I recently got into Magic and wanted to put together a low mana (and money) cost ramp. Green does this well alone, so I did a little research and came up with this deck.
The basic idea is to have a lot of permanent land available early and consistently, which makes
Heroes' Bane
and Scute Mob huge threats.
Heroes' Bane
can be pumped multiple times in a turn without a tap requirement, which means a turn after it drops, for 8 fairly easily obtained mana, you've got a 16/16. Remember that Scute Mob's counter gain isn't a one time deal; if your opponent leaves it alone, it becomes a problem fast.
Since they both gain power through counters, Bramblewood Paragon also gives them Trample and makes them much scarier.
Avatar of the Resolute
is a solid low cost drop that benefits from counters, but also utilizes Reach, so it can be used to address flying creatures. Oran-Rief, the Vastwood combos well off of both of these, especially when summoning a new creature.
Sakura-Tribe Scout was a tough call over Llanowar Elves. Getting extra forests into play early seemed like a better choice here, especially with so many other ways to get land. 4 Sakura-Tribe Scout cards are used - if a starting hand contains 1 and also a couple lands, you're in good shape. What it comes down to is that having a permanent land to generate mana helps Scute Mob more than simply adding to your mana pool. Instead of elves, Overgrown Battlement also gives mana on tap and plays off itself - if you manage to get 2 on the field at once and tap both, they're an instant 4 mana (twice what 2 Llanowar Elves would give you, and, conveniently, enough to pump your hydra one more time). Garruk Wildspeaker also effectively helps recycle mana and provides a +3/+3 trample in a pinch.
There are a few fetch land cards in here as well as protections. Extra protection from flyers is in the sideboard. Evolution Charm allows you both a fetch and defense against flying creatures, or with so many other fetch options, you can opt to give that 16/16 hydra from earlier flying and potentially wipe the board or end the game.
In anticipation of taking damage too quickly through spells or being unable to block due to tapped creatures, the sideboard changes the way your creatures grow and plays a lot on life gain. The combo of
Ageless Entity
and
Predator's Rapport
is disgusting and unnecessary but good for a laugh with your friends; as an example, you can turn each entity from a 5/5 (land tap on entry) into a 135/135 with 3 Rapports.
Grazing Gladehart
makes you a little thicker. These creatures can swap in for other creatures in the main deck and sacrifice some damage and mana generation for longevity, while still stacking counters.
The biggest downside here is that this deck probably isn't going to flesh out and be unstoppable by turn 4; it's gonna take a little time and some good draws. Against heavy aggro or a lot of flying creatures, it can struggle. Protection spells are there, but not prioritized over pulling land.
This deck comes in just around $50.
Feedback is always appreciated! Thanks for checking this deck out!
