Over halfway there now, we’re almost done with all the colours and will soon be moving onto the multicoloured, artifact and land cards. Today however is the last of the colours and its green day. Sit back, relax and lets kick things off.
Aggressive Urge
It does exactly what it says on the tin, Aggressive Urge is a good combat trick that replaces itself. Not much to be down on here, and it’s easy to splash which is always a plus.
Cacophodon
If you can find a way of dealing Cacophodon damage in combat that you can effectively have a four mana 2/5 with sudo
Cherished Hatchling
The stats on this creature are fairly run of the mill and therefor uninteresting, the interesting bit is the effect. It’s a weird one really, it gives you a great opportunity with playing your dinosaurs at instant speed, however that kinda feels like its defensive creature and if there’s one thing dinosaurs aren’t, it’s defensive. You could through this into an attack but only if it wasn’t going to die, because it will almost always die if it gets blocked. It’s fine for limited even though there are better two drop dinosaurs, late in the game and given enough mana though you could get a huge advantage by dropping dinosaurs at the end of your opponent’s turn.
Colossal Dreadmaw
Colossal Dreadmaw is a reprint from Ixalan and it does that same thing here as it did there. It’s a big six mana 6/6 Trampler, on curve and a threat and the perfect top end for those green decks in limited.
Crested Herdcaller
I really like Crested Herdcaller, it may seem below the curve but actually having six power over two bodies could be more effective. Both creatures have Trample, making them awkward to block profitably from your opponent’s point of view. For five mana Crested Herdcaller can come down in the early to mid game and if neither creatures are dealt with they can start to run rampant, plus any power/toughness boost instantly makes both the creatures much more threatening. Crested Herdcaller is a limited powerhouse and it could even see some constructed play thanks to it spreading its power over two bodies, almost in a budget Thragtusk way.
Deeproot Elite
This is a great advocate for standard Merfolk, Deeproot Elite can really make a Merfolk strategy. It comes down early and helps boost all of your other Merfolk, in multiples it starts to get a bit nuts, and if you can drop a couple more soon after your two mana 1/1 starts turning into a viable threat. It requires a fairly heavy Merfolk tribal deck in limited but I could see me first picking. In constructed it would probably be a four of every time and I would not be opposed to playing that deck.
Enter The Unknown
I love mana ramp so my initial thought when I saw this card was “Explore variant, great”. However, Enter The Unknown is much worse than Explore; yea it’s cheaper but requires a target to cast it. It also doesn’t replace itself which is a big mark against it. I can see me playing this in limited but I feel there are going to be better cards to play, constructed could see this but in reality you could be doing better things. The main issue is that you want to play this on turn one but you can’t and because of that it’s not a card I’m interested in.
Forerunner Of The Heralds
Probably the most aggressive of the Forerunner cycle and possibly in the best tribe for it. Forerunner Of The Heralds, like the other Forerunners, is a great card in limited because it allows you to find the bomb tribal bomb in your deck. This one also gives you a bit more longevity by having a permanent boost effect whenever another Merfolk enters the battlefield for you, so this four mana Merfolk could start turning into your beater after a while. Given enough time in limited Forerunner Of The Heralds can get huge and demands to be dealt with or it’ll close out the game. In constructed you don’t usually have that much time which is why it won’t find a home there.
Ghalta, Primal Hunger
The biggest of all dinosaurs, Ghalta, is a humongous twelve mana 12/12 Trampler. You may think that’s going to be impossible to cast, maybe you can cheat him out or something. Well fear not as this big green dino himself is cheaper than he looks, thanks to his text box. Ghalta would work really well in an elf ramp deck, you can generate mana and reduce Ghalta’s cost at the same time. In theory you could ramp into Ghalta by about turns 4-6, if you can achieve that then I would assume you’ve won that game bar some sort of removal spell. It’s a limited bomb and you should probably always play Ghalta as your top end creature in limited, there may be a place for it in constructed but it would have to be a ramp dinosaur deck that could consistently drop this in the mid game.
Giltgrove Stalker
Giltgrove Stalker has the potential to be a limited all star, build this up with some auras or equipment and you’re golden. It comes down cheap and if you do find it in the early game it will bypass most blockers. Giltgrove Stalker is a good way to get in early damage and doubles up by helping any Merfolk tribal you may have. It can be a bit fragile but it’s good enough for limited, not so much constructed.
Hardy Veteran
It’s a bear with upside, it does ok in the early game and when its your turn Hardy Veteran becomes a decent blocker. It sits better in a limited deck that wants to get to the early by making attacks less profitable but at worst it’s still a Grizzly Bear.
Hunt The Weak
Green doesn’t tend to get much good removal so when you have access to spells like Hunt The Weak, you should probably play it. It’s not cheap but can be very effective when used on an already big creature or one with death or lifelink. Hunt The Weak is easy to splash as well just in case you have an unfortunate limited pool with almost no removal. As a final point on Hunt The Weak, it can trigger Enrage quite nicely and remove a creature at the same time.
Jade Bearer
This is a fine creature for the Merfolk deck in limited, it can make one of your more important or evasive Merfolk larger and helps any tribal aspects of the deck. Unfortunately Jade Bearer can’t make itself a 2/2 or be cast on turn one but it’s cheap enough and holds a good enough effect that casting it in the mid to late game is still fine.
Jadecraft Artisan
Jadecraft Artisan is great; it’s got a good body, an aggressive effect and it’s easy to splash. It helps out in a merfolk deck in limited but is just removed enough from the tribal part that it’s still good enough as a green creature in itself.
Jadelight Ranger
This three mana Merfolk is pretty straight forward; it has the potential to be a three mana 4/3 and at worse draws you a couple of lands, digging you deeper towards your actual cards. I love this guy for limited as it could start getting in for serious damage quickly, maybe also in constructed for a tempo/midrange deck but three drops are in abundance at the moment.
Jungleborn Pioneer
Three mana for three power is good, it’s even better split over two creatures. The other good part of Jungleborn Pioneer, and the token it brings with it, is that it can bring double the triggers or benefits from the tribal cards you’ve got. I like it just as a green creature as well because it brings along a second creature to block or apply pressure with.
Knight Of The Stampede
Great creature, easy to splash, brilliant blocker and makes the dinosaurs you have all the more potent. To costly for constructed but a slam dunk in limited if you’re playing dinosaurs or need a good green creature.
Naturalize
Naturalize is always a good sideboard card for a green deck to have. It provides you with good options for harder to deal with cards like artifact a and enchantments at instant speed and cheap cost. It’s not main deckable by any means but still a good card to have hanging around in both limited and constructed.
Orazca Frillback
Pretty simple this one. Easy to splash, above the curve and very aggressive. Nothing special but it’s a workhorse in limited on both the offence and defence.
Overgrown Armasaur
This dinosaur is more suited for a midrange limited deck, one that is happy to battle things out in combat not afraid of grinding out a game or two. The tokens can be very effective if used the correct way, useful blockers a plenty and when necessary innocuous little attackers to whittle their life total down. Overgrown Armasaur is costly but the power is there and I think it could be a limited powerhouse.
Path Of Discovery
Path Of Discovery feels like a great card for those slower creature decks in limited. It can start turning your weaker utility creatures into actual threats and give them a slightly better chance in combat. I think it’s a bit costly for constructed but could be utilised well in the right deck.
Plummet
I’ve always liked Plummet, because it’s a flavourful removal spell in the perfect colour. It’s cheap and useful to board in in limited when you’re being inundated with flyers and you’re lacking any sort of ariel or reach blockers. Probably not good enough for constructed because there are better things but it wouldn’t surprise me if a Mono green deck jammed a couple of these into its sideboard just in case.
Polyraptor
Dinosaurs in this set are very big, very splashy and very costly. This does put more of an emphasis on ramping and using your mana better, especially to get to a creature like Polyraptor which can take over a game with ease. Yes an eight mana 5/5 might not be the best stats in the world but if you can ping it or get a fortunate block so that it doesn’t die, all of a sudden you have two 5/5’s. Keep on this track and you will have a small army of 5/5’s that have become very hard to deal with. This is all purely limited talk as I think that eight mana, even with this ability, is a tad too much. That’s not to say I would love to see it in constructed and I will definitely try and get it to work.
Strength Of The Pack
This is like a permanent Overrun, kind of, not really. It costs one more but isn’t as green mana intensive so it’s slightly easier to cast. It obviously works better if you have a slightly bigger board but it really comes down to how much you’re willing to pay for two +1/+1 counters per creature. Usually this will come down to the circumstances in your game; if the counters on one creature would allow you to have lethal damage then six mana is fine to pay, if you would need a little bit more even after putting counters on two or three creatures then you may think twice. Strengthen The Pack can be a top end bomb in limited, your opponent would have to deal with all the targets at once which wouldn’t be easy. In constructed its way to overcosted and doesn’t have enough immediate impact when cheap spot removal and Settle The Wreckage are flying about.
Swift Warden
Clear this creatures text box for a minute. A three mana 3/3 is great in all respects, add in the flash and it’s becoming an above the curve dream. The Hexproof to a Merfolk is a good kicker but I think Swift Warden is going to be used mostly as a great flash blocker. In limited this guy will do serious work and for constructed I could definitely see a tempo deck love this creature.
Tendershoot Dryad
A five mana 2/2 is a bit meh, quite fragile and not massively good in combat. Tendershoot Dryad does generate some tokens for you though which adds to your board position and your Ascend numbers, which is you achieve Ascension turns all of your 1/1 tokens into 3/3’s and can turn the tide of a game from “stemming the damage and chumping” to “actual threats and good blocks”. It’s a limited card through and through this one thanks to its high mana cost but it will be fantastic in limited, easy to splash and a good incremental effect.
Thrashing Brontodon
Another creature above the curve, this time a little better at blocking, and with a good Naturalize ability built in. Thrashing Brontodon will see play in limited and constructed alike thanks to its versatile nature, it’s great on offence, defence and at dealing with those pesky artifacts and enchantments. Get ready to see Thrashing Brontodon in a few sideboards and maybe even main decks.
Thunderherd Migration
This card is not Rampant Growth. I wish it was but it’s just not as good, if you can reveal a dinosaur it’s fine but that may pigeonhole you a bit deck wise. If you choose to wait a turn and pay three for it that puts it into Kodama’s Reach territory and it’s still nowhere near as good. Part of me really wants to try Thunderheard Migration but I’m fairly certain I’m going to feel let down by it. As far as limited is concerned it will see play and ramping into your bombs is how you win games, but it will mean you may find yourself playing more dinosaurs that you wouldn’t normally play just to hit it on the two more consistently.
Wayward Swordtooth
This creature interests me a lot, it’s cheap and gives you a lot of advantage both mana wise and on board. A three mana 5/5 has to have a drawback and that it does, not being able to attack unless you have Ascended. However Wayward Swordtooth helps a lot towards that, not only for being a permanent itself but allowing you to double your land drops which will get you to ten permanents twice as fast. This is what I wanna be doing on turn three rather than casting Thunderhead Migration for the extra land, Wayward Swordtooth gives you additional mana as well as a massive threat going into the mid/late game. I’m gonna be trying this guy out because I’m very confident he will find a home.
World Shaper
Another interesting effect on a creature that I’m very keen on trying out. World Shaper could just end up being a four mana 3/3 that fuels your graveyard, but it could also be a fantastic ramp card that could get you to the late game super quick. My issue with it is that you cast it on turn four and don’t get to attack with it until turn five and by then any mana advantage might not be as necessary and you could just end up ditching cards you otherwise might have wanted. I like the potential but I’m not convinced really, in limited it’s fine as the creature it is but you can’t justify attacking that much otherwise you will deck yourself.
That’s all the colours said and done. Tomorrow I’ll be taking a look at all of the multicoloured cards in Rivals Of Ixalan so remember to check back for that. As always if you’re after some Rivals Of Ixalan singles check out https://arcanecardshop.co.uk/.
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