Johnny Cycles, November 15th, 2024
Looking for a fun, janky deck to play against new players at your game shop? Love big beaters with lots of keywords? Think Questing Beast is the best Green creature ever printed? Then this is the deck for you!
Questing Beast is such a powerful, pushed card, as anyone who has read my articles or watched my videos has heard me say before. Green has gotten a lot of undercosted, overpowered creatures over the years, but Questing Beast was the first with three keywords, a block of text, and a more than respectable body for only 4 mana.
After the printing of Questing Beast, I started paying closer attention to the creatures Green was given. More specifically, I began tracking how many Green creatures were granted at least three keywords by Wizards. I was getting the impression that Green, already considered overpowered by many, was not just getting more card draw (long the biggest drawback of playing the color), but was also getting the cheapest, best threats.
Of course, the reality is that Wizards realized creatures of a certain mana cost (usually 5 and higher, though in Modern a case can be made for 3 mana and higher) just aren’t good enough to dominate a format. Sure, Carnage Tyrant saw play in Standard when it was legal, but outside of dedicated ramp decks (including Devotion), most 5- and 6-mana creatures aren’t as scary as they look.
But what about Commander? Can a deck full of overpowered, undercosted creatures, each with at least three keywords, be competitive?
What’s a Keyword?
If you’ve played Magic for any amount of time, this is probably an easy enough question. Flying, first strike, trample, lifelink…these are all examples of keywords. For a list of all the more than 150 keywords, click here. What is perhaps not so obvious, even to seasoned players, is that activated abilities are also considered keywords. Thus, surveil or scry are considered keywords. As discussed in the above link, we can differentiate between keyword abilities and keyword actions.
For the purposes of this deck, and because it stays most true to the inspiration for this experiment – Questing Beast) – I’ve only picked creatures with three keyword abilities. Things like vigilance, deathtouch, and haste, as seen on our commander, are static abilities possessed by a creature. All the creatures I’ve chosen for this deck have at least three such keyword abilities.
For more on keywords in Magic, as well as the first deck I’ve written about following this arbitrary deck-building rule, check out my Boros Triple Keywords deck with Archangel Avacyn as commander.
Decklist – Mono Green Triple Keywords with Questing Beast
| Questing Beast |
Creatures (24)
| Stonecoil Serpent | |
| Goldvein Hydra | |
| Mistcutter Hydra | |
| Nyxborn Hydra | |
| Scryb Ranger | |
| Skylasher | |
| Wilson, Refined Grizzly | |
| Axebane Ferox | |
| Gemrazer | |
| Ramunap Hydra | |
| Toski, Bearer of Secrets |
| Balustrade Wurm | |
| Thrun, Breaker of Silence | |
| Elder Gargaroth | |
| Majestic Myriarch | |
| Vorapede | |
| Carnage Tyrant | |
| Galewind Moose | |
| Skyscythe Engulfer | |
| Sweet-Gum Recluse |
| Annoyed Altisaur | |
| Cragplate Baloth | |
| Gaea’s Revenge | |
| Tyrranax Rex |
Planeswalkers (4)
| Nissa, Voice of Zendikar | |
| Garruk, Unleashed | |
| Garruk, Primal Hunter | |
| Vivien Reid |
Artifacts (11)
| Cryptex | |
| Disruptor Flute | |
| Mazemind Tome | |
| Treasure Map | |
| Dodgy Jalopy | |
| The Celestus | |
| Treasure Chest | |
| Yggdrasil, Rebirth Engine | |
| Bow of Nylea | |
| The Deck of Many Things | |
| Kaldra Compleat |
Enchantments (5)
| Oath of Nissa | |
| Lion Umbra | |
| Omen of the Hunt | |
| Glorious Sunrise | |
| Primeval Bounty |
Instants (8)
| Emerald Charm | |
| Gift of the Viper | |
| Collective Resistance | |
| Inscription of Abundance | |
| Pawpatch Formation | |
| Return to Nature | |
| Archdruid’s Charm | |
| Beast Within |
Sorceries (8)
| Pick Your Poison | |
| Reclaim the Wastes | |
| Three Visits | |
| Scale the Heights | |
| Rootcast Apprenticeship | |
| Harmonize | |
| Predatory Rampage | |
| Season of Gathering |
Lands (39)
Endless Sands
Field of Ruin
Fountainport
Hashep Oasis
Lotus Field
Mosswort Bridge
Soulstone Sanctuary
Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
Forest (31)
Deck Tech
Arbitrary Deck Building Restrictions
Building around creatures that must have three keywords is a fun exercise that allows us to be creative in ways we normally aren’t when putting together a Commander deck. Furthermore, even with our arbitrary restriction, our card choices are not as restrictive as it may seem. In fact, mono Green has more creatures with three keywords than we have room for in our 99…
Just too mana intensive to make the cut…
But the real fun comes in finding noncreature cards that stay true to our theme of three, while also synergizing with the rest of our deck. For more on choosing noncreature cards, check out my Boros Triple Keyword article. The TL;DR is that I’ve tried to avoid Planeswalkers and Sagas, as both tend to have three abilities and thus are easy choices. Instead, I’ve looked for cards that check our box of three in more unique ways.
Being in Mono Green, however, does present us with a far smaller card pool than we had for our Boros deck. When I first built the deck more than a year ago, I leaned more heavily on Planeswalkers to help fill out the 99. Now, however, I’ve cut all but the most synergistic of this card type.
Colorless artifacts are another obvious way we can fill our deck with cards that care about three. In fact, we can easily choose a bunch of mana rocks that cost three mana. Again, I’ve avoided taking the easy route here and have instead selected artifacts that synergize with our theme of threes in more unique ways, while also helping shore up some of the weaknesses of our deck.Primary Game Plan
Primary Game Plan
I won’t lie, this deck’s primary game plan is to beat face as fast and as furiously as possible, beginning with our commander. So many of our threats are overpowered and undercosted, we chiefly want to deploy bomb after bomb on our way to victory. Our win may come on the back of several turns of attrition, as our opponent either takes their beats or blocks and loses in combat, but we want to keep the pressure on early and often.
16 of our creatures, including our commander, either have trample or deathtouch, or both. What this means is that we’ll likely have a way of punching through damage, even if our opponent has chump blockers, or a way to kill anything bigger than what we’re playing. Combine any of these with Toski, Bearer of Secrets, and we’ll never run out of action. Furthermore, we play three other creatures that bring with them card advantage, two with cascade and one that draws us a card when it attacks or blocks.
Supporting this game plan is our suite of artifacts, many of which keep our hand full of action, a bit of ramp, and a few Planeswalkers that help bridge the gap between the early and late game. Our instants, sorceries, and enchantments provide us with some much needed interaction, all while synergizing with our theme of three.
The Talent
You might think that creatures with three keywords need no further explanation, but there’s always something more I can find to add! Besides, despite having three keywords, many of these creatures have seen little to no play, even in Commander. Let’s give them their moment in the sun!
Annoyed Altisaur – bam! Right off the bat we get an unplayable fatty except in Dinosaur Tribal and our deck… Okay, maybe there’s a Cascade Tribal deck floating around out there where this guy really shines, but otherwise, he’s pretty meh. Sure, we could live the dream and cascade into a Carnage Tyrant or Elder Gargaroth and run away with the game, or…we could spin into Goldvein Hydra or Three Visits. Whomp, whomp. Still, who doesn’t love cascade? It’s like gambling without the risk of losing next month’s rent. An interesting aside about this Dinosaur: it got upgraded from common to uncommon between Double Masters and Modern Horizons 3. See how much there is to say beyond those three keywords?
Axebane Ferox – is ward better than vigilance? Nah, Questing Beast is still the superior Beast, though the art here is pretty incredible.
Balustrade Wurm – what a card! You had me at uncounterable… Trample plus haste on a 5/5 body? This is a family-friendly website, so what I’m thinking now is unprintable, but how about that power creep? And why can’t my beloved Dragons get some of this love? AND, I haven’t even mentioned its recursion. Wurm Tribal in Modern anyone?
Carnage Tyrant – one of the few creatures we’re playing that’s seen competitive play in 60-card formats. How do you improve on uncounterable? How about hexproof?
Cragplate Baloth – is this Beast better than Carnage Tyrant? Is that extra in its mana cost that problematic, particularly in a format like Commander? Is trample better than haste? These are the kinds of questions this deck inspires, but luckily, we don’t need to figure out the answers. We get to play both! As a late-game bomb, Cragplate Baloth has the potential to go very big.
Elder Gargaroth – one of the most pushed 5-drops Green has seen of late, this one comes with three keywords AND three possible combat triggers. It’s almost like it was designed for this deck.
Gaea’s Revenge – how many of you forgot this card existed? Printed more than 10 years ago, this former mythic never gained traction in any format, as far as I can tell. And yet…uncounterable, hasty, and untargetable (for all intents and purposes), what’s not to like. Oh yeah, 7 mana is a lot, while an 8/5 body can be considered measly in today’s Magic. Still, it’s another big beater for us that can pressure our opponent’s life total out of nowhere.
Galewind Moose – I’m including the picture of this Elemental Elk again to help you compare it to Gaea’s Revenge. This is where big Green creatures are in the Magic of 2024. Flash replaces haste and uncounterable, while we get three more keywords. Vigilance, trample, and reach make this card one of our best attackers and blockers. And it’s an uncommon!
Gemrazer – mutate is a keyword I still don’t fully grasp. Basically, I look it up every time I play it to make sure I’m doing it right. However, it’s spot on in flavor not only for the set it first appeared in (Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths), but for the theme of our deck, as well. Never mind that mutate as a keyword doesn’t quite fit with our rules.
Goldvein Hydra – I didn’t think there’d be a card that could compete with my love of Questing Beast. But then April 2024 came and with it the release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction and this mythic Hydra. Both the power and the flavor of this card wow me. Unconvinced? Watch me play it in Modern here.
Majestic Myriarch – our only creature with no keywords…except that it can get ALL the keywords with a little help. This is one of those siren-song cards for me. Every time I read it, I’m bedazzled by all that potential. Alas, on an empty or almost empty board, this 5-drop will be a lowly vanilla 2/2 or 4/4. Luckily, we’ll always have our commander to help boost this Chimera.
Mistcutter Hydra – punishing Blue players since 2013.
Nyxborn Hydra – another keyword (bestow) that does not quite make the bar we’ve set, I’m allowing it because, well, I love Hydras and bestow, much like mutate, fits the spirit of our deck, while being much easier to understand.
Ramunap Hydra – a powerful card that saw zero play…until Outlaws of Thunder Junction brought more Deserts to the format. Oh wait, it still sees no play, though I did run into a fellow lover of jank running it in Modern. Watch the game here.
Scryb Ranger – punishing Blue players since 2006…just kidding. I’m pretty sure this Faerie never punished anyone. Okay, okay, okay, that’s not entirely fair. I’ve never played Faeries in any format, so maybe there’s been a powerful Faerie deck leaning on this 2 drop. Otherwise, I can see it going in a ramp deck like Elves.
Skylasher – I could make the same punishing Blue joke here, but I won’t… Still, what is it with Green creatures hating on Blue so much? Oh yeah, the color pie. Is that still a thing?
Skyscythe Engulfer – this common (!) has three keywords, since I’m counting not being able to be blocked by creatures with flying as a form of unblockable. Otherwise, it’s a further sign of power creep that a 6-mana 6/5 trampler with reach is just kind of meh.
Stonecoil Serpent – should I feel bad including an artifact creature in my Mono Green Triple Keywords deck? Maybe. Do I? Nope.
Sweet-Gum Recluse – I have a Spider tribal deck. Ishkanah, Grafwidow is one of my all-time favorite cards. Unfortunately, Spiders are a very weak tribe and take a lot of support to make even close to good. But then Shelob, Child of Ungoliant was printed and suddenly they’re busted. Of course, Spider Tribal is now like Zombies or Werewolves. There’s just one commander worth playing, making every such tribal deck sort of the same. All of that aside, flash + cascade is a winning combination!
Thrun, Breaker of Silence – even after building this deck and being amazed at Thrun, the Last Troll when I first started playing Magic again in 2011, this card flew under my radar. I only just added it in. Look at that art!
Toski, Bearer of Secrets – one day Wizards will make a keyword to mean “this creature attacks each combat if able.” Until then, we’re just being very farsighted in treating this text as this Squirrel’s third keyword.
Tyrranax Rex – 7 mana is an awful lot, it’s true, but look at all that value! And it’s a Dinosaur, meaning we get to try it in our Amulet Dinos deck in Modern.
Vorapede – in all the power creep we’ve seen over the years, it’s easy to forget this mythic from Dark Ascension (2012). Sure, a 5/4 is not that impressive, but all that other text makes this a powerful bomb.
Wilson, Refined Grizzly – it’s like whoever designed Grizzly Bears took it personal that his/her card became the representative of all vanilla creatures in the game. That’s a total of five (5!!!) keywords, on top of having Background. And it’s still not really playable in any format or deck, besides ours and Bear Tribal.
Planeswalkers
I eschewed Planeswalkers in my Boros Triple Keyword deck as too easy, since they almost all have three abilities. However, in a mono-colored deck, I think we can grant ourselves a little leeway on this rule. Furthermore, the Walkers I’ve selected all synergize with our theme in other ways besides having three abilities.
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar – at 3 mana, our first Planeswalker fits our theme… I never said they synergize beautifully. In reality, though, I really like this Planeswalker, it gives us a turn 3 play (we have no 3-mana creatures in the deck), and it has an ultimate that is super fun, while not being game-ending for our opponents (probably).
Garruk, Unleashed – not only does this Planeswalker have three abilities, but his first two have threes in them! That’s right. Now we’re looking at some beautiful synergy! In reality, Garruk’s +1 can be highly relevant, given all of our big fatties that don’t have trample.
Garruk, Primal Hunter – his +1 makes a 3/3 Beast, while his -3 draws us cards (hopefully), which shores up one of Mono Green’s challenges: running out of gas.
Vivien Reid – her -3 does one of three things… Her +1 finds us our next threat.
Artifacts
One way of getting around arbitrary deck-building requirements in a single color is to play a lot of artifacts. But why would we do that? No one’s making us do this, after all. But every good Commander deck can use a few artifacts, even if only mana rocks. They give us value early and late. I’ve carefully selected only those artifacts that synergize with our theme of three and that strengthen our deck in ways our creatures do not.
Cryptex – I have no idea if this card will be any good in our deck. In fact, there’s a good chance it won’t be. However, the number 3 appears three times so I’m giving it a chance! One of the best parts of arbitrary deck-building rules is finding homes for interesting and fun cards that don’t really belong elsewhere because they are severely outclassed by so many other options. So unless you have a Collect Evidence or Surveil Tribal deck, I doubt you’re running Cryptex.
Disruptor Flute – I consider this a diamond-in-the-rough find for our deck, even if the card is generically good in just about any deck. Not only are there three lines of relevant text, but we tax our opponent’s card by . The synergies! Now, on a more tangible level, Mono Green doesn’t have access to the kind of interaction the other colors get. Having a cheap way of countering a must-answer commander is a huge boon to our deck.
Mazemind Tome – alas, this card isn’t rife with the number 3, but it does three different things, while also giving us some more card advantage and something to do in the early game.
Treasure Map – we need three landmark counters to flip this artifact.
Dodgy Jalopy – a late addition in favor of something like Thrasta, Tempest’s Roar, this vehicle costs three, takes to crew, and can be scavenged for three. And has trample. That’s three relevant keywords, even if some are activated abilities.
The Celestus – this might be the oddest of odd inclusions seeing as we aren’t playing a single Werewolf. We could play Skyclave Relic here, instead, but I’m playing that in my Boros Triple Keyword deck already. Furthermore, this legendary artifact gives us some card advantage, which is always appreciated in a Mono Green deck full of big beaters.
Treasure Chest – this is one of my most guilty pleasure cards in a deck full of them! I love everything about rolling dice to determine what happens. That two of the four possibilities include three makes this an easy include. Too bad we only get one use out of it…
Yggdrasil, Rebirth Engine – a repeatable source of card advantage that could be included in any creature-heavy deck. That it exiles the top three cards of our library is the reason we’re including it. Be forewarned, though. It’s a nonbo with Cryptex.
Bow of Nylea – I’m a bit on the fence about this card, since it gives us the option to do one of four things, but it costs three mana, grants a keyword (deathtouch) to all of our attacking creatures, and can gain us three life. That’s enough threes, I think, to warrant its inclusion.
The Deck of Many Things – an artifact that does one of three things depending on the roll of a d20. Honestly, I could see cutting this for the next Green creature they print that has three keywords.
Kaldra Compleat – like the various Swords, this equipment could go in any deck with this theme. I’m going to include it in this one over something like Sword of Light and Shadow because Beasts and Dinosaurs holding swords make less sense than Angels (where I’ve included a bunch of the Swords).
Enchantments
Here’s another card type full of guilty pleasures. Many of these cards are fine in any Green deck, but without our theme of threes, probably wouldn’t make the cut.
Oath of Nissa – at , it’s easy to make the case for this card being in any Mono Green deck, to be honest. It’s good both early and late.
Lion Umbra – umbra armor is another mechanic that is easy to justify including in a Commander deck. After all, it protects your commander from at least one kill spell or sweeper. In our deck, though, it really shines, as it gives the enchanted creature +3/+3 and two keywords (three if you count the umbra armor clause).
Omen of the Hunt – another 3-mana spell, this enchantment has three relevant lines of text. We get flash, mana ramp, and card filtering, all for the total investment of . Yeah, I don’t see many other decks running this one.
Glorious Sunrise – we’re again stretching our theme a bit, since there are four options to choose from, but look at all those threes otherwise! In actual fact, this card is super powerful given its flexibility. And it’s budget friendly, with at least one copy under $1. I guess Green just has too many powerful choices at the 5-mana slot. Still, if you haven’t given this enchantment a shot yet, you’ll thank me after you do!
Primeval Bounty – another card seemingly designed for our deck. And another card that I used to always pull out of my binder when making a Commander deck with Green in it only to cut it as being too expensive and too unimpactful. For our deck and its theme of three, though, it’s a perfect fit! So. Many. Threes.
Instants
Green has no shortage of modal spells that have three or more options. I’ve again selected ones that shore up weaknesses in the deck.
Archdruid’s Charm – so much power in just the first mode, while the other two give us some much needed answers to problematic permanents.
Beast Within – for three mana we get to destroy any permanent, leaving our opponent with a 3/3 Beast. The synergy! Also, I can’t help but think of Desert Twister when I see this card. Twice the cost and sorcery speed, but no creature left behind…
Collective Resistance – another modal spell, we get to choose all three if we pay the necessary mana. Furthermore, the final mode grants two keywords until end of turn.
Emerald Charm – I expect to use this mostly to destroy problematic enchantments, but the other two modes can lead to some blowouts during combat.
Gift of the Viper – another powerful spell that probably doesn’t make the cut in most decks outside of Counters Matter. For us, we get three kinds of counters, two of which are keywords. That’s a triple win! This recently printed card is a shoutout to Ambush Viper, since we get to untap the creature and give it deathtouch. This gives our Mono Green build some much-needed removal in the right spot.
Inscription of Abundance – one of my favorite Green instants, in part because it’s under $1. For an additional three mana, we get to choose all three modes. The last mode is a fight spell, which we sorely need more of in our deck, but without the other two modes, it wouldn’t make the cut.
Pawpatch Formation – more enchantment hate, this 2-mana instant also gives us a bit of card draw.
Return to Nature – Green is really good at destroying artifacts and enchantments… Return to Nature also allows us to nerf a Reanimate effect…once.
Sorceries
Again, modal cards play an important part for us in this spot, but we also get to run some janky, fun cards that fit our theme nicely.
Harmonize – according to edhrec.com, this card is played in 9% of Commander decks. That’s cool. For us, drawing THREE cards is the reason we’re including it.
Predatory Rampage – I doubt this card is very good in our deck, to be honest. Most of our creatures are so big that the +3/+3 won’t really matter all that much. Meanwhile, the second line of text is a nice trick to kill our opponent’s creatures, but there’s no guarantee they block not to their advantage with the creature(s) we really want to kill, while we’re hopefully forcing blocks the entire game just with our giant threats. Still, it’s hard to resist that +3/+3 for our theme.
Pick Your Poison – opponent playing some keywords of their own, namely hexproof? Pick Your Poison don’t care.
Reclaim the Wastes – I’m including this card because its kicker is , but also because it gives us something to do in the early game that ensures we make our land drops and, hopefully, allows us to keep some otherwise unplayable 7s.
Rootcast Apprenticeship – another card chosen mostly for its synergy with three. I have a feeling we’ll being using the first and last modes 99% of the time.
Scale the Heights – for three mana, we get to do FOUR things, not just three. This was one of the first cards that really clued me in to both the power creep in Magic and the total fluidity of the color pie. Yes, three mana is a lot for this kind of effect, particularly given the existence of Growth Spiral, but still! Counters, lifegain, ramp, and card draw!
Season of Gathering – three different modes, the first of which pumps a creature, while also granting it two keywords until end of turn. I see us using this 6-mana sorcery mostly to wipe the board of artifacts or enchantments and to draw cards.
Three Visits – the pièce de résistance of our sorceries, I’m stupidly happy to play this card thanks to its name…I know, I know, but you have to learn to find joy in the small things!
Lands
We play mostly basics, but I’ve found a few gems that fit our theme.
Endless Sands – it does three things! Yeah, it’s a low bar for lands to match our theme of three. However, I will say that this Desert does offer us a bit of protection from spot removal and sweepers.
Fountainport – a land that does three things on top of tapping for mana?! Yes, please.
Hashep Oasis – here for two reasons: it’s another Desert that synergizes with Ramunap Hydra, and it can give a creature +3/+3.
Lotus Field – I couldn’t resist including this land, even if it doesn’t actually synergize with anything else we’re doing. It has a keyword, hexproof, and taps for three mana. That’s enough for me!
Mosswort Bridge – another land that does three things, this one finds a home in most Mono Green Stompy decks. In fact, according to edhrec.com, it’s in 10% of all decks. Wow.
Soulstone Sanctuary – this only just printed land from Foundations can become a 3/3 with vigilance. Too bad it costs to activate. Sometimes you just can’t have it all.
Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth – no synergies with three here, but it’s kind of a free include in a Mono Green deck.
Flex Spots
As I discuss in my Boros Triple Keyword article, we could go more in the direction of artifact creatures to add to our number of threats, if we so choose. Here are three examples of some heavy hitters that aren’t too far off our curve, especially if we tweak our deck to include more ramp.
Here are some of the other cards that didn’t make the cut:
Creatures
| Crystalline Giant | |
| Trickster’s Elk | |
| Woodland Wanderer | |
| Conclave Sledge-Captain | |
| End-Raze Forerunners | |
| Apex Devastator | |
| Decimator of the Provinces | |
| Thrasta, Tempest’s Roar |
Some of these creatures got cut because they technically didn’t have three keyword abilities (Trickster’s Elk, Conclave Sledge-Captain). Others, like End-Raze Forerunners are great, but, one, we play it in several other decks, particularly as it’s budget friendly, and, two, our deck is not exactly set up to go super wide. Finally, cards like Apex Devastator and Thrasta, Tempest’s Roar are just too mana intensive.
Planeswalkers
| Vivien, Arkbow Ranger | |
| Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury | |
| Nissa, Vital Force | |
| Nissa, Worldwaker | |
| Wrenn and Seven | |
| Garruk, Caller of Beasts |
As mentioned above, most Planeswalkers are only superficially on theme and so are easy cuts to make in favor of more thematic cards.
Artifacts
| Lotus Bloom | |
| Solar Transformer | |
| Staff of Domination | |
| Lithoform Engine | |
| Gilded Lotus |
Some of this ramp I would consider making room for, while a card like Lithoform Engine looks synergistic on paper, but, in reality, we don’t have a reliable way to abuse each of the three things it does.
Enchantments
| Assault Formation | |
| Gift of Paradise | |
| Most Wanted | |
| Crystal Carapace | |
| The Mending of Dominaria | |
| Nature’s Wrath |
Assault Formation is an example of a card that does three things and even has an activation cost of , but otherwise just doesn’t synergize with our deck in any real way. Sagas are obvious possible inclusions, but, like Planeswalkers, they’re low-hanging fruit for us. We can do better. Nature’s Wrath has three lines of text and hoses Black and Blue players, but that’s not good enough. I happened to have a copy from when I was playing Magic in the 90s and so thought I’d give it a whirl in an earlier version of this deck.
Instants
| Verdant Command | |
| Barrier Breach | |
| Krosan Grip | |
| Slice in Twain |
Is a card like Krosan Grip, which has a keyword and can do one of two things, synergistic enough? What about Verdant Command, which lets us choose two of four modes? These are the kinds of questions I have to resolve when deciding on my 99.
Sorceries
| Horrific Assault | |
| Nature’s Lore | |
| Seek the Horizon | |
| Incremental Growth | |
| Nissa’s Renewal | |
| Primal Command |
Horrific Assault is a great card that gives us some much-needed targeted removal, particularly given our commander has deathtouch, but is the possibility of gaining three life synergistic enough? Meanwhile, Nature’s Lore is a great ramp spell, but has no synergy with the number 3. Again, these are the questions I wrestle with. What would you do?
Ideal Hand and Game Play
We have 13 spells that cost 3 or less mana that ramp us, filter our draws, or draw us a card. Having one or two of these in our opening hand is ideal, because we are a pretty top heavy deck with 25 of our creatures costing 4 or more mana. Furthermore, several of our creatures that are technically less than 4 mana have in their mana cost, meaning we aren’t really interested in casting them in the early game.
Alongside one or two of these early game plays, we want at least three lands, since we are a mana hungry deck, one answer, and one threat. This kind of hand ensures we make our land drops until we get to our commander, while also letting us hopefully find more action or deal with something our opponent is doing.
Weaknesses
We are a fair, Midrange deck that doesn’t have an alternative win condition outside of combat. We’re relying heavily on our creatures being more efficient and more powerful than our opponent’s. Combo and Control decks can give us issues, particularly the former. We can have some quick set up, an aggressive set of turns where we hit our opponent for a lot, and still fall short of a deck that can win from nowhere with some 2- or 3-card combo. We lack unconditional interaction, short of Beast Within, which means if our opponent is playing a must-answer commander, we may just lose to it.
Since we’re a Midrange deck with a high curve, we can also just draw the wrong half of our deck and find all of our big threats. Making land drops every turn but casting our first spell on turn 4 won’t result in victory more often than not.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a fun, janky deck full of heavy hitting, guilty pleasure threats, then give this Mono Green Triple Keywords deck a shot! For anyone who loves attacking with big beaters, I also recommend this deck. Sure, Mono Green can ramp into bigger and badder threats, but do those threats have three keywords?
Seriously, I would consider this a pretty mid-level deck, no higher than 5. Given its janky deck-building restriction, I would be okay with someone rating the deck even lower. One thing working for a rating of 5, though, is the individual power level of its creatures. Big beaters with three keywords have an inherent power to them that can make up for a lack of synergy otherwise.
What do you think? Are decks like this fun to play? More powerful than I’m giving them credit for? Which cards am I overlooking? What would you play? What’s the jankiest deck-building restriction you’ve adopted?
Thanks for reading and watching!
