~Because Screw Rotation~
This deck is just ridiculous. I've been a long term mono-green player, but adding this level of just smashes face faster. I know there are many established R/G decks out there running dragons and hydras, but they're all missing one essential piece...
This guy.
This guy is the life of the damn party. He allows you to pull off so many disgusting plays that you feel cheap for using him. Ramping into him and rolling through with 8/8 Thunderbreak Regents and 10/10 Polukranos, World Eaters is the nuts. Even in the control matchup, resolving him sets up your Courser of Kruphixs as 4/6 beaters each turn on top of punishing the opponent even more if they aren't able to counter your bigger guys. Let's take a look at what gets us into this craziness...
~The Gas~
Elvish Mystic: Needs no introduction.
Sylvan Caryatid: See above.
Courser of Kruphix: Starting to notice a pattern...
Xenagos, the Reveler: I like to think of him as a teenage Xenagos. He's loud and boisterous with the +1 for mana, he brings all his friends to the party with his 0, and gets buck wild with his -6. On a more serious note, this card enables a lot for the deck. If your opponent allows you to keep a board presence, that +1 will close a game out pretty quick as it allows you to play constant threats with little land investment. His ult is also nuts if he doesn't catch a Hero's Downfall early.
~The Meat~
Dragonlord Atarka
: If Xenagos were to ever have a pet, it would be this girl. She comes out the gate with a roar, usually resulting in a board wipe against weaker decks or screaming at a Siege Rhino or
Dragonlord Silumgar
to GTFO. It's even better when her owner is in play and makes her a hasty 16/16 flyer with trample.
Genesis Hydra: A lesson from mono-green: "If you have large amounts of mana, be as stupid with it as you possibly can." He is this deck's draw power. I usually get him off for X = 5 and pull out a Xenagos, God of Revels or some other bomb. He's even useful at X = 3 if you need to pull out a quick mana dork for a later play or just a quick deck shuffling for a better Courser of Kruphix land play.
Nylea, God of the Hunt
: I like to think of this "goddess" as Xenagos' wife; these two are just nuts when they're in play together. With the Xenagos buff and her giving all your dudes trample, that 10/10 Polukranos, World Eater hits so much harder.
Polukranos, World Eater: Legendary or not, this thing is a truck. You are never upset to draw into him, because it means another threat that your opponent must deal with, or get ran over by. The Monstrosity is as good as ever with all the ramp, and running four means that your opponent's removal will be incredibly strained.
Surrak, the Hunt Caller: Though he's not punching bears anymore, being
Dragonlord Atarka
's personal servant is still damn powerful. He has a psedo-Xenagos effect of giving your stuff haste, as well as being a good 5/4 beater.
Thunderbreak Regent: What? Atarka can have friends too.
Whisperwood Elemental: I didn't realize how good this guy is until I've played him in an old deck against a control match up. He solves the main issue mono-green decks had against board wipes: creature protection. Though your dudes are still gone, he gives you them all back in the form of manifested creatures that are likely copies of the guys that just died. The extra draw power at the end of the turn is pretty awesome too.
Xenagos, God of Revels: Had to save the best for last. As stated before, this dude is just nuts. The ability of buffing my guys and giving haste is bad enough, but the fact that he can become a 6/5 indestructible creature that punishes my opponent for letting me keep a board state? Golden.
That's pretty much the deck in a nutshell. The "removal" usually just smashes the opponent's dome for that last bit of reach, or handles planeswalkers and creatures that could give us a problem. I could use a bit of tuning with my sideboard, so please let me know what you think of the deck. If you like it, give it a +1 and try sleeving it up for your next FNM; I think I'm going to stay with Gruul for a while even past rotation. Thanks for reading!
