This is my take on the (not-so) popular Mono Green Counters deck! It holds its own on MTGO about 20% of the time! (Which for under $100 I don't think is too bad! lol)
Gameplan
Our aim with this deck is to simply abuse Counters and ramp to aggro. We have several ways to victory but they all rely on creatures so if you don't like turning sideways then this deck ain't for you!
That said, if you like synergy then buckle-up! 90% of this deck's cards are designed to compliment each other and when it gets going it can compete with the best that current Modern has to offer (ish). Proviso: I will state right now that gimmick decks like Elves, Infect or any infinite combo decks will crush us, but it's fun to play and will definitely catch people off-guard. (Also I've beaten Tron, Death's Shadow and Affinity decks with this... Just saying.) :)
On to the cards!
CMC1
Hardened Scales Quite simply the reason this deck works. Nearly all our creatures trigger or generate counters so this is a no-brainer. Get it out as early and often as possible.
Birds of Paradise Ramp. No better T1 for a Green deck. (Ever?) The vast majority of our creatures are 2 and 3-drops so this just gets us rocking on T2. Sometimes you will need to decide if a T1 Bird or a T1 Scales is better but that will depend on your hand. I used to use Elvish Mystic in this slot as he can be an extra attacker if we're desperate, but because Nissa can bulk Bird out, and it's not 100% obvious what deck we're playing, the Flying advantage makes this a winner.
Vines of Vastwood Early explosion and protection from all manner of horrible stuff. No synergy with Counters but just a great utility card. In 'modern' Modern we need to be fast and flexible.
CMC2
Avatar of the Resolute
This is a very versatile card but requires a bit of thought when playing. It's a CMC2 that we don't really want to play on T2... It really gets legs when we already have counters in play. The earliest we can get counters on a creature is T3 so this may seem like an odd one to run a full play-set of, but the early aggro, Reach and especially Trample is invaluable. If you play this they know you're running Counters. But it may just draw a Fatal Push...? And dropping two of these on a full board usually signals the end is close.
Scavenging Ooze
I have play-tested this deck hundreds of times and for a Green deck, there simply isn't a better all-rounder than Scooze. There's no match-up that he's not effective in at least some way, and most of the time he rocks balls. He gets bigger with our Counters tricks and gains us life as a bonus! Plus he interferes with opponent's graveyards which is very important in Modern.
CMC3
Managorger Hydra
One of our three main beat-sticks. This baby can drop on T2 and requires absolutely no care-taking. Just play it and carry on your game as normal, next time you look she'll be a 6/6 and ready to slam home with Trample. Opponents who are very cast-happy are likely unable to change their game-plan so she just keeps getting better. We play our game, they play theirs while they tutor for removal... (And she gets removed A LOT...)
Predator Ooze
My favorite MTG card of all time. Ideally drop on T2 and just swing away! There's a slight downside in that you have to be aggressive; he doesn't benefit much if you're on the defensive. Also not the best against Aggro. But if you had to have a blocker, wouldn't you want an Indestructible one? It's another no-brainer card that can be played by idiots! (Is that a theme of this deck!?) Watch out for Dismember and Path to Exile!
Bow of Nylea
We've all been there... That time in a game where you absolutely need to KILL EVERYTHING, GAIN LIFE or ADD COUNTERS AT WILL...? Yeah, that's this card. Disgusting.
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
This version of Nissa was practically printed for this deck. +1 and we get blockers/future attackers. -2 and get counters on ALL our creatures. Seriously? (Don't forget your triggers! There are a lot!) -7 and we get life and cards. It's almost embarrassing... :)
CMC4
Collected Company
This is the most expensive (currently) card in this deck; and it's undeniably awesome. A huge percentage of our creatures are covered by the activation and we can drop some serious hardware onto the battlefield in a single turn. But this deck takes work to 'git good'. We need casting and activations to ultimately succeed. Ideally we need to be wreaking havoc by T4 WITHOUT this card, if you rely on it then the game's probably over. It's not a late-game win-con. But it definitely does cement a late-game 'maybe'. If you flood out and are desperate then bang! But if you're playing this on T7 then you've lost, sorry!
Fun of's!
So this is where the deck gets a bit 'meta' and you can tweek and hypothesize...
The Counters deck is very tight and if you don't draw the cards or miss a trigger you will end up dead. (This deck is not in the Pro Tour...) This is a deck to play because it's FUN!
I have three slots that I'm still playing a round with and have a few cards I like to mix in. In no particular order... Feed the Clan,
Solidarity of Heroes
, Inspiring Call,
Aspect of Hydra
, Vines of Vastwood and a few more I will add later.
Lands
Idiot-proof! (I tend to be drunk a lot when I play MGT) One Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx for late-game.
Llanowar Reborn
for a cheeky counter. Oran-Rief, the Vastwood for a few more.
Pros / Cons
Pros: Unexpected. Easy to play on MTGO (it remembers your triggers). Budget! (<$100) Mono Green! Obliterates Green decks. Anyone playing mono-green is cool.
Cons: Triggers! Not top-tier. Requires a lot of mental concentration IRL. Creature-heavy! Board-wipes.
How We Lose...
This deck is based almost entirely on the MTGO meta so I regularly face off against hundreds of different brews and with that said, it's impossible to have answers for everything. (That's why we play Modern, right!?) However, I'm going to list a few cards that are very popular right now and explain how I'd go about getting passed them.
Inquisition of Kozilek / Thoughtseize
Getting our hand stripped is a serious issue but as the deck runs at such a low CMC we have the advantage of a faster clock than many. Once you know it's being used then you just have to play around it!
Death's Shadow
If we can survive early removal we can block against and eventually push through his guy.
Predator Ooze
doesn't care in the slightest. And because the opponent will be at a low life total, Trample can really hurt them.
Tarmogoyf
Not really that scary for us if we can get
Predator Ooze
down early. We ramp just as much as a typical 'Goyf deck, if not better because of the counters. We already run Scavenging Ooze which is cancer to the Goyf, but bring in Deadly Recluse to hold him off while you get set.
Ensnaring Bridge and Chalice of the Void
These are both horrible for us and we simply won't win G1. All we can do is Sideboard in Artifact hate! Green has lots to choose from but my usual go-too card, Natural State won't hit Chalice so the next best is Naturalize. There's also Unravel the Aether which stops graveyard shenanigans but I'm open to advice here.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Karn Liberated, Nahiri, the Harbinger
These are the most common Planeswalkers I come across and they're all horrible! We just have to trust our game-plan and side in Beast Within.
Burn is also now a thing again so for that we just need to weather the early aggro and face-smashing until we can stabilize with bigger threats. I like Feed the Clan in these match-ups 'cos we can regularly get Ferocious off. Deadly Recluse stops annoying Goblin Guide and Monastery Swiftspear.
Afinity can be tough pre-sideboarding but
Avatar of the Resolute
and our spider friend help with all the Thoptors.
I'll add more info as I develop the deck! Peace.
