The first Pro Tour with Khans of Tarkir is under our belt, and with two SCG contributors at the top of the pack no less! Congrats to Ari Lax for his
victory on Sunday!
Although I’d never consider myself a competitive player, I follow the Pro Tour coverage only on the occasion of a Pro Tour for which I attended a PTQ. As
an avid traveler, a Pro Tour invite is just as much about the free worldwide plane ticket as it is the fame, fortune, and glory offered by an opportunity
to play in the biggest tournament of the season. In these PTQ situations, I’m ever optimistic; for Pro Tour Montreal in 2012, I thought about where I might
stay and that I might need to brush up on my French. For Pro Tour San Diego 2009, I fondly remembered the famous San Diego Zoo, which I’d been to twice
before. Most recently, my try at Pro Tour Honolulu in August met with the same wishful hopes, considering when I’d fly out there to have enough time to go
to the North Shore of O’ahu again, one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Although the new structure of PTQs and PPTQs makes it much trickier for a bloke like me to just run hot one day and win one, I’ll continue to feel this
way, especially if the destination is particularly exotic. While the upcoming Pro Tour excursion to Washington, DC doesn’t get my excitement flowing as
much (I was just there in April), I’ll probably try to, as the pros say, “get my ticket punched” to Brussels in the spring.
Even though I watch Pro Tour coverage with a not-so-subtle hint of jealousy, I learn from them too, and it reignites, even if briefly, my desire to play
competitively. I’m not sure I quite have the stomach for it in the end, but for a moment, I think of powerful decks that might have a lot of impact, and as
the deck base shifts to mirror the top performers at the Pro Tour, how I can take advantage of that.
Green is a color that has had its place as a splash, a key part of a color pairing, or the critical color of a deck’s strategy. With powerful creatures and
overwhelming, over-the-top spells to close out the game, there’s a lot to love about my favorite real-life color. Although it seems to find itself most
frequently as a support color in Abzan and Sultai builds, I’m not convinced green is ready to be swept under the rug.
I’ve been piddling with a handful of mono-green or nearly-green brews since Khans was fully spoiled, and I’ve had the opportunity to test one extensively.
Why haven’t people been talking about this card? Last season, people were fine with playing Giant Growth and even Phytoburst in their aggro pump decks.
This is better than both and can potentially be as cheap as the classic green instant. Although my first thought was its role in Modern Infect, it’s strong
enough to get into Standard too.
Delve has proven itself to be the ability du jour, and the green spells are discarded entirely in favor of the splashy Empty the Pits or the entirely
awesome Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise. On a sidenote, Treasure Cruise might be one of the most fun Magic cards to cast right now. Casting it for one
mana feels outstanding.
See what I mean though? The green spells seem, well, boring in comparison. The other green delve spell, Hooting Mandrills, is just a French vanilla
creature, right? …Right?
We’ll see.
Creatures (32)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 4 Nylea, God of the Hunt
- 4 Boon Satyr
- 4 Nemesis of Mortals
- 4 Courser of Kruphix
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 4 Bassara Tower Archer
- 4 Hooting Mandrills
Lands (20)
Spells (8)
This looks like your basic mess, but bear with me on this.
Creatures
Elvish Mystic has moved from being a staple in aggressive G/X shells and G/X ramp decks to being left out completely in favor of Sylvan Caryatid and
Voyaging Satyr, et. al. Rest assured though that in a green-only shell, it can’t be beat. Our land count is purposefully low, as once we get to the rest of
the creature base, you’ll realize that a Dryad Arbor is much better than a Forest.
Bassara Tower Archer has been living under the radar since its spoiling earlier this year, but now that we’re in need of cheap, high-devotion green
creatures, Tower Archer fits the bill. Not only does its reach protect you from the myriad finishers of many midrange decks (Stormbreath Dragon, Mantis
Rider, and Herald of Torment), it also can’t be disrupted. It replaces its cost devotion-wise, and it takes any kind of enhancement very well. Here’s to
hoping we see more of this creature in the coming months.
Boon Satyr is still one of my favorite Theros cards. There’s just something about flash that gives you confidence in your ability to play the game. Satyr
Wayfinder finds three delvable cards (or occasionally four if you brick), but it adds to your binned creature count when you inevitably block a huge
bruiser with this.
Courser of Kruphix may seem out of place in the same deck that features Boon Satyr, but in fact, both are exceptionally powerful cards when combined with
green devotion and getting sideways as often and as safely as possible. Combined with eight fetchlands, Courser of Kruphix can give you valuable
information about your next move and let you rewrite your topdeck too.
Nemesis of Mortals is a card that’s gotten a bit of buzz, though not to the level I believe it deserves. This is a really efficient beater; is it much more
than that? No, but it’s huge. For a red deck, this is a big problem. Really, a 5/5 is a deal at anything below six mana, and with a bit of luck,
you can play a 10/10 for GGGG.
Similarly, Hooting Mandrills seems fairly straightforward, but I want you to look at this card.
If you think about it, these cards are very similar, but one is a much better topdeck and the other costs five bucks. 4/4s with trample are pretty run of
the mill with green decks, but having access to one at such a high potential discount is easy. Moreover, this deck has lots of ways to fill the yard, not
the least of which is chumping. As was the case with the Nemesis, any discount makes this above average, at least from a Limited perspective, so why
shouldn’t we consider it for Constructed?
Nylea, God of the Hunt seems like something that a deck might need one or two of; here, however, granted that every creature can get large enough to kill
and she’ll have a huge crosshair on her head, I’ve added the full set of Nylea after testing. With lots of ways to answer Nylea these days (Abzan Charm,
Banishing Light, Utter End), having a whole crew is essential, and the trample Nylea provides is perhaps the most critical piece. When you stick Nylea,
your whole army of creatures becomes mighty, with a pump spell on any of them, creating a lethal situation. This deck specializes in making her a creature
too, so having an indestructible 6/6 never hurts.
Spells
The spells are quite simple in appearance, but it took quite a while to arrive at this blend. First, Commune with the Gods gives either delve spell at least a full delve stack (four cards binned plus the spent Commune), and even if you miss, you don’t usually feel too bad. Besides land, this
deck can catch 33 out of 40 cards when you cast it, so you’ll almost never brick. Even if you do, the lands you discard do you no good there and are easily
delved. Become Immense, which got cut in half after testing, makes literally any creature enormous. Your opponent can’t block anything
effectively, no matter how big they are. I mean, an Elvish Mystic can suddenly fight a Soul from M15 and live!
Kruphix’s Insight is just a more expensive, more powerful version of Commune of the Gods. You never want more than one in your hand, so it’s probably best
as a single copy. Strength of the Fallen, on the other hand, is an outstanding spell. In the same way that Become Immense can augment any creature
exponentially, so can this. In a sense, Become Immense is just an instant version of this. Combine with Boon Satyr for a real treat!
Lands
There’s only twenty lands here, but between Elvish Mystic, Satyr Wayfinder, and Courser of Kruphix, you’ll never miss the extra slots. Fetchlands are a
luxury here, present because they reduce deck size, add delve fuel, and as a reshuffle effect if you don’t like the top card Courser of Kruphix revealed.
Two Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx allow plenty of fuel for Nylea’s activated ability or to hard cast one of the delve spells without having to dig into your
graveyard.
The sideboard is illustrative at best, so I’ll leave it out and simply share the testing results with you, and let me tell you, they were great. The deck
can handle anything from Rabblemaster red decks to slow, grindy planeswalker builds. The threats are powerful, resilient, and plentiful. Having trample in
abundance proved critical for several games, so increasing Nylea, God of the Hunt to her current four copies represents the only major shift of this deck.
I’ve always liked the Giant Growth plan; last year, a G/R version with Ghor-Clan Rampager and cheap pump spells made some waves at my local shops, making
everyone reconsider saying “no blocks.” That was my original intention for the deck, but it shifted dramatically. The original concept for the second deck
today ended up like this.
Creatures (22)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 2 Nylea, God of the Hunt
- 4 Boon Satyr
- 4 Bassara Tower Archer
- 4 Temur Charger
- 4 Rakshasa Deathdealer
Lands (22)
Spells (16)
Sideboard
This more casual version derives its power from pump spells paired with Kin-Tree Invocation, a toughness-based token producer that can produce a 4/4 on
turn 2. Temur Charger allows you a free trample trigger or a very reasonable turn-2 body (people played Brushstrider despite themselves). Rakshasa
Deathdealer comes pre-loaded with a cheap Giant Growth effect, plus it can regenerate for those late-game sparring matches. Tormented Thoughts is a bit of
a different angle here, but with just one pump spell, you can force your opponent to discard their hand with relative ease. Pump, hit, force discard!
Green and black are a fun pairing; as I considered a more competitive deck again, I thought about one of the more powerful, if not more expensive, black
and green cards of our current format:
Despite his immense power level, his win-more styling and staggering mana cost have prohibited him from achieving success in a wide range of decks. If the
plan supported Garruk though, what would that look like, and how vicious could we get?
Garruk’s Ramp
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (24)
Spells (18)
This simplified planeswalker deck leverages noncreature ramp, triggered draws, and incremental lifegain to power out massive spells. Nissa’s ramp ability
might come into play with fourteen Forests, and the replacement of staples like Sylvan Caryatid with mana fixing enchantments make cards like Eidolon of
Blossoms and the sideboarded Doomwake Giants more powerful additions. Read the Bones still gives superb draw and deck manipulation for three mana, and a
playset of Hero’s Downfall lets you keep creatures and planeswalkers off the board while you make your land drops. In Garruk’s Wake, equally out of reach
for most decks, offers a one-sided Wrath effect that spells disaster for aggro and control decks alike. The land base features as many basic lands as
feasibly possible.
This deck is very direct with its mission, and sometimes that’s all you need.
It’ll be several months before the next Pro Tour, but that gives us lots of times to tweak, experiment, and make something new. Keep at it!
What’s your favorite green deck these days and if you have to pair it with another color, which do you like and where do you take it?