We've seen a couple of interesting takes on in Standard over the last couple of weeks, but most focus on the interaction between Adorned Pouncer and Appeal // Authority. But what if you want to play a more grindy token deck that goes wider? ThePostMann has you covered:
Green-White Tokens - Rivals of Ixalan Standard | ThePostMann, 5-0 Standard League
- Creatures (19)
- 3 Angel of Invention
- 4 Jadelight Ranger
- 4 Merfolk Branchwalker
- 4 Walking Ballista
- 4 Wildgrowth Walker
- Planeswalkers (3)
- 3 Ajani Unyielding
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Sram's Expertise
- Enchantments (8)
- 4 Cast Out
- 4 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
- Artifacts (2)
- 2 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
- Lands (24)
- 4 Plains
- 7 Forest
- 1 Arch of Orazca
- 1 Tranquil Expanse
- 3 Shefet Dunes
- 4 Scattered Groves
- 4 Sunpetal Grove
- Sideboard (15)
- 2 Baffling End
- 3 Deathgorge Scavenger
- 3 Dusk // Dawn
- 1 Ixalan's Binding
- 2 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
- 2 Naturalize
- 2 Thrashing Brontodon
This is a deck that knows what it wants to do. This is all about Growing Rites of Itlimoc and nothing else. Sram's Expertise is the superstar of this deck, since you can play Sram's Expertise into Growing Rites and immediately flip it. Alternatively, Sram's Expertise provides you an easy way to cast Jadelight Ranger early on in the game and either stabilize the board or start applying serious pressure. In addition to Sram's Expertise, you've also got Angel of Invention to try to flip Growing Rites early on in the game.
After we answer the question of how to get a Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun, the next question is what you do with it. The obvious answer is Walking Ballista, since that's a mana sink over multiple turns that can just take over the game or kill your opponent out of nowhere. The less obvious answer is Arch of Orazca, though with so many double-colored spells it's hard to justify more than one copy. The last great mana sink in this deck is Ajani Unyielding, who can come down and draw you multiple cards that will make your Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun even more powerful.
The other interesting thing that this deck does is combine Wildgrowth Walker with a bunch of explore creatures. This helps you create large threats that can overwhelm The Scarab God and other large blockers, give yourself a life buffer against aggressive decks, and provide card selection throughout the game.
If you've been looking for an excuse to play with Gaea's Cradle in Standard, this decks seems like one of the best shells to do it in. Sram's Expertise into Growing Rites of Itlimoc is a very powerful interaction, and one that I hope we see more of while the two cards are in Standard together.