MTG Salvation

Rhonas the Indomitable is incredibly mana efficient with a mana cost of 2G. He has a 5/5 body with indestructible and deathtouch making him an incredibly powerful and deadly combat general. He is incredibly offensive based but he is also able to support other creatures well. Let's evaluate Rhonas's abilities in depth.

Deathtouch, indestructible

These are keyword abilities that many players are familiar with but they are incredibly important. Deathtouch ensures that any time we deal combat damage to a creature, that creature is destroyed. This includes instances where we are not in combat regardless of how many other creatures we control. In combat this means our opponents can never block us with a creature without sacrificing that creature to combat unless that creature can regenerate or has indestructible. Outside of combat we can use effects that cause Rhonas the Indomitable to deal damage to creatures and remove threats regardless if they engage in combat.

Indestructible is a much less common keyword. Out of the 700+ legendary creatures in the format, less than 30 have unconditional indestructible. This ensures Rhonas the Indomitable can always survive combat damage or virtually any damage for that matter. Deathtouch in tandem with Indestructible is very powerful. It ensures that we never lose combat or fights.

Rhonas the Indomitable can't attack or block unless you control another creature with power 4 or greater.

This ability is a drawback and is here for good reason. Rhonas the Indomitable is a 5/5 with indestructible and deathtouch for 2G. If it were not for this ability, Rhonas the Indomitable would probably cost at least twice as much. We get around this drawback by running dozens of creatures with power 4 or greater including 16 creatures with a power of 4 or greater that have a converted mana cost of 4 including Surrak, the Hunt Caller, Polukranos, World Eater, Chameleon Colossus. Our four drop creatures apply pressure in the early game and are still useful throughout the mid and late game.

2G: Another target creature gets +2/+0 and gains trample until end of turn.

This ability allows Rhonas the Indomitable to support other creatures we are running. It ensures efficient high powered creatures like Deadbridge Goliath and Wolfir Silverheart are not simply chump blocked while also making them more deadly in the process. Indomitable Four Drops has a lower converted mana curve than most mono G decks. This ability can be used as a mana sink in the late game and makes even late game top drawn lands useful.

You should play Indomitable Four Drops if:

• You like attacking with multiple creatures
• You like winning via commander damage
• You are interested in a green deck that isn't constantly ramping, tutoring and shuffling.
• You like the idea of playing a mono G deck that can easily remove creatures from the battlefield.

Indomitable Four Drops might not be for you if:

• You enjoy playing spells and abilities when it isn't your turn.
• You don't want to play a creature oriented deck.
• You prefer to win games by through infinite combos instead of combat damage.
• You like more complex decisions that blue and black decks offer.

Mana Acceleration

Faster and more resilient than a mana dork.

Mana Crypt is the ultimate acceleration rock. It enables turn one Rhonas the Indomitable.

Sol Ring needs no introduction, it's the most played nonland in the format. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Arbor Elf is a one drop mana dork that helps enable turn two Rhonas the Indomitable. Indomitable Four Drops runs several one drop mana acceleration sources, but Arbor Elf is especially good because it has synergy with Utopia Sprawl and Wild Growth.

Birds of Paradise functions a one drop mana dork that helps enable turn two Rhonas the Indomitable. As a bonus it can block fliers in a pinch.

Boreal Druid is one of the weaker one drop mana acceleration pieces because it can't make green mana, but it is still very good. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Elvish Mystic is another one drop mana dork. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Fyndhorn Elves is yet another one drop mana dork. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Llanowar Elves is the original mana dork. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Wild Growth functions like a mana dork but is more resilient because it enchants our lands. It also has synergy with Arbor Elf. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Utopia Sprawl function copy but worse version of Wild Growth because it can only enchant forests. Still incredibly good. Enables turn two Rhonas the Indomitable.

Whisperer of the Wilds is a two drop mana dork that frequently generates GG when paired with Rhonas the Indomitable.

Removal & Trample

Absurdly broken. This card steals games.

Prey Upon is a one drop fight removal spell with our general on the battlefield.

Epic Confrontation is a two drop fight removal spell that gives Rhonas the Indomitable a little extra push.

Nature's Way is another two drop removal spell with the added benefit of offering vigilance and trample.

Rabid Bite is another solid removal spell when used with Rhonas the Indomitable. Keep in mind it is not an actual fight spell, because it doesn't deal any damage to use we can also use it with our other creatures.

Savage Punch is a great Prey Upon variant that also pumps Rhonas the Indomitable.

Cartouche of Strength is an excellent Aura for Rhonas the Indomitable. It grants trample and also will remove a creature when it comes into play.

Lure may be the best tool Rhonas the Indomitable has to play with. It essentially turns Rhonas the Indomitable into a one sided board wipe for one opponent.

Tower Above functions as a Prey Upon and a Titanic Growth with trample. It's incredibly powerful with Rhonas the Indomitable because of how deathtouch interacts with trample.

Revenge of the Hunted is absurdly powerful when cast as a miracle but still useful regardless. A one shot lure effect, trample and a double Giant Growth effect. This card steals games.

Rancor turns Rhonas the Indomitable into a 7/5 with trample for a single green mana. It also has recursion if it is removed for some reason.

Berserk is one of the best spells Indomitable Four Drops has to offer. Without additional pump, it turns Rhonas the Indomitable into a 10/10 with trample for one green mana and because Rhonas the Indomitable is indestructible, Berserk offers no drawback. It gets incredibly ridiculous when used after even a small pump effect. Berserk also can deal absurd amounts of damage when paired with Chameleon Colossus.

Overwhelming Stampede is a Overrun type effect that flat out steals games. In an average base scenario, it will grant +5/+5 an dtrample to all of your creatures, which is incredibly useful due to all of our mana dorks. In better scenarios, we can get much more value out of this card and late game when we have large amounts of mana, we can use Rhonas the Indomitable's activated ability to pump a creature before casting Overwhelming Stampede for additional power. This card wins games.

Card Advantage

Why can't I hold all these cards?

Sylvan Library is arguably the best card advantage engine in the format. Even without shuffle effects it allows us to dig deeper and is a great turn two play if we can't cast Rhonas the Indomitable.

Drumhunter provides conditional card advantage and mana acceleration for 4 mana. While the card advantage is conditional, with Rhonas the Indomitable along with over a dozen creatures with a power of 5 or greater, Drumhunter nearly always draws us cards.

Hunter's Prowess grants Giant Growth and trample to a creature along with the ability to potentially draw a boat load of cards. The vast majority of the time Rhonas the Indomitable will be the target for this spell.

Soul's Majesty frequently draws us at least 5 cards, but often will provide much more card advantage. It's quite reliable, especially because we do not have to attack or deal damage for it to gain value from it.

Garruk, Primal Hunter is essentially a functional copy of Soul's Majesty. While it requires more green mana, this isn't a problem in our deck and Garruk, Primal Hunter has the added benefit of creating tokens if we are in a desperate situation or we already have more than enough card advantage.

Rishkar's Expertise is Soul's Majesty for an additional mana but it has the upside of allowing us to cast a spell for free including from the card advantage it provides.

Noncreature Removal

Seal of Primordium functions as a sorcery speed Naturalize we can delay and activate at a later time. It is a great rattlesnake card and can help us provide excellent tempo. Seal of Primordium is a great turn 2 play if we can't play Rhonas the Indomitable.

Beast Within provides unconditional removal for 3 mana. The drawback is quite minimal, especially considering our commander will always beat out a 3/3 beast token. Beast Within is one of the best land destruction spells Indomitable Four Drops has.

Bramblecrush functions as a sorcery speed removal spell that can answer anything but creatures. As a four drop if we need to answer something quickly, we can cast this following Rhonas the Indomitable instead of a creature with power 4 or greater.

Creatures

It's a 5/4 with an upside for 2GG and no drawback.

Bristling Hydra is one of our best four drop creatures. It functions as a 4/3 that can also protect itself once and permanently become a 5/4.

Chameleon Colossus is one of the deadliest creatures Indomitable Four Drops runs. It is an incredibly great late game mana sink, especially in tandem with the trample that can be provided by Rhonas the Indomitable. It also has the benefit from having protection from one of the strongest removal colors in the format.

Crocodile of the Crossing functions as a poor man's Vengevine. It can come down the turn after Rhonas the Indomitable and due to its haste, it allow us to swing for 9 damage on turn 3 or 4. Late game,

Deadbridge Goliath is a very mana efficient Rhonas the Indomitable enabler with 5 power and toughness and late game can scavenge for more value. If we have too many cards in our hand due to our massive card advantage spells, this is one of the first cards we should discard.

Emperor Crocodile is a 5/5 for 4 mana with a drawback that is seldom relevant in EDH, particularly considering how resilient Rhonas the Indomitable is. It's also a plus side that it only requires one green mana so we can still cast it easily if we have mostly colorless sources.

Juggernaut offers 5 power for four mana. The drawback is negligible, especially in the early game in a multiplayer format because there will almost always be an opponent you can swing at that won't have the power to defeat Juggernaut in combat or at the very least would have to trade to remove it through combat.

Galvanic Juggernaut is similar to Juggernaut with superior toughness but a drawback that prevents it from untapping unless a creature dies. Indomitable Four Drops has a lot of creature removal and encourages opponents to block due to the aggressive style of the deck so it generally is quite easy to meet this requirement.

Obstinate Baloth is one of a handful of cards that provides life gain to offset any damage our opponents may send our way along with the efficient but self damage inflicting Ancient Tomb and Mana Crypt. Also great hate/free card advantage to discard effects in the format including Liliana of the Veil.

Polukranos, World Eater is one of our best four drops as a 5/5 without a drawback. Late game is can use its monstrous ability to get bigger and if necessary act as a source of a removal.

A much better Crocodile of the Crossing.

Ravenous Baloth is another Rhonas the Indomitable enabler without a drawback that can gain us life in a pinch. Remember that Chameleon Colossus, Obstinate Baloth, Thragtusk and Thunderfoot Baloth are Beasts. Additionally, Primeval Bounty and Garruk, Primal Hunter also create beast tokens that can be sacrificed with Ravenous Baloth.

Surrak, the Hunt Caller is another top tier four drop. In addition to enabling Rhonas the Indomitable, together Surrak, the Hunt Caller is formidable. This makes him a great 5 power four drop with haste that can later grant haste to greater threats.

Thrun, the Last Troll is a no drawback 4/4 with hexproof. It's a great play to follow up the turn after Rhonas the Indomitable if our opponents are running a lot of spot removal.

Vengevine will almost always be a better Crocodile of the Crossing. Haste with 4 power and no drawback. Late game it will often return. It is very important to keep our triggers in mind.

Wickerbough Elder is a of a creature that offers great tempo and is similar but mostly better than Indrik Stomphowler. While for four mana it doesn't enable our general, for an additional mana it can do so. In the mid to late game, Wickerbough Elder can function as a rattlesnake card like Seal of Primordium.

Wolfbriar Elemental is an excellent four drop due to its ability to scale so well. Early game we can cast Wolfbriar Elemental the run after Rhonas the Indomitable. Late game, it can be an excellent top draw that can generate us several tokens and offer us an immediate board presence. Wolfbriar Elemental has excellent synergy with Overwhelming Stampede and Thunderfoot Baloth.

Yeva, Nature's Herald is our only creature with flash in a deck only three instant spells. Usually we don't want to pilot Indomitable Four Drops on our opponents' turns because usually our extra mana will be used to pump other creatures with Rhonas the Indomitable.

Conclave Naturalists a lore shifted version of Indrik Stomphowler. It is a great tempo play.

Wolfir Silverheart turns Rhonas the Indomitable into a 9/9 and is an 8/8. That is 12 power for only 5 mana. Wolfir Silverheart is especially great with the trample that Rhonas the Indomitable can provide.

Thragtusk needs little introduction. Thragtusk is an excellent value play, 5 power, 5 life and replaces itself when it dies.

Why are you not blocking?

Verdurous Gearhulk is similar to Wolfir Silverheart that it offers power to a creature of our choice (usually, Rhonas the Indomitable) or itself for an efficent 8/8 with trample for 3GG.

Regal Behemoth doubles our mana, is a body with trample and provides card advantage through the monarch. While we may not always maintain the monarch because in many instances we will tap out, it is very easy for us to retake the monarch.

Thunderfoot Baloth is an excellent bomb that is a solid anthem effect and a trample enabler for Rhonas the Indomitable (and our other creatures).

Vigor allows us to swing with all of our other creatures without any hesitant. It is tremendously powerful in tandem with Lure effects and is easily one of our best cards in the deck.

Wurmcoil Engine is an excellent source of life gain and a resilient threat against destruction effects. It also has excellent synergy with trample because it has deathtouch.

Pelakka Wurm offers us great value. It is a 7/7 trample creature that gains us life and draws a card later.

Woodfall Primus functions as Bramblecrush on a 6/6 trample body that can persist to Bramblecrush again.

World Breaker exiles troublesome noncreature permanents including Maze of Ith while also offering a respectable body.

Miscellaneous

Scavenging Ooze is our deck's obligatory graveyard hate and another source of life gain. With all of the creatures this deck removes along with leftover mana we often have, Scavenging Ooze can get large at a fast pace.

Primeval Bounty is an excellent value engine that turns all of our late game plays, including underwhelming top draws like mana dorks and lands, into worthy value. The noncreature ability that places counters is probably the best ability but the lifegain from lands is a great way to offset self inflicted damage from Mana Crypt and Ancient Tomb.

Acceleration and Ramp:
While Indomitable Four Drops does not run traditional land ramp spells like Sakura-Tribal Elder, Cultivate and Skyshroud Claim, the deck is designed to be fast and does run more than dozen mana acceleration spells including ten spells with a converted mana cost of one or less including Arbor Elf, Utopia Sprawl, and Mana Crypt to increase the likelyhood of casting Rhonas the Indomitable before turn 3. The deck also includes a small handful of ramp spells that are designed to produce more mana in the late game including Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Regal Behemoth. (9/10)

Combat Damage Output

This is where Indomitable Four Drops really shines. The deck frequently swings for 5 or more damage by turn four and usually is able to deal more than 10 damage by turn 5. With numerous high powered creatures along with trample and pump effects like Rancor, Berserk, and Thunderfoot Baloth, Indomitable Four Drops has no trouble dealing out damage to opponents and frequently will be the best damage output deck within a game. (10/10)

Card Advantage: The deck only runs about half a dozen cards that provide card advantage but these cards are excellent at doing so. Most of the card advantage in Indomitable Four Drops consists of spells that allow us to draw cards based on our highest powered creature (usually Rhonas the Indomitable). Spells like Rishkar's Expertise and Hunter's Prowess easily refill our hand and then some so casting one of these spells can provide us enough card advantage for an entire game. The deck also runs spells that provide more incremental card advantage like Sylvan Library and Drumhunter. (7/10)

Control:
We are running a mono green deck that only plays 3 spells that can be played on our opponent's turn so from a draw go control perspective, Indomitable Four Drops fares rather poorly in this regard. However we do run several fight and force block based effects that remove creatures including Lure, Unnatural Aggression and Tower Above. Indomitable Four Drops also runs a large suite of noncreature removal including Seal of Primordium, Bramblecrush, Karn Liberated and the often forgotten but reliable Conclave Naturalists. (8/10)

Tutoring

Indomitable Four Drops doesn't run tutors. No Worldly Tutor, no Green Sun's Zenith, no Fauna Shaman. Personally I feel tutors violate the spirit of a singleton format and with enough card advantage they aren't necessary to win in most metas. There certainly is room for these spells in a Rhonas the Indomitable and a few tutors will be explored in the Other Options section. (0/10)

Strong but a nonbo with Lure effects.

Craterhoof Behemoth is an incredibly effect Overrun effect that frequently is more effective than Overwhelming Stampede but it is higher on the mana curve and criminally overplayed.

Worldly Tutor gets us any creature at instant speed to the top of our library for only one mana. It is a very worthy inclusion for decks that run tutor effects.

Vizier of the Menagerie provides a great source of card advantage but this deck has little room for creatures with a converted mana cost of 4 that don't enable Rhonas the Indomitable.

Nylea, God of the Hunt is a great trampler enabler that becomes an indestructible 6/6 in the late game. Unfortunately it usually won't enable Rhonas the Indomitable if it is played immediately after and her activated ability is too similar to our general's activated ability.

Lightning Greaves is a staple that needs no introduction but it has negative synergy with using Rhonas the Indomitable's activated ability at instant speed and also interacts poorly with Revenge of the Hunted.

Bellowing Tanglewurm is a decent beater that frequently enables unblockable situations against boards but it has negative synergy with Lure effects.

Tempting Licid is a cute Lure effect that is somewhat resilient but is slow and shares the same converted mana cost as Rhonas the Indomitable.

Provoke is a cute cantrip that has wonderful synergy with Rhonas the Indomitable, but it seems a little underwhelming.

Nissa, Vital Force creates a 5/5 that can enable Rhonas the Indomitable, it can untap Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and easily generate an emblem that can provide lots of cards for the duration of the game. However because this deck doesn't run land ramp spells, the emblem isn't as strong as it would be in other decks and our other 5 mana draw spells provide us with many cards at a much faster rate.

Gaea's Cradle is incredibly powerful and certainly a must run but is out of most players' budget unless they already have one.

Ulvenwald Tracker is a reusable fight/removal effect with Rhonas the Indomitable but it feels too slow because you can't use it the turn you play it, even if you have the additional mana.

Heroic Intervention, Blossoming Defense and Vines of Vastwood are all excellent answers if you are especially concerned about exile spot removal or any removal of our other creatures.

Kalonian Hydra is a solid beater that has synergy with other counter abilities in our deck including Llanowar Reborn and Polukranos, World Eater but the other 5 drops we are running seem better.

Incredibly powerful but incredibly expensive.

Selvala, Heart of the Wilds can generate an insane amount of mana but competes with our general's converted mana cost spot. It also can draw us cards, but not consistently. It is worthy to consider replacing Drumhunter for her.

Regal Force provides solid card advantage on an underwhelming body for a little too much mana.

Triumph of the Hordes can flat out steal games if your meta is fine with infect.

Roar of Challenge is a one shot Lure effect for the same converted mana cost but seems just slightly underwhelming.

Enlarge is a similar, although much weaker, Revenge of the Hunted effect.

Unnatural Aggression a great additional removal spell with Rhonas the Indomitable that can be used at instant speed but 2G is a little steep for mana cost.

Praetor's Counsel is a decent card advantage spell that has synergy with our other massive draw spells but it cost 8 mana.

Caged Sun is a great mana doubling effect that has an added anthem bonus effect.

July 4, 2017:
In: World Breaker
Out: Karn Liberated
Reason: Both of these cards do similar things, but from testing, I seldom have blockers up to defend Karn Liberated, so having an extra body makes sense.

Note: This update has also been added to the change log in the first post of the thread.

Quote from Sarkhans_Apprentice »

Hey! Love the deck, thinking about building it myself. Here are a few ideas based on your primer:

Genesis - 4 power, and with the amount of creatures you are running this guy can be very useful to bring back your utility creatures late game.

Temur Sabertooth - 4 power 4 drop, allows for some board wipe insurance and re-using ETB effects.

No Savage Punch?

I dont like Ravenous Baloth in the deck because you only run 4 beasts total- how has he been working out for you?

Quote from phantalien »

Since you have a specific focus of four drops I am surprised you did not include uncage the menagerie as a way to tutor for your creatures. Tutoring 4 specific creatures for 6 mana can be very helpful in EDH and green tends to have enough acceleration that you can still cast a few of the creatures you tutored.

August 20, 2017:
In: Scavenger Grounds
Out: Arcane Lighthouse
Reason: I wanted some graveyard hate for this list and Scavenger Grounds is perfect. It is very difficult to interact with and it hits all graveyards. Arcane Lighthouse wasn't being utilized enough. The few times I have seeing hexproof or shroud creatures, they end up having to block or I force my opponents to with Lure effects.

Note: This update has also been added to the change log in the first post of the thread.

Quote from thesystemforce »

With the fight cards you're running, given any thought to Ambuscade? Fighting's even better when your opponent doesn't get to hit back.

August 27, 2017:
In: Rabid Bite
Out: Unnatural Aggression
Reason: These two cards have similar effects. Rabid Bite costs 1 less to cast but Unnatural Aggression can exile and be used at instant speed. I found the exile not to be too essential, especially because it still doesn't work on indestructible creatures. The instant speed is kind of nice, but Indomitable Four Drops likes to use its mana during our turn so Rabid Bite costing 1 less to cast seems like a good choice.

Note: This update has also been added to the change log in the first post of the thread.

Quote from PetrosTheGreat1 »

I would like to know how this deck does against Board wipes. I understand Rhonas is indestructible, but I play with a board wipe heavy group. Do you just put one 4 drop down and keep the rest in your hand? Board wipes can be devastating against creature heavy decks.