I recently disassembled my Animar decklist and with most of the pieces created a Zegana and a Ruric Thar Zoo-type decklist, because that is really what he lends himself too. Without further ado, here is the list:
The basic point of the deck is to beat people down. As ruric thar hurts anyone, even you, who casts anything that isn't a creature spell, noncreature have to have a very good reason to be in the deck. The current iteration includes 17. At one point it had only one (can you guess which one...), and while this might seem a little too heavy, they provide a nice mix of utility, stack interaction, and awesomeness that couldn't be had without them. Basically, I only put a noncreature in if I couldn't find a creature that would do the same job.
Card choices and explanations are going here:
Rampy type cards:
Sakura-Tribe Elder, Yavimaya Elder, Wood Elves, etc - This deck might be one of those hyper-ramp decks people complain about, but instead of running cultivate and kodama's reach, I run creatures, as they don't hurt me with ruric out. They also leave me with a clampable body, and something to chump-block with (usually).
Somberwald Sage - He is a seriously underplayed card. Was an amazing house in animar in that he usually tapped for more then I spent on him. With almost 50 creatures in the deck, his drawback is negligible, and the fact that he can produce colored mana is icing on the cake.
Oracle of Mul Daya - He is just a boss. He is usually the card responsible for ramping me really far ahead, and I love him for it. No explanation here should be needed.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - While he is more of a game ending bomb then a ramp card, he does do a pretty good job at mana generation, so I included him here. He is one of 5 8-drops in the deck, and while that might seem a little hefty, they all are answer-or-die cards that I can always play before other people's 6-drops.
Xenagos, the Reveler - He was a tough one, because his +1, really the reason for his inclusion, is just gaea's cradle. However, I am trying to keep this deck borderline affordable with some newer cards so it isn't so hard to build (plus I don't have $100 spare) so Xenagos went in instead. He is another permanent, like somberwald sage, that adds a lot of mana to the pool. With this deck, he can easily add 2 or 3 mana when he drops, and more if he comes down later. the +/- 0 for a satry is irrelevant, unless you leen a chump blocker for something without evasion. His ultimate is nice, just like every ultimate, but you shouldn't get there too often.
Mana reflection - This is another really solid card that shouldn't need any explanation. It doubles only my mana, is a slightly smaller target then Vorinclex, and dodges some wraths/sweepers by virtue of type.
Removal-type cards:
Krosan grip, viridian zealot, sylvok replica - All have one purpose. To kill torpor orb. That one artifact, along with humility, literally kills this deck. 4 ways to kill 1 and 2 ways to get rid of the other aren't great, but aren't terrible. Outside of torpor orb, though, only krosan grip is really any good. Zealot and replica are nice, but their job can be done better by other cards.
Beast Within - Also kills torpor orb/humility, along with everything else. EVERYTHING ELSE. I never thought green would get the vindicate reprint, let alone at instant speed, but we did. So I use it. Its sheer versatility and power make it worth the life hit.
Acidic Slime, Indrik Stomphowler, Mold Shambler, etc. - Green can deal with noncreature permanents very well, and over the years has gotten a lot of creatures that can do this. Any creature based deck is not going to be the main threat to you, because we can usually overwhelm them. It is the people running dovescape and such that are scary - non-creature based wincons, and these guys all handle them.
Bogardan Hellkite, Flamtongue Kavu, Inferno Titan - Just like the above section, except it is burn stapled to a creature. 2 for 1s are always good, and with these cards you almost always get one, except with the titan, who over the course of the game can kill a lot of little dudes. These guys are basically our creature removal.
Duplicant - While the above cards remove with damage he removes by exiling something. He is an amazing card that just gets rid of the most worrisome creature on the battlefield for the rest of the game, usually while turning fat himself.
Huntmaster of the Fells - While considered a standard, not an EDH card, he has actually served me amazing well. He flips a lot throughout a game, usually gaining me 10+ life, giving 5+ wolves, burning down a bunch of players, etc.
Woodfall Primus, Terastodon - These guys are repeatable removal attached to very big sticks. In the words of TR, they were a good thing to carry, so I put them in the deck. But in all seriousness, they are game ending bombs that are both included for redundancy's sake.
Card draw/recursion:
Harmonize - This was one of the last cards that I put in. I wasn't sure if it would be worth the pain with Ruric out, but it is just as awesome as it is in every other deck.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts - This guy, on the other hand, was in the deck right from the release of M14. He draws me 2-3 cards per turn, and he only draws me into gas. He can drop pretty much any bomb into play from my hand as well. IMO, he, Tezz 1.0, Elspeth 1.0, and Venser are probably the best EDH walkers. If he emblems I win, but then if I protected him for that many turns you're screwed anyway.
Domri Rade - He is removal and card draw. I've never gotten his ultimate off, but he is still amazing. I've been told by some folks I play with that the $20 I dropped on him could be put to better use, mainly because he only has a 50% percent chance of drawing me a card. That is a drawback, and if you have to make a cut for budget he should be the first one (and Xenagos the second). However, he can be dropped on turn 3, and become a major threat, or on turn 6, and be protected.
Soul of the Harvest - He is an evasive, on cost body that replaces every creature spell I cast. Basically lets me cast as much of my hand as I want without worrying about dying to overextension. He is awesome.
Garruk's Packleader - Is actually one of the cards on the bubble. He draws me like Soul, but nowhere near as many cards. I've been thinking about replacing him, but he has so far been better then the contenders.
Regal Force - This thing is a bomb. Some cards never have to justify their spot, and he is one of them. I don't do token shenanigans, so can't draw my library, but he usually draws anywhere from 3 to half a dozen cards, and leaves behind a decently sized body.
Eternal Witness - It's a bomb. A clampable bomb. That can get me back things that aren't creatures. It is so good I'm speaking in sentence. Fragments.
Paleoloth+Deadwood Treefolk - Two awesome recursion cards. The tree doesn't need much justification, but Paleoloth isn't something I've seen many others play. It's recursion is conditional, but does get turned on by a lot of guys in the deck. I don't have a deadeye nav. to get insane with here, but he works.
Skullclamp- Is banned in like everything but vintage. It is the shiz. It is best in something like karador or geth, but in a deck with creatures that die - and preferably ones with 1 toughness - it gets out of hand. Like 16 cards out of hand.
Tutory Cards are here:
Fierce Empath - She seems a little underwhelming at first glance, but it is an amazing card. Not only does she put the card into my hand (that distinguishes the good tutors from the greats) but she has almost 20 targets. And can hit Ruric Thar if tucked. And leaves a body. Just say yes.
Fauna Shaman - It looks like a weaker survival of the fittest, but since objectively 99.998% of magic's cards are weaker then survival, that doesn't disqualify it from being good. The discard can hurt a little since we have almost no recursion, but he can get any creature. There are creatures in the deck that can kill permanents or draw cards or just beat face, and he can get one for any occasion while dropping a more useless creature.
Birthing Pod - Once again, the fact that we have no recursion is a strike against this guy. But imagine chaining craterhoof from avenger, or anything into SP/SP into anything. In my karador deck, when the pod is out I am in total control - I can kill an permanents, sweep the board, drop huge fatties, reanimate stuff, etc.... But the purpose is slightly different in an aggro deck. Find what you need, or just get a bigger beater.
Tooth and Nail - It isn't so much a find an answer/find a threat tutor as it is pay 9 mana and win. If you have played with this card, you know how it wins. So no explanation necessary.
How to play the deck and win (or at least how I do it):
This is a deck of questions, not of answers. Basically what that means is early on you will hopefully put your opponents on the backfoot and the will respond to the threats you play. Don't fall into the trap of playing reactively - you'll lose. During the first few turns, ramp. Play any utility guys you have if you think you can use them. Skullclamp is great to have here. Turns 4 and 5, the midgame, are where you are weakest. That isn't to say that you durdle. Play removal to get rid of any problem permanents your opponents might have played. Get some card draw out. A thing to note here is that this deck has enough draw to replace what you play out to an extent, but not enough to help you if you overextend into final judgment. So while you are trying to beat face, be aware of the fact that at some point throughout the game the board will probably die, and likely many times. After this point, keep the pedal to the medal. Swing at the most dangerous player (duh) - the one who appears most likely to combo out, or the one with the fogs and blatant thievery, or whatever criteria you like to judge with. Tooth and nailing into craterhoof + avenger is the deck's most boring and consistent wincon. However, there are a lot of hastegranters in the deck, and between them, Ruric Thar, the sheer amount of fat in the deck, and the other players, it will take a surprisingly short amount of time to start doing lethal. Just make sure you do it before people are able to stabilize - control decks able to get hold of the board, voltron decks equip up, etc. This deck also has no counter to MLD. However, you should still be able to ramp back the fastest, simply because of the amount of little dorks that bring a land with them.
you may want to consider the smaller less dangerous Ruric Thar, The Unbowed... Heartwood Storyteller to help you draw cards, early game opponents will happily be playing non-creatures giving you plenty of extra draws... and later they will more begrudgingly be giving you a draw here and there until they can get a removal to kill him...
and to get more bang for your buck, you may also want to try Gratuitous Violence... but be careful, it doubles your creatures damage, which includes the damage they do to you
you may also want to consider Darksteel Plate, that way your Ruric Thar will last through even a Wrath effect...
if you like over-extending, playing with a copy of Caller of the Claw or Fresh Meat isn't a terrible way to ensure you aren't dead to a wrath
since this looks like a very fun deck, i am not sure on which cards to remove to make room for any of these, i would probably just recommend trying each one out to see if they fit your play styles, and going from there...
I'm not so worried about losing Ruric to a wrath - the caster takes 6 and clears the board - and I always have enough to at least cast the big man of the house again:)
Damage doublers are awesome, and I've seen them used to great effect in similar decks. It would be especially awesome with Ruric Thar. I may have to consider them...
Thanks for the advice, man! Anyone else got anything to say?
I play a Ruric Thar Primal Surge Deck (check it out in my sig) The deck has been alot of fun to play. Since your not going the full on creature route may I suggest you look at Basilisk Collar and Loxodon Warhammer. Giving Ruric Lifelink nulls his ability against you, and gives you an even more bonus when other people play non-creature spells.
Another suggestion is Defense of the Heart I cant tell you how many times I would get that out on turn 3-4 when people are playing small creatures early to stall and it changes the game in a instant. All and all though it is a really good list
So I have recently made many updates to the deck, which I'm going to put here. Actually, they were months ago; this list was out of date when I put it up. I might be wanting to put some time into it though, so I'll be updating it.
Ulvenwald Tracker - Fight is a mechanic that lets me kill creatures in G/R. I love it. I also love 1 drops that get more relevant as the game goes on and require virtually no mana investment. Basically, he boss.
Bellowing Tanglewurm - kind of a crap uncommon for scars that I just found in the (surprise, surprise) crap uncommon bin. I tried him out though, and he basically gives all my guys unblockable. That is a really big deal.
Thornling is another awesome card that the deck recently gained. Green doesn't get many shapeshifters, but when they do, they rock. Can do anything, anytime, anyplace.
Engulfing Slagwurm - He is a fatty with (a slightly weakened) lifelink and deathtouch. Makes attacking or blocking him an unfun proposition, and he generally rocks.
Some of the cuts I made some people might contest as they are really good cards, but the deck works better for me when I ignore extraneous stuff like board position (read: extraneous = everything not humility and torpor orb) and just go for the throat ASAP.
I'll edit in changes, rationale, and additional changes I made to the deck later.
I recently disassembled my Animar decklist and with most of the pieces created a Zegana and a Ruric Thar Zoo-type decklist, because that is really what he lends himself too. Without further ado, here is the list:
The decklist arranged by function:
6 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Ramp (13):
3 Yavimaya Elder
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Yavimaya Dryad
3 Farhaven Elf
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
2 Dawntreader Elk
2 Lotus Cobra
3 Somberwald Sage
3 Wood Elves
6 Mana Reflection
8 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
7 Krosan Tusker
4 Xenagos, the Reveler
Tutors (3):
2 Fauna Shaman
4 Birthing Pod
1 Green Sun's Zenith
Removal/Burn (13):
8 Woodfall Primus
8 Terastodon
2 Viridian Zealot
3 Sylvok Replica
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
7 Gruul Ragebeast
4 Huntsmaster of the Fells
6 Inferno Titan
4 Flametounge Kavu
8 Bogardan Hellkite
5 Acidic Slime
3 Krosan Grip
3 Beast Within
7 Sylvan Primordial
4 Harmonize
7 Regal Force
6 Soul of the Harvest
3 Domri Rade
6 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
5 Garruk's Packleader
6 Paleoloth
3 Heartwood Storyteller
3 Eternal Witness
6 Deadwood Treefolk
1 Skullclamp
Goodstuff/Utility (12):
5 Boartusk Liege
2 Vexing Shusher
7 Engulfing Slagwurm
6 Rampaging Baloths
4 Spellbreaker Behemoth
5 Thragtusk
5 Bellowing Tanglewurm
3 Dosan the Falling Leaf
5 Thornling
5 Asectisicm
6 Lurking Predators
3 Fires of Yavimaya
5 Urabrask, the Hidden
4 Ogre Battledriver
3 Genesis Wave
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
7 Avenger of Zendikar
6 Vigor
6 Terra Stomper
7 Gaea's Revenge
Lands (38):
1 Stomping Ground
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Raging Ravine
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Contested Cliffs
1 Homeward Path
1 Skaarg, the Rage Pits
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
15 Forest
13 Mountain
The decklist arranged by card type:
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Dawntreader Elk
2 Lotus Cobra
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Viridian Zealot
2 Vexing Shusher
3 Yavimaya Dryad
3 Yavimaya Elder
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Wood Elves
3 Somberwald Sage
3 Sylvok Replica
3 Eternal Witness
3 Dosan the Falling Leaf
3 Heartwood Storyteller
4 Flametounge Kavu
4 Huntsmaster of the Fells
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Spellbreaker Behemoth
4 Ogre Battledriver
5 Garruk's Packleader
5 Acidic Slime
5 Boarktusk Liege
5 Bellowing Tanglewurm
5 Urabrask the Hidden
5 Thragtusk
5 Thornling
6 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
6 Soul of the Harvest
6 Paleoloth
6 Vigor
6 Rampaging Baloths
6 Inferno Titan
6 Deadwood Treefolk
6 Terra Stomper
7 Regal Force
7 Gruul Ragebeast
7 Krosan Tusker
7 Sylvan Primordial
7 Engulfing Slagwurm
7 Gaea's Revenge
7 Avenger of Zendikar
8 Bogardan Hellkite
8 Terastodon
8 Woodfall Primus
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
8 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
3 Fires of Yavimaya
5 Asectisicm
6 Lurking Predators
6 Mana Reflection
Instants/Sorceries (5):
1 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Genesis Wave
3 Krosan Grip
3 Beast Within
4 Harmonize
Artifacts (2):
1 Skullclamp
4 Birthing Pod
Planeswalkers (3):
3 Domri Rade
4 Xenagos, the Reveler
6 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Lands (38):
1 Stomping Ground
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Raging Ravine
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Contested Cliffs
1 Skaarg, the Rage Pits
1 Homeward Path
1 Grove of the Burnwillows
15 Forest
13 Mountain
The average mana curve of the deck, for those wondering, is 2.87.
Cut list, for those wondering about that:
3 Mwonvuli Beast Tracker
3 Fierce Empath
7 Tooth and Nail
6 Warstorm Surge
5 Indrik Stomphowler
6 Duplicant
4 Mold Shambler
5 Conjurer's Closet
6 Overwhelming Stampede
The basic point of the deck is to beat people down. As ruric thar hurts anyone, even you, who casts anything that isn't a creature spell, noncreature have to have a very good reason to be in the deck. The current iteration includes 17. At one point it had only one (can you guess which one...), and while this might seem a little too heavy, they provide a nice mix of utility, stack interaction, and awesomeness that couldn't be had without them. Basically, I only put a noncreature in if I couldn't find a creature that would do the same job.
Card choices and explanations are going here:
Rampy type cards:
Sakura-Tribe Elder, Yavimaya Elder, Wood Elves, etc - This deck might be one of those hyper-ramp decks people complain about, but instead of running cultivate and kodama's reach, I run creatures, as they don't hurt me with ruric out. They also leave me with a clampable body, and something to chump-block with (usually).
Somberwald Sage - He is a seriously underplayed card. Was an amazing house in animar in that he usually tapped for more then I spent on him. With almost 50 creatures in the deck, his drawback is negligible, and the fact that he can produce colored mana is icing on the cake.
Oracle of Mul Daya - He is just a boss. He is usually the card responsible for ramping me really far ahead, and I love him for it. No explanation here should be needed.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - While he is more of a game ending bomb then a ramp card, he does do a pretty good job at mana generation, so I included him here. He is one of 5 8-drops in the deck, and while that might seem a little hefty, they all are answer-or-die cards that I can always play before other people's 6-drops.
Xenagos, the Reveler - He was a tough one, because his +1, really the reason for his inclusion, is just gaea's cradle. However, I am trying to keep this deck borderline affordable with some newer cards so it isn't so hard to build (plus I don't have $100 spare) so Xenagos went in instead. He is another permanent, like somberwald sage, that adds a lot of mana to the pool. With this deck, he can easily add 2 or 3 mana when he drops, and more if he comes down later. the +/- 0 for a satry is irrelevant, unless you leen a chump blocker for something without evasion. His ultimate is nice, just like every ultimate, but you shouldn't get there too often.
Mana reflection - This is another really solid card that shouldn't need any explanation. It doubles only my mana, is a slightly smaller target then Vorinclex, and dodges some wraths/sweepers by virtue of type.
Removal-type cards:
Krosan grip, viridian zealot, sylvok replica - All have one purpose. To kill torpor orb. That one artifact, along with humility, literally kills this deck. 4 ways to kill 1 and 2 ways to get rid of the other aren't great, but aren't terrible. Outside of torpor orb, though, only krosan grip is really any good. Zealot and replica are nice, but their job can be done better by other cards.
Beast Within - Also kills torpor orb/humility, along with everything else. EVERYTHING ELSE. I never thought green would get the vindicate reprint, let alone at instant speed, but we did. So I use it. Its sheer versatility and power make it worth the life hit.
Acidic Slime, Indrik Stomphowler, Mold Shambler, etc. - Green can deal with noncreature permanents very well, and over the years has gotten a lot of creatures that can do this. Any creature based deck is not going to be the main threat to you, because we can usually overwhelm them. It is the people running dovescape and such that are scary - non-creature based wincons, and these guys all handle them.
Bogardan Hellkite, Flamtongue Kavu, Inferno Titan - Just like the above section, except it is burn stapled to a creature. 2 for 1s are always good, and with these cards you almost always get one, except with the titan, who over the course of the game can kill a lot of little dudes. These guys are basically our creature removal.
Duplicant - While the above cards remove with damage he removes by exiling something. He is an amazing card that just gets rid of the most worrisome creature on the battlefield for the rest of the game, usually while turning fat himself.
Huntmaster of the Fells - While considered a standard, not an EDH card, he has actually served me amazing well. He flips a lot throughout a game, usually gaining me 10+ life, giving 5+ wolves, burning down a bunch of players, etc.
Woodfall Primus, Terastodon - These guys are repeatable removal attached to very big sticks. In the words of TR, they were a good thing to carry, so I put them in the deck. But in all seriousness, they are game ending bombs that are both included for redundancy's sake.
Card draw/recursion:
Harmonize - This was one of the last cards that I put in. I wasn't sure if it would be worth the pain with Ruric out, but it is just as awesome as it is in every other deck.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts - This guy, on the other hand, was in the deck right from the release of M14. He draws me 2-3 cards per turn, and he only draws me into gas. He can drop pretty much any bomb into play from my hand as well. IMO, he, Tezz 1.0, Elspeth 1.0, and Venser are probably the best EDH walkers. If he emblems I win, but then if I protected him for that many turns you're screwed anyway.
Domri Rade - He is removal and card draw. I've never gotten his ultimate off, but he is still amazing. I've been told by some folks I play with that the $20 I dropped on him could be put to better use, mainly because he only has a 50% percent chance of drawing me a card. That is a drawback, and if you have to make a cut for budget he should be the first one (and Xenagos the second). However, he can be dropped on turn 3, and become a major threat, or on turn 6, and be protected.
Soul of the Harvest - He is an evasive, on cost body that replaces every creature spell I cast. Basically lets me cast as much of my hand as I want without worrying about dying to overextension. He is awesome.
Garruk's Packleader - Is actually one of the cards on the bubble. He draws me like Soul, but nowhere near as many cards. I've been thinking about replacing him, but he has so far been better then the contenders.
Regal Force - This thing is a bomb. Some cards never have to justify their spot, and he is one of them. I don't do token shenanigans, so can't draw my library, but he usually draws anywhere from 3 to half a dozen cards, and leaves behind a decently sized body.
Eternal Witness - It's a bomb. A clampable bomb. That can get me back things that aren't creatures. It is so good I'm speaking in sentence. Fragments.
Paleoloth+Deadwood Treefolk - Two awesome recursion cards. The tree doesn't need much justification, but Paleoloth isn't something I've seen many others play. It's recursion is conditional, but does get turned on by a lot of guys in the deck. I don't have a deadeye nav. to get insane with here, but he works.
Skullclamp- Is banned in like everything but vintage. It is the shiz. It is best in something like karador or geth, but in a deck with creatures that die - and preferably ones with 1 toughness - it gets out of hand. Like 16 cards out of hand.
Tutory Cards are here:
Fierce Empath - She seems a little underwhelming at first glance, but it is an amazing card. Not only does she put the card into my hand (that distinguishes the good tutors from the greats) but she has almost 20 targets. And can hit Ruric Thar if tucked. And leaves a body. Just say yes.
Fauna Shaman - It looks like a weaker survival of the fittest, but since objectively 99.998% of magic's cards are weaker then survival, that doesn't disqualify it from being good. The discard can hurt a little since we have almost no recursion, but he can get any creature. There are creatures in the deck that can kill permanents or draw cards or just beat face, and he can get one for any occasion while dropping a more useless creature.
Birthing Pod - Once again, the fact that we have no recursion is a strike against this guy. But imagine chaining craterhoof from avenger, or anything into SP/SP into anything. In my karador deck, when the pod is out I am in total control - I can kill an permanents, sweep the board, drop huge fatties, reanimate stuff, etc.... But the purpose is slightly different in an aggro deck. Find what you need, or just get a bigger beater.
Green Sun's Zenith - Bogardan hellkite isn't green. Neither is flametongue kavu or urabrask the hidden. Inferno titan, duplicant, and sylvok replica are also nongreen. THE OTHER 40 ARE GREEN. It tutors any of 40 cards onto the battlefield for a 1 mana tax. Awesome!!!!
Tooth and Nail - It isn't so much a find an answer/find a threat tutor as it is pay 9 mana and win. If you have played with this card, you know how it wins. So no explanation necessary.
How to play the deck and win (or at least how I do it):
This is a deck of questions, not of answers. Basically what that means is early on you will hopefully put your opponents on the backfoot and the will respond to the threats you play. Don't fall into the trap of playing reactively - you'll lose. During the first few turns, ramp. Play any utility guys you have if you think you can use them. Skullclamp is great to have here. Turns 4 and 5, the midgame, are where you are weakest. That isn't to say that you durdle. Play removal to get rid of any problem permanents your opponents might have played. Get some card draw out. A thing to note here is that this deck has enough draw to replace what you play out to an extent, but not enough to help you if you overextend into final judgment. So while you are trying to beat face, be aware of the fact that at some point throughout the game the board will probably die, and likely many times. After this point, keep the pedal to the medal. Swing at the most dangerous player (duh) - the one who appears most likely to combo out, or the one with the fogs and blatant thievery, or whatever criteria you like to judge with. Tooth and nailing into craterhoof + avenger is the deck's most boring and consistent wincon. However, there are a lot of hastegranters in the deck, and between them, Ruric Thar, the sheer amount of fat in the deck, and the other players, it will take a surprisingly short amount of time to start doing lethal. Just make sure you do it before people are able to stabilize - control decks able to get hold of the board, voltron decks equip up, etc. This deck also has no counter to MLD. However, you should still be able to ramp back the fastest, simply because of the amount of little dorks that bring a land with them.
:symr::symu::symb:Nicol Bolas Control: symr::symu::symb:
:symr::symg:Ruric Thar, the Unbowed Beatdown :gruul::symgr:
:symg::symb::symw:Karador, Ghost Chieftain Recursion Control :symw::symb::symg:
and to get more bang for your buck, you may also want to try Gratuitous Violence... but be careful, it doubles your creatures damage, which includes the damage they do to you
you may also want to consider Darksteel Plate, that way your Ruric Thar will last through even a Wrath effect...
if you like over-extending, playing with a copy of Caller of the Claw or Fresh Meat isn't a terrible way to ensure you aren't dead to a wrath
since this looks like a very fun deck, i am not sure on which cards to remove to make room for any of these, i would probably just recommend trying each one out to see if they fit your play styles, and going from there...
BW Haakon, Stromgald Scourge: Tribal Knights BW
UWG Roon Astral Slide: Cycling and Sliding Based Deck UWG
I'm not so worried about losing Ruric to a wrath - the caster takes 6 and clears the board - and I always have enough to at least cast the big man of the house again:)
Damage doublers are awesome, and I've seen them used to great effect in similar decks. It would be especially awesome with Ruric Thar. I may have to consider them...
Thanks for the advice, man! Anyone else got anything to say?
:symr::symu::symb:Nicol Bolas Control: symr::symu::symb:
:symr::symg:Ruric Thar, the Unbowed Beatdown :gruul::symgr:
:symg::symb::symw:Karador, Ghost Chieftain Recursion Control :symw::symb::symg:
Another suggestion is Defense of the Heart I cant tell you how many times I would get that out on turn 3-4 when people are playing small creatures early to stall and it changes the game in a instant. All and all though it is a really good list
BURPerfectly Suited to Mindless Carnage, ThraximundarRUB
URBOckham's Mindrazer = Nekusar the MindrazerBRU
UBRMarchsea makes all the Men do Stupid ThingsRBU
GWBThe Best Offense is Defense, Doran 2.0BWG
XRDaretti, Artifact ShenanigansRX
RKrenko the Don of the Goblin MobR
GFreyalise and Elves have pet HydrasG
WArmy of the Heavens, Lead by the Angel of HopeW
BDrana, The Removal BloodchiefB
UAzami, Knowledge is PowerU
WBDaxos is Enchanting Enchantments to Enchant more EnchantsBW
GRI got 99 Permanents but Primal Surge ain't One, Ruric TharRG
GBNel Thot's Sacrificial SwarmBG
WRWifey's Wrath - Gisela Blade of GoldnightRW
WUPillowfort Tron - BrunaUW
XXThe TriadXX
Do you have what it takes to survive?
I would so use defense of the heart, but it is house banned/severely frowned upon.
But giving him lifelink would be awesome. I'm going to try that out. I've seen lifelnk used to great effect on karvaek.
The question is, what to drop? Thinking terra stomper for loxodon warhammer.
:symr::symu::symb:Nicol Bolas Control: symr::symu::symb:
:symr::symg:Ruric Thar, the Unbowed Beatdown :gruul::symgr:
:symg::symb::symw:Karador, Ghost Chieftain Recursion Control :symw::symb::symg:
Ulvenwald Tracker - Fight is a mechanic that lets me kill creatures in G/R. I love it. I also love 1 drops that get more relevant as the game goes on and require virtually no mana investment. Basically, he boss.
Duplicant goes out to make room for him.
Bellowing Tanglewurm - kind of a crap uncommon for scars that I just found in the (surprise, surprise) crap uncommon bin. I tried him out though, and he basically gives all my guys unblockable. That is a really big deal.
Tooth and Nail goes out for you.
Thornling is another awesome card that the deck recently gained. Green doesn't get many shapeshifters, but when they do, they rock. Can do anything, anytime, anyplace.
Warstorm Surge out for him.
Engulfing Slagwurm - He is a fatty with (a slightly weakened) lifelink and deathtouch. Makes attacking or blocking him an unfun proposition, and he generally rocks.
Out comes fierce empath.
Next is rampaging baloths. An evasive fattie that is on-curve that makes huge tokens is, well, good for me.
Out goes mold shambler.
In goes heartwood storyteller. He is a boss source of card draw, and something besides Ruric that makes people think twice about attacking.
Out comes indrik stomphowler.
Some of the cuts I made some people might contest as they are really good cards, but the deck works better for me when I ignore extraneous stuff like board position (read: extraneous = everything not humility and torpor orb) and just go for the throat ASAP.
I'll edit in changes, rationale, and additional changes I made to the deck later.
:symr::symu::symb:Nicol Bolas Control: symr::symu::symb:
:symr::symg:Ruric Thar, the Unbowed Beatdown :gruul::symgr:
:symg::symb::symw:Karador, Ghost Chieftain Recursion Control :symw::symb::symg: