Savage Stomp: Standard Gruul Dinosaurs

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Before We Start

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has been released! Although, surprisingly, it is no longer centered on tribes, Ixalan’s traditional four tribes still received a certain amount of support, and a Dinosaur deck is the first target of many enthusiasts, so let’s try building a version!

Thunderherd Migration: Card Analysis

The Dinosaur engine in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is completely different from the old version. Besides removing enrage, the ramp package has also returned to the traditional mana-creature form. At the same time, because the card pool has to make room for many new themes beyond tribes, white in the Naya colors has become less important, so this time we only use red and green to build a new Standard Dinosaur deck.

Decklist

Pugnacious Hammerskull is the big brother of the Dinosaur world. A stunning 6/6 body for three mana with a headbutt side effect so small it can be ignored makes it a quality Dinosaur that is both burden-free to stuff into the deck and good at killing at home. Whether on turn two or paired with Belligerent Yearling, the only word for it is ferocious. The former Dinosaur planeswalker who lost her spark, Huatli, Poet of Unity, fetches a land on entering without costing a card, and after transforming, the saga Roar of the Fifth People brings resources and a decisive team-wide double strike and trample that almost guarantees victory.

The ramp pieces include the dedicated one-mana mana creature Ixalli’s Lorekeeper, the two-mana mana creature Intrepid Paleontologist, which can use Dinosaurs from the graveyard, and the ramping beater with built-in ward, Hulking Raptor. As a walking one-way Eladamri’s Vineyard, in the smoothest case it can cast a seven-mana big Dinosaur on turn four, and the pinnacle of that is naturally Etali, Primal Conqueror.

For removal this time we got a Dinosaur-specific removal spell, Triumphant Chomp, which can deal damage equal to the power of a Dinosaur you control, and even without a Dinosaur it still deals a guaranteed 2. Other than being a sorcery, it’s hard to find fault with as creature removal. Of course, only four removal spells is clearly not enough, so we also added Trumpeting Carnosaur, which can be discarded to deal 3 damage, and Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath, which can pay extra on entering to make a creature bite. However, given how complex the current Standard environment is, the main deck can’t have only creature removal, and it’s best to have a way to deal with artifacts and enchantments. Rely on Thrashing Brontodon? For this heavy-ramp Dinosaur deck that is obviously not the best answer. My answer is the King Kong and Godzilla pair, Kogla and Yidaro. Besides being able to repeatedly cycle through destroying artifacts and enchantments, it is itself a 7/7 that fights or attacks as a haste trampler, with a broad range of answers.

Dinosaur Stampede: Gameplay Demo

If you watched the video you should have noticed, but as a reminder, the mana produced by Ixalli’s Lorekeeper can’t pay the costs of triggered abilities of Dinosaur sources, which means it can’t be used to pay for the ability cost of Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath.

Since the main deck is built for ordinary mid-speed matchups, the sideboard strengthens haste and other direct-damage beaters to deal with decks with strong removal and sweepers like Domain. Tyrranax Rex and Rampaging Raptor are picks made along these lines. The versatile Tranquil Frillback serves as additional firepower against different opponents: gain life against aggro, destroy Wedding Announcement in midrange matchups, and exile graveyards against graveyard-filling decks. For matchups that come down to resource volume, it’s Bonehoard Dracosaur’s time to shine. The few remaining slots go to Royal Treatment, which protects against spot removal, and Brotherhood’s End, which handles wide boards.

Conclusion

Did the debut of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan bring any ingredients for Pioneer Dinosaurs?

The answer is certainly yes, but this time the design not only removed old Ixalan’s enrage and cost-reduction mechanics, it also didn’t consider interactions with the old mechanics, so what can be used to improve the earlier article Blazing Sun’s Fury: Pioneer Naya Dinosaurs are only specific powerful cards (such as Pugnacious Hammerskull) rather than a comprehensive reinforcement, which I personally find a great pity. However, the new set’s Dinosaurs are quite rich, and the Dinosaurs in this article’s sideboard can all be used directly in the main deck. If you don’t like my heavy-ramp main deck build, just swap the sideboard and main deck to make a different version, and I believe just trying back and forth like that will bring plenty of fun.