About
Welcome to my Budget Pioneer Nayasaur deck! Upvotes and comments are greatly appreciated.
Some of the cards are still in flux at the moment but the bulk of it is what I’d normally use for a Dino list.
The reason I love Dinos is big, satisfying creatures but also the versatility and explosive swings that can catch an opponent off guard.
Why Otepec Huntmaster
(over Drover)
Example 1
Say it’s Turn 3 after playing Otepec Turn 2. You have Marauding Raptor and Ranging Raptors in hand. Even if you only have 2 lands out you could still play both!
Marauding for then Ranging for , triggering Enrage for a basic, boosting Marauding then giving it Haste. Otepec is far superior than Drover in this and almost every situation.
Example 2
Turn 1 - Forest
Turn 2 - Rootbound Crag+ Otepec
Turn 3 - Forest + Ranging +Savage Stomp+ Attack
If you had a Drover instead of the Otepec it would have severely cut down on not just that turns aggression but all future turns.
Example 3
It’s Turn 5, you have six Land out and a Regisaur Alpha + Ranging Raptors in hand. With a Drover out that still only means you could play one. Having Otepec Huntmaster instead means you could play both for a total casting cost of six. As an added bonus Regisaur would gain haste and you’d attack with all three (the Dino token). 10 power with haste in 3 creatures, for six mana is pretty darn good.
Upgrade options
Rootbound Crag and Sunpetal Grove along with Unclaimed Territory are great additions that increase consistency and smooth things out.
Springleaf Drum is one of my favourite ways to ramp due to it being an artifact and how it gives Otepec Huntmaster some use after he becomes redundant after Regisaur Alpha drops. It is also nice being this ramp is not from a creature. Marauding Raptor being in this deck would make it feel bad drawing this while he is on the battlefield.
This also enables a Turn 2 Otepec+Marauding if Springleaf was played Turn 1. Possibly then a Turn 3 Hasted Ghalta!
Carnage Tyrant would be a fantastic choice if you wanted to start improving the deck. Going with 2 or 3 isn’t bad since Commune will give a great chance of seeing it in a lot of games.
Zacama, Primal Calamity is certainly at the top end price wise but even grabbing 2 for in the deck would be a nice upgrade. If I was playing it, I’d certainly want at least 2 for the increased chance to see it and also if/when it gets answered by the opponent.
