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Don't Let 'Em Breathe (counters)

Modern Aggro Budget Casual Competitive Mono-Green

StoryArcher


Sideboard

Instant (6)

Artifact (3)

Creature (3)

Enchantment (3)


Maybeboard


This is a mono-green aggro deck with a focus on maximizing +1/+1 counters.

Two areas that mono-green is often lacking in are Removal and card draw. With Walking Ballista, Inscription of Abundance and Voracious Hydra it's got some very solid options. The downside of this removal suite is that none of it is particularly effective in those crucial first 2-3 rounds which is significant and should be taken into account in the fast-paced environment of Modern. As for card draw, I've tried a few options - including Tireless Tracker - but ultimately the best option thus far has proven to be Inspiring Call. Often dismissed as a 'win more' card, it's strength is it's versatility, allowing me to both protect my board state from a variety of wipes and to refill my hand, either of which alone makes it a worthwhile inclusion.

The good news is, if they haven't beaten you by turn 4, it's very unlikely that they will ever get the chance to do so. This is without a doubt one of the the most fun decks I've ever played - the things it can do are truly staggering sometimes - and while the fact that it can be a little slow out of the gate and lacks a reliable draw engine ultimately keeps it from being a top tier deck, it really does wreck people; it's not uncommon to have five or more creatures somewhere between 8/8 and 25/25 by rounds 5-7, usually with Trample as well.

One Drops:

Experiment One – chosen over Pelt Collector because to can evolve - technically better than Pelt Collector in that regard - as well as regenerate, making it more difficult to get rid of.

Swarm Shambler – comes in with its own counter without needing outside help, which is significant. It can grant itself additional counters (triggering Wildwood Scourge among other things) and punishes opponents who target your creatures by creating tokens. Not bad at all for a 1-drop.

Also considered: Pelt Collector

Two-Drops:

Avatar of the Resolute – can come in huge, has reach and trample and, in tandem with the evolve creatures, can cause Wildwood Scourge to absolutely blow up in a single turn.

Gyre Sage – evolve alone is super strong in this deck, but the additional mana can dramatically accelerate your turns in the midgame. When in doubt, drop the Sage first so that you can use it's mana as soon as possible but reserve it's use until after you've exhausted the rest of your mana.

Duskshell Crawler – drops a counter wherever you wish (usually on itself), grants all your creatures trample (substantially reducing the need for Rancor or Pelt Collector) and has a significantly offset power and toughness, making it more likely to trigger evolve creatures.

Wildwood Scourge – I'm including it here because I most often play it as a two-drop, relying on everything else to get it big, but it also serves as a solid mana sink for later in the game as well.

Also considered: Strangleroot Geist, Merfolk Branchwalker, Scavenging Ooze, Wildborn Preserver

Three-Drops:

Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig – comes in with its own tokens and grows substantially with every new creature, in turn giving every new creature a chance to trigger Wildwood Scourge twice.

There are two excellent options for an additional three-drop creature (Tireless Tracker and Renegade Krasis, and I went back and forth over them before finally settling on something else entirely for these slots: Inspiring Call.

Also considered: Tireless Tracker, Renegade Krasis, Champion of Lambholt, Predator Ooze, Jadelight Ranger

Bigger Drops:

Walking Ballista – comes in with its own counters, can add its own counters, serves as a superb mana sink and offers direct damage, potentially in droves. No brainer here.

Voracious Hydra – can come in huge and has a built in 'fight' function for additional removal. Another excellent mid-game mana sink.

Also considered: Stonecoil Serpent, Mistcutter Hydra, Hungering Hydra, Verdurous Gearhulk, Forgotten Ancient

Non-Creature Permanents:

Hardened Scales - No-brainer.

Also considered: The Ozolith, The Great Henge, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, Rancor

Non-Permanent Spells:

Inspiring Call - card draw AND force protection in one. Hard to beat that.

Inscription of Abundance - again, versatility is the watchword. All three options are useful ones individually, but I find myself using the kicker for all three more often than not.

Also considered: Aspect of Hydra, Mutant's Prey, Smell Fear, Solidarity of Heroes

Suggestions

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Comments View Archive

There are many good creature options in green +1/+1 builds. Good list!

Maybe sideboard Mutant's Prey for matches where you need quicker removal?

November 17, 2021 11:07 a.m.

Pendelhaven! Kinda situational of course, but one copy will have next to no downside in the deck

November 22, 2021 11:14 a.m.

sergiodelrio, normally I would agree with you but in this deck I really don't have any 1/1 creatures to speak of - Experiment One and Swarm Shambler tend to get bigger almost immediately - and I'm already a little skittish about Blood Moon and similar effects.

November 22, 2021 11:24 a.m.

On the proactive side, things look very good. You’ve got lots of synergy and some great wincons. I think you should sideboard in some better removal though. A well timed Solemnity or Vampire Hexmage can really derail you, so I’d recommend something a bit faster than Broken Wings like a Natural State or even a Nature's Claim.

November 22, 2021 11:49 a.m.

If anything, people will be siding out Blood moon vs a mono coloured deck that fetches for basics only by default. No need to be scared of that specific matchup imho. Pumping those Shambler tokens would be neat :D

But I agree upside is limited either way

November 22, 2021 11:56 a.m.

Forgotten Ancient might have been forgotten for the deck. The ability to gain (particularly with Hardened Scales in play) and distribute +1/+1 counters should make a nice addition.

February 28, 2022 10:56 p.m.

Tell me what you think of my counters deck!


Nature's Misanthropy

Pioneer* 9-lives

SCORE: 1 | 100 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS


February 28, 2022 11 p.m.

Fuzzy003, I'm going to have to look at that. While its utility is certainly strong, it just seems too slow to be effective in a Modern deck. With a four CMC, you have to figure it'll be the 5th or 6th turn before I get it into play and then it'll be the next round at the earliest that I get to enjoy its benefit. By turn 6 or 7 I'm usually running around with multiple 12+/12+ creatures, sometimes double that.

February 28, 2022 11:50 p.m.

All depends on your play group. I play usually with 3-5 in various multiplayer formats so a Forgotten Ancient making it around after a turn 3-4 drop typically ends up around 5/8 by the time it gets back to me(more with Hardened Scales in play). Well worth it for me. In a 1 on 1 he's a lot slower.

March 1, 2022 1:03 a.m.

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Card costs (outer) Land mana (inner)
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3CreatureCreatureLandLandEnchantmentEnchantmentInstantInstant
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Converted mana costMana-curve40.0%40.0%40.0%40.0%12.5%12.5%7.5%7.5%012305101520