First of all, I really love this deck cuz the idea of a 5/5 haste trample of turn three is just bonkers.

There are a few tweaks I think need to happen to make this better though.

First of all, the reason dino decks are poopy in standard right now is because control / removal > ramp.

Unfortunately, Kinjalli's Caller and Otepec Huntmaster will just get fatal pushed and you'll be sad panda. BUT, if you toss in Sheltering Light instead of Sure Strike you can get one step closer to avoiding that situation from happening. The scry 1 will also help a LOT to make your deck more flexible with its draws.

Also, I thin 20 mana is a little extreme. I know you have mana rampers, but with that few it makes drawing a shit hand and needing to mull highly likely, and in a tournament setting that's pretty aweful.

Lastly, there isn't a lot of flexibility with this deck. The chances of getting all your mana rampers in your opening hand, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, all your high CMC creatures in your hand is reasonably high. This means consistency suffers.

I don't know the best way to add card filtering to a deck like this, but Sheltering Light is a good start. The most obvious further answer is to toss in either cathertic reunion or tormenting voice, but they don't really fit the theme. I'm sure there's a way, but I just don't know.

backinajiffy Thanks for the great comment!
I like the idea of Sheltering Light as a way to counter removal. I will see what I can do to trade for some next Sunday.
I haven't had an issue with bad first draw, and even with six cards to start you still win by turn 7.
Even good control has a problem with how fast you can deal damage with turn 3 Charging Monstrosaur
About the only thing I know I want to change is to add another Kinjalli's Caller and take out the Frenzied Raptor.

@backinajiffy, Thank you so much for the idea of Sheltering Light. It worked like a charm protecting my Callers and Huntmasters. I still got destroyed 0-3, but I took at least one round in all 3 games. I was also able to add Kinjalli's Sunwing to the deck.

Ninjew42 Thanks, but dang man I thought this was pretty solid.

Any learnings to share about why it didn't perform better? I'm really pretty surprised

@backinajiffy, I was up against a few high dollar decks that just crushed my $12.50 deck. It preformed well, as I always had a reasonable draws, and I went 1-2 each round but it just does not stand up vs. a deck that has some serious cash dropped on it.

Ninjew42 That makes me sad to hear it put in that perspective. I really believe non meta/budget decks have the opportunity to destroy high dollar ones given the contruction is done well and given it has some kind of edge over the main meta decks. All the decks on my profile try to do that.

Unfortunately for creature based or creature ramp decks right now control is unbelievably strong in standard.

@backinajiffy, Against other budget decks or non-control decks, this thing eats your face. Vs a deck with 4 Carnage Tyrant or some other such nonsense it gets smashed.

Excellent adjustments to the huatli deck! I wanted to do the same! Do you think running Nest Robber instead of Raptor Companion would be better? That's a turn two hit for two instead of a turn 3 for 3

@DashtheDestroyer, I think Nest Robber is a good substitute for Raptor Companion. Thanks for the idea.

All I can recommend is maybe replacing Rile with Crash Through since Crash Through gives every creature you have trample without have to deal 1 damage, unless you are using Rile to proc Sun-Crowned Hunters. If so, disregard my comment.

@SquidCo.42, Rile is for the proc on Sun-Crowned Hunters and most of the dinosaurs have Trample already. Thank you for you comment! I always like other ideas!

I like it. Nicely done. A couple thoughts:

• 20 lands seems way too lean, especially with 12 spells costing 5-6 mana. With that many pricey spells I would run at least 24 lands.
• I'm surprised you went with Nest Robber instead of Huatli's Snubhorn for your 2 drop. The vigilance on Snubhorns make them super versatile.
• As a dirt-cheap way to throw a wrench in some higher tier decks, I highly recommend 4x Tocatli Honor Guard. It's shocking how many Top 8 decks are absolutely RUINED by this card. Burning Sun's Avatar and Sun-Blessed Mount wouldn't work anymore but the disruption for your opponent is well worth it IMO.
• For card-churn, I suggest adding a Vance's Blasting Cannons  ^Flip.
• You probably need at least a bit of removal in the form of Lightning Strike or Cast Out.

Take a look at my version of this deck and let me know your thoughts. https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/sun-empire-elites/

@Acute19, Thank you for the wonderful comment.

1. With Caller and Huntamster the need for extra lands is diminished.
2. Snubhorn is a good card, but I am looking for speed, which is why the Robber is better.
3. I will see about adding the Honor Guard as I have also seen it destroy Energy Counter decks.
4. Blasting cannons is meh IMO, and removal is moot if i get T3 Charging out.

1) That's a precarious way to think about your ramp creatures. If you rely on them in place of land then you're extremely vulnerable to removal spells halting your deck before it ever gets going. Even without removal, you're banking on getting out one of your ramp creatures and then you'll still need 4 lands in your first 10-11 cards to get out a Charger on turn 4. At 20 lands you'll hitting that benchmark less than 50% of the time, and that's assuming your ramp creature survives, which is far from certain because they're magnets for removal. Nobody wants to find out what's on the other end of the dino-ramp... your job is to make sure they find out, even if they kill your ramp creatures.

2) Fair enough.

3) Exactly.

4) That's a big if haha. Against aggro decks it's always a struggle to survive through the early game anyway. The idea of removal for a ramp deck like this is to buy yourself the time you need to get your big scary monsters out. It's not quite a stalling tactic, but it's basically a stalling tactic. Just my 2-cents :) Cheers.

@Acute19, Thank you again for your feedback.
That's what Sheltering Light is for. Also, I did have 22 land to start but found I was getting to much and not enough creatures.
I always like new ideas and ways to win so I will work on getting some removal spells worked in. I just hate to loose creatures in place of spells.

I would be careful about anecdote (getting too much land). The odds tell a tale of insufficient mana with only 20 lands. For all the 5-6 mana cards that you have, I would probably advocate 24-25 lands, or 23 at an absolute minimum. Up to you though of course.

2-4 Lightning Strikes and maybe 1-2 Cast Out (for planeswalkers) is all you need for removal. Lightning Strike is just so damn versatile. In the early game it can buy you some time; mid game it can help you finish off a big creature that you've softened up in combat; and late game you can just send it straight to the face for an easy 3 damage. There's a reason why you see at least a handful of spells like that in every red deck you come across.

I had a great Night at my stores Ixalan Championship. I placed top 8, and lost to Ramunap Red in the first elimination rounds, which ended up being one of the top 2 decks. Adding Tocatli Honor Guard helped a lot vs. energy and token decks. No mana issues all night.

Rather than running Tocatli Honor Guard, try Harsh Mentor. Its much more punishing against Longtusk cub, Whirler Virtuoso, Scarab God, Walking Ballista, etc. Less so against Bristling Hydra, but I think its still definitely worth it.

You didn't include your sideboard, but I hope you have 2-4 Chandra's Defeat, 2 Cast Out, 2-4 Abrade, etc.

How was large was your LGS's showdown? I placed 2nd Overall with R/W aggro to Grixis Midrange

@jon.grimes893,
Thank you for the comment.

• I had 14 people play at my local store. I was 8th after 4 rounds,2-1/1-2/2-0/1-2. I played vs. Ramunap Red decks 2nd and 4th rounds. I lost in the first round of elimination playoff to the Ramunap Red deck that ended up winning the day.
• I can see how Harsh Mentor would be helpful here. I was making this deck on a budget and opted for what I could trade or barter for at the time. I will see about adding him to my deck in the future.
• I hate to say it but I don't have a sideboard for this deck. Plz don't hate me.

Congratulations! I'm sorry you couldn't play more magic and play test. I was in a 46-person pool so I had plenty of time to test against all the meta decks. 6(5?) Rounds going into top 8 then 3 before finishing 2nd Overall. Sideboarding against Ran. Red wouldn't have done too much unless you had multiple Cast Out, Chandra's Defeat, or 2 additional sideboard Kinjalli's Sunwing.

I'm on the fence in regards to Sky Terror. He doesn't benefit from cost reducing effects but he represents a consistent 2 damage in the air. If you had wide-board pump spells or the Raid mechanic, I could see him being worked in. I have never actually played a dinosaur tribal deck so take my hesitation with a grain of salt. Aggro I know, tribal I know not.

@jon.grimes893, I do want to get some sort of side board for this deck, but alas I am poor and have to choose my spending wisely. I will be trying to trade for the Harsh Mentor this weekend, and I think it will replace the Sky Terror. It was really only there as a low CMC anti-flyer.

I added a side board of stuff I have.

I was able to get 3 Harsh Mentor from trades at FNM. I also acquired Huatli, Warrior Poet in trades and added her to the mix.
I went 2-2 in 4 rounds at FNM, lost to Ramunap and W\U\B Esper with Approach.

I think you might need to mulligan aggressively for Kinjalli's Caller and Lightning Strikes to combat Ran Red. And sideboard in Chandra's Defeats & possibly a Cast Out or Ixalan Binding (or 2) for Chandra.

@jon.grimes893, I agree about the sideboard stuff and have added them to my Maybe board for acquiring by trades in the future.