Source: Inquest #29 (Sept 1997), pp.58-59; author: Alex Shvartsman

Subsitutions:
2 Karplusan Forests -> 2 Mountains
2 Brushlands -> 2 Plains
3 Birds of Paradise -> 3 Quirion Elves
3 Armageddons -> 3 Orcish Settlers

"Lightning fast, 'Green Thumb' lets your army of creatures grow faster than crab grass on steroids.  Similar to the once-popular Ernhamgeddon decks, your strategy should be to get a couple of creatures on the table and Armageddon before your opponent has enough mana to cast anything equally nasty.

Even though Ernham Djinn - the best of the undercosted green creatures - is gone from Type II, there are plenty of critters that replace it adequately in this deck.  Consider River Boa.  For the casting cost of Cyclopean Mummy it comes complete with islandwalk and regeneration, making it one of the toughest green weenie creatures ever.

An assortment of seven assorted elves and birds makes certain you will almost always have one in your opening hand.  This lets you cast the big hitters such as Phyrexian War Beast, Bull Elephant and Fallow Wurm that much faster.  With 30 mana-producing cards in the deck, the negative effects built into these beasts are virtually negated.

To further disrupt your opponent's game, Uktabi Orangutans will allow you to destroy their Diamonds, Icy Manipulators and other unpleasant artifacts without as much as slowing down your assault.  Creeping Mold serves a similar purpose.  It is a slightly slower card, but it is capable of removing those annoying Kjeldoran Outposts and Island Sanctuaries.

One of the nastier surprises in this deck is the presence of Derelors.  Considerably undercosted, Derelor is among the best creatures available as long as you can get around its disability.  There is no better way to do that than playing it in the deck which features no other black spells!

If the game comes down to a creature war, 'Green Thumb' is hard to beat.  Its creatures are bigger and faster than anything most other decks have.  On top of that, Giant Growths allow you to deal damage faster, kill a larger creature or save one of your critters from a direct-damage spell.

Control-oriented decks may be a bit tougher to beat.  It is a good idea not to cast too many creatures against a control deck at one time since a well-placed Earthquake or Wrath of God can take them all out in one shot.  Instead, put a steady pressure on your opponent attacking with a couple of creatures and casting another monster any time they manage to kill one off.

Regardless of how well you protect your creatures, you can count on a fair number of them going to the graveyard throughout the game.  This is no reason to be upset - even after their untimely demise your creature hordes can be of use.  A late-game Lhurgoyf is a force to be reckoned with, but if you think THAT is the best way to utilise your graveyard, check out the Weatherlight card Nature's Resurgence.  This bargain-cost sorcery allows you to draw a new card for every single one of your slain creatures.  Although your opponent gets the same deal, you are almost always likely to benefit more.

Of course, you'll also want to be able to get rid of your opponent's creatures.  Incinerates always help do the trick, and Stormbind is well complemented by the Bull Elephant's ability.  Return two forests to your hand and recycle them to deal four extra points of damage.

Although there are more than enough mana sources, nothing in the deck costs over four mana to cast.  It is always a good idea to hold onto any extra land once you have four on the table.  It will allow you to cast an Armageddon whenever convenient, cast your Fallow Wurm or put the excess land to an even better use once you draw the Stormbind.

In your sideboard, the most notable card is City of Solitude.  This seemingly harmless enchantment shuts down counterspells, Circles of Protection and even Quicksands.  Bubble Matrix gives the decks that rely on direct damage to remove creatures a very hard time.  Be careful when sideboarding this card in - it will allow your opponent's Outpost token to block the biggest of your critters without dying.  Whirling Dervish is always a good idea against the ever-popular black-weenie decks and a variety of permanent removal prepares the deck for anything it is likely to face.

Several modifications can be made to both the deck and sideboard.  You could try including Rogue Elephants and Harvest Wurms, which would work well with [the] considerable amount of self-land destruction this deck has.  You might replace Armageddons with Yavimaya Ants [if] going for the faster kill.  Straw Golems could be a very interesting sideboard option agains creatureless decks.

In a nutshell, 'Green Thumb' is a down-to-earth, fun deck.  If you long to play a simple, effective creature deck then assemble this one and prepare to administer some big, bad beat-down."