Arena Standard - Enraged Raptors Bo1

17 39
31 4 2 23
Midrange Combo

This is a Dinosaur deck designed to take full advantage of the Enrage mechanic. This specific version is intended for Best of 1 play.

I experimented with many different Enrage enablers (Savage Stompimage, Shake the Foundationsimage, Dual Shotimage, and Reckless Rageimage), but despite how slow and vulnerable to removal it is, Forerunner of the Empireimage has proven itself as the best way to enable Enrage. Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with the Forerunner+Polyraptorimage combo, and we certainly do carry it in this deck, but the deck isn't super reliant on it to win.

Forerunner works well in Bo1 as it allows you to pick through your Dinosaur toolbox to find the best Dino for the specific scenario, but most of the time you will be picking up Ripjaw Raptorimage.

Ripjaw's 4/5 body makes it very difficult for non-black decks to deal with. Red removal will trigger the Enrage and often requires more than one cast to deal enough damage. White usually attempts to deal with it using Conclave Tribunal, which if popped (using either Thrashing Brontodonimage or Vivien Reidimage) will cause Ripjaw to trigger Forerunner all over again and draw more cards (assuming Forerunner is in play of course). You could easily run a 3rd Ripjaw, but since it shares CMC with Forerunner and Needletooth Raptorimage I decided 2 was enough since it's so easily searchable.

Needletooth Raptorimage is definitely more of a Sideboard card, but being able to pick it up with Forerunner when the situation demands just barely sneaks it into this Bo1 deck. In conjunction with Forerunner, you can deal 6 damage to any of your opponent's creatures, and it hard counters opposing Midrange decks because of that. The damage gets really crazy if you trigger Needletooth's Enrage multiple times (by playing Regisaur Alphaimage for example) as it allows you to wipe massive threats off your opponent's board.

Regisaur Alphaimage is probably the best standalone threat in the deck. Over the course of 2 turns Regisaur Alphaimage will deal 10 damage (unblocked) all on its own, but it has excellent synergy with the rest of the deck despite not having Enrage. First off, Alpha will trigger Forerunner twice, meaning you get a 2 damage sweeper effect and 2 triggers of any Enrages on the field which is insanely powerful. Furthermore, the Haste given to all of your Dinosaurs allows the deck to become explosively aggressive. The Haste also has particular synergy with Etali, Primal Stormimage which can be played immediately afterward if you curve out.

Etali is your ace in the hole. Etali's effect does have the potential to do absolutely nothing (if you hit lands and/or low impact cards), but it can also single handedly win you the game. The catch is that in this deck you can rig the odds in your favor. Unlike the other cards that synergize with Forerunner, you want Etali to be ready to attack on the turn you play Forerunner. This allows you to stack any Dinosaur you want into Etali's effect (including Polyraptorimage) and immediately benefit from any Enrage triggers. Also, being able to start rolling Etali's dice immediately thanks to Haste from either Alpha or Rhythm of the Wildimage can devastate opponents who don't have an answer fast. Some minor synergy also comes from the Explorers who can help keep lands away from Etali and can keep your more powerful cards on top to be picked up by Etali.

Polyraptorimage is something I'm never happy to see in an opening hand. It's very difficult to cast normally and you can't stack it into Etali's ability with Forerunner if it's stuck in your hand. That being said, the Polyraptorimage combo is a win condition that this deck greatly benefits from. If you do get Polyraptorimage stuck in hand, that's one of the scenarios where Ranging Raptorsimage will be your best bet at getting enough mana to cast it.

Ranging Raptorsimage is a decent card, but it tends to be underwhelming at combat and face-smashing, so I decided to cut it down to 1 as a toolbox option with Forerunner for when you really need lands. If you get more than one with Forerunner it tends to be total overkill, and Ripjaw tends to be a more flexible option.

 

Llanowar Elvesimage is a Green staple and for good reason, but I didn't like running more than 2 because they easily die to your own Forerunner.

This version also holds the Explore package (Wildgrowth Walkerimage, Merfolk Branchwalkerimage, and Jadelight Rangerimage). The Explore package was added because the deck was lacking early threats and life recovery to deal with aggro and Mono-Red specifically. Unfortunately the package is so large that I had to cut a bunch of cards that I was plenty happy with.

Adventurous Impulseimage was cut, but it was useful for finding lands or combo pieces. I chose Adventurous Impulseimage over Commune with Dinosaursimage because it can pick up Forerunner, Llanowar, and the Explore package.

Dinosaurs have access to a lot of different ways to ramp with 2 mana. Drover of the Mightyimage and Otopec Huntmaster are both creatures that help you play your larger Dinosaurs faster, but they tend to be subject to cheap removal and usually don't live long enough to do their job. Thunderherd Migrationimage on the other hand is far more consistent at doing its job, but lacks the upside of a 3/3 body or tapping for Haste. I was using Thunderherd Migrationimage before it was ultimately cut to make room for all of the 2 drops in the Explore package.

 

This deck is very very weak to Control. Beyond that Blue is especially troublesome. To deal with this we have to run Carnage Tyrantimage and Rhythm of the Wildimage. Carnage Tyrantimage is an alternative curve topper to Etali that is much safer against Control and Blue alike. Rhythm prevents your creatures from being countered by Blue and synergizes with Etali by giving him Haste. Making your Llanowars Riot also somewhat protects them from Forerunner.

This deck also struggles with flyers, though not nearly to the extent that it does with Control. To answer creatures with Flying we have 2 Vivien Reidimage and 2 Lava Coils. Lava Coilimage is a clean answer to recursive threats and is very effective against everything in the Drakes deck (which is your least favorite match-up outside of Mono-Blue). Vivien can deal with flyers/artifacts/enchantments and can help you find your combo pieces while also being a win condition on her own. Savage Stompimage was a removal piece with strong synergies in the deck. I ran it alongside Lava Coilimage for even more flyer hate, but I cut it when I added the Explore package as well, because it isn't very flexible.

 

Against Agrro decks your best bet is to rely on Wildgrowth Walkerimage until they run out of steam or you can wipe the board with Forerunner.

Against opposing Midrange decks you don't have much to worry about unless they run lots of flyers. Your many Enrage mechanics will give you a ton of value in creature to creature interactions, and the longer the game goes on, the easier it is to set up your combos.

Against Control decks you have to rely heavily on Rhythm, Alpha, and Carnage. Rhythm not only stops counter spells, but it'll also let you get damage out of your creatures before they're vulnerable to Sorcery speed removal. Regisaur Alphaimage is so explosively aggressive that you can run away with a win right before a control deck can turn the corner. Carnage Tyrantimage requires very specific removal from your opponent depending on what colors you're up against. In white, be careful of Settle the Wreckageimage and Cleansing Novaimage. In Black, be careful of Plaguecrafterimage and Eldest Reborn. If both of these colors are present you're pretty much screwed since you have to beware everything already mentioned in addition to Kaya's Wrathimage and Consume. Even including the tools to be used against Control, you shouldn't expect to win.

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cgRIPPER
Last Updated: 18 Feb 2019
Created: 17 Feb 2019
221 110 0

Mainboard - 60 cards (21 distinct)

Creature (31)
$0.46€0.170.03
$0.98€0.250.03
$0.39€0.260.03
$1.55€0.990.02
$7.30€6.350.10
$0.25€0.060.03
$0.69€0.500.02
$21.21€13.660.02
$2.00€1.430.02
$0.25€0.170.03
$0.79€0.590.03
$0.69€0.560.02
$2.49€0.930.03
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (4)
$2.45€1.700.03
$0.25€0.140.03
Land (23)
$11.30€9.550.40
$0.59€0.470.03
$4.98€3.110.02
$1.00€0.270.03
$0.90€0.140.04
Planeswalker (2)
$2.04€1.810.03

Maybeboard - 4 cards (4 distinct)

$0.17€0.080.03
$0.31€0.150.03
$0.25€0.130.03
$0.99€0.830.02

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