In the world of MTG, it’s natural for players to gravitate toward really flashy rares and mythic rares. During spoiler season for an upcoming set, it’s often the big bombs and devastating haymakers that get us excited. However, if Bloomburrow taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t overlook small creatures or seemingly weak cards.
Synergy, versatility, and efficiency all play a big role in whether a card can be used consistently in Constructed play, so sometimes it’s the basic, common, and unusual designs that succeed in a competitive environment.
Previously, we talked about a modal Bloomburrow uncommon that has made its presence felt from Standard to Modern. Now, we’re talking about Cache Grab, a top-tier Bloomburrow common that plays a crucial role in an emerging Standard deck. Don’t let Cache Grab’s simplistic nature fool you; this card is as good as it gets.
Cache Grab and Insidious Roots
- Mana value: 1G
- Rarity: Common
- Text: Mill four cards. You may put a permanent card from the cards milled this way into your hand. If you control a Squirrel or return a Squirrel card to your hand this way, create a food token. (To mill four cards, put the top four cards of your library into your graveyard. A food token is an artifact with “2, Tap, sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.”)
Cache Grab is an interesting card that helps a lot with keeping synergistic decks consistent. Digging four cards deep for a permanent isn’t exactly exciting, but when you consider Cache Grab’s ability to fill the graveyard, the card becomes much more attractive. The fact that it can grab any permanent that overpowers it makes it a great addition to Standard Insidious Roots decks.
Insidious Roots shells, which put two players in the top 16 of a recent 462-player Standard event in Japan, have been greatly improved by the introduction of Cache Grab and Osteomancer Adept. Both cards help address some major weaknesses the archetype has had in the past. First off, a major flaw with Insidious Roots decks in general is that if you don’t draw the powerful enchantment or it gets destroyed, you’ll have a tough time. Well, Cache Grab helps you dig through your library to find Insidious Roots.
Meanwhile, Cache Grab puts extra cards into your graveyard that you can use when you activate Osteomancer Adept’s ability. Osteomancer Adept is a Squirrel itself, so if you control Osteomancer Adept when you cast Cache Grab, you create a Food token. You even get one if you bring back a copy of Osteomancer Adept that you milled with Cache Grab!
This food can then be sacrificed via Forage to further maximize Osteomancer Adept’s activated ability. The more creatures you can bring back, the more tokens you will receive from Insidious Roots.
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Beyond the standard
- Mana value: 1WB
- Rarity: Rare
- Statistics: 4/3
- Text: At the beginning of combat on your turn, return target Vehicle card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. At the beginning of your next end step, return it to its owner’s hand.
Even in decks without Squirrel synergies, Cache Grab is worth considering. The card has appeared in some recent Abzan Greasefang decklists alongside Grisly Salvage, for example. Grisly Salvage has a slight advantage in that it digs a card deeper for Greasefang. However, Cache Grab has the added benefit of allowing you to pick up artifacts like Esika’s Chariot, which excel in battles of attrition.
In addition to Cache Grab’s role in Constructed, the card is also elite in Bloomburrow Draft. According to 17lands.com, a website that tracks Limited data from users in MTG Arena, Cache Grab has the fourth highest win rate of any common in the set when used in the maindeck. It’s arguably the best green common in Blooomburrow Limited, especially considering how strong the Squirrel archetype is to begin with. In a set with Forage and Threshold as key mechanics, such an effect really comes into its own.
Since the release of Cache Grab and Malevolent Rumble, decks interested in card select spells have received a noticeable boost in recent sets. Both of these commons have performed better than they first appeared, and they are quite similar. This should serve as a lesson that even the most obscure low rarity card can really make a difference under the right circumstances.
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