The main reason for Crater's is as a flexible and cheap removal spell. If we didn't get ferocious, we'd have a bad fireball. But when we do, it's not instant, but killing a Rabblemaster for 1, a Mantis Rider for 2 means we can still play a creature - exactly the sort of play this deck wants.
Interestingly, 2 lists following Hoogland's Stormbreath+Rabblemaster plan (but not Courser/Caryatid), and 2 following Kibbler's Boon Satyr/Ashcloud Phoenix plan.
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Current Awesome Deck: UWAll-In GiftsWU Consistent, Resiliant, and way overpowered, making multiple 4/4s per turn.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWUFree Stuff MidrangeUWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
This is my son's list. He got his first Top 8 at an IQ with it this weekend, but he feels like a sitting duck vs. Jeskai Tempo (Aggro). He has a strong match up vs. the other key decks. Any help with Jeskai would be appreciated.
This is my son's list. He got his first Top 8 at an IQ with it this weekend, but he feels like a sitting duck vs. Jeskai Tempo (Aggro). He has a strong match up vs. the other key decks. Any help with Jeskai would be appreciated.
Monsters in a proactive Midrange strategy that aims to play huge threats that outclass most opponents in every step of the game. With beaters like Polukranos, world eater coming down on turn 3, its easy to see why this archetype is so powerful.
Monsters can be played in many iterations. There is the standard option of just G/R Monsters, then theres also, Temur(R/U/G), Naya (G/R/W), and Jund (G/R/B). Each option provides it's own strengths. But, as with most three color strategies, the risk is much higher of having trouble with getting specific colors at the right time. One way to mitigate this risk is to stay G/R and splash a color. By splash I mean don't decide to splash white in the basic shell and decide that you're going to cram in 4 copies of Brimaz, King of Oreskos and hope to land him consistently on turn 3, while having to worry about playing Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragon. Time will tell which color combination is correct for the given metagame.
Why Play Monsters?
All I can say to convince you that Monsters may be the right deck for you is this. If you like big green decks. This deck is for you. If you like casting bigger creatures than your typical opponent. This deck is for you. If you like dragons. Seriously who doesn't like dragons? This is Magic the Gathering after all right? Anyways... this deck is for you!
I suppose other great reasons to play this archetype is that this deck seems really well positioned against the supposed best deck coming out of Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir, Abzan Midrange. It has about a 50/50 matchup against Jeskai decks, according to some sources I have read. The list of reasons to play this deck goes on and on. I will let you decide if this is the right deck for you. I have a feeling you will find your time casting Hydras and Dragons, time well spent.
Card Selection
The Dorks and their support
Elvish Mystic: If you want potential turn 3 four drops this is a requirement. I would even argue the point that you should never play no less than 4. Play 4!
Sylvan Caryatid: This guy is the king of mana fixing and blocking aggro. Hexproof on this guy is a big deal. My opponents always grumble about how they can't kill it. Play 4.
Rattleclaw Mystic: If you're playing Temur this guy is good choice. You can split between Caryatid and Rattleclaw Mystic. I prefer something of a split of 4/2 or 3/3. If your playing the more aggressive Temur aggro Midrange you play 4 of this guys.
Courser of Kruphix This is not only a way to filter through our lands to get to better possible draws but also our wall that most aggro decks just hate to see. A 2/4 that most little creature decks just can't get through without sacrificing a creature of their own and possibly a burn spell/ removal spell.
The Planeswalkers
The choices in this section is dependent upon the color options you have chosen.
Xenagos, the Reveler: This man, or satyr is a one satyr army. Over time, if left unchecked he can just overwhelm an opponent to the point of no return. It's hard dealing with six plus 2/2 Satyrs with haste kicking in your door. Not to mention he plays really well with our monsters and their Monstrous abilities. Did I mention Crater's Claws for a million? Well, ok, maybe not a million but it can one shot the opponent with Xenagos's +1 ability. More on that in just a bit.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker: He once was called Mad. Now he has learned to channel his anger and become the creature he worships. A dragon! Sarkhan not only doubles as another 4/4 flying dragon but a removal spell as well. Against control his ultimate is like the deathknell in the match for the opponent.
Chandra, Pyromaster: Chandra fills many roles when Necessary. She can ping a creature and player for 1, leaving the opponents best blocker unable to do it's job. In the midrange and control matchups her 0 ability can provide steady card advantage.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Kiora is in an interesting spot. Some argue she is great. While others say she is nigh unplayable. She can offer protection from sources an opponent controls. Not to mention she has explore attached to her also. He ultimate creates 8/8 Krakens every turn. Making her ideal for a deck like monsters.....if I didn't prefer just slamming Polukranos for my 4 drop everytime. Most would agree, this little mermaid is great for the sideboard but not maindeck material.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: Elspeth may just be the most powerful card in standard. Creating a legion of soldiers to fight by her side. She can blow up half the world if need be. Not to mention that emblem! Giving +2/+2 and flying to all of your creatures is all but the end of the game.
Nissa, Worldwaker: Great way to overwhelm a control opponent if they are on the Perilous vault plan. Nissa is in an interesting place right now. She can be maindeck material. As of right now, most players prefer to keep her in the sideboard if they use her at all.
The Spells
This is another section that is dependent on you color choices but I will try to go over each viable card I possibly can. I'm only human after all.
Lightning Strike: Burn a Mantis Rider out of the skies! Or.....just sling this at your opponent's face!
Crater's Claws: A Fireball style spell on Red Bull! Combine this bad boy with Xenagos's +1 ability and you have the potential of finishing off an opponent without having to kill them in combat. It's not too uncommon to hear the words “ Xenagos, +1, Crater's claw you for 20!
Magma Jet: Burn spell for 2 with scry 2. It's good I'm just not sure it's what we want for our deck.
Stoke the Flames: A potential burn spell for 4 damage. With the possibilty of costing RR.
Stubborn Denial: Who doesn't want to play Force Spike in standard? With the creatures in our deck, most of the time this card is exactly that. A Force Spike.
Void Snare: Sometimes you just need to get a troublesome permanent out of the way. Even if it is just for a turn. A turn can mean life and death during a game.
Temur Ascendency: Gives your creatures haste and can be a card draw engine. Some like it. Others hate it.
Temur Charm: This is a great reason to play Temur. Removal. Mana Leak. Deny them any chump blocks. This charm may have been viewed as one of the weaker ones but in time it may prove to be one of the best charms this year.
I've saved the best for last.....
AHHHHH!!!Real Monsters!!!
Polukranos, World Eater: Big PolyK! He may just be our biggest beater. He can be an efficient sweeper vs token strategies and little creature decks, while becoming much larger. Not to mention a 5/5 for 2GG is no laughing matter.
Stormbreath Dragon: This monster just wins games. Nothing like playing turn 3 dragon, turn 4 dragon. His Monstrous ability can be a nightmare for decks that like to dominate through raw card advantage such as Control.
Savage Knuckleblade: A 4/4 for three mana? Sure last year had Loxodon Smiter but he was just a vanilla 4/4 for three mana. Knuckles, as he has affectionately been called by many players, is very powerful and a strong creature in general. He can be a hasty beater, he can dodge removal, and he can become a 6/6 to do some major damage or make you opponent consider awkward blocks in combat.
Ashcloud Phoenix: What is a Monster player supposed to do when people are playing so much removal? Play creatures that makes their removal seem like it is a waste to play. A 4/1 flyer for four mana is already strong. Sure it doesn't have haste but what it lacks in speed it makes up in resiliency.
Goblin Rabblemaster: The Rabblemaster starts out small but he can surely take over a game quickly if left unchecked. Growing in size for each attacking goblin while generating an army of little goblins to beat down the opponent.
Boon Satyr: Psuedo haste, large power, undercosted? This is everything a deck like Monsters tends to look for. Sometimes there are just better options and this guy gets phased out. Yet there is nothing better than attacking with a field of creatures and you opponent chooses to not block you Elvish Mystic. Bestow this guy and pump in 5 damage. Not to mention how well he interacts with the next creature I am going to talk about.
Heir of the Wilds: Some people still dismiss this little creature, but there are many things this guy can do. He puts in a lot of work during games everytime I play him. My opponent's will waste removal on him, or just not block him at all. Lategame, not blocking an Heir of the Wilds could be the difference between life and death for our opponents. No Blocks? Bestow boon Satyr! 7/5! Take 7 plus what ever other damage could be getting through. Heir does an excellent job of dodging Courser of Kruphix and mana dorks in general. Not only can he do everything I've already mentioned. He also never gets outclassed in the late game. Your opponent has a 10/10 Genesis Hydra? It still dies to Heir. There are many things you can do with the Heir of the Wilds in a deck like Monsters or Temur aggro.
The above mentioned creatures are the general monsters that are played. Here are some honorable mentions. In no way are these guys not really any good they just appear in some decks and not all of them. Unlike the Monsters I listed above which typically appear and thus make them staples, even if some of the choices are flexible.
Hornet queen: Abzan and other Midrange decks do not want to see this creature and its friends sitting on the field across from them. This creature is also a great way to rebuild your board quickly after an opponent wipes the field.
Genesis Hydra: This is one of the best ways to hate out a removal heavy strategy like Mardu or Abzan. Genesis Hydra has unlimited potential in term of size and power and he typically brings a very powerful friend along for the fun.
Ok! You've convinced me! How do I build my deck?
Step 1. Mana dorks.
Depending on your color selections you choice of dorks will change. Mostly only if you decide to play Temur Monsters. But the basic idea of mana dorks looks like this....
After this if you go Temur you can replace the Caryatids with Rattleclaw Mystic, or even just do a 4/2 split between Rattleclaw Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid. Some players even choose to play a 4/1 split. There really isn't a general agreement as to which configuration of mana dorks is correct. Brian Kibler prefers to currently play 3 elvish mystics in his deck to reduce bad late game top decks.
Step 2. Monsters!
There has been many different setups on the number and choices of monsters players have chosen to play.
For instance. Some players like to play polukranos, world eater, while other players argue that Polukranos just isn't what the deck wants in the current meta of Abzan and Jeskai. Monsters beats Abzan in the skies, so these players have replaced the World Eater with Ashcloud Phoenix. Not only is the Phoenix excellent versus Abzan because of their lack of air defense, outside of a couple of Wingmate Roc. The fact that the Phoenix typically requires 2 removal spells, makes this powerful, efficient creature practically ideal in a format full of removal spells.
The same thing is said of Stormbreath Dragon. Some players dislike that Stormbreath dies to Stoke the Flames, the most played burn spell in this standard season. Some players have mitigated this risk of spending five mana on the dragon that dies to so much(which arguably doesn't just about every threat in magic?) by playing Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker.
There are other color combinations available to the Monsters Archetype. The most popular variation, currently, is Temur.
Temur, gains the added benefit of being able to play Savage Knuckleblade. This creature is extremely efficient and offers a lot of utility. A 4/4 on turn 2 or 3 is nothing to scoff at. But later in the game is where this guy really shines. Need a hasty beater? Knuckles is your man! Need to blank your opponent's attempt to kill this guy? Knuckles is you man again. Need to pump some major damage late game? Knucks, once again, is your man!
There is also the option to play Surrak, Dragon claw. Some players like this guy. Some don't. One thing is certain, Surrak, can be great against decks like Control. Possibly even in some cases he can be great against tempo decks.While being uncounterable is great for some cases, Surrak offers the bonus of trample to other creatures you control, leaving most opponent's in a bad blocks situation.
Step 3. The other spells....(support spells and Planeswalkers)
Once again, there is not a single general agreed upon setup on these spells. For example, while Xenagos, the Reveler was a strong choice last standard season (Return to Ravnica/ Theros standard), some have decided that he is not as strong as he first seemed going into this new format. With cards like Mantis Rider and Stoke the flames running amok, he isn't worth the risk of playing him and losing him before any true value can be gained.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker has been adopted in most lists. The RG list that recently won a GP, not only played four Stormbreath Dragon, but also played two Sarkhans. The main reasoning for this is because, once more, Abzan being primarily a ground based strategy can be overpowered quickly by taking the fight to the air.
While there are other options on the planeswalkers, Xenagos and Sarkhan are the widely accepted choices for the deck. Nissa is in an odd place and probably doesn't really have a place in Monsters, atleast in the maindeck.
Besides, planeswalkers, the other support spells depend on you color choices. These options are already covered above in the spells description section.
Really the only left to do is to show you some decklists and you will see just how a Monsters deck is constructed.
***Decklists***
First up is Daniel Scheid. The GP winning deck itself!
While Kibler's deck is much more susceptible to Anger of the Gods, due to the low toughness of most of the creatures, Hooglands deck is resilient to it. But Kibler's deck makes up for this shortcoming by being faster and a bit more flexible.
Hooglands list is much more reminiscent to a traditional Monsters list.
The next list looks somewhat like a hybrid of Temur aggro and Monsters... throwing away boon satyr and just jumping in there(flying in there?)with Dragons.
SCG Open Oakland, CA Top 8
Now that you see how a Monsters deck and it's multitude of variants can be built it is time for you to get out there and trample the competition with this powerful weapon!
I really like this concept, especially that Hooded Hydra! But, I wonder if Voyaging Satyr is as powerful here as mono Green devotion. Would Heir of the Wilds be a better 2-drop to add, for some more offense? Likewise, I wonder if Genesis Hydra might not put in more work here than Goblin Rabblemaster.
Originally they were indifferent forums. Now the distinction i see is one plays counters and a fast tempo game, and the other plays walkers and ramps more.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Current Awesome Deck: UWAll-In GiftsWU Consistent, Resiliant, and way overpowered, making multiple 4/4s per turn.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWUFree Stuff MidrangeUWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
Yes it does. It is quite hilarious is the Mardu Midrange matchup. Crackling doom? Nope. Hordeling outburst to set up a Butcher? Not today! Things can get very frustrating for the opponent if we have more than one in hand and they are on the I kill everything plan.
I think Savage Knuckleblade is the Real Deal and the whole reason to play RUG over GR to begin with. But with it also comes countermagic and our friend Temur Charm.
Yes, both are solid cards. Knuckleblade is, as my friend says, the best late game card he has seen in a long time. Savage Knuckleblade is THE reason I have chosen RUG over GR.
I don't know if 4 is the right number. It all depends on the meta you are playing in really.
Something else that I do like about playing the RUG version is your resiliency to Anger of the Gods. We can easily hardcast Knuckledragger, Polukranos and Stormbreath, so we're hurt less by the sweeper than GR Monsters. Also, Heir to the Wilds can get up to shenanigans with Hunt the Hunter, Temur Charm and other stuff. I do think I like Boom Satyr over Rabblemaster in the three slot, currently. I'll also throw up my latest Temur Monster deck...I think running a full complement of Stormbreath technically makes it a Monster deck, versus the Kibler build that stops at Ashcloud Phoenix.
Round 1: Abzan Heroic (?) (won 2-0)
Couldn't really tell what plan he was on, as he had some very random cards and what appeared to me to be a very incoherent heroic configuration. Complete with like...Hardened Scales and some random green guys from Theros block that I can't even remember now but got multiple counters on them if you targeted them or something. Game 2 I brought in Magma Spray and my first play was to 2-for-1 him when he went to cast something on a Favored Hoplite. Pretty much was a blowout.
Round 2: Abzan Midrange (lost 1-2)
This deck was pretty much the Ari Lax version except I also saw Reaper of the Wilds. I wrecked him game one as he was just too slow. Ashcloud Phoenix did massive work. Game 2 he won a close one after parity was maintained for 6 or 7 turns, Game three I took a hand I shouldn't have.
Round 3: Sidisi Whip (won 2-0)
Between Lightning Strike and Crater's Claws, there wasn't anything going to stop me from steamrolling this guy. Game 2 I kept up mana for Stubborn Denial in case he tried to play whip. He never did. The final turn he had just tapped out for Sagu Mauler and I had an Ashcloud Phoenix with juuuust enough land and juuuust enough morphed Rattleclaw Mystics to Crater's Claws him to zero. That card is the read deal in this deck, by the way.
Round 4: Mardu Tokens (won 2-0)
I don't remember anything about this deck other than his Hordeling Outbursts and Goblin Rabblemasters. It was just too slow to handle me. Brought in Arc Lightning and cleared a path for beats. He was a younger player and instead of holding back his Butcher of the Horde to block with, he sacrificed two guys to give it haste and lifelink. A Lightning Strike EOT from me cleared his last token out of the way and I swung for lethal.
Round 5: Abzan Midrange (won 2-1) (again! I swear, the people playing this deck are all just Bad Spikes)
Ashcloud Phoenix was a huge problem for him unless he had Utter End, which he did sometimes. Elspeth never survived long enough to matter, thanks to my burn. We went to game three and I kept forgetting my Ferocious triggers on my Crater's Claws. I Disdainful Stroke'd his final card in hand, which was a Wingmate Roc. Then burned out his Rhino and in two turns he scooped.
All-stars:
Ashcloud Phoenix, Crater's Claws, Savage Knuckleblade, Boon Satyr
Underwhelming:
Fanatic of Xenagos, Polukranos, Temur Charm
Impressions
Overall, I love the deck, but I think it needs tuning. I realized while playing that I would almost always rather have the fourth Lightning Strike than either Temur Charm. Heir of the Wilds is very solid and I punched through with him for 4-9 damage on several occasions. Boon Satyr is very strong with his flash ability helps with the possibility of a blowout in some situations. Savage Knuckleblade is just the beast you would expect. More games were won off of burn spells in the final turns than anything else. I never really got to use Sarkhan but I imagine there are situations where you'd really want him. I found myself sometimes wishing that I had Stormbreath Dragon.
Tapped Out, I've been playing and tweaking this deck since the second week of the format and I really like where my list is currently at. It's pretty close to yours actually. I'll try to explain my reasoning below.
I'm 100% sold on the maindeck at this point and will not be making any tweaks this time around. I've slowly increased the number of Elvish Mystics and Ashcloud Phoenixes while trimming down the spell count (and a Stormbreath Dragon). A lot of people have expressed interest in going down to 2 or 3 elves but I think thats a mistake. What they are feeling is the need to keep the 4+ power threat dense really high and I think the proper solution to that is to trim the spells down to the bare minimum.
The only slots I'm not sure about are the SB Temur Charm and the 4th Hunt the Hunter. Disdainful Stroke felt too narrow for a third copy when Mana Leak Charm is almost the same card but can counter cheaper things sometimes while having additional applications. The 4th Hunt the Hunter because you ALWAYS want to draw at least 1 vs g/x devotion and probably don't mind drawing 3. It's such a blowout.
Stormbreath Dragon is constantly over-performing and by now I wouldn't even consider playing Sarkhan.
I cut one Mana Confluence because drawing 2 of them is bad. Also having to play a confluence on turn 1 is bad. I've made one of the scrylands u/g and added an additional basic Mountain to compensate. The consensus seems to have landed on 6 taplands and I find myself agreeing with that.
A couple things on the mana base for GRx Monsters.
Tap lands feel very bad. However, at least 4 are very necessary given the nature of our mana base. Depending on how aggressive you want your deck to be, I think the less the better. I've found 5 to be the sweet spot with a white splash. This also lets me run a full set of Elvish Mystic since there are fewer tap lands to take up my turn 1 play. As you play more taplands to compensate either a higher curve or worse mana base, the value of Elvish Mystic is greatly reduced. This was the case last year with Jund Monsters. Ketter's original list ran 5 tap lands (not counting shocks -- which are flexible). Later, as the deck spilled into Jund, there were times when the deck would run 7. There are varying values of running 7 scrylands. It makes Courser of Kruphix great, but it reduces the deck's aggressiveness. With CVM's Jund Monsters playing Goblin Rabblemaster update, CVM was back to the original 5 scry(tapped) lands in attempt to allow for his mana base to keep up with his deck's aggressiveness.
Your mana base restricts your aggressiveness. I like scry lands as they're powerful. However, they restrict the liklihood that I play Goblin Rabblemaster on turn 2 or 3. They also restrict the liklihood that you play your Savage Knuckleblade (w/ haste) earlier than turn 4. Taplands are less aggressive than painlands, fetchlands, and basics. Your creature package should be as fast as your mana base. Your 3 color, no-creature-greater-than-4cmc, should not be dallying with 7-8 tap lands. I think 5 is the max a lot of decks should be looking at, but I like jamming threats as fast as possible. If you're dallying in 7-8 tap lands, you should be playing some BOMBS! Like, "get out the way", 6 cmc "you lose" cards coming.
When building your mana base, you also have to take into account your mana dorks. Tap lands and 2 cmcm mana dorks are good friends. The play, "t1 tapland, t2 mana dork," is obvious and aggressive. However, taplands and Elvish Mystic are not friends. Of note, TappedOut's list only runs 3 Elvish Mystics while running 6 tapped lands. This makes sense since Elvish Mystic is really only powerful turn 1. It's ok turn 2 and gets (obviously) subsequently worse. If he were running 7-8 tapped lands, he might even want to run only 2 cmc mana dorks.
For aggressiveness, it helps when your 3 drops (and two drops) are not mana intensive. Goblin Rabblemaster is not mana intensive. Savage Knuckleblade is very mana intensive. You have to assume that you're getting your "money's" (aka life loss or feasible tempo loss) worth off of Savage Knuckleblade. I think Knuckleblade is very worth it turns 2 through 3. You'll have moments when it doesn't work out -- but I think Savage Knuckleblade is worth it for most Temur lists. I mean, both Rabblemaster and Knuckleblade sorta suck as the game goes on. However, Knuckleblade is certainly better than Rabblemaster post turn 5. However, keep in mind that given Knuckleblade's mana cost restrictions, it's apparent that Knuckleblade is typically going to be less aggressive. It's also worth mentioning Elvish Mystic's synergy with these guys. Mystic is the reason you can play t2 Rabblemaster or Knuckleblade. Rattleclaw Mystic (while cool) only facilitates a hasty t3 Knuckleblade.
However, your 4 drops are why you play your 2 cmc mana dork. There is no denying the power of a t3 Polukranos, World Eater. t2 mana also is more mana positive (in the fixing sense) than Elvish Mystic. Ashcloud Phoenix and Polukranos in the same deck can be a bit hopeful. But with 2 cmc mana dorks, playing t3 Phoenix or Polukranos is a piece of cake.
Here's what to take away from this.
1. Painful manabase = faster deck. Don't bother with pain lands if you're not trying to be fast. You should absolutely bother if you're playing aggressive 3 drops.
3. Your mana dorks and taplands work in cohesion. Don't run 8 tap lands and 4x Elvish Mystic. If you're running 8 tap lands, you should be running 6+ 2 cmc mana dorks, fewer 3cmc beaters, and more 4+cmc beaters.
Thank you for that write up, Lugger. My earlier attempts at Temur Superfriends employed point three. In fact, here is the deck in so far as I can recall it...it is outdated, if Kiora wasn't a big enough hint.
Following your write-up, I think this deck would want to drop the Coasts for more Temples? This was a really old list I drafted up in like the first couple of weeks of KTK's release, so any advice to improve it would be greatly appreciated. More bombastic monsters, obviously. Probably consolidating my 'walkers to just Sarkhan and Nissa, to start.
Results!
3 Grand Prix top 8 decks
6th at the SCG open
Interestingly, 2 lists following Hoogland's Stormbreath+Rabblemaster plan (but not Courser/Caryatid), and 2 following Kibbler's Boon Satyr/Ashcloud Phoenix plan.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
1 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Boon Satyr
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Savage Knuckleblade
3 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Spells
2 Crater's Claws
3 Lightning Strike
2 Temur Charm
Lands
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Mountain
3 Forest
3 Shivan Reef
4 Yavimaya Coast
2 Temple of Abandon
2 Temple of Mystery
3 Frontier Bivouac
7 Forest
2 Mountain
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3 Rugged Highlands
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills
Creatures: 31
2 Arbor Colossus
3 Boon Satyr
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Fanatic of Xenagos
3 Genesis Hydra
2 Nylea, God of the Hunt
4 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Voyaging Satyr
2 Xenagos, God of Revels
2 Crater's Claws
Planeswalkers: 4
2 Nissa, Worldwaker
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Ashcloud Phoenix
1 Bow of Nylea
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Hornet Nest
1 Hornet Queen
2 Nylea's Disciple
2 Polis Crusher
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Terra Stomper
This is my son's list. He got his first Top 8 at an IQ with it this weekend, but he feels like a sitting duck vs. Jeskai Tempo (Aggro). He has a strong match up vs. the other key decks. Any help with Jeskai would be appreciated.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
2x Ashcloud Phoenix
3x Polukranos, World Eater
3x Stormbreath Dragon
3x Heir of the Wilds
Planeswalkers (5)
2x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2x Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1x Xenagos, the Reveler
Instants, Sorceries, and Enchantments (8)
3x Lightning Strike
2x Banishing Light
3x Crater's Claws
4x Forest
2x Mountain
1x Plains
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Temple of Abandon
3x Windswept Heath
1x Mana Confluence
1x Temple of Plenty
4x Battlefield Forge
2x Glare of Heresy
2x Anger of the Gods
1x Nyx-Fleece Ram
2x Magma Spray
1x Nylea's Disciple
2x Destructive Revelry
2x Hushwing Gryff
2x Reprisal
1x Xenagos, the Reveler
I've been having varying levels of success with this. Ajani is quite good.
Monsters in a proactive Midrange strategy that aims to play huge threats that outclass most opponents in every step of the game. With beaters like Polukranos, world eater coming down on turn 3, its easy to see why this archetype is so powerful.
Monsters can be played in many iterations. There is the standard option of just G/R Monsters, then theres also, Temur(R/U/G), Naya (G/R/W), and Jund (G/R/B). Each option provides it's own strengths. But, as with most three color strategies, the risk is much higher of having trouble with getting specific colors at the right time. One way to mitigate this risk is to stay G/R and splash a color. By splash I mean don't decide to splash white in the basic shell and decide that you're going to cram in 4 copies of Brimaz, King of Oreskos and hope to land him consistently on turn 3, while having to worry about playing Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragon. Time will tell which color combination is correct for the given metagame.
All I can say to convince you that Monsters may be the right deck for you is this. If you like big green decks. This deck is for you. If you like casting bigger creatures than your typical opponent. This deck is for you. If you like dragons. Seriously who doesn't like dragons? This is Magic the Gathering after all right? Anyways... this deck is for you!
I suppose other great reasons to play this archetype is that this deck seems really well positioned against the supposed best deck coming out of Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir, Abzan Midrange. It has about a 50/50 matchup against Jeskai decks, according to some sources I have read. The list of reasons to play this deck goes on and on. I will let you decide if this is the right deck for you. I have a feeling you will find your time casting Hydras and Dragons, time well spent.
Elvish Mystic: If you want potential turn 3 four drops this is a requirement. I would even argue the point that you should never play no less than 4. Play 4!
Sylvan Caryatid: This guy is the king of mana fixing and blocking aggro. Hexproof on this guy is a big deal. My opponents always grumble about how they can't kill it. Play 4.
Rattleclaw Mystic: If you're playing Temur this guy is good choice. You can split between Caryatid and Rattleclaw Mystic. I prefer something of a split of 4/2 or 3/3. If your playing the more aggressive Temur aggro Midrange you play 4 of this guys.
Courser of Kruphix This is not only a way to filter through our lands to get to better possible draws but also our wall that most aggro decks just hate to see. A 2/4 that most little creature decks just can't get through without sacrificing a creature of their own and possibly a burn spell/ removal spell.
The choices in this section is dependent upon the color options you have chosen.
Xenagos, the Reveler: This man, or satyr is a one satyr army. Over time, if left unchecked he can just overwhelm an opponent to the point of no return. It's hard dealing with six plus 2/2 Satyrs with haste kicking in your door. Not to mention he plays really well with our monsters and their Monstrous abilities. Did I mention Crater's Claws for a million? Well, ok, maybe not a million but it can one shot the opponent with Xenagos's +1 ability. More on that in just a bit.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker: He once was called Mad. Now he has learned to channel his anger and become the creature he worships. A dragon! Sarkhan not only doubles as another 4/4 flying dragon but a removal spell as well. Against control his ultimate is like the deathknell in the match for the opponent.
Chandra, Pyromaster: Chandra fills many roles when Necessary. She can ping a creature and player for 1, leaving the opponents best blocker unable to do it's job. In the midrange and control matchups her 0 ability can provide steady card advantage.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave: Kiora is in an interesting spot. Some argue she is great. While others say she is nigh unplayable. She can offer protection from sources an opponent controls. Not to mention she has explore attached to her also. He ultimate creates 8/8 Krakens every turn. Making her ideal for a deck like monsters.....if I didn't prefer just slamming Polukranos for my 4 drop everytime. Most would agree, this little mermaid is great for the sideboard but not maindeck material.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: Elspeth may just be the most powerful card in standard. Creating a legion of soldiers to fight by her side. She can blow up half the world if need be. Not to mention that emblem! Giving +2/+2 and flying to all of your creatures is all but the end of the game.
Nissa, Worldwaker: Great way to overwhelm a control opponent if they are on the Perilous vault plan. Nissa is in an interesting place right now. She can be maindeck material. As of right now, most players prefer to keep her in the sideboard if they use her at all.
This is another section that is dependent on you color choices but I will try to go over each viable card I possibly can. I'm only human after all.
Lightning Strike: Burn a Mantis Rider out of the skies! Or.....just sling this at your opponent's face!
Crater's Claws: A Fireball style spell on Red Bull! Combine this bad boy with Xenagos's +1 ability and you have the potential of finishing off an opponent without having to kill them in combat. It's not too uncommon to hear the words “ Xenagos, +1, Crater's claw you for 20!
Magma Jet: Burn spell for 2 with scry 2. It's good I'm just not sure it's what we want for our deck.
Stoke the Flames: A potential burn spell for 4 damage. With the possibilty of costing RR.
Stubborn Denial: Who doesn't want to play Force Spike in standard? With the creatures in our deck, most of the time this card is exactly that. A Force Spike.
Void Snare: Sometimes you just need to get a troublesome permanent out of the way. Even if it is just for a turn. A turn can mean life and death during a game.
Temur Ascendency: Gives your creatures haste and can be a card draw engine. Some like it. Others hate it.
Temur Charm: This is a great reason to play Temur. Removal. Mana Leak. Deny them any chump blocks. This charm may have been viewed as one of the weaker ones but in time it may prove to be one of the best charms this year.
I've saved the best for last.....
Polukranos, World Eater: Big PolyK! He may just be our biggest beater. He can be an efficient sweeper vs token strategies and little creature decks, while becoming much larger. Not to mention a 5/5 for 2GG is no laughing matter.
Stormbreath Dragon: This monster just wins games. Nothing like playing turn 3 dragon, turn 4 dragon. His Monstrous ability can be a nightmare for decks that like to dominate through raw card advantage such as Control.
Savage Knuckleblade: A 4/4 for three mana? Sure last year had Loxodon Smiter but he was just a vanilla 4/4 for three mana. Knuckles, as he has affectionately been called by many players, is very powerful and a strong creature in general. He can be a hasty beater, he can dodge removal, and he can become a 6/6 to do some major damage or make you opponent consider awkward blocks in combat.
Ashcloud Phoenix: What is a Monster player supposed to do when people are playing so much removal? Play creatures that makes their removal seem like it is a waste to play. A 4/1 flyer for four mana is already strong. Sure it doesn't have haste but what it lacks in speed it makes up in resiliency.
Goblin Rabblemaster: The Rabblemaster starts out small but he can surely take over a game quickly if left unchecked. Growing in size for each attacking goblin while generating an army of little goblins to beat down the opponent.
Boon Satyr: Psuedo haste, large power, undercosted? This is everything a deck like Monsters tends to look for. Sometimes there are just better options and this guy gets phased out. Yet there is nothing better than attacking with a field of creatures and you opponent chooses to not block you Elvish Mystic. Bestow this guy and pump in 5 damage. Not to mention how well he interacts with the next creature I am going to talk about.
Heir of the Wilds: Some people still dismiss this little creature, but there are many things this guy can do. He puts in a lot of work during games everytime I play him. My opponent's will waste removal on him, or just not block him at all. Lategame, not blocking an Heir of the Wilds could be the difference between life and death for our opponents. No Blocks? Bestow boon Satyr! 7/5! Take 7 plus what ever other damage could be getting through. Heir does an excellent job of dodging Courser of Kruphix and mana dorks in general. Not only can he do everything I've already mentioned. He also never gets outclassed in the late game. Your opponent has a 10/10 Genesis Hydra? It still dies to Heir. There are many things you can do with the Heir of the Wilds in a deck like Monsters or Temur aggro.
The above mentioned creatures are the general monsters that are played. Here are some honorable mentions. In no way are these guys not really any good they just appear in some decks and not all of them. Unlike the Monsters I listed above which typically appear and thus make them staples, even if some of the choices are flexible.
Hornet queen: Abzan and other Midrange decks do not want to see this creature and its friends sitting on the field across from them. This creature is also a great way to rebuild your board quickly after an opponent wipes the field.
Genesis Hydra: This is one of the best ways to hate out a removal heavy strategy like Mardu or Abzan. Genesis Hydra has unlimited potential in term of size and power and he typically brings a very powerful friend along for the fun.
Step 1. Mana dorks.
Depending on your color selections you choice of dorks will change. Mostly only if you decide to play Temur Monsters. But the basic idea of mana dorks looks like this....
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
After this if you go Temur you can replace the Caryatids with Rattleclaw Mystic, or even just do a 4/2 split between Rattleclaw Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid. Some players even choose to play a 4/1 split. There really isn't a general agreement as to which configuration of mana dorks is correct. Brian Kibler prefers to currently play 3 elvish mystics in his deck to reduce bad late game top decks.
Step 2. Monsters!
There has been many different setups on the number and choices of monsters players have chosen to play.
For instance. Some players like to play polukranos, world eater, while other players argue that Polukranos just isn't what the deck wants in the current meta of Abzan and Jeskai. Monsters beats Abzan in the skies, so these players have replaced the World Eater with Ashcloud Phoenix. Not only is the Phoenix excellent versus Abzan because of their lack of air defense, outside of a couple of Wingmate Roc. The fact that the Phoenix typically requires 2 removal spells, makes this powerful, efficient creature practically ideal in a format full of removal spells.
The same thing is said of Stormbreath Dragon. Some players dislike that Stormbreath dies to Stoke the Flames, the most played burn spell in this standard season. Some players have mitigated this risk of spending five mana on the dragon that dies to so much(which arguably doesn't just about every threat in magic?) by playing Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker.
There are other color combinations available to the Monsters Archetype. The most popular variation, currently, is Temur.
Temur, gains the added benefit of being able to play Savage Knuckleblade. This creature is extremely efficient and offers a lot of utility. A 4/4 on turn 2 or 3 is nothing to scoff at. But later in the game is where this guy really shines. Need a hasty beater? Knuckles is your man! Need to blank your opponent's attempt to kill this guy? Knuckles is you man again. Need to pump some major damage late game? Knucks, once again, is your man!
There is also the option to play Surrak, Dragon claw. Some players like this guy. Some don't. One thing is certain, Surrak, can be great against decks like Control. Possibly even in some cases he can be great against tempo decks.While being uncounterable is great for some cases, Surrak offers the bonus of trample to other creatures you control, leaving most opponent's in a bad blocks situation.
Step 3. The other spells....(support spells and Planeswalkers)
Once again, there is not a single general agreed upon setup on these spells. For example, while Xenagos, the Reveler was a strong choice last standard season (Return to Ravnica/ Theros standard), some have decided that he is not as strong as he first seemed going into this new format. With cards like Mantis Rider and Stoke the flames running amok, he isn't worth the risk of playing him and losing him before any true value can be gained.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker has been adopted in most lists. The RG list that recently won a GP, not only played four Stormbreath Dragon, but also played two Sarkhans. The main reasoning for this is because, once more, Abzan being primarily a ground based strategy can be overpowered quickly by taking the fight to the air.
While there are other options on the planeswalkers, Xenagos and Sarkhan are the widely accepted choices for the deck. Nissa is in an odd place and probably doesn't really have a place in Monsters, atleast in the maindeck.
Besides, planeswalkers, the other support spells depend on you color choices. These options are already covered above in the spells description section.
Really the only left to do is to show you some decklists and you will see just how a Monsters deck is constructed.
First up is Daniel Scheid. The GP winning deck itself!
4 Elvish Mystic
2 Genesis Hydra
1 Hornet Queen
2 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of kruphix
3 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
4 Lightning Strike
3 Crater's Claws
7 Forest
6 Mountain
4 Temple of Abandon
1 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Nyxthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Genesis Hydra
2 Hornet Queen
3 Destructive Revelry
1 Unravel the Aether
1 Nyxthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Crater's Claws
This is the most Successful GR Monsters list to date.
Now let us look at the Temur options!
Here is the Dragon Master Brian Kibler's extremely powerful Temur aggro/ Monsters!
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Heir of the Wilds
4 Savage Knuckleblade
4 Boon Satyr
3 Ashcloud Phoenix
3 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Lightning Strike
3 Temur Charm
4 Crater's Claw
4 Frontier Bivouac
3 Mana Confluence
1 Shivan Reef
2 Temple of Epiphany
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Yavimaya coast
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Magma Spray
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Surrak, Dragonclaw
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Hunt the Hunter
This is likely not the current list Kibler used ( I will be updating the primer periodically to reflect changes)
Next we Have Jeff Hoogland's Temur Tempo!
4 Sylvan caryatid
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Savage Knuckleblade
3 Courser of Kruphix
4 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Stubborn Denial
4 Temur Charm
3 Crater's Claw
2 Forest
3 Mountain
4 Frontier Bivouac
3 Mana Confluence
3 Shivan Reef
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Yavimaya Coast
3 Disdainful Stroke
4 Lightning Strike
3 Magma Spray
1 Negate
2 Stoke the Flames
1 Stubborn Denial
While Kibler's deck is much more susceptible to Anger of the Gods, due to the low toughness of most of the creatures, Hooglands deck is resilient to it. But Kibler's deck makes up for this shortcoming by being faster and a bit more flexible.
Hooglands list is much more reminiscent to a traditional Monsters list.
The next list looks somewhat like a hybrid of Temur aggro and Monsters... throwing away boon satyr and just jumping in there(flying in there?)with Dragons.
SCG Open Oakland, CA Top 8
4 goblin rabblemaster
4 heir of the wilds
3 polukranos, world eater
4 rattleclaw mystic
4 savage knuckleblade
4 stormbreath dragon
3 crater's claws
3 stubborn denial
4 temur charm
4 frontier bivouac
1 mana confluence
2 mountain
3 shivan reef
4 temple of abandon
4 wooded foothills
4 yavimaya coast
3 boon satyr
3 disdainful stroke
2 hunt the hunter
2 lightning strike
2 nissa, worldwaker
2 sarkhan, the dragonspeaker
1 surrak, dragonclaw
Now that you see how a Monsters deck and it's multitude of variants can be built it is time for you to get out there and trample the competition with this powerful weapon!
4 Voyaging Satyr
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Courser of Kruphix
3 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Hooded Hydra
4 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Nissa, Worldwaker
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
Spells
2 Crater's Claws
Lands
4 Temple of Abandon
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Wooded Foothills
6 Mountain
6 Forest
I really like this concept, especially that Hooded Hydra! But, I wonder if Voyaging Satyr is as powerful here as mono Green devotion. Would Heir of the Wilds be a better 2-drop to add, for some more offense? Likewise, I wonder if Genesis Hydra might not put in more work here than Goblin Rabblemaster.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
Are other folks finding the card useful?
Personally, I like Stubborn Denial. I find the card to be very handy against most of the popular decks.
It gets to be absolutely insane with Ferocious enabled, I might add.
If it's that good, does it make sense to have the full four somewhere in our 75?
I have three in my sideboard, currently.
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Courser of Kruphix
3 Genesis Hydra
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
3 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
3 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Spells
2 Crater's Claws
3 Lightning Strike
Lands
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills
8 Forest
7 Mountain
I don't know if 4 is the right number. It all depends on the meta you are playing in really.
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
3 Heir of the Wilds
2 Boon Satyr
4 Savage Knuckleblade
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
3 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
Planeswalkers
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Stubborn Denial
3 Lightning Strike
2 Crater's Claws
Lands
4 Frontier Bivouac
3 Temple of Epiphany
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Forest
4 Mountain
2 Shivan Reef
3 Yavimaya Coast
3 Temur Charm
3 Anger of the Gods
4 Magma Spray
3 Disdainful Stroke
2 Surrak Dragonclaw
SB probably needs some trimming and pruning. I am leery of the lifeloss from Confluence, hence I don't play it.
3 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Boon Satyr
3 Elvish Mystic
2 Fanatic of Xenagos
4 Heir of the Wilds
3 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Savage Knuckleblade
Planeswalkers (1):
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Instants & Sorceries (9):
4 Crater's Claws
3 Lightning Strike
2 Temur Charm
3 Forest
2 Mountain
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Frontier Bivouac
4 Yavimaya Coast
1 Shivan Reef
3 Mana Confluence
2 Temple of Epiphany
2 Arc Lightning
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Hunt the Hunter
1 Lightning Strike
3 Magma Spray
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Stubborn Denial
Round 1: Abzan Heroic (?) (won 2-0)
Couldn't really tell what plan he was on, as he had some very random cards and what appeared to me to be a very incoherent heroic configuration. Complete with like...Hardened Scales and some random green guys from Theros block that I can't even remember now but got multiple counters on them if you targeted them or something. Game 2 I brought in Magma Spray and my first play was to 2-for-1 him when he went to cast something on a Favored Hoplite. Pretty much was a blowout.
Round 2: Abzan Midrange (lost 1-2)
This deck was pretty much the Ari Lax version except I also saw Reaper of the Wilds. I wrecked him game one as he was just too slow. Ashcloud Phoenix did massive work. Game 2 he won a close one after parity was maintained for 6 or 7 turns, Game three I took a hand I shouldn't have.
Round 3: Sidisi Whip (won 2-0)
Between Lightning Strike and Crater's Claws, there wasn't anything going to stop me from steamrolling this guy. Game 2 I kept up mana for Stubborn Denial in case he tried to play whip. He never did. The final turn he had just tapped out for Sagu Mauler and I had an Ashcloud Phoenix with juuuust enough land and juuuust enough morphed Rattleclaw Mystics to Crater's Claws him to zero. That card is the read deal in this deck, by the way.
Round 4: Mardu Tokens (won 2-0)
I don't remember anything about this deck other than his Hordeling Outbursts and Goblin Rabblemasters. It was just too slow to handle me. Brought in Arc Lightning and cleared a path for beats. He was a younger player and instead of holding back his Butcher of the Horde to block with, he sacrificed two guys to give it haste and lifelink. A Lightning Strike EOT from me cleared his last token out of the way and I swung for lethal.
Round 5: Abzan Midrange (won 2-1) (again! I swear, the people playing this deck are all just Bad Spikes)
Ashcloud Phoenix was a huge problem for him unless he had Utter End, which he did sometimes. Elspeth never survived long enough to matter, thanks to my burn. We went to game three and I kept forgetting my Ferocious triggers on my Crater's Claws. I Disdainful Stroke'd his final card in hand, which was a Wingmate Roc. Then burned out his Rhino and in two turns he scooped.
All-stars:
Ashcloud Phoenix, Crater's Claws, Savage Knuckleblade, Boon Satyr
Underwhelming:
Fanatic of Xenagos, Polukranos, Temur Charm
Impressions
Overall, I love the deck, but I think it needs tuning. I realized while playing that I would almost always rather have the fourth Lightning Strike than either Temur Charm. Heir of the Wilds is very solid and I punched through with him for 4-9 damage on several occasions. Boon Satyr is very strong with his flash ability helps with the possibility of a blowout in some situations. Savage Knuckleblade is just the beast you would expect. More games were won off of burn spells in the final turns than anything else. I never really got to use Sarkhan but I imagine there are situations where you'd really want him. I found myself sometimes wishing that I had Stormbreath Dragon.
Strong deck. 10/10 would play again.
3x Forest
4x Frontier Bivouac
2x Mana Confluence
3x Mountain
1x Shivan Reef
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Temple of Mystery
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Yavimaya Coast
Creatures - 28
3x Ashcloud Phoenix
4x Boon Satyr
4x Elvish Mystic
3x Heir of the Wilds
4x Polukranos, World Eater
4x Rattleclaw Mystic
4x Savage Knuckleblade
2x Stormbreath Dragon
3x Crater's Claws
2x Lightning Strike
2x Stubborn Denial
2x Temur Charm
2x Arc Lightning
2x Disdainful Stroke
4x Hunt the Hunter
2x Lightning Strike
2x Magma Spray
2x Stubborn Denial
1x Temur Charm
I'm 100% sold on the maindeck at this point and will not be making any tweaks this time around. I've slowly increased the number of Elvish Mystics and Ashcloud Phoenixes while trimming down the spell count (and a Stormbreath Dragon). A lot of people have expressed interest in going down to 2 or 3 elves but I think thats a mistake. What they are feeling is the need to keep the 4+ power threat dense really high and I think the proper solution to that is to trim the spells down to the bare minimum.
The only slots I'm not sure about are the SB Temur Charm and the 4th Hunt the Hunter. Disdainful Stroke felt too narrow for a third copy when Mana Leak Charm is almost the same card but can counter cheaper things sometimes while having additional applications. The 4th Hunt the Hunter because you ALWAYS want to draw at least 1 vs g/x devotion and probably don't mind drawing 3. It's such a blowout.
Stormbreath Dragon is constantly over-performing and by now I wouldn't even consider playing Sarkhan.
I cut one Mana Confluence because drawing 2 of them is bad. Also having to play a confluence on turn 1 is bad. I've made one of the scrylands u/g and added an additional basic Mountain to compensate. The consensus seems to have landed on 6 taplands and I find myself agreeing with that.
Tap lands feel very bad. However, at least 4 are very necessary given the nature of our mana base. Depending on how aggressive you want your deck to be, I think the less the better. I've found 5 to be the sweet spot with a white splash. This also lets me run a full set of Elvish Mystic since there are fewer tap lands to take up my turn 1 play. As you play more taplands to compensate either a higher curve or worse mana base, the value of Elvish Mystic is greatly reduced. This was the case last year with Jund Monsters. Ketter's original list ran 5 tap lands (not counting shocks -- which are flexible). Later, as the deck spilled into Jund, there were times when the deck would run 7. There are varying values of running 7 scrylands. It makes Courser of Kruphix great, but it reduces the deck's aggressiveness. With CVM's Jund Monsters playing Goblin Rabblemaster update, CVM was back to the original 5 scry(tapped) lands in attempt to allow for his mana base to keep up with his deck's aggressiveness.
Your mana base restricts your aggressiveness. I like scry lands as they're powerful. However, they restrict the liklihood that I play Goblin Rabblemaster on turn 2 or 3. They also restrict the liklihood that you play your Savage Knuckleblade (w/ haste) earlier than turn 4. Taplands are less aggressive than painlands, fetchlands, and basics. Your creature package should be as fast as your mana base. Your 3 color, no-creature-greater-than-4cmc, should not be dallying with 7-8 tap lands. I think 5 is the max a lot of decks should be looking at, but I like jamming threats as fast as possible. If you're dallying in 7-8 tap lands, you should be playing some BOMBS! Like, "get out the way", 6 cmc "you lose" cards coming.
When building your mana base, you also have to take into account your mana dorks. Tap lands and 2 cmcm mana dorks are good friends. The play, "t1 tapland, t2 mana dork," is obvious and aggressive. However, taplands and Elvish Mystic are not friends. Of note, TappedOut's list only runs 3 Elvish Mystics while running 6 tapped lands. This makes sense since Elvish Mystic is really only powerful turn 1. It's ok turn 2 and gets (obviously) subsequently worse. If he were running 7-8 tapped lands, he might even want to run only 2 cmc mana dorks.
For aggressiveness, it helps when your 3 drops (and two drops) are not mana intensive. Goblin Rabblemaster is not mana intensive. Savage Knuckleblade is very mana intensive. You have to assume that you're getting your "money's" (aka life loss or feasible tempo loss) worth off of Savage Knuckleblade. I think Knuckleblade is very worth it turns 2 through 3. You'll have moments when it doesn't work out -- but I think Savage Knuckleblade is worth it for most Temur lists. I mean, both Rabblemaster and Knuckleblade sorta suck as the game goes on. However, Knuckleblade is certainly better than Rabblemaster post turn 5. However, keep in mind that given Knuckleblade's mana cost restrictions, it's apparent that Knuckleblade is typically going to be less aggressive. It's also worth mentioning Elvish Mystic's synergy with these guys. Mystic is the reason you can play t2 Rabblemaster or Knuckleblade. Rattleclaw Mystic (while cool) only facilitates a hasty t3 Knuckleblade.
However, your 4 drops are why you play your 2 cmc mana dork. There is no denying the power of a t3 Polukranos, World Eater. t2 mana also is more mana positive (in the fixing sense) than Elvish Mystic. Ashcloud Phoenix and Polukranos in the same deck can be a bit hopeful. But with 2 cmc mana dorks, playing t3 Phoenix or Polukranos is a piece of cake.
Here's what to take away from this.
1. Painful manabase = faster deck. Don't bother with pain lands if you're not trying to be fast. You should absolutely bother if you're playing aggressive 3 drops.
2. Dorks helps certain points on your curve. Elvish Mystic helps your aggressive 3 drops. Rattleclaw Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid facilitate your aggressive 4 drops.
3. Your mana dorks and taplands work in cohesion. Don't run 8 tap lands and 4x Elvish Mystic. If you're running 8 tap lands, you should be running 6+ 2 cmc mana dorks, fewer 3cmc beaters, and more 4+cmc beaters.
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Savage Knuckleblade
4 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Stubborn Denial
3 Lightning Strike
Friends
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Nissa, Worldwaker
3 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
4 Frontier Bivouac
2 Temple of Epiphany
1 Temple of Mystery
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Yavimaya Coast
Following your write-up, I think this deck would want to drop the Coasts for more Temples? This was a really old list I drafted up in like the first couple of weeks of KTK's release, so any advice to improve it would be greatly appreciated. More bombastic monsters, obviously. Probably consolidating my 'walkers to just Sarkhan and Nissa, to start.
When I say, 5+ taplands, I really mean 8 at most.
The difference between 5 taplands and 8 is significant.
That list also has too many 5 drops.