Gruul Clans
My Fury. My Freedom. My Guild.
The Gruul are a loose affiliation of savage clans who squat in Ravnica’s alleyways, abandoned zones, and overgrown ruins. Many Gruul warriors and shamans have come to occupy the Rubblebelt, a broken thread of war-ruined land and settlements that begins near the outskirts of Ravnica’s Tenth District. Warfare among the Gruul is constant and almost ritualistic; the Gruul believe that only the strong should survive and rule. The Gruul are the most anti-civilization and disenfranchised of all of Ravnica’s guilds, and as such are the most ill at ease in a world covered by city.
Borborygmos, Alpha of the Clans. Though no Gruul clan leader has ever managed to dominate or unify all the clans, one is spoken of in reverential tones: Borborygmos. An unusually massive cyclops and the savage leader of the Burning-Tree Clan, Borborygmos “smashes his enemies into paste, then uses that paste to polish his boots,” as the saying goes. Borborygmos has defended his position as the Gruul’s mightiest clan leader for several decades now and has killed many upstarts. But though he’s still an extraordinary warrior, Borborygmos is beginning to show his age. The challenges to his leadership have become more frequent and his victories more narrow.
Skarrg, the Reunion Turf. In the gutted, cratered remains of a massive palace, a great bonfire burns, marking a place of tradition for the Gruul. Skarrg is not exactly neutral ground for the Gruul clans, as no truce is called, and old grudges tend to lead quickly to bloody combat. But Gruul clans periodically converge on Skarrg from every corner of Ravnica. Giant boars are roasted and great battles are fought, and here the Gruul find something akin to camaraderie.