It’s Tuesday O’Clock! Time for a deck tech!
Rivals of Ixalan is finally here, and with it, we now have the cards we needed to complete the decks for some of our favorite tribes. Last few times I looked at Standard I covered both Vampires and Pirates. This time, however, we are covering the biggest and baddest tribe in all of Standard. I’m talking about none other than Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs got some sweet new toys to play with, and I feel these cards are going to make Dinos a contender at many FNMs.
Disclaimer: I don’t think Dinosaurs have all that they need to truly contend with a deck such as Temur Energy. However, it should still be a fun deck that has a lot of potential to it. And who knows, maybe someone will end up figuring out Dinosaurs and it could be the new best deck.
Out of all the new cards introduced in Rivals of Ixalan, one of the cards I am most excited for is none other than Ghalta, Primal Hunger. Just seeing a 12/12 trample has got my inner Timmy so excited, my Spike can barely contain it. However, it’s not just Timmy that is excited about this card. What makes this card truly good is that it can be a 2 mana 12/12 trample. In most cases, this card would be considered a win-more card and that is certainly true. However, in the midrange grind fest that is currently Standard, a 12/12 might just be what you need to tip the scales in your favor. And with Ghalta the deck has the capability for some super explosive plays, such as a Regisaur Alpha into a hasty Ghalta. That tends to turn the corner real quick.
Another card that looks like it has a lot of potential is Wayward Swordtooth. This is certainly a weird card, that I feel a lot of people might overlook in their Dinosaur decks. In most decks, the only effect this may have is giving you extra land drops while occasionally being able to attack and block as a 5/5. In this deck, however, it serves multiple purposes in one card. In this deck, I would consider it more like an enchantment that lets you play extra lands, makes your Ghalta cost 5 less, buffs your drovers, and even lets you use cards like Savage Stomp to kill opposing creatures. And then every once in a while, it can attack and block as a huge 5/5 for only 3 mana. I normally wouldn’t play this card, but due to all the synergy it has with the deck I see no reason to cut it.
And finally, out of all the new cards, one that I feel gives the deck the most potential, but is probably the least exciting card in the deck is Thunderherd Migration. Thunderherd Migration is basically just Rampant Growth, but that’s what makes this card so good. When Rampant Growth is considered too strong for Standard, you pay attention when they tell you to jump through a few hoops to get it. And in our deck, revealing a Dinosaur from our hand is hardly a cost.
Other than those 3 new cards, the deck is pretty stock R/G Dinosaurs. That isn’t to say that’s a bad thing. Cards such as Carnage Tyrant are still nearly impossible to deal with, and Ripjaw Raptor is an extremely powerful tool in the midrange matchup. All that has changed is that the deck can now be far more explosive, and it packs a much larger punch. Thank you for reading. I hope you have fun at your Prerelease, and until next time have a great week, and an amazing Tuesday!
