The Subtleties of Green (Raptor Decks)
Last year in magic their was a deck called GR Dragons that took a few events by storm. The deck was a Green Red aggressive deck that looked something like this.
Creatures (30)
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Heir of the Wilds
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Thunderbreak Regent
4 Boon Satyr
3 Surrak, the Hunt Caller
Lands (23)
6 Forest
6 Mountain
2 Mana Confluence
1 Rugged Highlands
4 Temple of Abandon
4 Wooded Foothills
Spells (7)
2 Draconic Roar
4 Crater’s Claws
1 Roast
Sideboard
3 Hornet Nest
3 Destructive Revelry
3 Wild Slash
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Roast
Immediately I was surrounded by people asking me what I thought of the deck and very shortly after that they were asking why I wasn’t playing the deck. Calling this a “Spencer Deck”
The answer to these questions are quite simple. I don’t like this style of deck. Lets take a look at decks that I personally have advocated and had success with and see the subtle differences in my style of green decks.
Lets start with one of my favorites. This is a deck from RTR standard that made me a little bit of money on the SCG and Utah Open circuits, and the deck that I top 4’d the first RPTQ with.
Gruuls Gone Wild by Spencer Howland
Creatures 27
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Voyaging Satyr
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Polukranos, the World Eater
3 Courser of Kruphix
2 Xenagos, God of Revels
Spells 2
2 Clan Defiance
Planeswalkers 8
3 Domri Rade
3 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
Lands 23
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Stomping Grounds
4 Temple of Abandon
3 Mountain
8 Forest
Sideboard
3 Nylea’s Disciple
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Gruul Charm
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
3 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 Destructive Revelry
RUG Midrange by Spencer Howland
Creatures 17
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
1 Icefall Regent
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Savage Knuckleblade
2 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Sylvan Caryatid
Planeswalkers 5
3 Sarkhan Unbroken
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
Spells 14
2 Anticipate
3 Crater’s Claws
2 Dig Through Time
2 Lightning Strike
2 Roast
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Twin Bolt
Lands 24
3 Temple of Abandon
2 Forest
4 Frontier Bivouac
1 Island
2 Mountain
3 Shivan Reef
1 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Mystery
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Yavimaya Coast
1 Destructive Revelry
2 Disdainful Stroke
3 Magma Spray
2 Negate
1 Outpost Siege
3 Seismic Rupture
2 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
Looking at these decks you might be thinking how similar they look to the GR Dragons deck. You play some mana guys to ramp into big guys and win. But that isn’t really the identity of these decks. The GR Dragons deck will win only by ramping into a threat and having their guys be a little bigger. This is only part of the reason I like these other decks but it is missing the key piece.
Card advantage is one of my favorite things in magic. And why wouldn’t it be I like to win and you can win a lot of games if you have more cards than your opponents. The problem is in Green you don’t always get the most awesome card draw. You often have to create your card advantage without those draw spells. Cards like Vengvine and Bloodbraid Elf do this in very powerful ways.
In this standard we have seen Deathmist Raptor and Den Protector join forces from week one to create that card advantage you so desperately need from your green decks.
With that being said. GW Megamorph is boring. You need sweet decks to keep you going in this standard format so I have brewed and tested a few decks to see how they play out and I found some decks that I think you could have fun with at your FNM PPTQ level and even some that I think are actually good enough to win your next RPTQ.
Lets start with an old favorite that I played a few matches with and have really enjoyed in my time.
Jund Raptor
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Den Protector
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
2 Kolaghan’s Command
3 Crater’s Claws
1 Ultimate Price
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Murderous Cut
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2 Roast
2 Catacomb Sifter
2 Despise
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Cinder Glade
2 Smoldering Marsh
1 Swamp
3 Forest
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Mountain
2 Blighted Fen
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Jungle Hollow
1 Evolving Wilds
3 Woodland Wanderer
SB: 2 Outpost Siege
SB: 2 Whisperwood Elemental
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 4 Radiant Flames
SB: 2 Read the Bones
SB: 1 Plummet
SB: 2 Fiery Impulse
I really enjoyed what I saw from this deck. It played out just like you want an aggressive mindrange deck to play out. It can easily pivot between control and aggro depending on what you are facing and just like the GW Megamorph deck can really grind out the control decks. Except I think that the shell of Morphs in this deck is actually better in the metagame than the typical Den Protector/Raptor/1 of Slayer that we see form so many GW decks.
BUG Raptor
4 Sultai Charm
4 Deathmist Raptor
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Ultimate Price
3 Den Protector
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Murderous Cut
3 Reave Soul
2 Ruinous Path
2 Treasure Cruise
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
4 Opulent Palace
4 Polluted Delta
3 Lumbering Falls
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Island
2 Sunken Hollow
1 Canopy Vista
2 Flooded Strand
2 Llanowar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
SB: 1 Dragonlord Silumgar
SB: 1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
SB: 3 Duress
SB: 2 Read the Bones
SB: 4 Jaddi Offshoot
SB: 2 Negate
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
If there is any one thing all magic players as a whole like, it is when our decks have a lot of natural synergies. This deck probably has the most of any deck I am going to be posting. It feels like every card in this deck has a synergy with another in the deck. It feels great when those synergies come together for a thing of beauty.
Some would even say a deck like this is all I want int the world. This deck is card advantage central with a bit of blue to make it even sweeter.
Sultai Charm goes with Tasigur, Raptor, Den Protector and Jace. Jace does the same for the others. Ratttleclaw gets you to your Sidisi early or is a late game morph to get your r|Raptors back. Sidsi puts Raptors and spells into your yard for your Tasigurs and Den Protectors. It is really a thing of beauty when you look at it.
Abzan Raptor
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Den Protector
4 Abzan Charm
3 Languish
1 Ultimate Price
2 Dromoka’s Command
3 Hangarback Walker
4 Siege Rhino
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
2 Ruinous Path
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Windswept Heath
3 Forest
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Shambling Vent
2 Canopy Vista
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Caves of Koilos
1 Blighted Fen
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Murderous Cut
SB: 2 Valorous Stance
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 4 Arashin Cleric
SB: 3 Surge of Righteousness
SB: 2 Self-Inflicted Wound
SB: 1 Mastery of the Unseen
SB: 1 Read the Bones
All of these other GW decks playing Raptor are just really missing out not playing Abzan Charm and Siege Rhino. You are favored against other Megamorph decks with this as well as just probably being the most robust Abzan deck against those.
I really don’t know the reason to play the other versions of Abzan over this. Raptor gives you an advantage that Anafenza just doesn’t give you. The list is much more controlling than typical Abzan deck we are seeing now that is very reminiscent of the Alara Jund decks (very aggressive for midrange creating card advantage in interesting ways.) This deck is on my short list for decks I would consider playing at my next Comp REL event.
RUG Raptors
4 Savage Knuckleblade
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
3 Den Protector
2 Sarkhan Unbroken
4 Ashcloud Phoenix
3 Crater’s Claws
3 Wild Slash
2 Roast
3 Stubborn Denial
4 Deathmist Raptor
2 Mountain
4 Frontier Bivouac
2 Lumbering Falls
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Cinder Glade
2 Yavimaya Coast
2 Shivan Reef
1 Prairie Stream
2 Windswept Heath
3 Forest
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Hangarback Walker
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
SB: 2 Whisperwood Elemental
SB: 2 Negate
SB: 2 Outpost Siege
SB: 3 Radiant Flames
SB: 2 Fiery Impulse
SB: 2 Encase in Ice
With current record of 26-1-3 with this deck I am absolutely in love with the deck. I don’t know if this deck just fits my play style or if it actually great. The card advantage you get from Ashcloud Phoenix plus Raptor is too much for Abzan to overcome.
Ashcloud might actually just be the key card in the deck. It has been great in every matchup. It is your best blocker against aggro and it flying helps it against both Abzan and Jeskai. Obviously this deck is a nightmare on paper for control decks and that doesn’t really change once you get to the actual game play.
Many games end out of nowhere for your opponent. They will be at a very high life total and you will make attacks and they won’t see the Crater’s Claws coming that will be their downfall. It is hard for them to play around the card because this deck controls the board so well with flying, deathtouch, and just overall large guys.
Another to note with this deck is most of the changes have happened to help you in game one of the aggro matchups. It is very easy for them to get under you if you don’t draw a Phoenix or a Savage Knucklebalde. You need both Nissa and Hangerback to act as fodder for your life total to stay high while you draw into your big guys.
This is the deck I am most likely to play at my next event given my time playing the deck. However I do believe that each of these decks are sweet and if you have the means I recommend trying out the greatness you can get from green decks that you can really only appreciate by playing them.
Creating your own card advantage can give you a feeling of success in itself. Making you feel like you have solved a puzzle to get up that card and grinding that advantage out and watching as your opponent slowly falls behind as you pull ahead from your own discussion making and deck building.
That is all I have for this week. Hope you guys enjoy the decks. Make the green choice everyone. It is good for the enviroment.
Spencer Howland
Owner of and Producer of Constructed Criticism and Limited Time Only
Twitter: @spencer13h
Facebook: Spencer Stephen Howland