With the rise in popularity of midrange and control strategies, Red-based sligh decks have become less effective in the meta than they were pre-GTC. UWr flash, Esper control, Bant and Naya midrange, and other popular decks are packing many maindeck answers to the strategies red aggro decks employ, namely Supreme Verdict, Azorius Charm, Restoration Angel, Sphinx's Revelation, Thragtusk, Boros Reckoner, Augur of Bolas, and Loxodon Smiter. The prevalence of these decks makes success in a typical red aggro shell much more difficult than it used to be. Mono red decks can typically sideboard well against midrange strategies with cards like Traitorous Blood and Hound of Griselbrand, but against control decks the amount of answers red has are often times lacking. By the time our control opponent wipes our board with Supreme Verdict and hits a revelation a few turns later, we are typically drowned out by
card advantage even if we are mindful not to overextend.
I encountered this myself on MTGO with my RDW build. I had a decent amount of success with my build against midrange as it ran Pyreheart Wolf and Boros Reckoner in the mainboard and Hound of Griselbrand in the side. Against UWr flash and Esper control, however, it was a much different story. Many of these matchups felt nearly unwinnable for me. I'd say I had less than a 40% win rate against these decks because they mainboard so many answers to our threats and drown us in their card advantage in the late game, then bring in so much hate from the sideboard that counter even our own sideboarding attempts.
The main problem red-based aggro has currently is the lack of persistent threats. Late game reach is relegated to topdecking cards like Hellrider, Zealous Conscripts, and Thundermaw Hellkite, but the rest of the deck lacks the kind of punch these cards provide. Even still, these threats are easily mitigated by the decks that red-based aggro
typically has problems with. What if we brought in cards that provided built-in card advantage and late game reach to fight this problem? Namely, why don't we focus on cards with regenerate or undying to be resistant to removal (especially sweepers) and cards that make every card we play a legitimate end-game threat? Enter green-heavy Gruulhammer.
[deck=Valdarith's green-heavy Gruulhammer]Creatures (29)
4 Experiment One
4 Young Wolf
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Flinthoof Boar
3 Borderland Ranger
3 Pyreheart Wolf
3 Hound of Griselbrand
4 Deadbridge Goliath
Lands (23)
2 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Stomping Ground
4 Rootbound Crag
3 Mountain
10 Forest[/deck]
Deck summary
The undying mechanic is a great way to build card advantage and a persistent board state for us. Cards like Young Wolf, Strangleroot Geist, Pyreheart Wolf, and Hound of Griselbrand are stoic to board wipes (except Terminus) and provide a
perfect curve for a creature-centric deck. Late-game reach is provided by Kessig Wolf Run and Deadbridge Goliath, turning any creature we play into a legitimate threat the moment it hits the board. Borderland Ranger fixes our mana to cast Hound of Griselbrand more reliably as well as turn on the +1/+1 for our Flinthoof Boars. Experiment One fills out our one-drop slot and offers value as well as persistence with multiple evolve triggers. Searing Spear and Mizzium Mortars round out the deck as our red spells of choice, with a one-of Garruk, Primal Hunter to provide more persistence as well as a card-advantage engine.
The unique thing about this deck is that it has a much lower curve that most midrange decks but has the same type of strategy. With all of the undying creatures it has a stronger control matchup and maindecking Hound of Griselbrand, Deadbridge Goliath, Garruk, and Kessig Wolf Run give it a fantastic midrange matchup. Aggro decks are fended off in the early game by Searing Spear, Mizzium
Mortars, and the 1 and 2 cmc creatures, especially Young Wolf and Strangleroot Geist then beaten into submission by the top end of the curve.
Creature considerations when building the deck:
1 cmc
1) Young Wolf - A 1/1 for G isn't impressive until you note that he has undying. This makes him very relevant even as a topdeck when we have Kessig Wolf Run online.
2) Experiment One - This card has value written all over it. Can be a 3/3 for G by turn three and regenerates as well. This mechanic really wants you to have a good power curve on creatueres though. Playing this alongside Borderland Ranger and Pyreheart Wolf can be a little slow.
3) Dryad Militant - 2/1 for basically G that hates out Snapcaster Mage. Unfortunately it has little staying power.
2 cmc
1) Strangleroot Geist - a 2/1 haste for GG that comes back for another round when it dies? Sign me up!
2) Flinthoof Boar - a pseudo-three drop
that can be played on turn two. You really want a decent amount of Mountains to make him a 3/3 or some way to get them.
3) Mayor of Avabruck - a decent card but we don't typically want to be holding spells just to flip him. Does pump Young Wolf and Pyreheart Wolf when flipped though.
4) Disciple of the Old Ways - an interesting card. Basically a 2/2 Grizzly Bear but we can give it first strike when we want.
3 cmc
1) Pyreheart Wolf - a great card in a deck that doesn't like blockers getting in the way. This often forces unfavorable blocks and synergizes nicely with the theme of this deck. Also serves as a great blocker in a pinch.
2) Borderland Ranger - fixes our mana and is also a dude. Can't ask for much more than that.
3) Wolfir Avenger - this card gets mixed reviews from many people. Flashing him in can catch our opponents off guard and his regeneration can prove very useful in the late game when we have the extra mana
open. Worth considering in the 75.
4) Predator Ooze - the indestructability clause is definitely useful, but GGG can be a little difficult to cast in a deck that's also running less Forests to turn on Flinthoof Boar and cast Hound of Griselbrand more reliably. Also very slow.
4 cmc
1) Deadbridge Goliath - 4 mana for a vanilla 5/5 beater being overlooked in this meta is a sure sign of the power creep that has occured over the years of MTG. This is exactly where this deck wants to be though. The scavenge clause provides late game reach as well. Just don't put those counters on an undying creature that doesn't already have a counter unless victory is assured!
2) Hound of Griselbrand - this guy is AWESOME. He does so much work against all decks, and with Kessig Wolf Run he is flat-out insane. An auto-include in this deck.
3) Ghor-Clan Rampager - a 4/4 with trample is good, but his bloodrush clause gives him a bit of flexibility and
can also create unprofitable blocking situations for our opponent. With the deck already running Goliath and Hound, this guy is pretty much second class, and I personally prefer running burn spells instead of this guy.
4) Huntmaster of the Fells - this guy needs no introduction. He's amazing against aggro decks since he brings two bodies to the table immediately and gains life, and him being a four drop means we will typically not mind letting him flip the next turn (unlike with Mayor of Avabruck). He also forces draw/go decks to make hard decisions about whether or not they want him to flip. They either need to cast a spell or remove him when he hits. He isn't quite as effective as creatures with Undying, Scavenge, or Regenerate in regards to sweepers, but the fact that he has an immediate impact on the board state in every matchup makes him a highly relevant creature.
5 cmc
1) Acidic Slime - now that artifacts and enchantments are becoming
more popular, this could be a great sideboard option for us. It's a dude and it gives us a spell on top. Can also explode a land if we notice our opponent is in a pinch for mana or we just don't like their Kessig Wolf Run, Nephalia Drownyard, or insert spellland here.
2) Wolfir Silverheart - turns every dude into a beast. His inclusion is likely a matter of personal taste and deck configuration.
3) Thundermaw Hellkite - in decks that want to be faster, here is your answer.
4) Thragtusk - gains us life and has a sort-of undying clause in the token it leaves behind. Unlike other undying creatures, it's not cold to Terminus. Something to consider.
5) Vorapede - a 5/4 undying, vigilance, and trample for 5cmc. Yeah, it's good, but probably superfluous in this deck.
Spell considerations when building the deck:
x cmc
1) Bonfire of the Damned - excellent card for a deck running 24 land. We don't typically want to run more
than two since getting stuck with one in your hand can be awkward, though still relevant later on. You basically have to decide between this and Mizzium Mortars. If you prefer consistency, try Mortars. If you don't mind gambling or run into Geist of Saint Traft a lot, try Bonfire.
2) Devil's Play - good card in land-heavy decks but we have Kessig Wolf Run to fill the role that Devil's Play would ultimately fill, which is as a finisher most of the time.
3) Clan Defiance - hits a creature, a flying creature, and a player all at once. Pretty cost-prohibitive though. I think Bonfire would be a better choice overall.
1 cmc
1) Pillar of Flame - probably not where we want to be in the main deck. It's dead against control and midrange and we are favorable against most kinds of aggro with this kind of deck. Should certainly consider sideboard slots for the occassional run in with Naya Blitz or Gruul sligh though.
2) Rancor - we already
have Kessig Wolf Run to give us trample effects. We're really not built to be fast since we're more concentrated on developing a persistent board early so Rancor seems suboptimal here.
2 cmc
1) Searing Spear - the premium burn spell in Standard at the moment. Run the full four.
2) Mizzium Mortars - basically says 1R: destroy target creature. There aren't many creatures this card won't kill, and the overload is particularly useful in the late game as well.
3 cmc and 4cmc
Nothing really of note here.
5 cmc
1) Garruk, Primal Hunter - our version of Sphinx's Revelation except that it doesn't gain us life (at least directly). It gives us a persistent source for creature generation and can draw us a TON of cards when used in concert with Kessig Wolf Run. I see no reason not to play this card somewhere in the 75.
Coming soon:
sideboard, matchup analysis, personally streamed videos of the deck in action.
Last edited by Valdarith on Wed Apr 10, 2013 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I feel like Young Wolf is just super bad, especially without Rancor. The point is to beat down, and he is a defensive card. Yes, he's resilient, but he doesn't seem like a resilient threat. Why not drop Deadbridge down to a one or two of, and add Rancor? Then he at least has some redeeming value.
At first I was trying to avoid Rancor and simply concede the early game as this deck doesn't have the kind of speed that most Rancor-based decks have. That said, it does have some potentially speedy openings so Rancor might be a consideration. I would not drop Deadbridge to less than three though. Dude's a house.
Maybe -1 Deadbridge, -1 Searing Spear, -1 Pyreheart Wolf for +3 Rancor? I feel like Pyreheart Wolf's effectiveness in the late game is covered by both Rancor and Kessig Wolf Run, so he might not be worth more than having two of in the deck.
I feel like Young Wolf is just super bad, especially without Rancor. The point is to beat down, and he is a defensive card. Yes, he's resilient, but he doesn't seem like a resilient threat. Why not drop Deadbridge down to a one or two of, and add Rancor? Then he at least has some redeeming value.
I brewed an eerily similar deck list a few weeks ago and my reason for including Young Wolf was that, while he's not very threatening, we still need threat DENSITY. We need the 8 1-drops. 4x Experiment One is obvious, but then where do we get the other 4 from? Young Wolf was what I found, though Dryad Militant is possible there instead.
Thanks to NerdBoyWonder for the amazing sig!
Son, I want you to know that no matter what happens between your mother and me, it's all your fault.
Brimstone Volley just doesn't fit though. You only pack that in red decks that need the reach. This deck already has plenty of that. It'd be superfluous.
I brewed an eerily similar deck list a few weeks ago and my reason for including Young Wolf was that, while he's not very threatening, we still need threat DENSITY. We need the 8 1-drops. 4x Experiment One is obvious, but then where do we get the other 4 from? Young Wolf was what I found, though Dryad Militant is possible there instead.
Just looked through the green one drops, and you're damn right, there's not a thing. I guess Young Wolf is the ticket.
Heres a list of Green based aggro that a guy in my area runs. He does very well with it, most recently Top 4ing a PTQ and winning an Invitational Qualifier.
I have spoken to him many times about the deck. My favorite part is the transformational sideboard with value creatures. He basically goes midrange in certain matchups and lets the value do its thing.
It's a decent list, but it's a completely different approach to what I'm trying to do with this variant. I'm trying to build something more resistant to removal, sweepers, and control. The above deck is still mostly aggro and would not perform well against a deck like UWr flash which is exactly the deck I'm building to hate out while remaining strong against both aggro and midrange strategies.
I do think there are some things to glean from the decklist though, mainly as it pertains to single card performance. For instance, why Domri Rade in the mainboard instead of Garruk? I suppose his fight clause is more relevant in that deck as it has a lot of 3-toughness creatures, so he's effectively taking the place of what would typically be slots for burn or removal. Obviously not a good fit for my deck though as 1) I have only a few 3+ toughness creatures and 2) Garruk is more effective from a pure card advantage standpoint,
not to mention that I would hardly ever be casting Domri on turn three anyway.
I seriously question Tormod's Crypt in the side. I imagine that is for reanimator and Snapcaster decks. Ground Seal is a much better choice here as it replaces itself and is persistent.
One other thing that deck made me realize is that I left out an analysis of Huntmaster of the Fells. I can't believe I did that! He's actually worthy of maindeck consideration in my deck, but I think that is dependent on how much aggro you see in your meta.
I like the idea of resistance to the meta. With that in mind, why borderland over wolfir avenger. I get the former facilitates mana ,however he doen't ramp. While the latter is more mana-intesive but on a stronger body, and very stubborn to get rid of.
I might even try gyre sage in place of the ranger. He can't produce red mana, but is usually a 3/4 for 2 and could bring to 2 green mana to the party.
All in all, I am a fan of the green take on things, definitely better positioned ATM.
I figured I already had so many removal-resistant bodies that shoving Avenger in would be superfluous. I also prefer the consistency of Ranger over the bigger body of Avenger. It helps me get that second red mana to cast Hound of Griselbrand while thinning out the deck.
Avenger will definitely be in the sideboard though.
Can't fault you on that. I loves me some Hound of Griselbrand. Nothing better than getting him out on curve too. At least for my deck (in the Ragehammer thread). T4 Hound usually means T5 hes getting bloodrushed or wolf runned. I love it every time. Hound sees such little play in my meta that players are usually surprised to see him hit the battlefield. Then even more surprised that the 4 damage they thought they were letting through just became 12. Since I have been playing this deck since Day 1 of GTC people are starting to finally catch on.
Also what are the thoughts on increasing savagery for this deck. Possibly dropping 2 Deadbridge Goliath for 2 of them.
In magical christmas land, T4 Savagery on boar, now a (6/6 or 7/7). Then T5 Garruk and draw a new hand. Seems good for control or midrange matchups.
Can't fault you on that. I loves me some Hound of Griselbrand. Nothing better than getting him out on curve too. At least for my deck (in the Ragehammer thread). T4 Hound usually means T5 hes getting bloodrushed or wolf runned. I love it every time. Hound sees such little play in my meta that players are usually surprised to see him hit the battlefield. Then even more surprised that the 4 damage they thought they were letting through just became 12. Since I have been playing this deck since Day 1 of GTC people are starting to finally catch on.
Also what are the thoughts on increasing savagery for this deck. Possibly dropping 2 Deadbridge Goliath for 2 of them.
In magical christmas land, T4 Savagery on boar, now a (6/6 or 7/7). Then T5 Garruk and
draw a new hand. Seems good for control or midrange matchups.
It can definitely create some nice interactions but I'd prefer to just lean on Wolf Run to pump.
I'm still wondering how to fit both Rancor and Bonfire in this list. I'm actually thinking exchanging two Mortars for Bonfire is correct if we're going to run Rancor.
So I was able to play a few games with the deck this morning. I played a couple of janky decks and some aggro but no control. Some preliminary observations:
1) I think leaning more toward aggro is correct. We don't have to go all-in and our curve is such that it can have some very powerful openings. Focusing on aggro could result in some blowouts in all matchups without necessarily weakening our matchups against midrange and control.
2) Rancor and Pyreheart Wolf seem superfluous. I think if we're going to run one we might as well not run the other. Pyreheart Wolf should probably go.
3) I played the deck without Garruk but he is desperately needed in the maindeck. He can really turn locked board states into a trivial matter for this deck.
I think the best approach here is to bring Hellrider in the maindeck and put the Hounds in the side for midrange matchups and control matchups where we are on the draw. I'm
thinking something like this:
[deck]Creatures (27)
4 Experiment One
4 Young Wolf
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Borderland Ranger
4 Hellrider
3 Deadbridge Goliath
It's definitely not an easy choice between Dryad Militant and Young Wolf. The Militant can be very effective against a couple of decks as you've suggested, and she is a 2/1, but even though she evolves Experiment One she lacks the durability that Young Wolf has. Typically we won't be playing a one drop on turn two to do this. We really want to be curving into a turn two Geist instead, whose undying trigger will pump Experiment One again. Young Wolf also represents more damage over time if you're playing Rancor in your deck since you'll be able to get two attacks off instead of one.
What we really need to consider is if this deck inherently has a bad matchup against the decks you've mentioned. We have a lot more staying power than most aggro decks when facing competitive decks that play Snapcaster currently (Esper control, American control) so we really shouldn't have problems with Snapcaster there. Rites would be my
biggest concern, but between Rancor, Wolf Run, and all the haste creatures we play, we ought to be able to keep our opponent on the defensive for awhile. It really ought to come down to them looping Angel of Serenity and Thragtusk in game one, whereas the game two and three matchups become easier to handle with Ground Seal and Plummet coming in.
I brewed an eerily similar deck list a few weeks ago and my reason for including Young Wolf was that, while he's not very threatening, we still need threat DENSITY. We need the 8 1-drops. 4x Experiment One is obvious, but then where do we get the other 4 from? Young Wolf was what I found, though Dryad Militant is possible there instead.
Just looked through the green one drops, and you're damn right, there's not a thing. I guess Young Wolf is the ticket.
To be fair, Wasteland Viper is out there also. A friend is having fun at FNMs going bloodrush-
heavy and while his isn't a "competitive" deck, he does some hilarious things with that particular card.
Thanks to NerdBoyWonder for the amazing sig!
Son, I want you to know that no matter what happens between your mother and me, it's all your fault.
I think Rancor is definitely a fit for this deck. Not only is it awesome with hounds and the undying wolves, but if the deck is designed around card advantage Rancor's damage adsd up and usually comes back over the course of the game.
I also think 4 Borderland rangers was too many. I was running 2 in a G/R deck and even then I was underwhelmed at times. 2/2 split with that and pyreheart wolf?
I'd also swap the mortars and bonfires to try them out. I like mortars more myself but I'm also running more mountains so I can overload it more reliably than you might be able to with 4 (I know you're leaning on rangers to get them for you I guess, so this is more if you cut the rangers down).
I think I'd like deadbridge more if he could survive a Thragtusk, but I'd rather have GCR in that slot. GCR+Hound gives you a nutdraw essentially that says "14 trample damage please." You can't always rely on KWR to be in
your hand (at least in my testings with 2 MB).
I think Dryad has a place in the list maybe in the SB as well. Other decks try to build up advantage over time with flashback, so if you take that away while building up incremental gains yourself I think it synergies nicely.
4 Rangers may or may not be too many. The nice thing about him in this deck is that he fixes mana so well, trades with many aggro creatures, AND is hardly ever irrelevant in a deck running Rancor and KWR. He's come in handy quite a bit for me. I've actually decided to move away from Pyreheart Wolf as I feel between all the other undying creatures I have and the Rancors the purpose of getting through blockers is already in the deck.
GCR is nice but does open up some 2-for-1 possibilities. I do like the potential nut draws though, especially now that I'm running Hellrider in the deck. That said, if I'm going to run Rancor AND KWR, do I really want GCR too? Might be overkill.
I did more testing last night. Beat a mono red deck, a Gruul deck, and a turbofog deck. Young Wolf was the tits in all of these matchups. He allowed me to prevent a ton of damage early on against the first two decks so I could set up my impassable
wall and win the game over time. Landing a Deadbridge Goliath against mono red is particularly hilarious, especially when you see your opponent waste two removal spells to kill him.
More adjustments. I still don't have a Garruk so I've adjusted this list to reflect that absence. I still want him though. Also taking out the Mortars for GCR. I feel like the deck just wants a bunch of dudes, and GCR is worth testing.
[deck]Creatures (29)
4 Experiment One
4 Young Wolf
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Borderland Ranger
4 Hellrider
3 Deadbridge Goliath
2 Ghor-Clan Rampager
Spells (8)
4 Rancor
4 Searing Spear
Land (23)
2 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Stomping Ground
4 Rootbound Crag
9 Forest
4 Mountain
Sideboard (15)
2 Plummet
3 Ground Seal
3 Hound of Griselbrand
2 Acidic Slime
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Pillar of Flame
[/deck]
I took a hiatus from this deck to try Gruul Sligh. I was successful with it doe awhile but now there's a lot of hate for it on MTGO so I'm moving back to this:
[deck]Creatures (30)
4 Arbor Elf
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Gyre Sage
4 Borderland Ranger
4 Deadbridge Goliath
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Wolfir Silverheart
2 Vorapede
Spells (7)
3 Domri Rade
4 Clan Defiance
Lands (23)
3 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Ground
2 Mountain
10 Forest[/deck]
I always feel like Green-based hammer should be midrange. Here's the list I'm running (and I do believe I'm the only one running this in my LGS)
[deck]Gruul Ragehammer[/deck]
The catch of the deck is the low land count. You are mostly dependent on Arbor Elf and Gyre Sage as your additional mana sources. Borderland Ranger allows you to hit your land drops and also acts as your 22nd and 23rd land that can be retrieved by Domri.
As I played and
played this deck, your main win conditions will always be fat Gyre Sages, Thundermaw Hellkite, and bloodrushing creatures with Ghor-Clan Rampager. Wolfir Silverheart also does his work from time to time. Ghor-Clan Rampager is also not a bad 4-drop since he is a good fighter with Domri's -2. The early beats also help a lot.
A consideration for this list is maindecking Ruric Thar. Though I really feel like he is too slow against aggro even if you manage to build board position. I might try running a list without Wolfir Silverhearts again and see how it goes.
The sideboard still needs adjustment from time to time. The rise of midrange decks in our meta called for more threaten effects.
We seem to be going a similar direction. I'd be going Hellkites too but I'm sticking with the Silverhearts and Vorapede for now. I like Ruric Thar in my list since I have more land.
I actually made a last minute decisions to pull the Clan Defiance and put in Experiment One. Good decision by me. Gives me a lot of different choices for openings and a guy that can survive board wipes sometimes.
I did feel like I wanted another dude in the 2-3 slot. I like Flinthoof Boar or Wolfir Avenger. One has haste which is nice and the other can regenerate. Even though I'm running 6 mountains the Borderland Rangers make them easy to find.
Deadbridge Goliath was okay but I feel like I'd rather have a three stop there. Might take those out to make room for the Avengers or Boars.
Vorapede is AMAZING. Very few answers to him and he changes the board state immediately. I want a third.
Lands (23)
3 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Ground
2 Mountain
10 Forest[/deck]
Current deck. My only concern is that it has no way of dealing with Rites decks except by either holding dudes and KWR up or having a Vorapede/bonded Silverheart and Domri out.
Also, you haven't lived until you've played a turn three Ghor-Clan Rampager followed by a turn four Wolfir Silverheart.
