I really like the concept of this deck and I think The Gitrog Monster will be very powerful in it

+1 from me

ndite,
Thanks much! I look forward to seeing how it does as the meta evolves!

First off, always love to see a deck abusing The Gitrog Monster outside of Commander, but a few cards come to mind that can really up the game.

• Nissa, Vital Force is an absolute powerhouse, giving herself a blocker or giving you a big attacker, has recursion, and most importantly, as more land synergy with her easy-to-achieve emblem. Seriously, on a good turn 6, you sacrifice her to get the emblem, cast The Gitrog Monster, then play two Evolving Wilds, drawing six additional cards in the turn.

• Grapple with the Past works really well as recursion, along with dropping lands into the graveyard that you can later recur with Ramunap Excavator and draw off of with The Gitrog Monster.

• Grim Flayer has the put-off of rotating in a few months, so I can see why you're reluctant to get him, but he's so expensive because he sees play in Modern, so you really don't have to worry about too much of a price dip. He basically does the same thing as Grapple with the Past, throwing lands into the graveyard to get back later and filter your deck better.

Again, like I said earlier, I love to see The Gitrog Monster decks, so +1 and can't wait to see how it does.

divinagon,
Thanks for the +1, but especially thank you for all the thoughtful comments!

I tested 2x Nissa, Vital Force in my Sultai build, and though she was good there, I found The Gitrog Monster to be much stronger. I've never tested her in this deck though, so maybe. And probably for sure if the deck somehow evolves to where there's room for 5x 5-drops in the deck ...

I had basically ignored Grapple with the Past when I decided not to go for a Delirium build. But yeah, it might actually be better than Traverse the Ulvenwald. I'll give it a try!

No on Grim Flayer though. The card is AWESOME in a Delirium build, but in a deck like this where he's normally just a 2/2, he's somewhere between OK and bad IMO (OK on the play, where he can often connect for some card filtering, but extremely meh -- AKA bad, compared to other options -- on the draw).

Thank you again!

How do you feel about all of the utility deserts for this deck? They seem like they'd add a lot of reach to the deck. Also, if you dont have basic matters search cards, then the cycling deserts should also make an appearence here imo.

Zaueski,
I already have a ton of lands that enter tapped, so I'm hesitant to add too many more, but I think Hostile Desert (the new Creature Land) has a place for sure. I also think Scavenger Grounds and Ramunap Hydra could have a place in the sideboard (vs. Graveyard decks and Glorybringer respectfully), which would mean I'd want some Deserts in the main ... probably some mix of utility Deserts + Desert of the Glorified and Desert of the Indomitable.

Thanks!

Thanks for the shout out. I love what you've done with the deck. +1 from me. I'm not sure how viable this is but it would be super cool to add Mina and Denn, Wildborn to this. It might mess up the mana base too much but with Ramunap Excavator it would allow you to bounce a cycling land back to your hand so it can be cycled again and then you can play double the lands too. ETERNAL VALUE!P.S. I wrote this kind of quickly so the writing is a bit sloppy.

jparker-sartori21,
Thanks for the +1 and you bet on the shout-out! Going Jund opens up some REALLY interesting possibilities, but I frankly don't have the time to explore them myself. Zygomatic and enation24 are working with Mina and Denn though, over at Ramunap Earthquake (HOU) and The Ramunap Monster, respectfully ... you might check them out!

Thanks again!

Awesome deck! Two thumbs up

Thanks, jaylawlerrr!

I don't play modern, only EDH. But if you build a deck around The Gitrog Monster (one of my favorite EDH decks) I just have to give you a +1

If I had more time/budget I would definitely try to create a similar build. I'm interested to see how it'll perform. Please post results when you get the chance (and of course, after HOU releases).

sebvieira,
Thanks much! My EDH group has all moved away, but I love the format. And I understand The Gitrog Monster is just insane there.

I'll let you know how it goes, for sure!

Draw well!

Man this is a really cool deck.

It seems well below your deck's level but Sunscorched Desert could be a hilarious way to ping out a few damage since you can sac and recur it lol. Um... aside from that... Geier Reach Sanitarium can draw you 2 cards if you pitch lands with Gitrog out, but the main seems real solid. Outside of the cards you've already covered in the deck description I don't see much that could be added til we know how the meta is going to turn out.

The only real suggestion I have is maybe replacing Plummet with Clip Wings in the side because the only flying threats I've faced recently are Heart of Kiran, Kefnet the Mindful, and on occasion; Archangel Avacyn  ^Flip. Maybe go to 4 Appitites, and 2 Clip Wings if you ended up going that route? Idk. Honestly it all seems solid, just my 2 cents.

+1

I do like the design, but could you include more land fall value? Retreat to Hagra is actually good as a win condition. I would also like to see splendid reclamation.My last question is why traverse the ulvenwald? You don't appear to be delirium.deck so it's just a bad land. I suggest blighted woodland.

jellowsmurf,
Thanks so much! Yeah I look forward to trying out a bunch of Deserts ... I have no idea how they're going to work out, but I'm excited to find out!

Geier Reach Sanitarium is interesting, but it seems kinda like Noose Constrictor: Great with The Gitrog Monster but kind of meh otherwise (because the deck is not generally looking for the discard effect). Thanks though!

Clip Wings is great, and I played it all the time when Emrakul, the Promised End was a thing. Right now though, my meta is chock-full of Temur Energy decks, where there's always a Thopter token to sac' instead of a Glorybringer. It may be exactly what the deck needs for HOU Standard though! Btw, Plummet works fine against Archangel Avacyn  ^Flip ... well, as long as you have 1G available to hit her while the Indestructible trigger is on the stack.

Thank you again!

Richard-Wheatley,
Thanks for the kudo! Landfall is a totally valid approach, but not really where I wanted to go with the deck. You might want to check out Ramunap Earthquake (HOU) by Zygomatic though. Incidentally, I'm not a fan of Retreat to Hagra at all. It's fun with Evolving Wilds because of the constant threat of Instant-speed Deathtouch, but the drain effect is just soooooooo slow. And I hate giving up Turn 3 for a card that doesn't affect the board.

Why would you use Splendid Reclamation? I looked at it early and was underwhelmed, but I've never played the card so could easily be missing something.

You're right about Traverse the Ulvenwald usually being just a bad land, but so far the occasional upside (Delirium is inconsistent but happens fairly often) had been worth it. That said, it's probably the weakest card in the deck, and I suspect it'll drop for something off the maybe board sooner rather than later.

Thanks again.

I don't know if this style of deck wants Duskwatch. Personally I havent't tried it, so it may be better than I am assuming. I would probably suggest Transgress the Mind over it, or if you are looking for a similar effect Oath of Nissa (which would make delirium easier to achieve). I could definitely see a case for Duskwatch in the sideboard for control match ups though. I'd also suggest Ob Nixilis Reignited, he is worth trying out. Repeatable unconditional removal and card draw makes the deck much stronger in the late game.

MrDilliams,
Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip has been great so far. Here's my thoughts on him for the 'See' you and card choices section', which you may have missed: GENERAL VALUE: Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip, to dig for Creatures. He also flips easily against Control and if an opponent stumbles at all.

Oath of Nissa would make sense if the deck had Planeswalkers.

Ob Nixilis Reignited is a fine card, but I can't imagine it in this deck. He's much worse here than Nissa, Vital Force, so I don't see adding him unless the deck somehow evolves to a point where it wants 7 or more 5-drops. Especially since the deck already has a ton of card draw and removal.

Thanks though.

You are certainly welcome! Thank you for making it... you inspired me to build a version around the landfall mechanic (Excavating Kazandu [HOU]) I love it. I made one for delirium as well, but it's not as fun.

I have a friend who is going to love this!

jaylawlerrr,
Cool; I'll check it out!

Alookeva,
Excellent, and thank you for sharing it!

Desert of the Indomitable?

NippDip,
Um, what about it? And did you notice it's already in my Maybeboard, and described under 'Strategy and card choices'?

Upvote for The Gitrog Monster

This looks like a blast to play. Veeery cool list and seems very promising.

And dude, thank you so much for showing me how awesome the original artwork on excavator is...I only knew the spoiled promo art so far.