EDH Optimizer
Grond, the Gatebreaker
Legendary Artifact — Vehicle · 3B
Color identity: Black
Grond, the Gatebreaker is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Trample
As long as it's your turn and you control an Army, Grond is an artifact creature.
Crew 3 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 3 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
Reference price of the card: €0.11
Average lands in decks for Grond, the Gatebreaker: 36
Amass+1/+1 CountersTokensVehiclesVoltronArtifactsAggroOrcs
Build your Grond, the Gatebreaker deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Grond, the Gatebreaker 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Grond, the Gatebreaker deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: C+ (58/100)
- Consistency42
- Speed51
- Interaction33
- Resilience71
- Closing87
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (14 nonbasic, 22 Swamp)
March from the Black Gate · Orcish Medicine · Mordor Muster · Dreadhorde Invasion · Gothmog, Morgul Lieutenant · Dunland Crebain · Warg Rider · Easterling Vanguard · Sol Ring · Lazotep Reaver · Mindless Conscription · Mordor Trebuchet · The Torment of Gollum · Azog, Moria's Ruin · Great Ugly-Looking Goblin // Clap! Snap! · Vizier of the Scorpion · Bleeding Edge · Gríma Wormtongue · Herald of the Dreadhorde · Feed the Swarm · Gorbag of Minas Morgul · Arcane Signet · Gathering of Darkness · Call of the Ring · Orcish Bowmasters · Toll of the Invasion · Along the Crooked Way · Rhovanion Rampager · Go for the Throat · Down, Down to Goblin-town · Rage into the Valley · Jet Medallion · Dark Ritual · Sign in Blood · Nasty End · Troll of Khazad-dûm · Mind Stone · Phyrexian Arena · Agent of the Shadow Thieves · Deadly Dispute · Gray Merchant of Asphodel · Mirkwood Bats · Black Market Connections · Claim the Precious · Witch-king of Angmar · Charcoal Diamond · Defile · Night's Whisper · The Darkness Crystal · Toxic Deluge · Sauron, the Necromancer · Changeling Outcast · Crypt Ghast · Sam's Desperate Rescue · Astarion's Thirst · Fire Navy Trebuchet · Village Rites · Lashwrithe · Uruk-hai Berserker · Voracious Fell Beast · Cirith Ungol Patrol · Gollum, Patient Plotter · Morbid Opportunist · Barad-dûr · Bojuka Bog · Rogue's Passage · The Black Gate · Cabal Coffers · Minas Morgul, Dark Fortress · Witch's Cottage · Myriad Landscape · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Mortuary Mire · War Room · Castle Locthwain · Cabal Stronghold · Shizo, Death's Storehouse
🃏 Recommended cards for Grond, the Gatebreaker
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Grond, the Gatebreaker, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| March from the Black Gate | 92% | +92% |
| Orcish Medicine | 91% | +90% |
| Mordor Muster | 90% | +89% |
| Gothmog, Morgul Lieutenant | 86% | +86% |
| Barad-dûr | 89% | +86% |
| Dunland Crebain | 85% | +85% |
| Warg Rider | 81% | +81% |
| Dreadhorde Invasion | 86% | +78% |
| Easterling Vanguard | 78% | +78% |
| Lazotep Reaver | 72% | +71% |
| Mordor Trebuchet | 69% | +69% |
| The Torment of Gollum | 69% | +69% |
| Mindless Conscription | 69% | +69% |
| Azog, Moria's Ruin | 67% | +66% |
| Great Ugly-Looking Goblin | 65% | +65% |
| Bleeding Edge | 63% | +63% |
| Vizier of the Scorpion | 64% | +63% |
| Gríma Wormtongue | 63% | +62% |
| Herald of the Dreadhorde | 61% | +61% |
| Gorbag of Minas Morgul | 60% | +60% |
| Gathering of Darkness | 59% | +59% |
| Toll of the Invasion | 54% | +53% |
| Call of the Ring | 56% | +53% |
| Rhovanion Rampager | 53% | +53% |
💰 The best cards for your Grond, the Gatebreaker deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- March from the Black Gate
- Orcish Medicine
- Mordor Muster
- Gothmog, Morgul Lieutenant
- Barad-dûr
- Dunland Crebain
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Call of the Ring
- Witch-king of Angmar
- Astarion's Thirst
- Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
- Lazotep Sliver
- Nazgûl Battle-Mace
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Warg Rider
- The Black Gate
- Orcish Bowmasters
- Minas Morgul, Dark Fortress
- Nazgûl
- The Ozolith
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Grond, the Gatebreaker
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Sanguine Bond + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Exquisite Blood + Enduring Tenacity → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Orcish Bowmasters + Peer into the Abyss → Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Near-infinite card draw for target opponent, Near-infinite damage, Near-infinite draw triggers for target opponent, Target opponent loses the game
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Ashnod's Altar → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite colored mana, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Grond, the Gatebreaker's color identity?
Grond, the Gatebreaker is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Grond, the Gatebreaker come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Grond, the Gatebreaker deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.0 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 99 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 34 % of the time and floods 18 %. Deck health: C+ (58/100).
How many lands should a Grond, the Gatebreaker deck run?
Real Grond, the Gatebreaker decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Grond, the Gatebreaker?
The three highest-synergy cards are March from the Black Gate, Orcish Medicine, Mordor Muster. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Grond, the Gatebreaker decks.
What combos does Grond, the Gatebreaker have?
Grond, the Gatebreaker has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Grond, the Gatebreaker deck cost?
You can start cheap: March from the Black Gate, Orcish Medicine, Mordor Muster are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.