The results of tonight’s Friday Night Magic at Pro Reis Place got me one promo pack and regular booster with a Top 4 finish and upon checking the contents of the packs, I opened one Zetalpa and a Thrashing Brontodon. It got me thinking of the Dinosaur Tribal deck that I deck tech of back during the first time Ixalan came into Standard. I am looking at what if we give it one last shot in the format, given that the Rampaging Ferocidon is unbanned weeks prior to the next Standard rotation.

I asked Google for guidance err reference decklists and here is my version of ‘Last Hurrah Naya Dinos’.

Creatures
4 Marauding Raptor
4 Otepec Huntmaster
2 Shifting Ceratops
3 Rampaging Ferocidon
4 Regisaur Alpha
4 Ripjaw Raptor
2 Etali, Primal Storm
1 Trapjaw Tyrant
1 Gishath, Sun’s Avatar
1 Wakening Sun’s Avatar
1 Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Spells
2 Banefire
4 Commune with Dinosaurs
2 Savage Stomp
1 Prison Realm

Lands
2 Forest
4 Temple Garden
4 Stomping Ground
4 Rootbound Crag
3 Sacred Foundry
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Unclaimed Territory

The complete Rivals of Ixalan is up at the mothership site and I was able to browse through the new cards and on the possible new deck archetypes to be created, not to mention deck upgrades of the current tribal in the set. I have mentioned before that Merfolks is going to be a thing in Standard with the completing card components here in RIX and now I am looking at a possible Black White Vampires build for the tribe.

The notable Vampires from the set are as follows:

White
Bishop of Binding
Famished Paladin
Forerunner of the Legion
Martyr of Dusk
Paladin of Atonement
Skymarcher Aspirant

Black
Oathsworn Vampire
Champion of Dusk

Multicolor
Elenda, the Dusk Rose
Legion Lieutenant

Spells
Radiant Destiny
Arterial Flow
Baffling End

Non-Vampire notables
Dire Fleet Poisoner
Ravenous Chupacabra

As based on the previous Ixalan set, Black and White are the primary colors of the tribe and that also Lifelink is the common ability.

Legion Lieutenant and Radiant Destiny will be your anthem effects to get you to deal more damage on your curve. I am noting at least twelve one-drops in the decklist.

Champion of Dusk is already a solid 4/4 for five, plus the card draw etb effect is a bonus to replenish your hand after your first wave of Vampires. I do also take note of Elenda, the Dusk Rose, but with 1/1 for four mana, I do not think she will fit in the slot as there better and more aggressive four-drop Vampires available.

With those in mind, here is my first version of the deck B/W Vampires for Standard:

Creatures
3 Adanto Vanguard
2 Champion of Dusk
2 Duskborne Skymarcher
2 Forerunner of the Legion
3 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Legion Lieutenant
3 Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
4 Sanctum Seeker
4 Skymarcher Aspirant
4 Vicious Conquistador
1 Yahenni, Undying Partisan

Spells
2 Legion’s Landing
3 Radiant Destiny

Lands
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Concealed Courtyard
2 Forsaken Sanctuary
2 Shefet Dunes
1 Ifnir Deadlands
4 Plains
6 Swamp

Here is another version of the tokens deck that made appearances in MTGO events. This one is of the Esper Build as Blue opens access to Champion of Wits and the powerful late game plan with The Scarab God while sticking with the same strategy of abusing Anointed Procession with Hidden Stockpile. Below is the decklist.

Maindeck
24 LANDS
4 Concealed Courtyard
3 Drowned Catacomb
4 Evolving Wilds
3 Glacial Fortress
1 Island
4 Plains
1 Shefet Dunes
4 Swamp

13 CREATURES
4 Anointer Priest
4 Champion of Wits
3 Sacred Cat
2 The Scarab God

9 INSTANTS and SORC.
4 Fatal Push
3 Fumigate
2 Start / Finish

14 OTHER SPELLS
4 Anointed Procession
4 Hidden Stockpile
3 Legion’s Landing
3 Treasure Map

SIDEBOARD
2 Angel of Sanctions
1 Doomfall
4 Duress
1 Ixalan’s Binding
1 Lost Legacy
3 Negate
1 Sunscourge Champion
2 Vraska’s Contempt

This is somewhat of a news in the Reddit MagicTCG page as the reprint of the Red instant Lightning Strike was announced. Personally I would expect a better burn spell but nonetheless, it would still see its use in the current Ramunap Red deck as a replacement for Incendiary Flow. The spell lineup of the deck as of this posting would likely be Abrade, Shock, Lightning Strike and maybe a few Magma Sprays. I would also like to have pump spells like Titan Strength to deal additional damage, especially with Menace creatures.

Ramunap Red will be losing a lot of its one-drops but I am pretty sure there will be replacement in Ixalan, maybe a Red Goblin Pirate or something. For a quick decklist, here is what RDW will look like in Ixalan Standard:

23 Lands
15 Mountain
4 Ramunap Ruins
4 Sunscorched Desert

23 Creatures
4 Ahn-Crop Crasher
1 Bloodrage Brawler
4 Bomat Courier
4 Earthshaker Khenra
3 Hazoret the Fervent
3 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
4 Soul-Scar Mage

14 Spells
3 Abrade
2 Cartouche of Zeal
4 Lightning Strike
4 Shock
1 Trial of Zeal