So Magic 2012 is finally upon is in real life and it’s coming to an MTGO near you next week. Had the MTGO PreRelease been this weekend, I’d have been able to run tournaments all weekend long. Unfortunately next weekend my Sunday is completely booked. I will likely only play in a few drafts instead of multiple Sealed Decks. Ah well, I’ve got to play when I’ve got the time.
So let’s get down to the business at hand. The green cards in M12 look really good. I’m a huge fan of the new Garruk (despite his weighty 2GGG mana cost) and I absolutely love Hunter’s Insight, Overrun, Dungrove Elder, Jade Mage, and Skinshifter, just to name a few. That doesn’t include the old standbys like Primeval Titan, Rampant Growth, etc… All in all, I think this fall is going to be a great time for green mages!
So I’ve done some brewing with these new weapons and after several ridiculously bad ideas, I came up with the following deck.
Not So Stupid Green
20 Forest
4 Tectonic Edge
4 Arbor Elf
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Jade Mage
4 Dungrove Elder
3 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Acidic Slime
4 Primeval Titan
3 Beast Within
3 Hunter’s Insight
3 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Overrun
Sideboard:
4 Autumn’s Veil
4 Nature’s Claim
1 Plummet
4 Obstinate Baloth
1 Acidic Slime
1 Beast Within
Okie dokie! Let’s analyze this puppy! Any good green deck worth its salt starts with 8 mana-producing 1-drops. Whether it be Birds or Elves of Llanowar or Dark Shadow or whatever elves (like Arbor), they all work. These are obviously here for acceleration as well as providing bodies for the eventual Overrun. I considered both Rampant Growth and Overgrown Battlement, but neither fulfill the role of an able-bodied attacker.
Next up are the attackers! Jade Mage provides a way to have an early beater while being able to construct an army of 1/1 saprolings in the late game as well. Saprolings like Overrun, or so I’ve heard… Dungrove Elder is one of my favorite cards from the new set. Sure, it requires you to play nearly mono-green, but Hexproof really is an amazing ability and I think if Troll Ascetic were legal, it would definitely warrant 4 slots in any green deck. the other heavy hitter in the deck is Primeval Titan, and boy is he heavy! You couldn’t ask for a better six-drop and he sure plays nice with Dungrove Elder.
After that come the utility and card drawing mechanics. Solemn Simulacrum fetches lands, serves as a chump and an Overrunner, Acidic Slime provides much needed artifact/enchantment/land removal, Beast Within is just all-around good, Hunter’s Insight draws cards nicely, and the new Garruk is a beast all to his own. The Solemns might be incorrect, but that will have to come out in testing. Acidic Slime is a lovely card, I just wish it were a 3/3 instead of a 2/2… or had reach. Ah well. Beast Within doesn’t really need an explanation as it is just all-around awesome.
Two of the new additions from M12 are Hunter’s Insight and Garruk, Primal Hunter. These two cards make up the deck’s card-drawing capability. I believe that a resolved Insight on a 4/4 or 5/5 Dungrove Elder is enough to put away the game. Not to mention what happens if you hit with a Titan. At worst, though, it will draw a removal spell and you’ll get 2-for-1’d. Sometimes you just have to take that chance. Hexproof + Insight is a very good combination, ensuring that they won’t remove your guy in response and drawing cards in the process. Garruk is pretty awesome on his own or in collaboration with an army. The correct play 95% of the time will be to play him and make a beast, then using his draw cards ability on the next turn. Sometimes you will want to draw cards immediately (like if you have another Garruk in hand), or you may want to build him up to his ultimate (perhaps a stalled board position). I think he’s going to add a lot of punch to the deck.
The sideboard is just a bunch of random green cards thrown together, and will only be fleshed out after testing and extensive study of the Standard metagame. For now that’s all I’ve got!
Force of Nature 