The problem I see with every Dinosaur deck is that it's trying to play tribal when the tribal payoffs just aren't there. A lot of the good Dinos are just that - good Dinos, they don't need or even benefit from trying to play a tribal deck. Even Gishath, Sun's Avatar isn't really a tribal deck card, it's already amazing without that extra text as an 8-mana 7/6 vigilance, trample, haste threat. Not doing that here, but the point is that if you're connecting for 7, you're usually in a great spot that doesn't care TOO much about digging down to put other big beasts into play.
That being said, this isn't a Dinosaurs deck. It's just a good stuff deck that happens to feature a couple of the strongest and most value-generating Dinos. The core of the deck is my favorite card in standard - Glorybringer, and building around the powerful dragon. Sure other decks feature the card, but this is the one built AROUND it, with cards that're very good on their own, even better paired with Stormbringer.
The early game:
Drover of the Mighty - Previous iterations of the deck used a minor energy subtheme with servants, hubs, & harnessed lightning, and while I don't necessarily think that's wrong, I've definitely come around to using the dino dorks. They're weaker at first being 1/1s, but being unconditional dorks without restriction and the light dino-synergy of becoming 3/3s later on makes them better overall. It's a common line vs. control to play Drover on two, Deathgorger on three leaving up the Drover to pay for Censor and then crunch for three when they don't cast it.
Merfolk Branchwalker - This is the two-drop (of what we have now, hoping for better from Rivals) that the deck lacked for so long. It may not look like much, but explore is much better in play than it looks at first glance. It's a 1G 2/1 that drew a land, or a 3/2 that let me scheme the top of my library in case I need to dig for land. Don't have any real graveyard synergy, aside from potentially putting a Fight into the bin, and I've had to do painful things like putting a Glorybringer into the yard because it wasn't the land I so desperately needed.
Abrade - We all know why this card is here. It's a kill spell that can also hit artifacts, which there are just enough floating around in standard to warrant two to three copies in the main. Also want a critical mass of kill spells for things like longtusk cub and hostage taker, and there's so much of the format that just dies to three damage.
Lightning Strike - Pretty much the same as Abrade, trading off artifact-hate for the ability to go upstairs. Great reach to have when you just need to close out a game.
Deathgorge Scavenger - I'll admit I wasn't super hyped on this thing at first, I preferred Ranging Raptors for a long time. But as the meta shaped up, I've definitely come around to the point of having the full four in the main deck. It's an efficient beatstick that incidentally hates on a LARGE portion of the format in some way or another. Ramunap Red - Exile creatures, gain life, prioritizing Earthshaker Khenras to prevent eternalizing. God-Pharaoh's Gift - I think this one's obvious, it just hates their plan A. Search for Azcanta control - Get it down early, start eating their graveyard prioritizing the spells they might want to flashback with Torrential, make it hard for them to ever find the lost city.Any deck playing The Scarab God - You MIGHT be able to pair removal spells any get it into the Graveyard and eat the god itself, but more realistically just expect to nom down every good target before they can cast/activate it.And there's one more little combo-y interaction: It can enable Rhonas for a turn by eating a noncreature spell on ETB pre-combat.
The beef of the deck:
Rhonas the Indomitable - The deck's main mana-sink and resilient early threat. So many creatures in the deck can enable him to attack/block even without pumping, though I've never been shy to use his ability to pump a small creature and see if my opponent will waste a real removal spell on a cheap creature. He's got a couple little minor combos within the deck, including Fight as "3G Sorcery, Destroy target creature." from my graveyard.
Ripjaw Raptor - In my opinion, one of the best green creatures in standard. So much of the damage-based removal is 3 or 4, and even if it dies to a harnessed lightning, I'm still drawing a card off it. It's at its worst against control, but it's a minor drawback for how well it shines against creature decks. And if the opponent makes blocks thinking they're going to kill it, that's where Prepare comes in. A Bristling Hydra needs to spend 3 energy just to trade with the base Ripjaw, 6 if they want to eat it, cast prepare and they need to spend another 3 just to "trade" when I gain 6 and draw a card. And don't overlook the ability to Fight an opposing Glorybringer down, draw a card in the process.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - We all know how good this card is. Chandra, the Mind Melter as I call her from time to time. She ends games all on her own, she occasionally sneaks out turn 3 off a Drover, she kills things, she adds mana. Part of the reasoning behind strike and abrade is that they can both be cast with Chandra's mana. It puts you low on cards in hand, but it's such an explosive start that puts your opponent on a serious back foot early on.
Glorybringer - The star of my deck, I knew I'd be playing the full set the entire time they're in standard from the moment I saw it. The main reason I'm white is to run the combo of Glorybringer + Prepare / Fight which is absolutely back-breaking in any agro/midrange match-up. Either untap a Glorybringer that didn't untap due to exert, or swing and exert and with the trigger on the stack cast Prepare to untap it. You DO gain the life from the exert ability's damage, since the Dragon (with lifelink) is the source of the damage.
Samut, Voice of Dissent - aka: The GOOD Samut. She just does everything, she's a better Planeswalker as a creature than her actual "Planeswalker" form in Samut, the Tested. 6 damage on her own, with haste, and gives everything else haste. A combat trick, counter-bait thanks to flash. She's one of my absolute best cards to deal with Approach. When they go for their first Approach, flash her in and then present a whole ton of damage they weren't accounting for. Of course Rhonas' pump ability goes sooo nicely with double strike, and gives trample too. And being able to use her activated ability...sometimes that's to untap a better blocker (like Rhonas or Carnage), but the more common use for it is to untap an exerted Glorybringer. Since she has vigilance herself, swing Samut + Glorybringer & exert to kill a blocker, hit for 10 and then untap the dragon to do it again next turn.
Carnage Tyrant - Ahh yes, the really big, dumb obstinate Dino. Some decks just don't have any answer to this in the main. It's also the only creature in the deck that can out-gain a Glorybringer when you Prepare to Fight in the same turn. Swing, cast Prepare to untap it and gain 9, then fight post-combat for another 9 = 18 life.
Prepare / Fight - I've been singing praises of this card since the moment I saw it. It's such an absurdly powerful combat trick, even without the second-half which is gravy even if you have to cast it later on. Having that removal spell to cast from your graveyard, even if it's not mana-efficient, is just pure upside. You wouldn't put Fight in your deck if that was an actual card you had to put in the list, but being stabled on "for free" to the back of Prepare... It's true combat tricks don't often see constructed play, but Prepare is just bonkers. Untap, +2/+2, AND lifelink... People try to combat Ramunap red and other aggressive decks with incidental lifegain, I do it with huge chunks that just pull me back into the game, or push me far out of reach.
Ixalan's Binding - Just a nice one-of in the main to have as an answer to just about anything. Could easily see (and have played with) a Cast Out in the main instead for flash/cycling, up the upside of getting rid of ALL of something is pretty good against some decks. Like binding a Hazoret, Glorybringer, or even a Rogue Refiner.
