Since Dinosaurs came to magic, I tried to make a deck for modern the first time. It was a very cool for fun deck, Ghalta in T3 with haste.
Now that we have Pioneer, a not so fast as modern, maybe Dinosaurs can have a new home here. I've been talking with someone on how to make it a bit better, and this is what we have come to:
For a deck that is ostensibly dinosaur tribal, you have an awful lot of non-dinosaur creatures. Modern tribal spirits sometimes gets mocked for running a lot of creatures from other tribes, but even that rarely goes as high as a dozen.
But, seriously, this deck does need some focus. You have a lot of singletons for cards that probably deserve to have more copies even if they're legendary, and what I see here is a blend of ramp, enrage, and general midrange strategies.
Reckless Rage is a cool card, but it needs a durable creature in play if you don't want it to be a red Bone Splinters. In that regard, Thrash // Threat is going to be better option outside of enrage even with the higher cost because it hits planeswalkrs. Going heavy into enrage, Savage Stomp is also really excellent.
Your ramp creatures sadly step on each other's toes. Ideally, you want to curve elf into raptor, but sometimes you'll drop a raptor and render eleven cards in your deck unusable. The elves die, and having a second raptor kills your 4-toughness creatures. If you want raptor to be your marquee dork, you want support that complements it. Sylvan Caryatid survives the damage and produces red mana, while Arboreal Grazer is relevant when it comes down before or after raptor. Domri, Anarch of Bolas deserves a special mention because it fills both your ramp and removal slots in your deck while providing a nice power buff. Ranging Raptors is probably only worthwhile for its creature type.
Lastly, you want to focus your top end. If you really love Goreclaw and Questing, you might want to drop your dinsosaur tribal theme altogether and just call it Gruul midrange. You might also want to be wary about anything that Marauding puts into Shock range. Are you trying to just do solid things like turning Ripjaw into a 3-drop that replaces itself, or are you going straight for your top end? Speaking of which, while Ghalta and Carnage are great, Etali isn't. It's a 6/6 for 6 that may or may not generate value once it attacks. Value is great for 4 drops, but your top end should threaten to end the game in short order.
Now that we have Pioneer, a not so fast as modern, maybe Dinosaurs can have a new home here. I've been talking with someone on how to make it a bit better, and this is what we have come to:
1x Carnage Tyrant
2x Etali, Primal Storm
1x Ghalta, Primal Hunger
2x Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
4x Llanowar Elves
3x Marauding Raptor
4x Sylvan Caryatid
2x Questing Beast
2x Ranging Raptors
4x Regisaur Alpha
4x Ripjaw Raptor
2x Shifting Ceratops
4x Unclaimed Territory
4x Stomping Ground
4x Rootbound Crag
6x Forest
5x Mountain
4x Reckless Rage
1x The Great Henge
Planeswalker (1)
1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
What do you think about this first draft. What else you think is a must in this deck, or what card you would swap for another one?
But, seriously, this deck does need some focus. You have a lot of singletons for cards that probably deserve to have more copies even if they're legendary, and what I see here is a blend of ramp, enrage, and general midrange strategies.
Reckless Rage is a cool card, but it needs a durable creature in play if you don't want it to be a red Bone Splinters. In that regard, Thrash // Threat is going to be better option outside of enrage even with the higher cost because it hits planeswalkrs. Going heavy into enrage, Savage Stomp is also really excellent.
Your ramp creatures sadly step on each other's toes. Ideally, you want to curve elf into raptor, but sometimes you'll drop a raptor and render eleven cards in your deck unusable. The elves die, and having a second raptor kills your 4-toughness creatures. If you want raptor to be your marquee dork, you want support that complements it. Sylvan Caryatid survives the damage and produces red mana, while Arboreal Grazer is relevant when it comes down before or after raptor. Domri, Anarch of Bolas deserves a special mention because it fills both your ramp and removal slots in your deck while providing a nice power buff. Ranging Raptors is probably only worthwhile for its creature type.
Lastly, you want to focus your top end. If you really love Goreclaw and Questing, you might want to drop your dinsosaur tribal theme altogether and just call it Gruul midrange. You might also want to be wary about anything that Marauding puts into Shock range. Are you trying to just do solid things like turning Ripjaw into a 3-drop that replaces itself, or are you going straight for your top end? Speaking of which, while Ghalta and Carnage are great, Etali isn't. It's a 6/6 for 6 that may or may not generate value once it attacks. Value is great for 4 drops, but your top end should threaten to end the game in short order.