Ruby: A Bold Guide to Tracker Commander Decks

Unlike the version of Little Red Riding Hood you might know from the Brothers Grimm, the character in Magic: The Gathering is not someone who is easily scared by wild creatures. With Ruby, Daring Tracker, you have the perfect leader for a Commander deck filled with formidable monsters eager to take action. This marks a departure from the traditional image of a frightened girl running from a menacing wolf.

Ruby serves as a fantastic foundation for a deck packed with strong creatures that can be challenging to summon under normal circumstances. When paired with a more powerful creature, Ruby not only engages in offensive plays but also generates mana that can be used to cast even bigger threats.

The Commander: Ruby, Daring Tracker

Ruby is an accessible choice for a commander. With one red and one green mana, she is a 1/2 creature with haste that gains +2/+2 as long as she attacks alongside another creature that has power greater than four. However, her true strength lies in her ability to tap for either green or red mana.

This early game efficiency alone might not secure victory, but at just two mana, Ruby is likely to come out on the second turn in any game she’s involved in. This sets you up to potentially have four mana available by your third turn if you draw the right lands.

With a mana curve starting at four, you can reliably play large and flashy creatures early on. Cards like Migration Path and Vastwood Surge can help you ramp up even faster by allowing you to fetch two lands from your library rather than just one.

Note: Although building your deck around high-cost cards is viable, don’t overlook the value of spells that cost less than four mana. There’s always room for low-cost cards that can support your strategy.

For a Ruby deck focused on casting hefty creatures, the remainder of your cards should aim to strengthen those high-cost monsters and help replenish your hand after playing all those mana-ramping spells. Fortunately, there are plenty of options available in a deck that thrives on both mana generation and powerful creatures.

Building Your Ruby, Daring Tracker Commander Deck

The strategy for winning should revolve around casting your most powerful spells faster than your opponents can prepare their defenses. Ruby plays a significant role in this plan, as do other sources of quick mana, massive creatures, impactful sorceries, and many cards that let you draw more each time you play a creature.

Ramp, Ramp, Ramp

Ruby alone won’t generate all the mana you need for those colossal Dinosaurs and Dragons. For that, you’ll require additional cards.

Fortunately, green is the go-to for ramping. Start with Birds of Paradise and then include cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder, Three Visits, Rampant Growth, and Cultivate. Eventually, you can reach the more powerful cards, such as Migration Path and Vastwood Surge.

Your creatures can also contribute to mana production. Cards that reduce costs, like Goblin Anarchomancer and Drumhunter, or those that allow you to play extra lands, such as Loot, Exuberant Explorer, and Silverback Elder, can help.

Other cards, like Overlord of the Hauntwoods, can generate lands for you, while Defiler of Vigor enables you to pay life instead of green mana. Don’t forget about Domri, Anarch of Bolas, who offers both mana generation and counter protection for your creatures.

Powerful Creatures

Red and green have a wealth of large creatures (generally defined as those with four or more power). The goal here is not only to include high-power creatures but also to look for additional abilities that strengthen your overall strategy, sneak creatures onto the battlefield, or add versatility in how you play them.

For enhancing your forces, look at cards like Cactusfolk Sureshot, which grants trample and haste, or Railway Brawler, which can double the number of creatures you play. Silverback Elder turns each creature into a potential source of removal, life gain, or ramp.

Creatures like Loot, Exuberant Explorer, Bloodbraid Challenger, Ilharg, the Raze-Boar, and Emergent Woodwurm excel at sneaking onto the battlefield without the need to pay their full costs. Overlord of the Hauntwoods, Trumpeting Carnosaur, and Kogla and Yidaro provide flexible casting options that can deal with threats directly.

Special attention should be given to Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss, and Kogla, the Titan Ape, as these creatures can interact directly with Ruby to enhance her abilities or their own.

Beastly Card Draw

After you’ve deployed Ruby and a few ramp spells, you might find yourself with just a couple of cards left in hand, limiting your capacity to keep the pressure on—even with your largest monsters. To maintain momentum, you need ways to draw more than one card each turn.

The most effective method is to replace cards as you play them. Since your deck will be almost entirely creatures, consider cards like Beast Whisperer, Guardian Project, and Soul of the Harvest, which allow you to draw a card each time you cast a creature.

Alternatively, there are cards that let you draw upon meeting certain conditions, such as having a creature with four or more power. Cards like Garruk’s Uprising, Colossal Majesty, and Elemental Bond fit into this category.

Additionally, one-off card spells such as Shamanic Revelation and Hunter’s Insight can provide substantial card draws, especially in favorable situations.

Good Red/Green Stuff

Every deck should include answers, and Gruul (red/green) offers many. Cards like Heroic Intervention and Untimely Malfunction provide protection for your sizeable threats, while Beast Within and Chaos Warp can deal with specific threats, albeit at the cost of giving your opponent a less potent creature.

Spells such as Call Forth the Tempest and Ezuri’s Predation can have game-ending potential, especially if cast early. Blasphemous Act acts as an effective board wipe, while The Skullspore Nexus helps keep your creatures alive should board sweeps become a threat.

One standout card is Jeska’s Will, which can both ramp your mana and help you draw additional cards, offering a fantastic start for aggressive plays.

Ruby, Daring Tracker Commander Deck List

Here’s a recommended deck list for Ruby, Daring Tracker:

Commander (1)

• Ruby, Daring Tracker

Creatures (34)

• Birds of Paradise
• Goblin Anarchomancer
• Sakura-Tribe Elder
• Spinner of Souls
• Loot, Exuberant Explorer
• Beast Whisperer
• Drumhunter
• Anzrag, the Quake-Mole
• Cactusfolk Sureshot
• Primeval Herald
• Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss
• Garruk’s Packleader
• Bloodbraid Challenger
• Terror of the Peaks
• Ilharg, the Raze-boar
• Overlord of the Hauntwoods
• Railway Brawler
• Silverback Elder
• Defiler of Vigor
• Xenagos, God of Revels
• Etali, Primal Storm
• Kogla, the Titan Ape
• Trumpeting Carnosaur
• Disciple of Freyalise / Garden of Freyalise
• Soul of the Harvest
• Kogla and Yidaro
• Soul of New Phyrexia
• Emergent Woodwurm
• Tyrant’s Familiar
• Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
• Vaultborn Tyrant
• Terastodon
• Ghalta, Primal Hunger
• Hugs, Grizzly Guardian

Planeswalkers (2)

• Domri, Anarch of Bolas
• Garruk, Primal Hunter

Sorceries (10)

• Stump Stomp / Burnwillow Clearing
• Three Visits
• Cultivate
• Jeska’s Will
• Migration Path
• Vastwood Surge
• Shamanic Revelation
• Call Forth the Tempest
• Ezuri’s Predation
• Blasphemous Act

Instants (6)

• Heroic Intervention
• Untimely Malfunction
• Beast Within
• Chaos Warp
• Hunter’s Insight
• Return of the Wildspeaker

Enchantments (7)

• Utopia Sprawl
• Hunter’s Talent
• Garruk’s Uprising
• Rhythm of the Wild
• Colossal Majesty
• Elemental Bond
• Guardian Project

Artifacts (4)

• Sol Ring
• Swiftfoot Boots
• Hedron Archive
• The Skullspore Nexus

Lands (35)

• Command Tower
• Thornspire Verge
• Rogue’s Passage
• Kessig Wolf Run
• Temple of the False God
• Bonder’s Enclave
• Boseiju, who Endures
• Cinder Glade
• Game Trail
• Mossfire Valley
• Rockfall Vale
• Rootbound Crag
• Karplusan Forest
• Stomping Ground
• Spire Garden
• Sheltered Thicket
• Copperline Gorge
• Temple of Abandon
• Gruul Turf
• Wooded Foothills
• Cragcrown Pathway / Timbercrown Pathway
• Commercial District
• Fire-Lit Thicket
• Forest (7)
• Mountain (5)

Budget Substitutions

For newer players, some of the cards may be a bit pricey. Here are some substitutes that keep costs down:

Tips for Playing Ruby, Daring Tracker

• Start by playing a land on your first turn, another land on your second turn, and then Ruby. By your third turn, aim to cast an aggressive four-mana creature, a ramp spell like Migration Path, or a card draw source like Beast Whisperer or Guardian Project.
• By turns four or five, you should be looking to shift to an offensive strategy with your powerful creatures. Utilize cards like Rhythm of the Wild to grant them haste.
• If you’re comfortable with your board state and don’t require Ruby for mana generation, feel free to send her into the fray to attack, as her low cost allows her to repeatedly return to play even after dying multiple times.
• Being the aggressor means you should choose your targets carefully. In multiplayer games, this often means targeting weaker players to build up your strength for tackling larger threats later.

With careful planning and synergy, your Ruby, Daring Tracker deck can unleash a relentless wave of creature-based strategy that overwhelms your opponents.