It's been a while since I gave an update to the decks performance. I also have only gone to standard 2 times in the past 4 weeks I believe. So the oldest showdown about 4 weeks ago now is pretty hard to remember and I placed high enough to get some store credit so I think I won 2 lost 2 if I remember correctly, I do remember some points about the first two matches.
Game 1: Won 2-0. Played a dude who had previously played a Feather deck, he was now playing a grixis deck. He unfortunately got land screwed game 1 so note much to write about there. Next match he got some tyrants scorns and a bolas out and I managed to get hit a couple times and stabilize with big huatli healing me. Also I'm pretty sure I played Regisaur Alpha 3 turns in a row and he ran out of answers.
Game 2: Lost 1-2. Played a gruul aggro deck like my deck minus the dinosaurs. I had the optimal hand game 1 and got him pretty good. Next game was very close and I was a little behind on board state but I had just got my second white source off a commune with dinos and I had a settle the wreckage in my hand from my sideboard, he had a full board and a new vivien which he had 1 card under. I was like using telekenesis to make him swing the team and he did it so I cast settle. Talk about make or break, he had the only answer he could possibly have in his colors that I could think of, he looks around and he's like OH! and flashes in a gruul spellbreaker from vivien. I died but it was a good game, really close. Next match I drew garb I think and lost hard to remember.
Game 3 and 4 I can't really remember, I think I played my friend who had a crazy tezzy of the bridge deck which was sweet, preeety sure I lost. Also I think I won against the dude who plays a jeskai control deck whos a lot of fun to play against. I got kinda good at recognizing his playstyle, that or I just cut his deck awful.
I didn't go the week after that but I went the next and I stunk. Played a lot of meta decks and it wasn't hella fun.
Game 1: Won 2-0: I played a really young kid who came with his friend. Game 1 he got mana screwed and I got an ideal turn 3 haste allosaurus hand and it was pretty much over. Game 2 I got almost the same hand, I was like dang yeah I'll take that. I think he used an addendum card that does 5 damage to kill the 1st allosaurus and I just played more, he played an aurelia and I played big huatli and shot it so it couldn't block. I felt a lil bad but I kept playing after and he got me once and he was pretty psyched.
Game 2: Lost 1-2: I never saw this dude before and he was playing a mono white weenie/ lifegain deck. Very annoying. Game 1 I won after he kept pumping his pridemate and I had a ghalta an allosaur and a tyrant. I was low so I only swung with ghalta once bringing him to 9 I think. He swung with the team and had mana open for making a vampire off the adanto land, and he had just played benalish marshal. I blocked with some mana dorks and took some damage because I knew that there wasn't enough life he could gain with ghalta, carnage, and allosaurus swinging to live with only 2 blockers. Next two games were not ideal hands so therefore it was just back to back getting pounded by a very annoying deck. Guy was getting a little cocky too, like dude, chill, we all know you're a genius for playing a mono deck of commons.
Game 3: Lost 0-2: Speaking of meta mono-colored decks, I played the mono-blue tempo/flyers guy for like the 3rd time. This time no optimal hand so yeah, unless I have an ideal hand and he has a sub-par one he's got it. Very annoying, at least he isn't cocky and we get it over with pretty quick.
Game 4: Draw: This guy was new to the store I think and was playing esper control. Meta decks were in the air that night, but I won't scoop! Not till its at least the turn before I die. I got him game 1 with rhythm and gishath, that was very satisfying to win with. Every turn I was dropping a threat and I think he couldn't catch up, he also had a kefnet that died blocking then next turn realized it wasn't in the yard, but he had activated narset, and he's like oh well I 'll just put it on top, and I was like wellll narset would put it on bottom, it didn't really matter cuz gishath got the win hitting alphas off the top. Next game he got me with like 2 teferis and a liliana, he kept playing removal spells and kaya's wraths and I was out of stuff and zombies killed me. Game 3 it was mostly the same but his deck is just super slow. It went to time and it's a 5 turn thing and he kept saying like nah we can finish this up, like he wanted the win so bad. So I played it out and I knew he wouldn't win before they were like HEY!
So after that I didn't go this week, and I'm gonna be on vaca next week so maybe I'll go after. Idk I guess I miss when people would bring like wall decks and elf decks and these teferi and mono decks are really boring to play against, the mono ones especially. I suppose I should adapt and change the deck but I like it and I've played it for a long time now. Plus I've been busy with a lot of other stuff so investing a ton in this one deck when I have a bunch of others I want to make or improve doesn't really make sense to me since its proven itself plenty of times. I saw the Marauding Raptor in 2020 and it doesn't replace otepec but it might best drover but it's hard to say. It kills my own otepec, and deathgorge, and drover is a more consistent 3 power than raptor is a 4 power. Also the necessity of having a 2nd green source land is greater without drover, making turn 3 plays with raptor as difficult as with otepec. I can imagine having 3 mana with a raptor and not being able to play a ripjaw or allosaurus due to not having that 2nd green mana, it happens sometimes if you hit that one clifftop retreat rather than like any other land. As of now I've played this deck by far more than any other deck I own so I know how to play it and I think it's pretty fun. If anyone read any of this the summary is, the deck IS fun, and at times resilient in the face of removal. The only change I may still make would be to add more Raging Regisaurs to the sideboard, probably taking the sunwings out. I loved those sunwings but it's hard to find a time to side them in and they have to come in first basically to be helpful as well as a greater threat of mine needs to be behind it. It's done some legit work for me but I think raging could be a little extra oomph that could give me a chance against dinky tokens and could potentially be allosaurus 5-8.
