MTG Salvation

Stonebrow can be a lot of things: fun, splashy, destructive, and more. However, two things it's really not are subtle and complex. My gameplan is to get Stonebrow out early enough to start swinging and drop an assortment of big critters (preferably of the trampling variety) alongside him. Most of my creatures come with Trample, but I have a handful of cards (Brawn, Sword of Vengeance, Loxodon Warhammer) that give Trample to those poor souls that were born without.

Haste is one of the most powerful keywords in EDH. Things like Urabrask the Hidden, In the Web of War, and Fires of Yavimaya make sure that all my creatures can come out swinging as soon as possible. This deck gets a bit harder to deal with when my opponent's don't get a whole turn to deal with my creatures before they attack.

And speaking of making this deck more difficult to deal with, god bless Savage Beating and its ilk. I run most of the extra combat step cards in this deck. Swinging with Primeval Titan, Inferno Titan, and Stonebrow, Krosan Hero is great. Swinging with them, dropping Savage Beating and then following it up with Relentless Assault is simply sublime. Especially with Kessig Wolf Run backing 'em up. True story.

With only 4 ramp cards and 3 mana rocks I can see your hand getting clogged pretty easily with some of the high CMC cards you have in your deck. I run a semi-casual Stonebrow deck (link in my sig) and I would consider cutting some of the fatties for more ramp.

Avatar of Slaughter- Expensive but he does do wonders for your tramplers. I would put him towards the bottom of the cut list but definitely on there.

Bellowing Tanglewurm- Giving your dudes intimidate kind of deafeats the purpose of having them all trample doesn't it? I mean if they can only be blocked by other beefy green creatures they're effectiveness is kind of lessened.

Borborygmos- Too expensive and doesn't do enough to really warrant a slot, replace him with Fangren Firstborn if you like the effect.

Butcher Orgg- Definitely not something I would use, don't get me wrong it's a cool card for dealing wih utility creatures and "forcing" your opponents other creatures to "block" him but he is kind of expensive.

Garruk's Horde- interesting card choice, kind of like Future Sight but not as effective. I would suggest Garruk's Packleader in it's place as a cheaper creature who creates better card advantage.

Hydra Omnivore- I always forget that this creature doesn't have trample and that makes him not as good but in this deck dedicated to giving him trample (I hope) he can probably be considerably better.

Kamahl, Fist of Krosa- I cut him because he was too mana-intensive, having a repeatable Overrun is nothing to sneeze at but I usually found myself wanting to do other things with my mana.

Rapacious One- I thought he was too expensive and had an ability that was kind of useless by the time I could actually cast him so I cut him in the first draft of the deck.

Thunderblust- This is another creature I was always on the fence about, a 9/3 trampler is pretty good but always thought he was just too easy to remove.

Greater Good- I never liked this card really because of my inability to really recur things from the graveyard but if you have a lot of fat creatures (like you do) it can mitigate the loss a lot.

Lurking Predators- something else that I decided not to include in the deck, maybe with Sensei's Divining Top this card would be better but I found it to be too inconsistent to be good.

Relentless Assault is a Sorcery, not an Enchantment btw

I hear you about the Wheel dilemma, but usually I just use it to refill my hand when there are things I don't mind pitching and everyone else has a full grip which happens a lot in my meta. It's definitely a card I have had stuck in my hand for a while though.

Some trample-enablers I included were the aforementioned Gruul War Plow which I may replace with Primal Rage and I also run Akroma's Memorial because that card is nuts. Nature's Will I have found to be much better than Bear Umbra in conjunction with Relentless Assault although it doesn't play as nice with Hellkite Charger. I included cards like Dawntreader Elk, Solemn Simulacrum and Sakura-tribe Elder to speed up the land ramping a bit and I believe I also have Mana Vault but I am seriously considering cutting that as there are just better options and the colorless mana it produces has hurt me when I needed just one more red or green mana.

AVR coming out got me to finally make some changes to the deck. Cut some mana-intensive cards, added some more removal, card draw, ramp, and life gain. I haven't gotten to test it out yet, but I'm hoping it'll run smoother with the added utility. It's still plenty "Hulk SMASH!" but it's a bit tighter now.

I'm also going to trade for a copy of Triumph of Ferocity to test in place of Crystal Ball, see how that plays out.

Might also throw in my copy of Chord of Calling in place of Vengeful Rebirth but I'm wary of losing more of what little recursion I have.

Thoughts?

It doesn't trample, but Malignus has been insane in both my red EDH decks that try to beat people down. I definitely recommend you track down a copy.

I ended up cutting both Anger and Brawn from my Stonebrow deck since I had no good way of getting them into the graveyard consistently so they were sort of do-nothings. You should definitely get a copy of Mosswort Bridge and Spinerock Knoll in there as well, since both conditions are easy to meet with this deck's gameplan and free spells are always strong. You might like O-Naginata as another cheap equipment. Brontotherium and Panglacial Wurm are both weird little cards that not many people know about but are stellar in this deck.

Quote from Prince_Reyson

It doesn't trample, but Malignus has been insane in both my red EDH decks that try to beat people down. I definitely recommend you track down a copy.

I ended up cutting both Anger and Brawn from my Stonebrow deck since I had no good way of getting them into the graveyard consistently so they were sort of do-nothings. You should definitely get a copy of Mosswort Bridge and Spinerock Knoll in there as well, since both conditions are easy to meet with this deck's gameplan and free spells are always strong. You might like O-Naginata as another cheap equipment. Brontotherium and Panglacial Wurm are both weird little cards that not many people know about but are stellar in this deck.

Haha, Malignus made the Timmy in me really giddy when he was spoiled. I like him and am looking for a copy to try out. Kind of amusing though, that his inclusion would strengthen the case for Brawn to stay in the deck since he's another creature I'd need to give Trample to lol.

I like both Anger and Brawn as blockers. They either dissuade people from attacking me (always nice) or they chump block, hit the yard, and start helping out in a pretty solid way. And Haste is the second most important keyword in this deck right behind Trample. It's sooo good that, to me, it's worth the couple times that Anger doesn't work out.

Both of the Hideaway lands do need to be in here, but I only have one copy of Mosswort Bridge (currently in my Ghave deck) and 0 Spinerock Knolls. I am actively looking to trade for them though.

O-Naginata is interesting. It's definitely on the short list if I decide I want another Trample-giver.

Brontotherium is really cool tech, but I feel like Gruul now has better removal options. Beast Within, Chaos Warp (if I can find a second copy lol), Ulvenwald Tracker, Warstorm Surge, or even Aftershock. However, if Butcher Orgg turns out to be a flop (I've only played him once) then this guy could get a chance.

I'm always amused by Panglacial Wurm but I don't search my library very often outside of tutors like Green Sun's Zenith and Tooth and Nail both of which are really expensive and won't leave me with enough mana to cast the seven mana Wurm very often.

Deus of Calamity is efficiently costed, has synergy with ur general, and destroys lands. It's been an all-star in my stonebrow deck.

I like grafted exoskeleton. My opponents don't though. Can't imagine why..

Hunter's Insight has been very good to me. Your tramplers are bound to connect sometime, giving you a huge payout.

No Vorinclex? He's enormous off of your general and lends some inevitability to a deck.

I've found hystrodon to be pretty pimpin. As people see your deck more and more, they'll assume the morph creature is akroma every time. They'll be pretty disappointed when they find out it's only this guy. Plus, it's evasive draw in green that's buffed by you general. A nice early play for tricking your friends. Mindgames are hard to come by in g/r after all.

Momentous Fall. Pretty much an awesome card for any fatty deck in green. Opponent plays a wrath? Gaining some life and drawing a buttload of cards seems a pretty good way to rebuild. Especially in a deck like this, it lets you over-commit your threats without having to worry at all.

Sarkhan Vol also is really good. You need all the haste you can get and grabbing something huge is awesome.

Quote from 3mag5num7

I'm always amused by Panglacial Wurm but I don't search my library very often outside of tutors like Green Sun's Zenith and Tooth and Nail both of which are really expensive and won't leave me with enough mana to cast the seven mana Wurm very often.

The way I think of it is that it makes your late-game draws of Cultivate/Kodama's Reach/Sakura-Tribe Elder or other ramp spells actually be relevant since they also have a 9/5 trampler tacked on. You also have your Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse which it helps, and it's just a huge guy even without the bonus.

I'll definitely second Hystrodon, Hunter's Insight and Sarkhan Vol, they have all been awesome in my Stonebrow build. Also I find that Overwhelming Stampede is just way too good to not use; I would think it's better than Craterhoof Behemoth in this deck since all your haste-givers keep you from needing to overextend, making Behemoth worse, and your guys are huge so Stampede is always very effective.

Quote from ticker

Deus of Calamity is efficiently costed, has synergy with ur general, and destroys lands. It's been an all-star in my stonebrow deck.

I like grafted exoskeleton. My opponents don't though. Can't imagine why..

Hunter's Insight has been very good to me. Your tramplers are bound to connect sometime, giving you a huge payout.

No Vorinclex? He's enormous off of your general and lends some inevitability to a deck.

I've found hystrodon to be pretty pimpin. As people see your deck more and more, they'll assume the morph creature is akroma every time. They'll be pretty disappointed when they find out it's only this guy. Plus, it's evasive draw in green that's buffed by you general. A nice early play for tricking your friends. Mindgames are hard to come by in g/r after all.

Momentous Fall. Pretty much an awesome card for any fatty deck in green. Opponent plays a wrath? Gaining some life and drawing a buttload of cards seems a pretty good way to rebuild. Especially in a deck like this, it lets you over-commit your threats without having to worry at all.

Sarkhan Vol also is really good. You need all the haste you can get and grabbing something huge is awesome.

I was ALL OVER Deus of Calamity when I first built this deck. With so many nasty lands running around EDH he seemed like solid gold tech. Then I played him and realized he put me in a rather awkward position often times. If I swing in I'm going to blow up their land, but there were plenty of times when no one had a Cabal Coffers or Academy Ruins out and I would just end up blowing up an M10 dual and that sucked. Or I could just leave him back as a big blocker until one of the aforementioned lands hits the table but that's kinda against the flow of the deck.

Hunter's Insight has always seemed really cool to me, but I've never been impressed when I've seen it played so I've refrained.

This deck cannot handle the hate brought on by playing Vorinclex. He might let me run away with a game or two but my group runs enough removal to smite him regularly. Aaaand then the table turns its attention (and its fists) to me.

I use to run Hystrodon but he wasn't consistently drawing me cards. Red Akroma doesn't get played face down too often because when I play her it's usually because I'm in need of a big flying blocker now.

Momentous Fall is in my maybe pile, but it does seem like I should be playing it. This deck does need more card draw and it can also use more lifegain. Whadya think I should cut for it?

I really like Sarkhan Vol but I don't have a copy of him and I work under enough of a budget to not wanna drop $12 on a card that will primarily be a slight upgrade to Fires of Yavimaya. If I can get a copy then it'll definitely slot right in.

Quote from Prince_Reyson

The way I think of it is that it makes your late-game draws of Cultivate/Kodama's Reach/Sakura-Tribe Elder or other ramp spells actually be relevant since they also have a 9/5 trampler tacked on. You also have your Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse which it helps, and it's just a huge guy even without the bonus.

I'll definitely second Hystrodon, Hunter's Insight and Sarkhan Vol, they have all been awesome in my Stonebrow build. Also I find that Overwhelming Stampede is just way too good to not use; I would think it's better than Craterhoof Behemoth in this deck since all your haste-givers keep you from needing to overextend, making Behemoth worse, and your guys are huge so Stampede is always very effective.

Hmmm...I kinda forgot about ramp cards triggering Panglacial Wurm lol. That does make it more desirable. I'll have to look harder into finding space for it.

I wanna test out Craterhoof Behemoth because he's an Overrun on a stick and this deck loves getting strong effects on solid bodies. However, Overwhelming Stampede might just be too good to not play. I am wary of taking creatures out of the deck in general. I want enough creatures to run Lurking Predators effectively and this deck needs enough creatures to recover from Wraths effectively as well.

How many creatures do you guys run? How many are combat threats? How many have Trample?

Tooth and Nail into Craterhoof Behemoth + Avenger of Zendikar(with Fires of Yavimaya, obv) seems like quite the reasonable way to close someone out with an OTK.

Quote from 3drinks

Tooth and Nail into Craterhoof Behemoth + Avenger of Zendikar(with Fires of Yavimaya, obv) seems like quite the reasonable way to close someone out with an OTK.

Yeah, that definitely made it tempting to put Avenger back in the deck lol.

My list, since you asked about it and I haven't posted it yet:



Obviously I'm missing a few of the cards I've recommended to you (which I'm working on), and Command Tower belongs in here, but otherwise I'm happy with it. Huntmaster hasn't been on the board often enough for me to decide if I like him but I'm not opposed to removing him.

Nice list. Lots of cool choices in there. If I had a copy of the Huntmaster I would try it out. I'm really curious as to how Instigator Gang has played out for you. I've got a copy of it, I love Werewolves, and I want this card to be good. How's it been for you?

Quote from 3mag5num7

Nice list. Lots of cool choices in there. If I had a copy of the Huntmaster I would try it out. I'm really curious as to how Instigator Gang has played out for you. I've got a copy of it, I love Werewolves, and I want this card to be good. How's it been for you?

Similarly to Huntmaster, it hasn't actually been on the board yet, but in theory it's good because it immediately pumps your attackers, and the flip side is obviously great if it can stay that way. I will admit it's possible that I'm playing it only because double-faced foils are beautiful, but it hasn't proven to be too bad yet. Spawnwrite is in a similar position, it seems sweet though and it helped to lower my curve a bit. It seems like it has potential to get out of hand if I drop it turn 3 while people are still developing their mana and such.

Quote from Prince_Reyson

Similarly to Huntmaster, it hasn't actually been on the board yet, but in theory it's good because it immediately pumps your attackers, and the flip side is obviously great if it can stay that way. I will admit it's possible that I'm playing it only because double-faced foils are beautiful, but it hasn't proven to be too bad yet. Spawnwrite is in a similar position, it seems sweet though and it helped to lower my curve a bit. It seems like it has potential to get out of hand if I drop it turn 3 while people are still developing their mana and such.

Yeah, Spawnwrithe was something I considered as it seems pretty nasty with Stonebrow out. Dunno if he'd be very good late game, which is why I refrained.

Do you (or any other Stonebrow players who look at this thread) have problems with eating a fair bit of incidental damage? Little bits of early damage plus often being the most visible threat often leaves me pretty beaten up. For example, when a Wrath hits the board, if someone's creature survived or if they recover quickly I'm often the first one to take damage because I'm a very visible threat. Maybe I'm just playing poorly (I'm by no means an expert lol), but it seems to be a problem for this deck.

Added in Spearbreaker Behemoth, Mosswort Bridge, Spinerock Knoll, and Skarrg, the Rage Pits after a fun bit of trading.

Just swapped Akroma, Angel of Fury for Panglacial Wurm. I'm not sure if that's correct but I don't hate it.

I like Spearbreaker Behemoth a lot, good choice!

Quote from Prince_Reyson

Just swapped Akroma, Angel of Fury for Panglacial Wurm. I'm not sure if that's correct but I don't hate it.

I like Spearbreaker Behemoth a lot, good choice!

I'm loving Spearbreaker Behemoth! He's just so good. It was especially awesome when I cast Blasphemous Act and then made all my creatures Indestructible. Delightful.

I'm interested in Panglacial Wurm but there's no way I'm taking out Red Akroma. It's a meta choice; I need fliers to stave off being one-shoted by Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief and other such nasty beaters. I'm still doing testing to figure out if I have any weak creatures I might like to replace.

Triumph of Ferocity has turned out to be a Phyrexian Arena without the life loss most of the time so it's replacing Crystal Ball.

I've also come into a copy of Abundance recently and I'm wondering if anyone's given the card a try. It seems like a really cool effect and I'm definitely gonna try it out.

I'm testing out a number of changes at the moment, but the ones I've decided to keep are:

OUT: Craterhoof Behemoth IN: Overwhelming Stampede
OUT: Creeping Renaissance IN: Genesis
OUT: Garruk Wildspeaker IN: Fauna Shaman
OUT: Hydra Omnivore IN: Mwonvuli Beast Tracker
OUT: Butcher Orgg IN: Brontotherium
OUT: Chameleon Colossus IN: Panglacial Wurm
OUT: Rampaging Baloths IN: Silvos, Rogue Elemental
OUT: Rapacious One IN: Weatherseed Treefolk
OUT: Duplicant IN: Silklash Spider

Lots of changes. I needed Duplicant in another deck and Silklash Spider kills plenty of the creatures I was having the most problems with. Weatherseed Treefolk and Silvos both add some nice resiliency. Panglacial Wurm is a good way to turn late game ramp spells into usable resources. Brontotherium is a bit cheaper then Butcher Orgg and more on-theme. Hydra Omnivore was a card I loved but it just wasn't doing as much as I wanted, plus the Beast Tracker can tutor up an enormous number of creatures in this deck. Fauna Shaman and Genesis was a pair I'd been looking into for quite some time and it's solid stuff. Overwhelming Stampede is in over the Behemoth because I tend to run fewer, larger creatures and thus it's gonna give me a larger buff.

I like these changes based purely on function, but they also drop my curve a little bit which is also a plus. I've still got a few changes that I'm testing right now and I might add in a couple more tutors to see how that impacts the deck. More updates to come.