Yeah I know, I just started messing with Dinosaurs and pulled something together. Now I need help improving it xD
August 3, 2023 6:10 p.m.
wallisface says... #3
I’d suggest ditching Rally the Ranks (it’s unnecessary/pointless) and Commune with Nature (you already have too many creatures in the deck, you don’t need to scrounge for more) and add in interaction - Lightning Bolt and Primal Might would both fit in well here.
I’d also ditch Kinjalli's Sunwing in place of more mana-ramp effects. Once you drop a big dino the rest of your board doesn’t really matter - so this creature neither fits that requirement nor helps you reach it.
August 3, 2023 6:18 p.m.
wallisface says... #5
Better for sure.
I’m not sold on Giant Cindermaw being useful, and I think you should use a 1-mana dork instead of Ilysian Caryatid.
I also don’t think Lead the Stampede is worth running as a 3-mana sorcery to get on average 2 cards seems very meh.
What’s your plan for Boros Charm? The indestructible could be nice but i’m not sure how often you’ll have mana to respond to stuff, and I don’t see the other 2 modes coming up much
August 3, 2023 7:41 p.m.
I think it's important to have a good 3 drop to start increasing the offensive preassure early, or to support the big dinos in combat, and Giant Cindermaw seems the perfect one for the job. A cheap 4/3 trample. Not many other decent 3 drop dinosaurs around. Territorial Hammerskull might be interesting to pacify a dangerous blocker, although it doesn't have Trample and it's weaker
I think Ilysian Caryatid is good for giving up to 2 mana, but I understand the allure of Birds of Paradise
I need something to draw more cards but in these colors I find it hard to do so efficiently. I was thinking about replacing Lead the Stampede by something else, maybe Hunter's Insight (?)
Boros Charm is 3 useful effects in one instant. It can help with the damage, save multiple creatures from being destroyed or give an unblocked or chump blocked Carnage Tyrant or Ancient Imperiosaur Double Strike for a massive hit
August 3, 2023 8:04 p.m.
If your looking to draw more cards Ripjaw Raptor or Runic Armasaur are good places to start. I'm not sold on some of your choices like Regisaur Alpha or Giant Cindermaw if you want early pressure from a dino you'd be better off with Rotting Regisaur or something of that ilk. I think this deck would benefit from adding Cryptolith Rite can turn those early game dino Mana dorks into even more Mana. And wallisface is right you definitely need some form of Interaction or you'll lose every game to decks faster than yours.
August 3, 2023 8:42 p.m.
jdogz32 just made some updates, the deck looks much more solid to me now
August 3, 2023 8:45 p.m.
wallisface says... #9
From your latest version:
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the Commune with Dinosaurs that you used to have is waay better than Commune with Nature because it importantly lets you also grab much-needed land. I would say Commune with Dinosaurs is worth playing but Commune with Nature is garbage.
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i’m really not sold on Giant Cindermaw, its just a pretty forgettable threat. If you really want a midrange dino i’d suggest playing Ripjaw Raptor instead, as its waay more threatening and can be awkward for your opponent to play around.
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I would suggest to stop being so focused on card draw, and ditch Hunter's Insight. Your deck is that of an aggressive stompy build, so every card should be applying pressure to your opponent. Taking a turn-off to draw cards just lets the opponent time to stabilise. A deck like this shouldn’t need dedicated card draw, if it feels like it does thats instead an indication your threats aren’t good enough to close a game out _(so you need better threats).
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Boros Charm is clunky here, as it does almost nothing to interact with the board, which is something you still more of. I’d suggest swapping it out for Tail Swipe as this acts as a pump spell as well as removal. Additionally it makes Ripjaw Raptor far more dangerous is yiu end up running that.
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i’m not convinced Cryptolith Rite serves as a valid card here, but its a close-call so worth playtesting (personally i’d swap it for 2 more lands).
August 3, 2023 9:14 p.m.
thank you for your suggestions so far!
I can see Commune with Dinosaurs working better here
Ripjaw Raptor and Tail Swipe both look good. Moved Boros Charm to the Sideboard
I'd still like to keep Hunter's Insight because it can draw many cards, is Instant and avoids playing with an empty hand. More cards means more ramp, removal and dinosaurs
I would like to find a good alternative to Cryptolith Rite for a ramping card, but it does look decent here nonetheless
August 3, 2023 10:03 p.m.
wallisface says... #11
Changes look good.
I’m worried by your land count. Considering what you’re trying to do, imo you need at least 24.
August 3, 2023 10:09 p.m.
I did some play testing on the app and I discovered the following:
1) Carnage tyrant was a dead card in my hand for most of the games. There just wasn't enough consistent Mana for him.
2) I often was wishing for more lands and if my opening hand didn't start with commune with dinos it almost wasn't playable.
3) hunters insight just wasn't played very often. It doesn't benefit you much until the end game but by then it's already over in a competitive match.
4) I was almost never happy to draw cryptolith rite as ancient impersonate already has convoke and birds of paradise already taps for Mana. It was more of a dead draw in this deck.
5)ripjaw raptor was kind of clunky without any way to damage itself.
I hope this helps, love dinos just haven't been able to make them work
August 4, 2023 6:06 p.m.
wallisface says... #13
jdogz32 yeah your playtesting looks like its aligned with all my previous suspicions.
Namely:
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deck needs 24 lands.
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Hunter's Insight and Cryptolith Rite are bad cards.
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i hadn’t mentioned it before now cause i hadn’t done the math, but sounds like better ramp is needed to consistently & quickly reach 6 mana. Maybe (probably) Carnage Tyrant should only be a 2-of
On Ripjaw Raptor, it does have s way yo damage itself, via Tail Swipe
August 4, 2023 6:18 p.m.
wallisface and jdogz32 I've decided it's best to drop White for more land consistency, and then made a few changes:
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Replaced Kinjalli's Caller for Arboreal Grazer because White is now gone, it can still Ramp lands, it can Block better with Reach and can Convoke Ancient Imperiosaur
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Replaced Cryptolith Rite and Hunter's Instinct for Goblin Anarchomancer because it reduces my costs even further without having to tap
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Replaced Ripjaw Raptor for Quartzwood Crasher because I'm curious how it will fare, it's less clunky and can produce more Dinosaurs
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Reduced Carnage Tyrant to 2 copies because of the mana cost
I'm hoping to have made the deck better. What do you think?
August 6, 2023 1:39 a.m.
wallisface and jdogz32 I've decided it's best to drop White for more land consistency, and then made a few changes:
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Replaced Kinjalli's Caller for Arboreal Grazer because White is now gone, it can still Ramp lands, it can Block better with Reach and can Convoke Ancient Imperiosaur
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Replaced Cryptolith Rite and Hunter's Instinct for Goblin Anarchomancer because it reduces my costs even further without having to tap
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Replaced Ripjaw Raptor for Quartzwood Crasher because I'm curious how it will fare, it's less clunky and can produce more Dinosaurs
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Replaced Carnage Tyrant with Regisaur Alpha because it’s much cheaper to play now, produces even more Dinosaurs and gives Haste to them
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Removed Birds of Paradise because it doesn't help with Convoke
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Added Thunderherd Migration to fetch me more lands
I'm hoping to have made the deck better. What do you think?
August 6, 2023 2:19 a.m.
wallisface says... #16
it does look a lot better, though doing some playtesting it feels a little slow - the fastest you can realistically get a big dino into play is turn 4, and I think you want to be trying to be able to present a threat on turn 3. I'd drop the Regisaur Alpha to bring the Birds of Paradise back into the deck.
August 6, 2023 3:39 a.m.
I'd keep birds of paradise. Having something to drop on turn one can't be understated especially with this deck. He's also an additional flyer. I'd take out Regisaur Alpha your deck is already heavy we don't need an unnecessary 5 drop. I'd consider adding Domri, Anarch of Bolas he's a form of ramp and interaction if you need it. I'm also not sold on Quartzwood Crasher I just think he's more of a casual card IMO. I also think it might be worth looking into Is Klothys, God of Destiny for your sideboard as some graveyard hate. Hope this helps.
August 6, 2023 9:56 a.m.
wallisface and jdogz32 the deck feels much smoother now, with consistent dinosaurs by turn 3-4. Regisaur Alpha provides board presence with disposable dinos and valuable Haste. The tokens contribute to Quartzwood Crasher's ability to produce more powerful tokens and can even Convoke for Ancient Imperiosaur.
I've brought back Birds of Paradise to the mainboard
I predict good synergy in Domri, Anarch of Bolas with this deck, might give him a try
Thanks for all your help so far!
wallisface says... #1
I think you’re going to struggle without any form of interaction - you’re at the mercy of every deck that is faster than you, or can disrupt your ramp effects (and that covers a lot of decks).
August 3, 2023 6:05 p.m.