Budget Replacements for Courser?
Standard forum
Posted on Nov. 23, 2014, 1:16 p.m. by MalikBlishtar
I'm wanting to build a Standard Green/Red Monstrosity Mana Ramp Deck with a small budget. I've decided to replace Sylvan Caryatids with Golden Hinds , Fetches with Evolving Wilds, etc. for now, but I'm wondering what options there are to replace Courser of Kruphix to make the deck more wallet-friendly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Depending on how small the budget is, Rattleclaw Mystic is better than Golden Hind. If you were already planning on running those, just jam in some Elvish Mystic.
I really don't think there's a 1-1 functional substitute for Courser though. High toughness creatures that and gain you life and generate card advantage don't come around every day. Life gain is somewhat covered by running Rugged Highlands and Evolving Wilds instead of fetches and pains. You're already losing a blocker in Sylvan Caryatid, so maybe just go more aggressive with Boon Satyr? Possibly include Eidolon of Blossoms as well for some card drawing and a Constellation subtheme?
November 23, 2014 2:01 p.m.
MalikBlishtar says... #4
Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely consider Rattleclaw Mystic over Hind, and I will probably go with Boon Satyrs until I get my hands on some Coursers.
November 23, 2014 2:34 p.m.
Don't replace fetches with evolving wilds. Basic lands are just infinitely better
November 23, 2014 3:52 p.m.
I mean there isnt a straight up replacement as you can see. I personally don't think Courser of Kruphix is essential anyways. You'll skip the 3 drop spot if you turn 1 Elvish Mystic Turn 2 Golden Hind. But if you want the 3 drop Boon Satyr is the best option.
November 23, 2014 4:22 p.m.
Huge ramp is what makes the deck. For that you want Nykthos and Voyaging Satyr. If you don't have Nykthos, consider Dictate of Karametra, Market Festival, and Karametra's Acolyte.
November 23, 2014 7:23 p.m.
Hornet Nest is a green 3cmc and demands 'destroy target creature' effects or else they have do deal with flying death touch 1/1's
November 23, 2014 7:47 p.m.
Dalektable says... #9
Voyaging Satyr is strictly better than Golden Hind, being able to tap for other colors if need be. But there isn't really a replacement for courser, you pretty much have to go more aggressive with boon satyr. A lot of G/R monster lists are substituting courser for Goblin Rabblemaster, but that isn't relevant as it certainly isn't budget friendly.
November 23, 2014 9:14 p.m.
You could try Fanatic of Xenagos as a nice alternative.
November 23, 2014 10:39 p.m.
Kalibroxin says... #11
In order to replace a card in a deck, you have to figure out what the card's most important function in the deck actually is. Is Courser used in your deck for lifegain? Probably not, as you are a Midrange Monstrous deck.
Is Courser in your deck for card advantage? It's a good possibility, but as many Courser players will tell you, there are times when you just can't rip a land off of the top, so if it's most important function is card advantage, you have other options.
Is Courser in the deck to guarantee land drops? Again, it's possible, but like I said before, you can't rely on this.
Is Courser in your deck as a defensive body? This is probably the most likely function of Courser in your deck, so you have to look at what other creatures can perform this role. Behgz has my vote for best defensive creature that could replace Courser. Hornet Nest is a great card for stalling the board, which is exactly what you want when you are trying to ramp into larger, more powerful creatures. Two things happen....they sit back and not attack because the attack would do nothing except give you more defense, or they use a removal spell on it, which means they used a spell that they would have otherwise used on your more impressive creatures.
If you need Courser for other reasons than defense, you can search for cards that have a similar function to the one that you are needing the most. Who knows? Maybe you wanted a few extra points of life for some reason. Just check out other lifegain cards and replace it with those.
I hope I helped,
November 24, 2014 9:14 a.m.
ALL I can really say that replaces courser is Boon Satyr and lots and lots of scry lands.
tooTimid says... #2
The best option is probably Boon Satyr. Obviously there are reasons why expensive cards are expensive. They're just good cards. In this case however, Boon Satyr is a fine replacement. It's more aggressive, still adds two devotion, and is like 60 cents. Hope this helps.
November 23, 2014 1:45 p.m.