Un playing 3x rhonas on cockatrice right Now and he is really impresive ! I just était he drop prince and in gonna put 2-3 in thé deck.. He is string Early and pretty strong late game when y Can +2 or +4 trample.
So you can use domri to fight rhonas then. Does he have to be an active creature
The new gods don't cease being creatures, they just can't attack or block given some condition. You can use them to fight or tap them to pay for Chord of Calling or a bunch of other things.
I havent tested Rhonas at all yet, but my gut tells me he is probably one of the best 3 drops you can use without dipping into other colors. My only problem with him is he will only ever be secondary in the deck, unlike cards like geist of st traft or knight. he's legendary and industructable, so he doesnt double up and doesnt die (unlike geist) so max you can run is 3... but I think 2 is probably correct. and the other 3 drops in the deck NEED to be 4/4s, at least 4 more. You need goyf no matter what at this point, and likely the other 2 drops need to be able to grow to 4/x too.
Where he fits best though I have no clue. 4/5 colors seems good because you can turn him on the easiest, coco is great because you can drop him off one, and little zoo as a finisher is good too.
I think coco is probably the best for him right now. Ooze, mana dorks and knights are probably the easiest way to abuse him. Though I dream of my perfect curve stone. I will run him in 5 color when I get a hold of 3 copies probably, though cutting geist makes me sad panda. Maybe I can borrow some.
Hello all. So I have been playing around with reckless zoo for about a year on and off I figure I'd show you my list. It's nothing revolutionary lol.
[
4x goblin guide
4 x kid ape
4x narnam renegade
4x wild nacatl
3x experiment one
4x burning tree emissary
3x Flinthoof boar
4x reckless bushwhacker
2x simian spirit guide
2x rest in peace
2x gut shot
1x electrickery
2x dromokas command
2x tin Street hooligan
3x selfless spirit
3x path to exile]
A few points I wanted to talk about. First thing is hidden herbalist, I found that card to be sub par and clunky so I cut it and added Flinthoof in its place. The dexk is not as "explosive" as it could be with the card but iv been happy with out it. As far as my general build I like to keep the general converted mana of my cards below 2cc. With such a low land count I dint want sideboard cards just rotting in my hand. Also my Lgs is vary midrange and control heavy I my self play jund as my main dexk lol but I set the bored up to combat the high amount of removal with selfless spirit and Dromoka's command.
I like playing answers that are creatures if I can to keep my threat density high and not dilute my deck game two. Any way the deck is a blast I won't say it's gonna change the world or anything. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them.
I had some requests for how I sideboard so I am just doing a mini primer for my tribal zoo:
Tribal Zoo Mini Primer / Sideboard Guide
I tried to keep everything concise with one or two sentence descriptions.
Who am I?
I am a FNM/mtgo player who has been on the same tribal zoo deck since around September. I have been playing since 5th edition and got competitive around lorwyn.
What is Tribal Zoo?
Tribal Zoo is an aggressive, Naya midrange deck splashing blue and black that prefers to interact using direct damage sources rather than discard or permission. The mana base consists of fetch and shock lands to turn on tribal flames on turn three ideally.
Threats Wild Nacatl Consistently a 3/3 for one mana. Tarmogoyf 2/3 to 4/5 for two mana most of the time. Geist of Saint Traft insane three drop threat. Keeping board clear for geist is usually the easiest way to win with this deck. Siege Rhino 4/5 trampling snapcaster mage that always hits lightning helix... lol ok maybe not but pretty god damn close. The lifegain is pure gold on this four drop threat.
Removal Tribal Flames1R sorcery: Deal 5 damage to target creature or player. Lightning Bolt a mini tribal flames but at instant speed. Lightning Helix Easy way to gain 3 life is very good plus it comes with a bolt. Path to Exile Unconditional exile in a deck full of direct damage is useful.
Flex Noble Hierarch Forms megatron with geist. Birds of Paradise Wotc don't let you play 5 noble hierarch. Qasali Pridemage Incredible activated ability for undercosted exalted beatdowns Snapcaster Mage Flexible card that can catch opponents off guard.
Lands
Naya fetches make it easy to fetch the right lands to play the cards on curve.
Seven shocks, all with at least one naya color. two sources of blue and two sources of black.
It makes more sense to talk about the sideboard cards in the matchups section.
I went somewhat unconventional with my sideboard. This decks main weaknesses can be overcome by playing well and drawing the right cards. An overlooked benefit of 5 colors is the amount of flexibility in the main 60 which allows me to dedicate my sideboard to cards that can hose particular players in my fnm. I kept the same SB for mtgo and it has worked out so I just went with it.
Matches
(Burn)
Out:
4 Geist of Saint Traft This thing is a nuclear missile and I am looking for a medic
3 Path to Exile Burn doesn't play many creatures and none of them require an exile effect to remove.
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity free wins, great to hard cast too.
2 Ajani Vengeant Takes me to 8 helix effects in the deck.
2 Negate It's basically a lifegain spell and an answer for reflecting palm.
(Death's Shadow Jund)
Out:
4 Noble Hierarch Ramp isn't as important as reach. I want to build a wide board so I can attack + burn spell to end the game in one turn.
1 Birds of Paradise
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity free wins sometimes, gains value each time opponent draws dead spells.
2 Ajani Vengeant Not a hoser here, just a solid 4 drop with reach.
(Dredge)
Out:
2 Qasali Pridemage No targets, need room so I'm cutting the least efficient threat.
2 Snapcaster Mage Doesn't work with cage.
1 Path to Exile It's not super useful here. I'm still interested in exiling prized amalgam so I keep 3 in.
In:
3 Grafdigger's Cage They can beat it but it is a significant speedbump. This match is just a race and whoever stumbles will lose.
2 Negate This one can stop the early game cathartic reunion or the late game conflagrate.
(Junk)
Out:
4 Noble Hierarch I want every card to be land removal or threat
1 Birds of Paradise
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity Shuts off a large portion of their interaction.
2 Ajani Vengeant Not a hoser here, just a solid 4 drop threat that can interact with creatures and manlands.
(Eldrazi Tron)
Out:
2 Lightning Helix The lifegain is not super useful here. Paying two mana for a bolt isn't worths.
4 Lightning Bolt I need removal and bolt doesn't do that here.
1 Snapcaster Mage I am cutting a lot of spells here so going down to 1 feels ok.
In:
3 Stony Silence Turns off map and usually some other artifacts in their deck (hangarback walker / walking ballista / spellskite)
2 Ajani Vengeant +1 is an answer for Reality Smasher. Builds towards powerful ult.
2 Destructive Revelry More answers for chalice of the void.
(Storm)
Out:
4 Siege Rhino I want to be low and nimble in this match so I cut the 4 drops.
2 Snapcaster Mage Cut for above reason as well as the presence of cage.
2 Qasali Pridemage No targets to hit, cutting the least efficient threat.
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity This one shuts down gifts ungiven and grapeshot.
3 Grafdigger's Cage Stops past in flames.
2 Negate Stops manamorphose, gifts ungiven, and remand.
(Affinity)
Out:
4 Geist of Saint Traft Nacatl and Goyf are enough of a board to do the job here. The rest of the cards I draw I want immediate action.
1 Siege Rhino Cutting a four drop lowers the curve slightly.
In:
3 Stony Silence Free Wins
2 Destructive Revelry Great removal spell here.
Messed around with a (really bad) 4 color zoo so I could test out Rhonas and Bone picker at the same time. I wouldnt run this deck ever again, but I got to get a full feel for the two cards, and realistically thats all I was after. Information on those.
Bone Picker is a great card. I never had trouble casting it on turn 2 or later. In zoo creatures naturally die from attacks, plus most people bolt things as late as possible (read, your turn), or chumping your aggression. So I can see this card being bad in tempo like decks that want to abuse it, but not in aggro decks like zoo that are creature decks.
That being said, warping your mana base isnt fun. If you are in black, and need more aggression with a 1 drop, yeah, Id take this over most other choices. I would run this if I wasnt running black though.
Rhonas the Indomitable was stupid good. As long as it was enabled (I made sure the deck could do that no matter what) and he threatened lethal pretty much anytime he was on the board. He does everything a 3 drop top ender in zoo you want. He doesnt die. He attacks for tons of damage, and he enables any creature you have into game enders. I wish I could say he was the 3 drop we were always looking for.
My issue is that he is legendary. Means you cant run more than 3 in faster zoo decks, 2 in longer game zoo decks like coco. So you still need to enable him with the other 3 drops and 2 drops. I'm pretty sure this guy takes the number 2 spot though for best 3 cmc. Ranking geist, then this, knight, anafenza smiter, then the rest.
Rhonas does require a little bit of build around, but my guess is its worth the investment. All its asking is that you run things that either enable his attack or his ability, or both. And thats not hard. It does make some stuff a bit more ackward. Thalia, pridemage, ghor-clan stuff like that, because you do want him attacking quickly. I don't think its all that difficault to accomadate that. It is REALLY worth noting that E1 does turn it on well because it triggers on his entering and turns into a 4/4. You just gotta get E1 to trigger effectively.
Overall, I would play Rhonas in pretty much every build of zoo cept those really wide explosive versions. It really needs a 5-8 goyf and 3 drop better than knight to funtion at its best, but overall a huge step for zoo.
Yeah, I'm failing to see how Thoctar is better than Smiter in CoCo builds. Smiter has a huge advantage of making the U mage waste their mana holding up mana leak and being perfectly fine to have in hand vs. Lilly and KCommand decks. Smiter still meets the Rhonas conditions.
It's also slightly easier to cast, which isn't anything.
I never have any trouble casting RWG on turn 2 and 3 is an argument I have no interest hearing on Thoctar's behalf because someday, somehow, your mana won't work like you want it to work. Having mana issues is a fundamental part of magic that you just can't i dont have mana problems away.
Throctar is my pet card and I love it,a turn 2 throctar is a beast. In all my decks I try to at least play a card so,s scratch their head 2. An optimal list in my meta ATM would be 4 Smiters
a quick question for you experts of this deck..how is naya big zoo vs unfair match-up like amulet, titanshift, ad nauseam and classic rg tron? have to play a tournament in my local store and i assume that nobody will play any midrange bg.
Naya Big zoo is close to aggro midrange. The only one I'd say you're ahead against in that list for sure is RG tron, otherwise it's really down to what you have mainboard. Ad naus is pretty much near unwinnable if they their draws align up perfectly in the first 3 turns. Amulet is one I'm least sure of I haven't played against the deck since they banned summer bloom. I just remember the amulet match up going turn 2-3 titan and I just stare down that thing.
a quick question for you experts of this deck..how is naya big zoo vs unfair match-up like amulet, titanshift, ad nauseam and classic rg tron? have to play a tournament in my local store and i assume that nobody will play any midrange bg.
The deck his self isnt that great vs unfair deck but à part of his strengh is from sideboard versatility. Right now i play 3 blood moon and 2 stony. that hlp vs the 3 decks you asked.
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He's been good for me in this build on MTGO (just practice, haven't played any leagues).
Domri Rade fighting with Rhonas the Indomitable and Narnam Renegade has been really effective.
4x Arid Mesa
1x Blood Crypt
1x Forest
1x Swamp
1x Godless Shrine
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plains
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
3x Windswept Heath
3x Wooded Foothills
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Marsh Flats
1x Anafenza, the Foremost
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Birds of Paradise
4x Loxodon Smiter
4x Narnam Renegade
4x Noble Hierarch
1x Qasali Pridemage
2x Rhonas the Indomitable
4x Siege Rhino
4x Tarmogoyf
1x Wilt-Leaf Liege
2x Fatal Push
4x Lightning Bolt
1x Lightning Helix
3x Path to Exile
Planeswalkers
2x Domri Rade
The new gods don't cease being creatures, they just can't attack or block given some condition. You can use them to fight or tap them to pay for Chord of Calling or a bunch of other things.
Where he fits best though I have no clue. 4/5 colors seems good because you can turn him on the easiest, coco is great because you can drop him off one, and little zoo as a finisher is good too.
I think coco is probably the best for him right now. Ooze, mana dorks and knights are probably the easiest way to abuse him. Though I dream of my perfect curve stone. I will run him in 5 color when I get a hold of 3 copies probably, though cutting geist makes me sad panda. Maybe I can borrow some.
Need a collection tracker? Use EchoMTG here: https://www.echomtg.com/r/7bb6961d/
Join the Zoo Discord: https://discord.gg/Yu6eTSTrzA
[
4x goblin guide
4 x kid ape
4x narnam renegade
4x wild nacatl
3x experiment one
4x burning tree emissary
3x Flinthoof boar
4x reckless bushwhacker
2x simian spirit guide
4x lighting bolt
4x atarka's command
2x boros charm
4x wooded foothills
4x windswept heath
2x Misty rainforest
2x arid Mesa
2x stomping ground
1x sacred foundry
1x temple garden
1x dryad Arbor
1x forest
Sideboard
2x rest in peace
2x gut shot
1x electrickery
2x dromokas command
2x tin Street hooligan
3x selfless spirit
3x path to exile]
A few points I wanted to talk about. First thing is hidden herbalist, I found that card to be sub par and clunky so I cut it and added Flinthoof in its place. The dexk is not as "explosive" as it could be with the card but iv been happy with out it. As far as my general build I like to keep the general converted mana of my cards below 2cc. With such a low land count I dint want sideboard cards just rotting in my hand. Also my Lgs is vary midrange and control heavy I my self play jund as my main dexk lol but I set the bored up to combat the high amount of removal with selfless spirit and Dromoka's command.
I like playing answers that are creatures if I can to keep my threat density high and not dilute my deck game two. Any way the deck is a blast I won't say it's gonna change the world or anything. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them.
Tribal Zoo Mini Primer / Sideboard Guide
I tried to keep everything concise with one or two sentence descriptions.
Who am I?
I am a FNM/mtgo player who has been on the same tribal zoo deck since around September. I have been playing since 5th edition and got competitive around lorwyn.
What is Tribal Zoo?
Tribal Zoo is an aggressive, Naya midrange deck splashing blue and black that prefers to interact using direct damage sources rather than discard or permission. The mana base consists of fetch and shock lands to turn on tribal flames on turn three ideally.
Threats
Wild Nacatl Consistently a 3/3 for one mana.
Tarmogoyf 2/3 to 4/5 for two mana most of the time.
Geist of Saint Traft insane three drop threat. Keeping board clear for geist is usually the easiest way to win with this deck.
Siege Rhino 4/5 trampling snapcaster mage that always hits lightning helix... lol ok maybe not but pretty god damn close. The lifegain is pure gold on this four drop threat.
Removal
Tribal Flames 1R sorcery: Deal 5 damage to target creature or player.
Lightning Bolt a mini tribal flames but at instant speed.
Lightning Helix Easy way to gain 3 life is very good plus it comes with a bolt.
Path to Exile Unconditional exile in a deck full of direct damage is useful.
Flex
Noble Hierarch Forms megatron with geist.
Birds of Paradise Wotc don't let you play 5 noble hierarch.
Qasali Pridemage Incredible activated ability for undercosted exalted beatdowns
Snapcaster Mage Flexible card that can catch opponents off guard.
Lands
Naya fetches make it easy to fetch the right lands to play the cards on curve.
Seven shocks, all with at least one naya color. two sources of blue and two sources of black.
It makes more sense to talk about the sideboard cards in the matchups section.
Strengths: Races well, removes creatures and planeswalkers well, redundant core of threats.
Weakness: eldrazi, lingering souls, burn damage, supreme verdict, ugin, blood moon.
4x Arid Mesa
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
1x Marsh Flats
1x Blood Crypt
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Steam Vents
1x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Garden
1x Forest
4x Noble Hierarch
1x Birds of Paradise
4x Wild Nacatl
4x Tarmogoyf
4x Geist of Saint Traft
4x Siege Rhino
2x Qasali Pridemage
2x Snapcaster Mage
Sorcery (4)
4x Tribal Flames
Instant (10)
4x Path to Exile
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Lightning Helix
3x Stony Silence
3x Grafdigger's Cage
3x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Ajani Vengeant
2x Destructive Revelry
2x Negate
I went somewhat unconventional with my sideboard. This decks main weaknesses can be overcome by playing well and drawing the right cards. An overlooked benefit of 5 colors is the amount of flexibility in the main 60 which allows me to dedicate my sideboard to cards that can hose particular players in my fnm. I kept the same SB for mtgo and it has worked out so I just went with it.
Matches
(Burn)
Out:
4 Geist of Saint Traft This thing is a nuclear missile and I am looking for a medic
3 Path to Exile Burn doesn't play many creatures and none of them require an exile effect to remove.
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity free wins, great to hard cast too.
2 Ajani Vengeant Takes me to 8 helix effects in the deck.
2 Negate It's basically a lifegain spell and an answer for reflecting palm.
(Death's Shadow Jund)
Out:
4 Noble Hierarch Ramp isn't as important as reach. I want to build a wide board so I can attack + burn spell to end the game in one turn.
1 Birds of Paradise
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity free wins sometimes, gains value each time opponent draws dead spells.
2 Ajani Vengeant Not a hoser here, just a solid 4 drop with reach.
(Dredge)
Out:
2 Qasali Pridemage No targets, need room so I'm cutting the least efficient threat.
2 Snapcaster Mage Doesn't work with cage.
1 Path to Exile It's not super useful here. I'm still interested in exiling prized amalgam so I keep 3 in.
In:
3 Grafdigger's Cage They can beat it but it is a significant speedbump. This match is just a race and whoever stumbles will lose.
2 Negate This one can stop the early game cathartic reunion or the late game conflagrate.
(Junk)
Out:
4 Noble Hierarch I want every card to be land removal or threat
1 Birds of Paradise
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity Shuts off a large portion of their interaction.
2 Ajani Vengeant Not a hoser here, just a solid 4 drop threat that can interact with creatures and manlands.
(Eldrazi Tron)
Out:
2 Lightning Helix The lifegain is not super useful here. Paying two mana for a bolt isn't worths.
4 Lightning Bolt I need removal and bolt doesn't do that here.
1 Snapcaster Mage I am cutting a lot of spells here so going down to 1 feels ok.
In:
3 Stony Silence Turns off map and usually some other artifacts in their deck (hangarback walker / walking ballista / spellskite)
2 Ajani Vengeant +1 is an answer for Reality Smasher. Builds towards powerful ult.
2 Destructive Revelry More answers for chalice of the void.
(Storm)
Out:
4 Siege Rhino I want to be low and nimble in this match so I cut the 4 drops.
2 Snapcaster Mage Cut for above reason as well as the presence of cage.
2 Qasali Pridemage No targets to hit, cutting the least efficient threat.
In:
3 Leyline of Sanctity This one shuts down gifts ungiven and grapeshot.
3 Grafdigger's Cage Stops past in flames.
2 Negate Stops manamorphose, gifts ungiven, and remand.
(Affinity)
Out:
4 Geist of Saint Traft Nacatl and Goyf are enough of a board to do the job here. The rest of the cards I draw I want immediate action.
1 Siege Rhino Cutting a four drop lowers the curve slightly.
In:
3 Stony Silence Free Wins
2 Destructive Revelry Great removal spell here.
Tribal Zoo video series
Bone Picker is a great card. I never had trouble casting it on turn 2 or later. In zoo creatures naturally die from attacks, plus most people bolt things as late as possible (read, your turn), or chumping your aggression. So I can see this card being bad in tempo like decks that want to abuse it, but not in aggro decks like zoo that are creature decks.
That being said, warping your mana base isnt fun. If you are in black, and need more aggression with a 1 drop, yeah, Id take this over most other choices. I would run this if I wasnt running black though.
Rhonas the Indomitable was stupid good. As long as it was enabled (I made sure the deck could do that no matter what) and he threatened lethal pretty much anytime he was on the board. He does everything a 3 drop top ender in zoo you want. He doesnt die. He attacks for tons of damage, and he enables any creature you have into game enders. I wish I could say he was the 3 drop we were always looking for.
My issue is that he is legendary. Means you cant run more than 3 in faster zoo decks, 2 in longer game zoo decks like coco. So you still need to enable him with the other 3 drops and 2 drops. I'm pretty sure this guy takes the number 2 spot though for best 3 cmc. Ranking geist, then this, knight, anafenza smiter, then the rest.
Rhonas does require a little bit of build around, but my guess is its worth the investment. All its asking is that you run things that either enable his attack or his ability, or both. And thats not hard. It does make some stuff a bit more ackward. Thalia, pridemage, ghor-clan stuff like that, because you do want him attacking quickly. I don't think its all that difficault to accomadate that. It is REALLY worth noting that E1 does turn it on well because it triggers on his entering and turns into a 4/4. You just gotta get E1 to trigger effectively.
Overall, I would play Rhonas in pretty much every build of zoo cept those really wide explosive versions. It really needs a 5-8 goyf and 3 drop better than knight to funtion at its best, but overall a huge step for zoo.
It's also slightly easier to cast, which isn't anything.
I never have any trouble casting RWG on turn 2 and 3 is an argument I have no interest hearing on Thoctar's behalf because someday, somehow, your mana won't work like you want it to work. Having mana issues is a fundamental part of magic that you just can't i dont have mana problems away.
Edit: Smiter is one of the weakest 3 drops you can play. However, it does just enough to stay in lists. I would not play a harder to cast Smiter, with barely better stats, and no text box in modern.
Naya Big zoo is close to aggro midrange. The only one I'd say you're ahead against in that list for sure is RG tron, otherwise it's really down to what you have mainboard. Ad naus is pretty much near unwinnable if they their draws align up perfectly in the first 3 turns. Amulet is one I'm least sure of I haven't played against the deck since they banned summer bloom. I just remember the amulet match up going turn 2-3 titan and I just stare down that thing.
The deck his self isnt that great vs unfair deck but à part of his strengh is from sideboard versatility. Right now i play 3 blood moon and 2 stony. that hlp vs the 3 decks you asked.