Given Rampager will sometimes need GGG to be cast on T3, mono Green seems like the best fit. The Elephant is also aggressive, so putting it in an aggro shell also seems the most appropriate. Furthermore, we can take advantage of its drawback by enabling Revolt, which opens up some other aggressive Green threats.
The deck plays low to the ground, but the activation on Kessig Prowler, the scale up of Sylvan Advocate, and the card draw of Tireless Tracker give it a lot of late game power. Not to mention the go over the top ability from Verdurous Gearhulk. Blossoming Defense and Nature's Way give us some tricks and interaction.
Evolving Wilds might look odd, but Revolt, and Tireless Tracker make it worthwhile.
The sideboard has some tools against control, with additional cardraw with Bestiary. It also has sweeper insurance with Heroic Intervention. Some of the other selections are straight forward other than Commencement of Festivities, which is in there specifically for the Copy Cat combo. The idea is that we survive the turn they go off, and then attack down the Planeswalker.
Other than that, the plan is simple. Cast Stompy threats and attack.
I don't think Evolving Wilds is good, as it comes in tapped, and 24 land is way too much for a stompy deck. I also think Verdurous Gearhulk costs to much mana in an aggro stompy deck.
@Ultra Magnus: I somewhat aggree that Nature's Way probably should be Larger than Life. Since Way gives Trample as well, I felt a little bit of interaction was more worthwhile.
As far as Evolving Wilds. Other then Wilds, only Rampager and cracking clues from Tracker give us ways outside of combat to enable Revolt. It seems necessary to have some redundancy there that can be used early, since both of the Revolt cards want to be cast in the first 3 turns.
I thought about going to 22 or 23 lands, but Gearhulk seems too good to pass on. Tracker also likes the extra land drops (not to mention Advocate), so that and Kessig Prowler give us some mana sinks and card velocity to help prevent flooding too much. Besides, since we often have to play off curve by 1 mana for Revolt, making early land drops is really important. So 24x seemed appropriate if not intuitive for an Aggro deck.
@TheMagicMan: Yeah, had a look. I did notice a lot of my creatures were Elves by coincidence. The new legendary guy I considered as well. Maybe I should shave a Tracker and something for a couple. I think the main thing I want to keep is the Elephant, Tracker, and Gearhulk though, so I didn't want to go tribal. One interaction that is hard to pass up is Lifecrafter's Bestiary and Rampager.
@Ultra Magnus: I somewhat aggree that Nature's Way probably should be Larger than Life. Since Way gives Trample as well, I felt a little bit of interaction was more worthwhile.
As far as Evolving Wilds. Other then Wilds, only Rampager and cracking clues from Tracker give us ways outside of combat to enable Revolt. It seems necessary to have some redundancy there that can be used early, since both of the Revolt cards want to be cast in the first 3 turns.
I thought about going to 22 or 23 lands, but Gearhulk seems too good to pass on. Tracker also likes the extra land drops (not to mention Advocate), so that and Kessig Prowler give us some mana sinks and card velocity to help prevent flooding too much. Besides, since we often have to play off curve by 1 mana for Revolt, making early land drops is really important. So 24x seemed appropriate if not intuitive for an Aggro deck.
@TheMagicMan: Yeah, had a look. I did notice a lot of my creatures were Elves by coincidence. The new legendary guy I considered as well. Maybe I should shave a Tracker and something for a couple. I think the main thing I want to keep is the Elephant, Tracker, and Gearhulk though, so I didn't want to go tribal. One interaction that is hard to pass up is Lifecrafter's Bestiary and Rampager.
What's your plan against Copycat Combo?
Funny you should ask. I just finished updating and rounding out my deck. For Copycat Combo, I added Walking Ballista to the Sideboard. I, like yourself, am also considering Nature's Way as well. I've seen builds going both creature based and control based for Copycat and think it may be too early to tell what our best options are right now.
I had a similar thought about Ballista as an option, given we can shoot down Saheeli when they try to go for it. The issue I had with him was that it requires us to play our answer to the board first. They have the option of just holding off on the combo and looking for an answer to kill Ballista. They can even put Saheeli into play if they are not super pressured and use her uptick to search. Instant speed fight for removal seemed unreliable, and so I was left with what seems like a very poor option in Fog.
I had a similar thought about Ballista as an option, given we can shoot down Saheeli when they try to go for it. The issue I had with him was that it requires us to play our answer to the board first. They have the option of just holding off on the combo and looking for an answer to kill Ballista. They can even put Saheeli into play if they are not super pressured and use her uptick to search. Instant speed fight for removal seemed unreliable, and so I was left with what seems like a very poor option in Fog.
Yeah, Fog will only keep you alive for another turn. Honestly, it's a hard call, and going Mono Green doesn't make the decisions any easier. That's initially the reason why I went G/r with my Renegade Elves Tribal Ramp deck. It gave me access to Shock and the like. With Greenbelt Rampager, you do have a better chance of hitting Saheeli before she goes off even if your opponent has creatures they can chomp block with early. If only Rampager had Trample... How Wizards gonna make an elephant card without Trample? Travesty!
That's one benefit of running Nature's Way. The Trample/Vigilance is not inconsequential, and it isn't a true fight card either.
But maybe a splash is necessary. I suppose it depends on how the meta shakes out. It would be most ideal to do it in a colour that has a manland I think, to get extra value from Advocate. Maybe Black for Fatal Push? Works well since the deck is setup to take advantage of Revolt already.
anyway, i think splash red for Arlinn Kord could work. flip her and give all your creatures +1/+1 and trample seems to be what the the deck needs to get past chump blockers and completely smash opponents.
also, maybe a few Aether Hubs can be handy in providing some Energy so that the elephant can be dropped permanently earlier.
lastly, splash red can give access to Shock which can help against Saheeli combo, if that takes off.
Oh, and Red? Never lost my love. Liking WR humans with Lieutenant, Mimic, and Garrison. Check the Humans thread. I'll likely build some sort of RB Madness deck, but waiting on things to shake out for that.
Brawler was a strong option, but requires a heavier Red commitment with the manabase. I didn't want to play more than 1 Mountain, because I almost never want to see it. So I chose to stick with Duskwatch, Liberator, and Advocate as my 2-drops.
I can remember trying to make Rogue Elephant work in an aggressive Green deck many years ago.
It didn't work.
Luckily, Rampager is miles better.
4 Greenbelt Rampager
4 Kessig Prowler
4 Narnam Renegade
4 Greenwheel Liberator
4 Sylvan Advocate
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Blossoming Defense
4 Nature's Way
Lands (24)
4 Evolving Wilds
20 Forest
2 Natural State
3 Jaddi Offshoot
2 Commencement of Festivities
2 Heroic Intervention
3 Clip Wings
1 Appetite for the Unnatural
2 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Given Rampager will sometimes need GGG to be cast on T3, mono Green seems like the best fit. The Elephant is also aggressive, so putting it in an aggro shell also seems the most appropriate. Furthermore, we can take advantage of its drawback by enabling Revolt, which opens up some other aggressive Green threats.
The deck plays low to the ground, but the activation on Kessig Prowler, the scale up of Sylvan Advocate, and the card draw of Tireless Tracker give it a lot of late game power. Not to mention the go over the top ability from Verdurous Gearhulk. Blossoming Defense and Nature's Way give us some tricks and interaction.
Evolving Wilds might look odd, but Revolt, and Tireless Tracker make it worthwhile.
The sideboard has some tools against control, with additional cardraw with Bestiary. It also has sweeper insurance with Heroic Intervention. Some of the other selections are straight forward other than Commencement of Festivities, which is in there specifically for the Copy Cat combo. The idea is that we survive the turn they go off, and then attack down the Planeswalker.
Other than that, the plan is simple. Cast Stompy threats and attack.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
I would put in Larger than Life for sure.
I don't think Evolving Wilds is good, as it comes in tapped, and 24 land is way too much for a stompy deck. I also think Verdurous Gearhulk costs to much mana in an aggro stompy deck.
Other green low cmc beaters that look good are Baloth Pup and Kujar Seedsculptor.
As far as Evolving Wilds. Other then Wilds, only Rampager and cracking clues from Tracker give us ways outside of combat to enable Revolt. It seems necessary to have some redundancy there that can be used early, since both of the Revolt cards want to be cast in the first 3 turns.
I thought about going to 22 or 23 lands, but Gearhulk seems too good to pass on. Tracker also likes the extra land drops (not to mention Advocate), so that and Kessig Prowler give us some mana sinks and card velocity to help prevent flooding too much. Besides, since we often have to play off curve by 1 mana for Revolt, making early land drops is really important. So 24x seemed appropriate if not intuitive for an Aggro deck.
@TheMagicMan: Yeah, had a look. I did notice a lot of my creatures were Elves by coincidence. The new legendary guy I considered as well. Maybe I should shave a Tracker and something for a couple. I think the main thing I want to keep is the Elephant, Tracker, and Gearhulk though, so I didn't want to go tribal. One interaction that is hard to pass up is Lifecrafter's Bestiary and Rampager.
What's your plan against Copycat Combo?
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
Funny you should ask. I just finished updating and rounding out my deck. For Copycat Combo, I added Walking Ballista to the Sideboard. I, like yourself, am also considering Nature's Way as well. I've seen builds going both creature based and control based for Copycat and think it may be too early to tell what our best options are right now.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
Yeah, Fog will only keep you alive for another turn. Honestly, it's a hard call, and going Mono Green doesn't make the decisions any easier. That's initially the reason why I went G/r with my Renegade Elves Tribal Ramp deck. It gave me access to Shock and the like. With Greenbelt Rampager, you do have a better chance of hitting Saheeli before she goes off even if your opponent has creatures they can chomp block with early. If only Rampager had Trample... How Wizards gonna make an elephant card without Trample? Travesty!
But maybe a splash is necessary. I suppose it depends on how the meta shakes out. It would be most ideal to do it in a colour that has a manland I think, to get extra value from Advocate. Maybe Black for Fatal Push? Works well since the deck is setup to take advantage of Revolt already.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
anyway, i think splash red for Arlinn Kord could work. flip her and give all your creatures +1/+1 and trample seems to be what the the deck needs to get past chump blockers and completely smash opponents.
also, maybe a few Aether Hubs can be handy in providing some Energy so that the elephant can be dropped permanently earlier.
lastly, splash red can give access to Shock which can help against Saheeli combo, if that takes off.
Oh, and Red? Never lost my love. Liking WR humans with Lieutenant, Mimic, and Garrison. Check the Humans thread. I'll likely build some sort of RB Madness deck, but waiting on things to shake out for that.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
i have made a B/r vampires list, but seems too clunky to even post here in MTGS.
i'll be keeping an eye on this thread. i was planning on a G/r Stompy list that can survive a Yahenni's Expertise anyway. i got some neat ideas here.
Here is what I'm thinking for that Red splash:
4 Greenbelt Rampager
4 Kessig Prowler
4 Narnam Renegade
4 Greenwheel Liberator
4 Sylvan Advocate
3 Tireless Tracker
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
3 Blossoming Defense
4 Shock
2 Arlinn Kord
Lands (24)
1 Mountain
4 Cinder Glade
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Game Trail
11 Forest
2 Natural State
4 Jaddi Offshoot
2 Heroic Intervention
3 Clip Wings
1 Appetite for the Unnatural
1 Tireless Tracker
2 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Haven't thought enough about sideboard options, but I like the main. Shock gives us nice tempo removal that also hits the Copy Cat combo.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
4 Greenbelt Rampager
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Narnam Renegade
4 Greenwheel Liberator
4 Sylvan Advocate
2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Shock
2 Arlinn Kord
Lands (24)
1 Mountain
4 Cinder Glade
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Game Trail
11 Forest
4 Arborback Stomper
2 Heroic Intervention
3 Clip Wings
2 Appetite for the Unnatural
2 Blossoming Defense
2 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
Yeah, but at that point, Neve like may as well be running RG Energy Aggro.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)