Rivals of Ixalan is almost upon us! The influx of a new set combined with the banning of four cards from Standard is certain to shake things up in a big way. While some players are looking at how existing archetypes will adapt, others are excited to find out what new strategies Rivals of Ixalan can enable. One of the biggest changes to this Standard may be that tribal decks finally have the combination of support and breathing room that they need to thrive. Heading into week one of this Standard format, Conley Woods has been looking at what Dinosaurs might be able to do:

Green-Red Ramp - Rivals of Ixalan Standard | Conley Woods

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Verdant Sun's Avatar
• 4 Burning Sun's Avatar
• 4 Regisaur Alpha

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

• Instants (6)
• 1 Struggle // Survive
• 2 Magma Spray
• 3 Abrade

• Sorceries (16)
• 2 Indomitable Creativity
• 2 Sweltering Suns
• 4 Hour of Promise
• 4 Pirate's Pillage
• 4 Thunderherd Migration

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Gift of Paradise

• Lands (23)
• 3 Forest
• 4 Mountain
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 1 Hostile Desert
• 2 Desert of the Fervent
• 2 Scavenger Grounds
• 2 Sheltered Thicket
• 3 Rootbound Crag
• 4 Hashep Oasis

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Appetite for the Unnatural
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 2 Glorious End
• 2 Hour of Devastation
• 1 Magma Spray
• 1 Nissa, Vital Force
• 1 Samut, Voice of Dissent
• 1 Star of Extinction
• 1 Struggle // Survive
• 1 The Immortal Sun
• 1 Vance's Blasting Cannons
• 1 Verdant Sun's Avatar

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What's exciting about this deck is the amount of efficient interaction that you have access to. This combines with your cheap ramp spells to allow you to accelerate while keeping pace with opposing creatures. That way, when you have a big haymaker, you're less likely to just be dead before your giant monster can take over the game.

Additionally, you've got Hour of Promise to help stabilize the ground against aggressive decks. Not only that, but Hour of Promise can also fetch Scavenger Grounds, Field of Ruin, and even Arch of Orazca as utility effects that can have a huge effect on your games.

Finally, Conley is playing two copies of Indomitable Creativity. This card functions as a pseudo Chaos Warp, allowing you to turn miscellaneous treasure tokens and Dinosaurs that aren't useful into more Dinosaurs with crazy enters the battlefield triggers. No matter how far behind your are on the board, it's probably something you can solve by casting Indomitable Creativity and flipping over a Verdant Sun's Avatar along with a couple of friends.