M4dGun, I love the idea of Garruk, but I am afraid he may be too slow, even in a ramp deck. However, if you're going to splash black, here are some of the cards I imagine to be in it:

2 Garruk, Apex Predator - no more than that. 4 Nissa, Worldwaker - self explanatory. 4 Overgrown Tomb - shock land that Nissa can untap because it's a forest. 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - turns all lands into swamps. 4 Sylvan Caryatid - another way to get black mana. 4 Thoughtseize - absolutely the best removal in the game.

Even getting one black mana will be difficult, so I am wary of cards like Hero's Downfall and Bile Blight in this build. I get the feeling this would be very difficult to run with--but it could just be my lack of imagination. What do you think?

@NittanyLionRoar and @M4dGun Ive been toying with the idea of a mono green splash black for Garruk, Apex Predator and some removal, but the ramp and mana curve is what seems to be the hardest part. it seems there would more ramp than creatures that attack. but im working on the deck build right now and am going with 24 mana 15 Forest 2 Swamp 4 Temple of Malady 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and 2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Maybe a Llanowar Wastes or two?

Nissa wants forests. If you add black, please use Overgrown Tomb first.

Yeah, jubale is correct. Overgrown Tomb is a must because it interacts with Nissa.

Splashing black goes against what this deck is trying to do. . Also post rotation it would be a nightmare.

JimmyJamR, yeah I agree. I think a deck that utilizes Garruk best is going to be a Golgari control deck of some kind. It would have lots of cheap removal--then Garruk to take control and perhaps Genesis Hydra or Chord of Calling to tutor up a Desecration Demon as win-cons. In fact, the deck that uses him best might be more mono-black splashing green than anything. In any case, that would be a completely different build with different requirements.

Well I'm running a copy of this deck with two nissa and two m14 garruk tonight in a 60 person FNM. I'll report back with results

Nice...let me know how it goes JimmyJamR.

I've got to say, Genesis Hydra is a rockstar in the deck. After playing it against a few more types of decks yesterday, I think I am going to tweak it to make Nissa the top of the curve and perhaps take out a couple copies of Chord of Calling . Polukranos and Nissa are really all the win conditions you need. It's amazing how often Genesis Hydra + Nissa, Worldwaker + Polukranos, World Eater works together. This deck seems to work best to use ramp as a manner of quickness, so I think Mistcutter Hydra is going to replace Reverent Hunter after this weekend.

By the way, I took two Scuttling Doom Engine along with me in the sideboard instead of the two Terra Stomper ... and it was AMAZING against mono-black. It stops them in their tracks...it can't be discarded by and can block Lifebane Zombie , can't be blocked by small Pack Rat creatures nor Mutavault , and trades with Desecration Demon if your opponent is brave enough to take 6 damage.

On Sunday I am going to tweak the list, but I think you're going to see it become less mana-intensive and definitely add the Scuttling Doom Engine to the sideboard.

Made a bunch of changes, a whole bunch. New list is here http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ramp-party-at-nykthos/I found that if my early board was interrupted I had no where to go. Tested the new build for a few hours today and ran train on people. Beat hexproof, naya blitz, esper control, mono black, and mono blue. Biggest problems I need help with are Mizzium Mortars and Bile Blight

Your detailed description is very helpful, thanks! It's very hard not to want to play Hornet Queen and Terra Stomper and big fatties like that :( I wants to smash!

shangrilol, yeah I know what you mean. With those cards, when you win you absolutely annihilate the opponent's side of the table. The problem is building up your mana base and keeping it safe to that point. I am going to keep a close eye on the pro tour to see if anyone can make those fatties work. For now, it appears that Polukranos, World Eater , Nissa, Worldwaker , and Genesis Hydra are the fatties, with the opportunity for Mistcutter Hydra to sneak in there too.

You should really include at least 1 Darksteel Citadel since Nissa, Worldwaker is so core to your strategy.
Free Indestructible 4/4 with Trample is pretty awesome.

Yeah, musselhead, I think I am going to need to cut a creature and run Darksteel Citadel . I am running 23 lands right now and the lists that run Darksteel Citadel , have 24 lands. I could potentially cut Reverent Hunter .

Just FYI...this mono-green list just placed in the 9th-16th category at the TCGplayer Open 5k in Seattle, WA: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=1208726

Why are you only running one Nylea's Disciple ?

Disciple is only wanted for decks like burn, only one needs to be played, and with Genesis Hydra it's easier to find than normal.

Oh yeah, I guess I didn't even think about that. Thanks for explaining.

Excellent recipe here mate, I'll have to proxy this out and take it for a spin to see how it works. +1

How is the deck performing?

I would have to say this is still a Tier 2 deck at the moment. I had a friend run an almost-identical deck last FNM that was relatively successful at 2-1 (5-3 overall). The best I have been able to do is 2-1 as I almost always run into mono-black or control, which this deck just does not have enough answers for--although Scuttling Doom Engine certainly helps level the playing field a little bit.

Anyone else finding particular success with it?

Thanks for such a detailed explanation of your deck and how you'd use your sideboard. Helps new people like me out a ton. :)

Any comments on what you might replace Burning-Tree Emissary with in order to keep this deck Standard come October?

I think the deck will look different when Khans comes out, but Sylvan Caryatid would be my first go-to. An article just came out today with very similar green builds to what I've been brewing, but it appears the best decks are loaded with planeswalkers...check this out for the viable green brews: http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/sylvan-caryatid-and-courser-of-kruphix/