In a meta that might be looking to control the game with a lot of one-for-one removal, Gruesome Menagerie is a powerful card to get a pure 3 for 1 if built around. That's one card to put three creatures onto the board. The last time we saw something like this was with Collected Company, and that was a slow burner for people to figure out it's worth.
After researching potential color combinations, including just trying to do a straight up mono-black deck, black-red seems to be the best choice.
The downside of this color combination going into the Guilds of Ravinca Standard block is that the untapped duel lands are limited to Dragonskull Summit. So there is a trade off of power and synergy, for consistency of Turn 1 plays.
But we are looking to curve out each game with a one..two..three punch of creatures, then turn four is for collecting card advantage and dealing with the board. Turn five is then the Gruesome Menagerie to really push ahead.
After researching potential color combinations, including just trying to do a straight up mono-black deck, black-red seems to be the best choice.
The downside of this color combination going into the Guilds of Ravinca Standard block is that the untapped duel lands are limited to Dragonskull Summit. So there is a trade off of power and synergy, for consistency of Turn 1 plays.
But we are looking to curve out each game with a one..two..three punch of creatures, then turn four is for collecting card advantage and dealing with the board. Turn five is then the Gruesome Menagerie to really push ahead.
Gruesome Ménage à trois - RakdosMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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One-Drop 4 Stitcher's Supplier 4 Skirk Prospector Two-Drop 4 Goblin Cratermaker 4 Dark-Dweller Oracle 4 Dismissive Pyromancer 2 Ghitu Chronicler | Three-Drop 4 Midnight Reaper 2 Goblin Chainwhirler Spells 3 Lightning Strike 2 Vraska's Contempt 4 Gruesome Menagerie | Land (23) 4 Dragonskull Summit 10 Mountain 9 Swamp |
This give you an example of the type of sequencing we are looking at.
Turn 1)
Stitcher's Supplier -OR- Skirk Prospector
Turn 2)
Dark-Dweller Oracle -OR- Goblin Cratermaker -OR- Dismissive Pyromancer
Turn 3)
Midnight Reaper
Turn 4)
Sacrifice Stitcher's Supplier to Dark-Dweller Oracle.
Draw a card from Midnight Reaper.
Exile a land from Dark-Dweller Oracle, play the land.
Sacrifice Dark-Dweller Oracle.
Draw a card from Midnight Reaper.
Exile Goblin Cratermaker from Dark-Dweller Oracle and cast Goblin Cratermaker.
Turn 5)
Gruesome Menagerie bringing back Stitcher's Supplier, Dark-Dweller Oracle and Goblin Chainwhirler.
With Stitcher's Supplier putting 6 cards into your graveyard you're bound to hit another 3-Drop to target.
Right so let's reflect on this sequence. We essentially drew 4 extra cards on Turn 4 and then completely recouped our board presence on Turn 5, in fact gaining another creature.
If opponents are trying to deal with your threats on a one-for-one basis then they'll almost have no chance. Then of course if they are running board sweepers, there is no card better to bounce back than Gruesome Menagerie to immediately have a board presence again. This deck lines up very well against any control matchup.
Any aggressive deck you might be against is going to find it hard to trade off creatures in combat as you have an innate ability to recover the losses. It's very hard for your opponents to purposefully attack into your creature base hoping to clear a path through the board. One Gruesome Menagerie later and you've probably literally gone 3 for 1 on your opponents cards.
The aggressive nature of the deck is also backed up with using Ghitu Chronicler kicked to bring back a Gruesome Menagerie. So it's very hard for your opponents to grind you out as you can just keep deploying threats on a 3 for 1 card basis.
You'll be generating a lot of card draw out of Dark-Dweller Oracle and Midnight Reaper.
You can grind opponents out of creatures with recurring Goblin Cratermaker or Dismissive Pyromancer.
Goblins in the deck for Skirk Prospector including itself are Goblin Cratermaker, Dark-Dweller Oracle, Goblin Chainwhirler.
You can use it as an alternative to get ahead on mana sequencing, perhaps looking to simple get the draw out of Midnight Reaper and looking for a Turn 4 Gruesome Menagerie instead.
Turn 1)
Stitcher's Supplier -OR- Skirk Prospector
Turn 2)
Dark-Dweller Oracle -OR- Goblin Cratermaker -OR- Dismissive Pyromancer
Turn 3)
Midnight Reaper
Turn 4)
Sacrifice Stitcher's Supplier to Dark-Dweller Oracle.
Draw a card from Midnight Reaper.
Exile a land from Dark-Dweller Oracle, play the land.
Sacrifice Dark-Dweller Oracle.
Draw a card from Midnight Reaper.
Exile Goblin Cratermaker from Dark-Dweller Oracle and cast Goblin Cratermaker.
Turn 5)
Gruesome Menagerie bringing back Stitcher's Supplier, Dark-Dweller Oracle and Goblin Chainwhirler.
With Stitcher's Supplier putting 6 cards into your graveyard you're bound to hit another 3-Drop to target.
Right so let's reflect on this sequence. We essentially drew 4 extra cards on Turn 4 and then completely recouped our board presence on Turn 5, in fact gaining another creature.
If opponents are trying to deal with your threats on a one-for-one basis then they'll almost have no chance. Then of course if they are running board sweepers, there is no card better to bounce back than Gruesome Menagerie to immediately have a board presence again. This deck lines up very well against any control matchup.
Any aggressive deck you might be against is going to find it hard to trade off creatures in combat as you have an innate ability to recover the losses. It's very hard for your opponents to purposefully attack into your creature base hoping to clear a path through the board. One Gruesome Menagerie later and you've probably literally gone 3 for 1 on your opponents cards.
The aggressive nature of the deck is also backed up with using Ghitu Chronicler kicked to bring back a Gruesome Menagerie. So it's very hard for your opponents to grind you out as you can just keep deploying threats on a 3 for 1 card basis.
You'll be generating a lot of card draw out of Dark-Dweller Oracle and Midnight Reaper.
You can grind opponents out of creatures with recurring Goblin Cratermaker or Dismissive Pyromancer.
Goblins in the deck for Skirk Prospector including itself are Goblin Cratermaker, Dark-Dweller Oracle, Goblin Chainwhirler.
You can use it as an alternative to get ahead on mana sequencing, perhaps looking to simple get the draw out of Midnight Reaper and looking for a Turn 4 Gruesome Menagerie instead.
1
4 Minister of Inquiries
4 Stitcher's Supplier
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Champion of Wits
2 Trophy Mage
2 Ravenous Chupacabra
2 Hostage Taker
4 Angel of Invention
2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
4 Aether Hub
3 Fetid Pools
2 Irrigated Farmland
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Isolated Chapel
6 Swamp
1 Island
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
3 Vraska's Contempt
2 Exclusion Mage
2 Arguel's Blood Fast // Temple of Aclazotz
2 Duress
2 Jace's Defeat
My matchups were:
Day 1
UB midrange: 2-1 win (very close match)
MonoR Flame of Keld: 2-1 win (not close)
BR zombies: 2-1 win (not close, his deck seemed bad)
GU stompy: 2-0 win (not close)
UB midrange: 0-2 loss (not close, this opponent was great)
GU stompy: 2-0 win (not close)
UW control: 2-1 win (close)
RB aggro: 0-2 loss (not close, and I threw the second game)
Day 2
RB aggro: 2-1 win (not too close)
GU stompy: 1-2 loss (close, I think I would have won the third game but I never drew more than 3 lands)
UW control: 1-2 loss (game 2 went well but the decider wasn't close)
UB midrange: 2-0 win (not close)
RB aggro: 1-2 loss (close, but he topdecked an Abrade after I stripped one out of his hand with Freebooter)
Obviously this deck dies with rotation. But experimenting with GPG this season has been a great time and I'll definitely miss it.
1
Recent 5-0 UR GPG List online (_Pheonix_)
4 Aether Hub
4 Ipnu Rivulet
3 Island
6 Mountain
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Sulfur Falls
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Minister of Inquiries
4 Skirk Prospector
4 Warkite Marauder
4 Walking Ballista
4 Champion of Wits
4 Combat Celebrant
2 Trophy Mage
1 Vizier of Many Faces
2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
2 Abrade
2 Chandra's Defeat
2 Glorybringer
2 Negate
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
2 Spell Pierce
2 Squee, the Immortal
2 Sweltering Suns
I have played a deck almost identical to this one to a 5-0 and a couple 4-1's in leagues in the last 2 months. It has incredible consistency at fetching God-Pharaoh's Gift, but a poor alternate game plan, which is why you see the sideboard focused on protecting the combo and not trying to change to a different play style.
Recent 5-0 MonoR GPG List online (EARLDER1)
23 Mountain
4 Skirk Prospector
2 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Bomat Courier
4 Walking Ballista
4 Combat Celebrant
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
2 Hazoret the Fervent
4 Rowdy Crew
3 Siege-Gang Commander
2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
4 Abrade
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Glorybringer
2 Magma Spray
1 Pia Nalaar
2 Scavenger Grounds
This deck is the new hotness, and I have played a few leagues with it. I didn't love it, as I found it to be a less consistent UR list pre-board and a less focused Mono-Red aggro deck post-board. That being said, I respect a lot of the players endorsing it and the results coming out of it. I may need to play it more before dismissing it.
Kmk888 UR GPG
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Aether Hub
4 Ipnu Rivulet
3 Island
6 Mountain
2 Sulfur Falls
4 Skirk Prospector
4 Minister of Inquiries
2 Fanatical Firebrand
3 Warkite Marauder
2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
4 Walking Ballista
4 Champion of Wits
4 Combat Celebrant
2 Rowdy Crew
2 Siege-Gang Commander
2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
2 Glorybringer
2 Blink of an Eye
2 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
2 Squee, the Immortal
3 Negate
2 Sweltering Suns
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
This deck was an attempt to keep the consistency of the UR deck pre-board, and play more powerful red cards post-board so that it is easier to fight hate cards and win with a normal game plan. This plan has helped my Mono-Red aggro matchup considerably and I believe has helped my overall win percentage.
The other 1 drop, Skirk Prospector, is less obvious as to when you want to play it. When you have two goblins and one is a Prospector, you want to drop both before T3, because it opens the possibility for a T3 Gate activation. The rest of the time, sequencing is very difficult and very dependent on matchup, board state, and hand. For example, you may want to save playing creatures so they don't die to an on-curve Goblin Chainwhirler without a Gate trigger or play them early when you know they can't be Essence Scattered.
In certain matchups, a Warkite Marauder on T2 can do an enormous amount of work. Because you run 4 Walking Ballistas and some number of Fanatical Firebrands, the attack trigger of Warkite is often a terminate. This card does a lot of work against green decks and gods in particular, singlehandedly taking the matchup against The Scarab God from lukewarm to amazing. That being said, it is particularly bad against Goblin Chainwhirlers and other Walking Ballistas.
Gate to the Afterlife takes quite a bit of play to get used to. Because Gate grants death triggers that can loot away more creatures, each creature that dies can put 2 creatures in the graveyard. This means Walking Ballista for zero, sacrificing creatures like Skirk Prospector, or even killing your own creatures with Fanatical Firebrands and Ballistas can be powerful since they rapidly fill the graveyard and help activate Gate. Gate to the Afterlife is almost always a T3 play, because it is usually pretty easy to sacrifice or mill a bunch of creatures to fill the graveyard and activate Gate on T4. The nut draw lets you activate Gate on T3 right after playing it if you have a Skirk Prospector and another goblin already on the field to generate 2 mana.
Sacrificing board presence or card advantage can help activate a Gate quickly, but you need to be careful not to dedicate too many resources and then get blown out by an Abrade, Disallow, Cast Out, or Blink of an Eye. Discarding cards with Champion of Wits, milling with Minister of Inquiries, or blocking are usually much safer ways to accumulate creatures in the graveyard. When you have a Gate on the battlefield, you will have to decide how aggressively you want to try to get 6 creatures in the graveyard and combo. Factors to consider when making this decision include the answers the opponent may be playing, the mana they are representing, the pressure you are under, the match up, and the quality of your hand. Obviously, most of the risk of aggressively trying to combo is alleviated if the opponent is tapped out or you have a second Gate to the Afterlife in hand.
When you do have a God-Pharaoh's Gift on the field, it's important to know how the combo works. Gift generates a trigger that does not target, and if your opponent exiles your graveyard with the trigger on the stack, you can let their effect resolve and then mill yourself or sacrifice a creature with the trigger still on the stack. Your best option to reanimate is usually Combat Celebrant, since you can exert it while attacking to get an additional combat step, which gives the Gift an additional trigger. If you have 2 Celebrants and 1 other creature in the grave, Gift lets you attack for at least 16 over 3 combat steps. Exerting Celebrant untaps every other creature, including exerted Celebrants (2 do not go infinite) and buys you more mills with Minister of Inquiries and more attack triggers with Warkite Marauder. Your second best option to reanimate is usually Champion of Wits, since it draws 4 cards and lets you discard 2 (including things you'd rather were in the grave, like Celebrants and other Champions). Siege-Gang Commander and Warkite Marauder are also good to reanimate. Sometimes, you cannot immediately win with Gift so you should try to set up a second gate for the next turn by reanimating Champion or Trophy Mage.
This deck is mana hungry. To reach the late game with this deck, you need lands. That means that discarding creatures and holding lands with looting is often correct because you both fuel Gate to the Afterlife and will eventually reach 7 mana. At 7 mana, you can hard cast Gate, play and activate Siege-Gang Commander, and eternalize Champion of Wits. At 8 mana, you can double activate Ballista, activate Ipnu Rivulet and then play and crack Gate to the Afterlife, or cast a 3 mana spell and a Siege-Gang Commander. You typically lead with eternalizing Champion of Wits, as it is your best immediate reward and it also baits Disallows which can counter the activation of a Gate to the Afterlife. If the opponent does Disallow your activation of Champion, they have 1 less card that could hold you back from comboing with Gift or Gate. If it resolves, you get to draw more cards and get a 4/4 for your trouble.
Other options for the side include Spell Pierce, which helps protect a fast combo, Chandra's Defeat, which almost always removes a powerful creature or planeswalker and trades up on mana, and Hour of Devastation, which will wipe even boards with Steel-Leef Champions, multiple planeswalkers, or Hazoret.
UW Control
Bait out or play around Disallow and Settle the Wreckage. Seize the opportunity when they tap out to resolve another threat. Lean on eternalizing Champion of Wits as a late game only answered by Disallow.
Play In:
+3 Negate, +2 Squee, the Immortal, +2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Play Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -1 Walking Ballista, -4 Combat Celebrant
Draw In:
+3 Negate, +2 Blink of an Eye, +2 Squee, the Immortal, +2 Padeem, Consul of Innovation, +2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Draw Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -1 Warkite Marauder, -2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, -4 Combat Celebrant, -2 Rowdy Crew
WB Aggro
Block and fuel the grave. Kill Toolcraft Exemplar with the trigger on the stack. When they tap out for something big, combo-kill them.
Play In:
+2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, +2 Glorybringer
Play Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Draw In:
+2 Blink of an Eye, +2 Sweltering Suns, +2 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
Draw Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, -2 Rowdy Crew
R Aggro
Probably this deck's worst matchup, it combines a fast clock with good hate. Block as much as possible, play for an early combo. Leave some mill unused so you can refill the grave after Scavenger Grounds shows up. Don't let too many X/1s clog your battlefield at once or you will die to Goblin Chainwhirler. Be wary of main deck and sideboarded Abrade.
Play In:
+2 Sweltering Suns, +2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, +2 Glorybringer
Play Out:
-3 Warkite Marauder, -3 Champion of Wits
Draw In:
+2 Sweltering Suns, +2 Padeem, Consul of Innovation, +2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, +2 Glorybringer
Draw Out:
-1 Fanatical Firebrand, -3 Warkite Marauder, -4 Champion of Wits
G Aggro
Try to stay alive as long as possible, try to avoid letting them play Ghalta, Primal Hunger. If they tap out, combo-kill them. Be wary of Naturalize, Thrashing Brontodon, and Deathgorge Scavenger.
Play In:
+2 Blink of an Eye, +2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance, +2 Glorybringer
Play Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, -2 Rowdy Crew
Draw In:
+2 Blink of an Eye, +2 Sweltering Suns, +2 Padeem, Consul of Innovation, +2 Glorybringer
Draw Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, -2 Champion of Wits, -2 Rowdy Crew
UB Midrange/Control
Put them under pressure. Wreak havoc with Warkite Marauder.
Draw and Play In:
+3 Negate, +2 Squee, the Immortal
Draw and Play Out:
-2 Fanatical Firebrand, -2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider, -1 Rowdy Crew
This has been a brief introduction to the UR GPG archetype. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have or discuss the deck further. Thanks for your time.
1
T2 Sakura-Tribe Elder into T3 Journey is powerful. It ramps you 3 times at the cost of not using the Elder at the opponent's end step.
2
1
2
4x Prized Amalgam
4x Haunted Dead
4x Liliana, Death's Majesty
3x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
Here are some key interactions:
Haunted Dead allows you to discard Razaketh
Razaketh likes recursive creatures and creature tokens to tutor with
Lili's reanimation triggers Prized Amalgam
Razaketh can tutor for more Amalgams, fueling the reanimation engine further
Razaketh can tutor for Lili in response to non-exiling removal so you can get him back again
The way these all combine is such that if you reanimate Razaketh with Liliana, you can sacrifice your Haunted Deads to tutor for Amalgams. You then discard these to reanimate the Haunted Deads and Amalgams, then you can sacrifice those to get more Amalgams (or whatever you want). If Razaketh is allowed to hit the board he can spiral out of control very quickly with this type of engine.
I almost forgot to mention that this sequence gets you an 8/8 flample beater and a great planeswalker that ticks up while making zombies.
Also, the whole engine is mono-black. Don't let Amalgam fool you, you don't need to cast him. You just need these 11 cards along with discard outlets. You can use Cryptbreaker and Collective Brutality, which are good cards and leave you still in mono-black. You can also get some great additions from other colors: Red gives you Cathartic Reunion and Lightning Axe to discard, which are both great. Green gives you Grim Flayer to mill, Traverse to tutor pieces, and Ishkanah as Ishkanah. Blue gives you Pull from Tomorrow and counterspells, as well as the ability to cast Amalgam. Mardu gives you Nahiri, which is a discard outlet that can also ultimate for Razaketh.
If anyone is reading this and wants to play a deck with these cards, my only request is that it be named, "Razzle Dazzle".
1
This card is the real deal for the deck. It doesn't look like much until you play with it. In normal games, you use it to rebuy Prophetic Prisms and Glint-Nest Crane before you get to storm territory, but it really shines when you do get to storm territory. When you storm with this card it buys you two spells for 2 mana by picking up and replaying a cheerio. That alone is enough to make it worth playing and is a very powerful way to increase your storm count, but if you're light on gas and have a lot of lands you can also use two to pick up each other and play as many times as you have 2 mana.
4 Paradoxical Outcome
4 Crush of Tentacles
1 Engulf the Shore
1 Negate
4 Aviary Mechanic
2 Sigarda's Aid
4 Bone Saw
4 Cathar's Shield
4 Prophetic Prism
Another card I tested a lot but have recently abandoned is Containment Membrane. I mention it because it was borderline playable before and Sigarda's Aid makes it better. It's defense in a deck that lacks for defense and you can pick it up with all your bounce spells (except Engulf! Nonbo!). It also costs 1 mana, which is pretty powerful given that while storming I often find myself unable to deploy all the 2 cmc cards I have and with 1 mana left over. Similarly, Imprisoned in the Moon is okay removal that bounces back to hand but better with Sigarda's Aid. Plus I like using that on my own Cranes to accelerate into Crush of Tentacles a turn ahead of time.
1
4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 Haunted Dead
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Dark Salvation
4 Just the Wind
3 Compelling Deterrence
3 Grasp of Darkness
3 Gisa's Bidding
3 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Choked Estuary
4 Island
12 Swamp
3 Voldaren Pariah
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Risen Executioner
2 Duress
2 Dead Weight
1 Grasp of Darkness
3 Negate
First and foremost, I would caution anyone not playing 4 Cryptbreakers and 4 Dark Salvations. I think that these additions are the core of the deck and the reason to play it.
Also, I'd like to note some key points:
- Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is great. He's not budget friendly which is why I believe most people oppose his addition but he fixes bad draws and enables much of the powerful discard friendly portion of the deck to operate sooner, to speak nothing of flashing back Dark Salvation later in the game.
- Liliana, the Last Hope has also constantly overperformed. She kills spirits, helps cards like Dark Salvation and Grasp of Darkness reach larger creatures, and shrinks creatures so that your puny 2/2s can swing into them.
- Haunted Dead and Prized Amalgam hold the deck together in midrange battles, they're a somewhat smaller version of the Den Protector Deathmist Raptor loop.
- Gisa's Bidding is most of the time better than From Under the Floorboards. From Under the Floorboards's lifegain does not offset the fact that you're spending 5 mana to get tapped creatures which can get you killed and doesn't work as well with Cryptbreaker. Gisa's Bidding's efficient madness cost helps it combine spectacularly with Cryptbreaker, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, and Haunted Dead.
- Just the Wind is similarly important to enable Cryptbreaker, Haunted Dead, and Jace, Vryn's Prodigy but also helps enhance the deck's ability to interact cheaply in matchups where tempo is important.
I don't think some of the cards with the word "zombie" on them are actually good or have the right support. For example, Diregraf Colossus doesn't have enough self mill to enable it and half of the zombie creatures that are playable are token generators or use activated abilities instead of "cast".
Please let me know what you think. I have tested this deck a lot and would encourage you to do so as well. I won't post one of those outlandish claims like that it has an 80% win against Bant Coco but I do think the matchup is even to somewhat positive.
1
1
Sacrificial Fodder
4 Allosaurus Rider
4 Hooting Mandrills
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Griselbrand
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Magus of the Moon
4 Nourishing Shoal
Maybe
4 Painter's Servant
Both Hooting Mandrills and Allosaurus Rider fetch Griselbees and Elesh Norn. Only the Rider fetchs Iona.
If you include Nourishing Shoal, you can fetch Griselbrand and then draw an inordinate number of cards because Nourishing Shoal can pitch Allosaurus Rider or Hooting Mandrills. Similarly, Allosaurus Rider can pitch Nourishing Shoal. Then you can put in Borborygmos Enraged if you like to combo kill them quickly.
Another spicy addition I am seriously considering is Painter's Servant. You would always choose green. It completely hard locks the opponent if you combine it with Iona and it lets you pitch any card to Rider or Nourishing Shoal. Then if you like you can play Summoner's Pact, Deathmark, and/or Flashfreeze.
What the deck is missing however is a way to put cards in the graveyard for Mandrills. I don't know what that should be yet. Maybe Faithless Looting. Or maybe it should be a Goryo's Veangeance deck since Grisly Salvage then serves 2 purposes. You could back it up with discard to make sure the coast is clear.
One thing I don't much like about the whole concept behind the deck is that your combo expends 4 cards: 2 green, an Allosaurus Rider, and an Eldritch Evolution. That kind of card disadvantage makes me extremely wary. It makes me want to expand into blue for Ancestral Visions to make up for it. I would then consider Thought Scour for Mandrills.