Griselbrand

Griselbrand
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Griselbrand1.jpg}}|250px]]
Details
Race	Demon
Birthplace	Innistrad
Lifetime	Unknown-4557 A.R.
Colors

Griselbrand was one of the demonic masters of Liliana Vess. He granted her the power over death.

History

Griselbrand was the most powerful of Innistrad's demons. The archangel Avacyn and her angelic host used the Helvault, an artifact of immense power made of pure silver from their moon, to imprison Innistrad's demonic forces. Before completing their task, Griselbrand challenged Avacyn to combat. After battling for days, Avacyn used her remaining strength to drive Griselbrand into the Helvault. In response, Griselbrand threw his spear and impaled the archangel through the heart, causing Avacyn’s binding spell to rebound, resulting in both Griselbrand and Avacyn being imprisoned.

Liliana Vess visited Innistrad in the hopes of destroying Griselbrand, with whom she had made a demonic pact that would result in her soul's enslavement. To this end, she opened the Helvault by forcing an ultimatum on Thalia, its guardian. Immediately after his release, Griselbrand used his freedom as an opportunity to escape Avacyn. However, Liliana tracked Griselbrand down, slaughtering both angels and demons alike, and finally cornered him. Desperate, Griselbrand attempted to sway Liliana with promises of power, but she saw through his lies and used the Chain Veil to kill him permanently.

In-game references

Represented in:

• Avacyn and Griselbrand
• Griselbrand

Associated cards:

• Demonic Pact
• Disciple of Griselbrand
• Hound of Griselbrand
• Mask of Griselbrand
• Scroll of Griselbrand

Depicted in:

• Battle at the Helvault
• Dark Petition
• Liliana's Contract
• Liliana's Contract (Secret Lair)

Quoted or referred to:

• Altar's Reap (Innistrad)
• Amateur Auteur (Unstable, #3b)
• Blood Pact
• Infernal Plunge
• Ormendahl, Profane Prince

In-game mechanics

Griselbrand has become a powerhouse in every format it has been legal. It has affected Commander, Legacy, and Modern.

Usually present in Reanimator decks, many other decks were constructed that use a reanimated Griselbrand as a means rather than the ends of their deck's combo. His no-mana draw-seven ability has become the engine in decks like Tin Fins (a Storm-Reanimator strategy from Legacy), Instant Reanimator (a deck that intends to keep looping the draw-seven ability to win), and Grishoalbrand (a deck that uses another manaless effect, Nourishing Shoal, to refuel the draw).

As of 2022, all Legacy Reanimator decks tend to run at least 1 copy of Griselbrand.

Story appearances

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
Liliana's Mission	Doug Beyer	2011-08-31	Innistrad	Innistrad	Liliana, Kothophed, Garruk, Jace, Griselbrand
A Backstory Update for Dark Ascension	Doug Beyer	2012-01-04	Dark Ascension	Innistrad	Avacyn, Liliana, Griselbrand, Garruk
The Prison of Silver	Doug Beyer	2012-01-18	Dark Ascension	Innistrad	Edgar Markov, Shilgengar, Sorin, Avacyn, Griselbrand, Mikaeus Cecani, Liliana
The State of the Faith	Doug Beyer	2012-01-25	Dark Ascension	Innistrad	Avacyn, Griselbrand, Mikaeus Cecani, Volpaig
The Guardian, the Witch, and The Angel	Doug Beyer	2012-03-21	Avacyn Restored	Innistrad	Avacyn, Sorin, Thalia, Lothar, Mikaeus Cecani, Griselbrand, Geralf Cecani, Gisa Cecani, Liliana, Garruk
Angel's Rise and Demon's Release	Doug Beyer	2012-04-09	Avacyn Restored	Innistrad	Avacyn, Thalia, Liliana, Griselbrand, Garruk, Volpaig, Mikaeus Cecani, Sorin
Veil of Deceit	James Wyatt	2014-07-02	Magic 2015	Shandalar	Liliana Vess, Kothophed, Griselbrand, Garruk, Raven Man, Kurkesh
The Lunarch's Journal	Colin Kawakami	2014-08-13	Magic 2015	Innistrad	Dovid, Avacyn, Gryta, Mikaeus Cecani, Griselbrand, Edgar Markov, Shilgengar, Marycz, Sorin Markov

Trivia

• Innistrad demons are made of pure black mana, which allows them to regenerate after death. This process can take a millennium or longer, but it is unclear if the use of the Chain Veil may have made Griselbrand's death permanent.
• The in-game community often gives nicknames to Griselbrand or Griselbrand-decks making playful jokes with its name. Some examples are Griseldaddy, Griselboss, Griselcannon, and Griselshoot.

See also

• Reanimator
• Black
• Legacy Reanimator deck
• Legacy
• Modern
• Liliana Vess