Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks you will know that Magics latest set, Guilds of Ravnica, will soon be hitting store shelves. Not only does it promise to be a fun and interesting draft set, it is sure to shake up the world of constructed Magic as well. But while we are getting many new toys to slot into our decks, it is important to remember that we will also be losing four sets thanks to the upcoming rotation. Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation all have powerful and popular cards for many decks and strategies. As a result, when they go many of the top tier decks in the format will find themselves on the chopping block.

Some decks like Black/Red Aggro and Green/Black Constrictor will cease to exist, losing too many cards to be deemed playable. But some can (with a little bit of tweaking), be retooled to battle it out when the new Standard season rolls around. The deck we will be looking at today is one of those decks. It is not only very powerful, but makes use of some of the best new cards from Guilds of Ravnica. But that should come as no surprise to those of you that currently play it, because Green mages have always evolved to handle new threats.

Mono Green Stompy is one of those decks with a very basic strategy. Play giant creatures and turn them sideways. But basic doesn’t mean weak, and anyone one who has faced down a turn four Ghalta, Primal Hunger will know it is not a deck to be trifled with. It also gets to keep some great creatures like Steel Leaf Champion and Vine Mare, as well as some fast mana acceleration in the from of Llanowar Elves and Druid of the Cowl. Unfortunately, it does lose protection with Blossoming Defense, as well as access to vehicles like Heart of Kiran and Aethersphere Harvester. But with a little bit of work and some new additions, this architype can be made ready for the latest Standard season.

Let’s start by looking what we get to keep. As stated above, Llanowar Elves and Druid of the Cowl allow us to quickly ramp up to our more aggressive threats. Steel Leaf Champion and Vine Mare are two such threats, and if they are left unchecked they can quick spell doom for our opponents. Thrashing Brontodon not only provides some mid-game power, but also gives us a way to deal with problematic Enchantments and Artifacts. While we will lose Scrapheap Scrounger, we can instead make use of Thorn Lieutenant in the early game (which can become a real issue if left unchecked). Finally, we run Carnage Tyrant and Ghalta, Primal Hunger as our finishers.

So that what we get to keep, but what do we get to add? Two copies Beast Whisperer, that what. A 2/3 for four mand might not sound all that impressive when compared to our army of giant beasties. But this little elf provides us with something we very much need in Green. Card advantage. It is very easy to run out of steam when playing a big beefy creature if your opponent can find the necessary removal. However, this becomes less of a problem when everyone of our creatures’ spells replaces itself.

Our mana base is fairly simple. We run full playsets of Overgrown Tomb (reprinted in Guilds of Ravnica) and Woodland Cemetery, paired up with fifteen Forests and a single Swamp. Why are we splashing for Black? Simple. We a splashing Black for one of the best removal spell Wizards of the Coast has ever printed. Assassin’s Trophy is one of those cards that changes the game when it turns up. For the low price of a single Green and a Black, we get to destroy any permanent our opponent controls. Not non-land. Not cmc 3 or less. We get to deal with anything. Yes, our opponent gets a basic land out to the deal. But who cares. This is amazingly costed and super versatile, and well worth splashing a second colour for.

When it comes to our Sideboard we are covering all our bases. Duress gives us a way to handle control and heavy non-creature decks. Sentinel Totem handle the graveyard, while Vraska’s Contempt gives us move instant speed removal. Vivien Reid offers us a variety of options depending on our needs, while Pelakka Wurm can just force aggressive opponents to just scoop up their cards. Finally, Find//Finality allows us to get back our creatures from the yard, or act as a sweeper depending on our needs.

And there you have it, the new and improved Mono Green Stompy for Guilds of Ravnica Standard. The deck should do well the early days of the new meta and could well be the go to deck while players discover new and interesting brews. But what do you think? Will Mono Green Stompy continue to be a playable architype? Are there other decks you would like to see upgraded with cards from Guilds of Ravnica? Let us know in the comments below, and while you are there why not subscribe to keep up to date with all that we do here at Master of Magics. We have been hard at work brewing new and exciting builds for the new Standard (like last week’s Goblin and Saproling decks), and we will be bringing you more of these in the near future. But until then remember no matter what you play or where you play it, Good Luck and Have Fun.

Liked it? Take a second to support Master of Magics on Patreon!