If you are anything like me then when you first got into Magic you would have played the biggest, baddest creatures you could get your hands on. I remember mine very fondly. Running out Green Monsters, playing out a Phyrexian Colossus into a Blanchwood Armor for some insane damage. Yes the deck had its issues, but the power of nostalgia makes the deck seem awesome in my mind. Well I’m not the only ‘Timmy’ player at heart, and many have dabbled in Mono-Green Stompy. From Pauper to Modern, this architype has always had the same game plan. Put down big beefy creatures, and turn them sideways.
It might be simple, but you would be surprised how many decks struggle to handle such strategies. After using the first couple of kill spells, most find themselves unable to stop the vast number of monstrous beasts from wiping out their life total. This fact got me thinking – with Fatal Push and Abrade been the most played removal spells in the format, only able to take out smaller creatures, could Big Green be due for a comeback? Well that’s what today’s deck tech will be looking at. Even better the deck is completely rotation-proof, so if you want to build it for yourself you don’t have to worry come September. So, let’s get stuck right in with Lean, Mean and Green.
The deck is split up into two parts – Mana Acceleration and Heavy Hitters. Our Mana Accelerators take the form of creatures such as Channeler Initiate and Servant of the Conduit, as well as spells like Attune with Aether, Beneath the Sands and Hour of Promise. The ‘Mana Dorks’ allow us to ramp into our larger threats in the early game, and in the case of the Channeler can become an efficient threat in the late game. Attune with Aether might not technically allow us to ramp, but does let us smooth out our curve as well as giving us extra energy for our Servant and other creatures. Beneath the Sands helps us to get our lands out of our library and on to the battlefield, and if we have some Deserts we can get us some extra muscle in the form of two zombies with Hour of Promise.
As for Heavy Hitters we start at the bottom of our curve with a full playset of Longtusk Cub and Resilient Khenra. The Longtusk Cub might start out small, but can quickly grow out of control thanks to our Energy synergy, while the Resilient Khenra can either come down early to provide early game pressure or be used later as a pump spell for our bigger creatures. As we move up to our three drops we get to make use of Rhonas the Indomitable and Prowling Serpopard. Rhonas is not only a big threat, but can give any of our creatures +2/+0 and Trample for only three mana. The Serpopard is useful not only as way to turn on Rhonas, but also stops control players from countering our creatures. We finish off our curve with full playsets of Bristling Hydra and Verdurous Gearhulk. The Hydra has been one of my favourite creatures from Kaladesh as it is almost impossible to get rid of, and the Gearhulk not only gives us a big finisher, but can also pump our team for a big alpha swing.
Our mana base is very simple, with only four non-basics out of twenty-two lands. Hashep Oasis gives us untapped green mana as well as some pump in the late game. We finish off with eighteen Forests to complete our mainboard. The sideboard is pretty versatile for the current meta and beyond. Mouth // Feed can provide us with more power and card draw, Larger than Life can help us get in damage heavy board stalls, while Stinging Shot helps take down flyers. Appetite for the Unnatural handles and pesky Artifacts and Enchantments, and Heroic Intervention and Blossoming Defense can protect our team from removal and sweepers. Finally Crook of Condemnation can help against recursive threats such as Zombies and Delirium decks.
Creatures (28)
4x Resilient Khenra
4x Channeler Initiate
4x Servant of the Conduit
4x Longtusk Cub
2x Rhonas the Indomitable
2x Prowling Serpopard
4x Bristling Hydra
4x Verdurous Gearhulk
Spells (10)
4x Attune with Aether
4x Beneath the Sands
2x Hour of Promise
Lands (22)
18x Forest
4x Hashep Oasis
Sideboard (15)
2x Mouth // Feed
2x Larger than Life
2x Stinging Shot
3x Appetite for the Unnatural
2x Heroic Intervention
2x Blossoming Defense
2x Crook of Condemnation
And there is our take on Big Green. The deck is super fun to play and can bring in a health win rate. What’s more the deck can only get better with the release of Ixalan, with cards like Ripjaw Raptor and Old-Growth Dryads.
If you like it why not give it a try at FNM, and let us know how you get on. If you have enjoyed todays article why not like and share, it is a great way for you to help support and growth the site. But until next time remember, GLHF.
