mistake that was! But it helped to highlight how powerful Gluntch is and how piloting them is like walking a tightrope. Having an extensive knowledge of your meta will help you decide how to bestow your gifts!

It always helps to tell the table your thinking on who gets what and why. Number one it gets the table talking and is a natural way to point out powerful pieces and give your opinion on what might become a problem going forward. The second reason is that it also helps to alleviate hard feelings. You let the player in the lead know that you see what they are up to and it’s super cool but clearly doesn’t need more fuel. Plus I always enjoy a state of the game talk and it has been really fascinating to hear players try to explain why they should be the player that gets treasures even though they have a super scary board state! If the table is at a dead heat or it is too early to see who is clearly in the lead you can always have everyone roll a die and let the high roll pick first (after you of course). Almost every game I’ve played with this deck has gone past turn eight. They have all been really fun and exciting, which is exactly what I’m looking for when I play group hug!

Another key to a good group hug deck is to be able to take advantage of the free resources more than the rest of the table. You can give yourself some major advantages with Gluntch. I tend to target myself for card draw then give out the other two unless I have Doubling Season, Anointed Procession, Parallel Lives or Primal Vigor in play. Making four plus treasures is too tempting to pass up! A small disclaimer about Primal Vigor… It is symmetrical so if anyone at the table is playing a +1-+1 counter deck it will almost certainly make them win. But if the game is running long my preference is always to end the game even if I don’t win the game!

Alhammarret’s Archive, Wedding Ring and Generous Patron are also a great additions for this deck and I feel myself wishing Gluntch had blue in his color identity so I could also run Teferi’s Ageless Insight. In fact if Gluntch was in bant colors they would be, in my opinion, the absolute best group hug commander! But despite the color pie restrictions I am really enjoying playing them and I’ll post a deck tech after I do more testing.