I must admit, I put off writing about the commander commonly referred to as the 'Hypnotoad' for quite some time. While we still have a good handful of candidates that submitted their resumes to this land focused column, we will be dedicating this week's virtual canvas to the captivating glance of The Gitrog Monster.

While exploring double-faced non-basics and creating fresh ideas with Commander 2017 was an absolute blast, it's time to revert back into our normal groove. Thalia doesn't control where the Gitrog Monster takes her and remains wary that, should the steady supply of invaders run out, she could become its next meal.If you have followed us for the past several weeks, no doubt you will remember our amazing journey through the land of Ixalan. She did so and deals out devastating blows from its back, while it crushes enemies in its tongue's grip. Then, it stood there waiting, and Thalia understood: it was offering to let her ride it.

Seeing the potential for a new human to bring it food, the Gitrog Monster bowled through her besiegers, saving her. Knowing it was time to move on, the Gitrog Monster heaved itself out of the waters and headed straight for Thraben, where it found Thalia, the last survivor of her cathar squad, about to be overwhelmed by Phyrexians. Machines that tasted awful and tried to hurt it. All was delicious and plenty, until the day that strange machines came to its lake. Its cultists would bring it food or become its food. When it became an object of worship, the Gitrog monster was effectively spoiled by the cult that worshipped it, not needing to worry about going hungry until the Phyrexian invasion of Innistrad. This allowed it to even make one young woman kill her best friend. In addition to an enormous and powerful tongue, the Gitrog can control those who look into its eyes. In the end, most of the village was without occupants. They began to sacrifice sheep to the Gitrog, and later humans.

As the madness in Innistrad grew, the villagers of a small village near the lake started to fear the monster which they knew from stories.

Gitrog monster dredge edh