Green devotion, splashing black for the impactful Doomwake Giant
Last Standard season, Big Green was one of my favorite decks, enabled by the likes of Garruk, Caller of Beasts and Burning-Tree Emissary. This Standard, it's back and as good as ever.
.:. THE RAMP .:.
- 4x Elvish Mystic: One of the most important cards, simply to be able to ramp into a turn 2 Courser to start getting devotion on line.
- 4x Sylvan Caryatid: Still the best ramp in the format. 3 toughness mitigates early aggression, and Hexproof means it's not susceptible to Lightning Strike like the Mystic is.
- 4x Voyaging Satyr: Best way to generate insane amounts of mana with Nykthos, and also a good way to generate GG and BB mana as necessary. Being 2 toughness also means it can block the likes of Rabblemaster tokens, and keeps other X/1's at bay.
.:. THE DEVOTION .:.
- 4x Courser of Kruphix: Once it's in play, a 2/4 will keep many creatures from attacking. It gains incremental card advantage by managing your land flow, and contributes to your devotion really well. Plus, it's also an Enchantment for the constellation!
- 2x Arbor Colossus: A 6/6 for 5 with Reach and more abilities? Awesome. What? It gives 3 devotion?! Gimme! The only reason they are a 2 of is because it's not as easily played on T3 like Polukranos is, but it's a necessary part of the deck to beat out the likes of Butcher of the Horde, Wingmate Rocs (even with the mate), Mantis Riders (if I can cast it T4), Sarkhan, and Stormbreath.
- 2x Hornet Queen: Often played off of Nykthos early, this girl brings a lot of bang for her bucks. 3 devotion along with an army of death touch fliers that are amazing on both offense and defense means she's an easy pick.
- 3x Polukranos, World Eater: Still the best T3 play. Poly-K here is a threat that HAS to be answered, or else it can take over a game extremely quickly as my devotion slowly builds. The ability to swing through a Butcher and block a Rhino means some of the best cards in the format are still on its menu, and it's hungry for blood.
.:. THE SUPPORT .:.
- 4x See the Unwritten: Easily the best card in the deck. Usually cast around T4 or T5, it can enable insane turn-arounds for the deck. Just to list a few, double Giants means -4/-4 for the entire other field, double Eidolon means you refill your hand, Hornet Queen + Arbor Colossus = 12 more power in the skies. It's insane.
- 1x Nylea, God of the Hunt: Sometimes the most annoying thing is being chomped by 1/1's all day. So why not just trample them underfoot? The pump is extremely relevant, giving you another win-con, and she will be a 6/6 Indestructible beat stick 95% of the time.
- 1x Pharika, God of Affliction: Her enchantment snakes trigger constellation, and is supported by the fact that See the Unwritten puts the creatures into the grave. Even with a slightly higher Devotion requirement, she's still a 5/5 Indestructible beat stick 70% of the time.
- 4x Doomwake Giant: Once one of these sticks, each Pharika activation, each See the Unwritten, even each Whip activation becomes more and more potent. The first one takes out goblin tokens, opposing elves, Phoenixes and any other X/1's you need, the second one usually clears the board, and every enchantment after that is basically a Plague Wind.
- 2x Eidolong of Blossoms: Card draw is not always in green's favor, but Eidolon gets it done. With 14 enchantments in the deck, it's easy to proc the triggers, and helps you draw into the See the Unwrittens for your insane plays instead of milling through them.
- 2 Whip of Erebos: The lifelink is nice, but it's more useful for whipping creatures back from the grave that have been put there via See the Unwritten. Need a card? Whip an Eidolon. Need some trample? Whip back Nylea. Want to just drown them in sorrow? Whip back a Doomwake. Need some chump blockers for everything? Hornet Queen rises from the dead.
I have had a lot of fun playing this deck. It enables some insane plays through See the Unwritten, allowing me to turn the corner extremely quickly and suddenly flood the board with threats. It also has the potential to pull me back into the game with I'm a little behind. The best part about playing it is knowing all the neat interactions between the cards, and feeling their synergies coming together. It can stabilize from early aggression, it has bigger creatures than many midrange decks, and it can explode faster than control can answer it.
The only really problem is the sideboard, which I'm still working on. Honestly, Nissa has not impressed me in the new Standard. She has been hyped for a long time, which is why I picked up 3 copies myself, and so far she has under performed. I'm not sure if she's just not in the right shell, or if she's being overrated, but I have not yet been too excited about casting her in this deck.
