One of the most important questions in any game of Magic is “who’s the beatdown?” If you’re playing a mono-green Stompy deck, you can be confident that the answer is always “you.”


This deck is looking to start with aggressive creatures that perform above their curve. Experiment One is a big failure on the vanilla test, but it certainly won’t remain a 1/1 for long. You have all the tools in this deck to get your Experiment up to a 4/4 or 5/5 and quickly. With counter synergies and regenerate, this is a resilient threat that doesn’t mind crashing into the red zone consistently.


There aren’t a ton of 1-mana creatures with high power in green assuming you don’t want to go down old Stompy routes and play cards that punish your mana like Rogue Elephant. Dryad Militant is mostly a 2/1 for 1 mana, but the ability to exile spells is relevant in a handful of matchups, such as against Storm or Snapcaster Mages.


Strangleroot Geist provides another aggressive body that is resilient to all of the bad things that can happen to creatures in Modern. It comes down with haste, allowing you to get aggressive right away, and then comes back even stronger than before if they kill it. If they’re not able to exile this, you’re sure to get value, and if they’re forced to cast Path to Exile, you’re getting an additional land.


Avatar of the Resolute has excellent synergy with your other early creatures like Experiment One and Strangleroot Geist. The floor on Avatar is passable, but the possibility of having a 4/3 or larger trampling creature on turn 2 is still really exciting. This plays really well with the instants in your deck.


Scavenging Ooze can help grow your Avatar, punish opposing Snapcasters, Goryo’s Vengeances, and Tarmogoyfs, and just be a massive threat for 2 mana. Ooze gains life, messes with Kitchen Finks, and shuts off delirium. There is a lot of utility and little downside to such a powerful, cheap creature. The biggest drawback for this particular deck is that it doesn’t cost GG for devotion bonuses.


Leatherback Baloth is 3-mana Tarmogoyf that gives you lots of devotion. This deck doesn’t actually do much to get card types into the graveyard, but you’re still getting your 4/5 with Baloth. Groundbreaker makes sure that you know this is a truly aggressive deck. Ball Lightning doesn’t like playing the control role.


Dungrove Elder and Thrun, the Last Troll do a good job of handling control decks or decks packed with removal. You’re playing an aggressive creature deck, but that’s not perfect for every matchup. Hexproof creatures are tough to deal with, and these are both large enough to demand a quick answer or a quicker death.


Aspect of Hydra is the game-changer. For a single mana, you’re getting a massive bonus fairly early in the game. Granting +9/+9 after playing a Groundbreaker is a totally possible turn-4 play, and even if it’s “only” a +6/+6, that will usually end the game. If you hit your curve even slightly, this packs a massive punch for a minimal investment. With so many trample creatures in the deck, not to mention hexproof, it’s the key piece to the puzzle.


Vines of Vastwood represents a lot of damage as well as creature protection. With a full playset of Rancors, your large creatures will be even larger. Chump blocking will no longer matter, and your Aspects will be game-ending. With a pair of Dismembers for cheap removal (and to maximize damage in combat from your trample creatures), Stompy hits hard and fast.

You want to get aggressive in Modern? See what Aspect of Hydra can do for you.

Stompy

Yann S., 1st place at Modern Meltdown Strasbourg


Lands
19 x Forest
2 x Treetop Village
Creatures
4 x Avatar of the Resolute
4 x Dryad Militant
1 x Dungrove Elder
4 x Experiment One
2 x Leatherback Baloth
3 x Scavenging Ooze
4 x Strangleroot Geist
1 x Thrun, the Last Troll
2 x Groundbreaker
Spells
4 x Aspect of Hydra
2 x Dismember
4 x Vines of Vastwood
4 x Rancor

Sideboard
2 x Back to Nature
1 x Creeping Corrosion
3 x Feed the Clan
2 x Gut Shot
1 x Natural State
2 x Prey Upon
2 x Skylasher
1 x Thragtusk
1 x Fog
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