Hey guys, this is my take on a standard hatebears/midrange dinosaur deck for the current meta.
Creatures
Let's start with the bomb: Tocatli Honor Guard Basically torpor orb for creatures on a stick, this guy shuts down so many of the decks in standard right now. Any card: god-pharoah's gift deck is completely shut down, and some of them don't even have any mainboard answer. Like actually none. A turn 2 Tocatli Honor Guard can be devastating and often results what should be an insta-scoop for GPG decks. It also shutdowns all of the explore creatures, so many of the new gruul aggro decks, with Jadelight Ranger and Merfolk Branchwalker. Against mono red, its 3 toughness does get hit by Abrade and Lightning Strike, but it does provide a decent blocker and either forces a removal spell, just is a permanent blocker that also stops Earthshaker Khenra and Dire Fleet Daredevil. It's 1 power also happens to turn on our 2 mainboard Aethersphere Harvester's.
Aethersphere Harvester - is a nice 2 of in the maindeck, and can pick up slack against burn by gaining 6 life and providing a solid body in the air for board stalls when your Siegehorn Ceratops just aren't getting you there. An additional note, it provides a free 3 power for your Ghalta, Primal Hunger
Ghalta, Primal Hunger - what a card. Aside from most of the removal in the format being Fatal Push and Lightning Strike, Ghalta can be a winner against many midrange decks and a nice fast finisher against more aggro matches. ( I can't tell you how many times Ghalta is cast for 2 mana on turn 5)
Rhonas the Indomitable - A very nice addition to the deck, it not only helps Ghalta turn on, but can also fuel Aethersphere Harvester in a pinch. Gets turned on by
Ripjaw raptor
, Deathgorge Scavenger (sometimes), a Siegehorn Ceratops after being Savage Stomped, and Ghalta, Primal Hunger. Also a way to deal with Hazoret the Fervent.
Ripjaw raptor
- An absolute must have playset in the deck. Aside from being an amazing body (4/5 is very nice) Drawing a card for enrage is ridiculous and often times you end up drawing easily 2 cards. Nice little combo with Savage Stomp, basically becomes a green mana kill target creature and draw a card. Also, a savage stomped ripjaw can block a Hazoret the Fervent favorably.
Siegehorn Ceratops - While difficult to enable his engrage, he often just trades with a creature or is used as a target for spot removal because of the threat he provides. Going Siegehorn turn 2 into a Savage Stomp turn 3, killing their blocker and then swinging with a 5/5 is very difficult for many decks to deal with. Game 1 many people assume you have many ways to trigger enrage so they will often remove it before it has the chance to get big.
Deathgorge Scavenger - I think 3 mainboard 1 in the side is right. While I don't like the nonbo with Tocatli Honor Guard, you need deathgorge to deal with threats like card: rekindling pheonix and the khenras. It also helps with the mainboard hate of card: god pharoah's gift and shut downs Scrapheap Scrounger. The lifegain is also nice vs mono red.
Carnage Tyrant is there for obvious reasons. Your game 1 against approach is pretty weak, and you need a carnage tyrant to overcome it most of the time. You can afford to only run 1 copy because of your 4 Commune with Dinosaurs
Removal
Baffling End I think this is the right 2 spot removal to go with. Shuts down almost any threat you can find, while having a little downside (if they happen to be running enchantment removal and they happen to have it in their hand.
Settle the Wreckage quite a good card right now, 4 mana mass removal is very nice and often times the lands are irrelevant (specifically in the case of mono Red). It also being a 1 sided removal spell works wonders in a board stall situation. Swing with your team while holding 2 cards in hand, they are gonna think you have a Settle the Wreckage in hand. Make sure they have seen one before that, but its a big gamble that can pay off.
Ixalan's Binding A real MVP nowadays. 2 mainboard is very good, and is often times a well needed answer to card: rekindling pheonix, planeswalkers, Hazoret the Fervent, and
The Scarab God
.
Lands
Commune with Dinosaurs A quazi land, commune is a great card that lets you find threats late game, lands early game, and helps digs for answers midgame.
Lands are pretty normal with the exception of Hashep Oasis which we can afford to run and often times gives the kick you need to run something over. Also 2 mainboard Scavenger Grounds to deal with graveyard based stuff.
