This is the Standard Dinosaur deck I'm currently working on. I've been testing certain cards here and there for a while, and the deck has seen some success but also has a few weaknesses. Would love some advice on it.
Tested Strategies
The main concept of the deck is to overwhelm the opponent with hard hitters that can be given haste with Otepec Huntmaster, which makes them cheaper to cast, and Regisaur Alpha. Vizier of the Menagerie allows you to essentially cast two creatures per turn with the right hand and amount of mana, which can quickly flood the board with creatures that are not only strong on their own but are bulked up with counters due to Metallic Mimic. Abrade takes down your opponent's more problematic creatures or artifacts, and Cast Out hits pretty much anything but land, including Planeswalkers and those pesky indestructible gods.
So far, what seems useful about this deck is that it has not only powerful creatures with excellent abilities, but also a few key removal spells to keep your game moving in the direction you want it to go.
Ripjaw Raptor is a key to getting card advantage, and I often use it as a blocker, even against powerful things that might cause it to die. Deathgorge Scavenger is great for decks that try to bring things back from the graveyard. Kinjalli's Sunwing gives you free hits against your opponent when their newly brought in creatures are unable to block, pushing the game to end quickly and decisively. Drover of the Mighty is a great mana ramp card and can be used as a blocker in more dire situations due to it being a 3/3 with other dinosaurs on the battlefield. Huatli, Warrior Poet is a great Planeswalker whose abilities can gain you life, flood the battlefield with more tokens, or deal damage decisively!
Untested Strategies and Issues I Have Noticed
The sideboard has yet to be finished and tested. The deck can hopefully more effectively respond to a burn deck by bringing these in. Blossoming Defense cheaply protects creatures from spells. Another Cast Out can be brought in for decks using powerful Planeswalkers or gods. Dinosaur Stampede helps to overwhelm the opponent further with hard-hitting creatures (I have also considered Invigorated Rampage, but it does not seem as useful for the dinosaur tribal deck). Glorybringer is just great all around. I have also thought of sideboarding Rhonas the Indomitable, because with Regisaur Alpha, Carnage Tyrant, Ripjaw Raptor alone it could attack or block, not to mention pretty much anything else (apart from humans) with Metallic Mimic.
I have also been suggested Samut, the Tested as a Planeswalker but am worried about disrupting some synergy of the deck.
I am not 100% sure about Metallic Mimic in this deck. It boosts dinosaurs considerably when played early game, but Naya has a lot of expensive creatures and Metallic Mimic may work better in a plainly Red/Green deck, which is where I got the idea from.
I am somewhat considering having White only as a splash color, but right now I spent too much on the lands in order to consider that! :P
I am not sure how this would work against a control deck. Blossoming Defense may help, but there are only so many I can run! The mirror match is also very difficult and I have lost against a purely Red/Green dinosaur deck before. I also do not know how this would fare against an Energy deck. I also struggle with removal of bigger creatures (AKA anything Abrade can't take out - sometimes I use both Savage Stomp and Abrade to take out big things, but that requires sacrificing a creature).
I also have a very hard time deciding what to take out and leave in when I am sideboarding. Right now I want this deck to be 60 cards but can't figure out what to take out, and sometimes in games I end up playing with up to 65 cards, which is not what I want.
All in all, more playtesting is needed. I'll keep this updated, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATES
18 November 2017 - Friday Night Magic was yesterday, and I played this deck. Came 7th out of 15 people, probably 6 or 7 of which were playing Temur Energy, and two of which were playing mono-red aggro (which is a particularly tough matchup for me as it slows me down greatly early game). In hardcore aggro decks I was advised to side out my highest cost cards, which helped a little. I was also advised to have Kinjalli's Sunwing as primarily a sideboard card, as well as Cast Out. My cycling lands such as Scattered Groves and Sheltered Thicket proved useful in tight spots, as did Commune with Dinosaurs and Savage Stomp. And at one point, my Carnage Tyrant became my best blocker against a Hazoret the Fervent as it couldn't be targeted with pumping spells - that actually won me a game against a mono-red aggro!
I also learned of the card Insult / Injury. With my hard hitters, it could be a game ender for me, so I may think about adding it to this deck.
I still don't know how to fully properly deal with control or burn/mono-red aggro yet, though! I have yet to play a control deck, and yet to win a match against mono-red aggro.
