Classic Green Stompy Revisited

Modern GeminiSpartanX

SCORE: 7 | 8 COMMENTS | 3131 VIEWS | IN 5 FOLDERS


weisemanjohn says... #1

I'm loving playing stompy myself and have had pretty good results with mine, modern green stomp-stomp.

I would definitely recommend Dungrove Elder as he has been one of my mvps. People don't know what to do after he hits the field and he just keeps growing into a bigger and bigger threat.

Another one I have favored is Aspect of Hydra instead of Giant Growth as it often pumps for that much if not more. I am currently experimenting with Primal Bellow as well since it will progressively get better as the game goes on and is less dependant on a board state to function well.

I would also recommend Scavenging Ooze main board since you are running 4 Avatar of the Resolute. I am still iffy on him myself just because +1/+1 counters aren't overly available in this deck and I generally only have 1-2 creatures with a +1/+1 counter on the field at any given time. I am trying testing with him as well though.

Kalonian Tusker isn't really needed in this build any more since he was replaced by Avatar of the Resolute as a go to 2-drop along side Strangleroot Geist

Sideboard I have had great results with Guttural Response as control often isn't prepared to double counter you and it often means the difference between a finish, or being stalled a turn by a Cryptic Command

Torpor Orb is another big card to sideboard because it halts opponent's with Splinter Twin or Restoration Angel

August 27, 2015 2:24 p.m.

GeminiSpartanX says... #2

weisemanjohn- I appreciate your input! I have been in the process of revisiting decks that I've had for a while and trying to improve them, so I value your opinions. The plan for this build is to be a blisteringly-fast agro deck in game 1, then moving to a slightly slower (but still agro-y) yet more resilient build game 2/3. Hence the full set of Tuskers in the MD with the Oozes in the SB. Avatar of the Resolute is still a great card without 1/1 counters on him, so I treat getting the counters as extra gravy during matches. That said, I'll still prioritize a Strangleroot Geist over him in the hopes that he'll get the possible extra counter. If he gets 1-2 of them, it's golden. If not, there's pump spells ftw.

I really like the reliability of Giant Growth, as on turns 1-3 (pivotal turns in Modern) it gives a greater buff than Primal Bellow and is overall more reliable than Aspect of Hydra. I'm just aiming to win by turn 4-5 and often that entails only having 3-4ish creatures in play. I do acknowledge that Aspect of Hydra has a greater chance for blowout, but in the Bolt-heavy meta of modern I like always knowing that my pump spell will make my creature Bolt-proof.

Guttural Response has been on my wish list for a while now. It's a pretty tough card to find it seems. I'm not sure I like Torpor Orb in the SB. It shuts off our own Experiment Ones and Avatar of the Resolutes. It is a very good SB card in general, I just would rather use ones that don't hurt me as much. (Choke and Vines of Vastwood should be enough to hold twin at bay).

I don't have any Dungrove Elders, but I'd be willing to give them a try sometime. They just don't seem as impactful as the Leatherback Baloths for the mana cost. I'd likely include them in the SB to bring in against a removal-heavy deck if I do find that I like them.

August 27, 2015 3:20 p.m.

weisemanjohn says... #3

I have been in control heavy metas so everyone either is playing grixis or running 4 Path to Exile it seems. :) This causes games to go longer and the Dungrove Elders become more impactful because they refuse to go away, unlike Leatherback Baloths.

Torpor Orb actually does not affect Avatar of the Resolute as he enters WITH +1/+1 counters rather than gaining them after entering (same with the undying trigger of Strangleroot Geist which means no infinitely returning haster) This is important as it shows that he checks for +1/+1 counters BEFORE entering and therefore playing him turn 2 would grant an evolve trigger on Experiment One, but would not give Avatar of the Resolute one as a +1/+1 counter did not exist prior to his entering. This important interaction, or lack there of, is one of the reasons I felt less favorable or him.

August 27, 2015 3:35 p.m.

GeminiSpartanX says... #4

weisemanjohn- Ah, thanks for the clarification on the Torpor Orb issue. I still don't like the fact that it makes Experiment One worse, but I think I could live with that since it shuts down Snapcaster Mage too.

I feel like Avatar of the Resolute is worth keeping in the deck since the difference between 2 and 3 toughness doesn't feel like it matters much in modern. Both the Avatar and the tusker will die to bolt or Anger of the Gods, but there's only 1 commonly played 2 damage sweeper in modern and that's Pyroclasm. I don't think pyroclasm sees much play outside RG Tron, and the fact that the Avater CAN get out of pyroclasm (and occasionally bolt) range makes me lean a little more towards using him over the Tusker if it comes down to cutting one or the other. Possibly the biggest reason I like the Avatar though, is the fact that he has reach. I don't need to worry as much about Lingering Souls tokens and Delver of Secrets  Flip isn't as huge of an obstacle if I know I have ways to block them. If the Avatar has at least 1 counter on him, he can trade with Resto Angel too. You could always just plan to out-swarm your opponent, but I think the Avatar offers great options to the deck that the vanilla tusker doesn't.

August 27, 2015 3:57 p.m. Edited.

weisemanjohn says... #5

I can whole heartedy agree that Avatar of the Resolute is superior to Kalonian Tusker as they are approximately as fragile as the other, but avatar grants more benefits. I just feel like pushing the curve back is a stronger option to use the more reliable Dungrove Elder.

Another option may be Boggart Ram-Gang who is a popular option for more aggressive builds.

August 27, 2015 4:13 p.m.

GeminiSpartanX says... #6

weisemanjohn- Hmmm, I like the sound of adding a pair of Boggart Ram-Gangs or so. I'd likely replace 1 tusker and 1 Baloth for them. I'll test them out next time I test with this deck for sure.

August 27, 2015 4:18 p.m.

PrismMTG says... #7

Personally Rhonas the Indomitable or Steel Leaf Champion are my go-to 2 drops. Granted you need to hit a Llanowar Elves / Arbor Elf or a Utopia Sprawl but dropping a 5/4 on turn 2 is incredibly helpful, especially if 1. They cannot be blocked with creatures power 2 or less or 2. They aren't actually creatures when they first enter, which avoids summoning sickness and removal at the same time. These are threats the NEED to deal with and leaves the board open for bigger threats like Gigantosaurus , Primalcrux , or Ghalta, Primal Hunger . Im also kinda wary about your deck only having 18 lands. I know you mana curve is super fast, but without any kind of mana ramp, you are likely to run into some problems more often than not. You don't want to have to start each game Mulliganing down to 5. I would go up to 20 lands, and probably some mana ramp. Arbor Elf + Utopia Sprawl is probably the best ramp for this deck. Here is my brew if you want to compare them: Mono Green Stompy(+Sarkhan's Unsealing)

July 17, 2019 10:35 a.m.

GeminiSpartanX says... #8

Catpocolypse - I think you're confusing my heavy aggro deck with a ramp deck. I have fewer lands because I'll rarely or never need more than 3 lands in play. If my first 2 threats get removed, I'll have plenty more to play rather than draw useless mana dorks. I also pay Ponza in modern, and I know full well of the nice arbor elf/Utopia sprawl ramp package, but that's not what this deck is trying to do. Ramp decks can get punished if their first big threats get removed or if you draw the wrong half of your deck at inopportune times. That's not to say that ramp decks are bad, since if they go unanswered they can quickly win, but in this deck I'm trying to make each draw a decent threat that snowballs quickly. Plus I'm already running the full set of steel leaf champion so I don't know what you're saying with the first part of your previous comment. Thanks for looking.

July 25, 2019 7:17 a.m.

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