Mono-green decks haven't had much success in Standard recently, and despite the small surge of Dungrove Elder decks several months ago, the archetype is nowhere to be seen amongst the sea of Delver and R/G aggro decks. Avacyn Restored provided us with several strong green creatures, and that just might be enough to warrant sleeving up twenty-four Forests once again. Here's the list I've been working with:

"Fight Club"

• Creatures (29)
• 1 Birds of Paradise
• 2 Wolfir Silverheart
• 3 Borderland Ranger
• 3 Ulvenwald Tracker
• 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 4 Dungrove Elder
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Strangleroot Geist
• 4 Wolfir Avenger

• Spells (7)
• 3 Increasing Savagery
• 4 Prey Upon

• Lands (24)
• 24 Forest

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Beast Within
• 2 Act of Aggression
• 2 Dismember
• 3 Naturalize
• 2 Triumph of Ferocity
• 3 Cudgel Troll

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The Creatures

Dungrove Elder is the centerpiece of the deck. He can't be targeted, and he's usually big enough to survive damage-based sweepers as well. He will usually be the biggest thing on the board short of a Primeval Titan, and even that can be fixed with an Increasing Savagery. Although decks have adapted to deal with the hexproof on Geist of Saint Traft, the usual countermeasures do nothing against a Dungrove Elder. Whipflare won't kill him, blocking with a Wolf token from Huntmaster of the Fells does nothing but save a few points of life, and Phantasmal Image is completely useless. Even a Liliana of the Veil will usually just make you sacrifice a Strangleroot Geist or one of your mana dorks. This is one creature that is very difficult to kill.

Strangleroot Geist has proven itself to be a very effective 2-drop. Almost all green deck save Wolf Run Ramp play four of these, and with good reason. The ability to attack immediately, survive a Day of Judgment, and potentially trade with two creatures makes this little creature a force to be reckoned with. Although the increased usage of Pillar of Flame hurts Strangleroot Geist significantly, it's not nearly enough to justify not including it in a deck like this.

Borderland Ranger had a big enough body to be relevant and also makes sure you hit your land drops so that Dungrove Elder continues to increase in size. It also helps you cast more expensive spells like Wolfir Silverheart and even the flashback cost on Increasing Savagery.

Wolfir Silverheart has unquestionably proven its value in Block Constructed, but it is still cementing itself in Standard. Although vulnerable to things like Vapor Snag, it makes an immediate impact on the game, and it lets your mana dorks continue to be relevant even when you no longer need the boost.

Ulvenwald Tracker is a potentially very powerful creature that still hasn't received the attention it deserves. Combined with Dungrove Elder, Wolfir Silverheart, and Increasing Savagery, the fighting is often very one-sided. This little guy will often be handing out a Terminate every turn, making it extremely difficult for your opponent to keep up.

The Spells

Increasing Savagery provides a lot of power for the mana, making a large threat out of almost nothing at all. It can make almost any of your creatures big enough to fight a Titan and win. Even more devastating is the ability to flash it back late in the game and win out of nowhere. Many opponents will forget that once you make it up to 7 mana, you can turn even a lowly Avacyn's Pilgrim into an 11/11 monster. Even those who see it coming will often be powerless to stop it.

The Sideboard

Naturalize is the best tool for stopping Sword of Feast and Famine before it makes a dent in both your life total and your hand. Obviously, protection from green is very good against this deck, and you'll need to be able to deal with the problem immediately.

Dismember gets rid of the things you don't want to get in a fight with, such as Phyrexian Obliterator. It can also help in matchups in which you need your removal to happen at instant speed.

Beast Within is another way to deal with Titans, but it can get rid of any other permanent as well, whether that be a planeswalker, an artifact, or even a land. Although giving your opponent a 3/3 Beast token isn't ideal, it shouldn't pose too much of a problem when you're rumbling in with a massive Dungrove Elder.

Triumph of Ferocity is an experiment, but it’s one that I think could work out very well. Against most decks, you'll have the largest creature on the board, allowing you to draw an extra card every turn. Those extra cards could very easily tip the scales in your favor when you know the game is going to go long.

Cudgel Troll isn't Thrun, but it's surprisingly close. Although it is vulnerable to Mana Leak, the ability to regenerate it for just 1 mana can be crucial when facing a potential Day of Judgment. It allows you to play your spells while still being able to protect your creature from destruction.

Playtesting

R/G Aggro – Game 1

I took another 2 from Strangleroot Geist, and my opponent played another Copperline Gorge before passing the turn. I drew Wolfir Avenger, and ended my turn. My opponent cast a Wolfir Avenger of his own during my end step and fetched another Strangleroot Geist with Green Sun's Zenith before attacking with everything. I cast my Wolfir Avenger and blocked a Strangleroot Geist, dropping to 11 from the other creatures. My opponent passed the turn. I drew a Borderland Ranger and cast it, finding a Forest. I played the Forest, cast Llanowar Elves, and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Arc Trail, killing my Borderland Ranger and Llanowar Elves, and then attacked with everything again. I blocked the 2/1 Geist with Dungrove Elder and the Wolfir Avenger with my own, and I took 3 from the larger Geist. My opponent then passed the turn. I drew a Forest, played it, and cast my second Dungrove Elder. I swung with the first Dungrove Elder and Avacyn's Pilgrim for 5, then cast Prey Upon to kill a Strangleroot Geist. I ended my turn.

My opponent played Copperline Gorge and cast Huntmaster of the Fells, making a Wolf token and going up to 9. He passed the turn. I drew Avacyn's Pilgrim and attacked with my Dungrove Elders. My opponent blocked one with a Wolf token and took 4. I cast Prey Upon to kill Huntmaster of the Fells, then cast my Avacyn's Pilgrim and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Huntmaster of the Fells and ended his turn. I drew a Forest, played it, and swung with everything save Birds of Paradise. My opponent chump-blocked the two Dungrove Elders and dropped to 5, and I passed the turn.

My opponent cast Garruk Relentless, made a Wolf token, and passed the turn. I drew another Dungrove Elder and attacked again. The token and Birds of Paradise blocked my Elders, and my opponent dropped to 4. I cast the Dungrove Elder and passed the turn.

My opponent drew his card and conceded.

Sideboarding:

−4 Avacyn's Pilgrim

−1 Llanowar Elves

+2 Triumph of Ferocity

+3 Naturalize

R/G Aggro – Game 2

My opponent played a land and cast Sword of War and Peace before passing back. I drew Naturalize, played Llanowar Elves, and passed the turn. My opponent equipped the Sword to his Birds of Paradise and attacked me with it. I Naturalized the Sword and took 0, and he passed the turn after playing a land. I drew a Forest, played it, and swung with my two Llanowar Elves. I then cast Dungrove Elder and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Garruk, then fought one of my Llanowar Elves to transform him. He ended his turn. I drew Increasing Savagery, played a land, and cast it on my Llanowar Elves. I attacked Garruk with both creatures, killing him, and passed the turn.

My opponent played a land and passed the turn. I drew Ulvenwald Tracker and swung with both creatures. My opponent flashed in a Wolfir Avenger, blocked Llanowar Elves, and regenerated it. He dropped to 14 from the Elder, and I cast Prey Upon to kill the Avenger. I cast Triumph of Ferocity and passed the turn.

My opponent played a land and cast Green Sun's Zenith for 5, finding an Acidic Slime and destroying Triumph of Ferocity. He passed the turn. I drew Wolfir Silverheart and cast it, pairing it with Dungrove Elder. I attacked for 8, and my opponent blocked with Acidic Slime to trade. I passed the turn.

My opponent cast a Wolfir Silverheart of his own, pairing it with Strangleroot Geist. He passed the turn. I drew a Forest, played it, and used my Ulvenwald Tracker to make my 8/8 Wolfir Silverheart fight the 7/6 Strangleroot Geist. I attacked with my 6/6 Llanowar Elves, and my opponent dropped to 2. I ended my turn.

My opponent cast Green Sun's Zenith for 4, finding a Huntmaster of the Fells. He went up to 4 life and made a Wolf token, which he paired with Wolfir Silverheart. He passed the turn. I drew a Dungrove Elder, and Ulvenwald Tracker made my Wolfir Silverheart fight the paired token. I attacked with my 6/6 Llanowar Elves, and my opponent blocked with Huntmaster of the Fells. I cast Dungrove Elder and passed the turn.

My opponent drew his card and conceded.

R/G aggro is particularly bad at dealing with large creatures, but Dungrove Elder's hexproof makes it difficult for any deck to deal with. If you're looking for a way to stomp other creature decks into the ground, or if you just want a fun deck that lets you beat down with some big creatures, be sure to give this one a try.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @Twinblaze2, or simply leave a comment below.