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There’s an inherent tension withMagic: The Gatheringplayers who want to play big creatures such as dinosaurs. The best dinosaurs require a lot of mana to cast, which requires a lot of patience from the player. But the kind of player who wants to play big dinosaurs wants to play those dinosaursnow.
Enter Veloci-Ramp-tor fromThe Lost Caverns of Ixalan. This deck seeks to ramp up your mana base quickly and efficiently so you may cast all those big, juicy dinosaurs faster than your opponents can respond. Get ready to unleash your inner dinosaur with this potent commander deck.
Veloci-Ramp-tor Commander Deck List
But first, let’s take a look atthe deck listand see how it breaks down.
Drover of the Mighty
Return of the Wildspeaker
Rhythm of the Wild
Arch of the Orazca
Unclaimed Territory
Veloci-Ramp-tor Commander Deck Key Themes
There’s one major theme to the Veloci-Ramp-tor deck and one minor theme. The major theme is in the name:this deck is all about casting huge Dinosaurs as fast as you can. Play cards like Arcane Signet, Ixalli’s Lorekeeper, and Cultivate to start tossing out larger and larger dinosaurs.
Eventually, you’llfind something truly game-ending, likeZetalpa, Primal DawnorZacama, Primal Calamity. Enhancing the speed at which you find these big dinos isPantlaza, Sun-Favored, who candiscover your way to bigger and badder dinosthe more dinosaurs you play.
The minor theme is something that will be familiar to Dinosaur players from the original Ixlan set. About a dozen cards in the deck have either theenragekeyword or a similar ability, whichbenefits the player for poking your dinosaur just enough to make it angry(without killing it, of course).
Thisenrage subthemeis supported by the secondary commander,Wayta, Trainer Prodigy, who can both cause two of your dinos to fight on the cheap while simultaneously doubling your Enrage triggers.
You’ll probablyUse Wayta to fight your opponent’s creaturesmore often than your own, however.
Wayta would benefit greatly from a deck that’s more focused on the enrage mechanic. For this deck, it’s fine to have Wayta present, but you’ll get more consistent use out of Pantlaza, Sun-Favored.
Veloci-Ramp-tor Commander Deck Analysis
The overall structure of Veloci-Ramp-tor is pretty solid. You’ve got40 creatures(aside from your commander) and39 landsto ensure a decent opening hand. You’ve also got16 cards that ramp your mana production(hence the name), including cards like Ixalli’s Lorekeeper, Drover of the Mighty, Wayward Swordtooth, and several others.
With well over half the deck devoted to getting dinosaur boots on the ground, you’re certain toget Pantlaza online and discovering dinos.
What’s less certain is your early-game survival. Cards likeDinosaur EggandRanging Raptorsshould entice your opponents to leave you alone during the early stages of a game, butyou’ll be open to punishment if you don’t draw one of these rattlesnake cards.
Thankfully, Veloci-Ramp-tor has a bit oflife gainfromDeathgorge Scavenger,Akroma’s Will,Bronzebeak Foragers,Verdant Sun’s Avatar, andZacama, Primal Entityto get back what you lose. There’s alsoKinjalli’s SunwingandTempleAltisaurto furtherslow aggression.
As is typical with creature-heavy decks,Veloci-Ramp-tor is light on board wipes. You’ve got Wakening Sun’s Avatar at a hefty eight mana, and Chandra’s Ignition at a more reasonable five mana. Apex Altisaur can also theoretically hurt a lot of critters, and Fiery Confluence can clear boards of tokens, but you should generallyexpect to be on the receiving end of a board-clearing effect.
This leads us to one of the larger problems with Veloci-Ramp-tor.If the board gets cleared, you’ve really only gottwo cards that can bring dead things back to life: Atzocan Seer and From the Rubble.
What’s worse, while you’ve got a significant number ofdraw cards, most of themdepend on Dinosaurs to work(either by having those dinos deal or receive damage or having a big power value). Only Return of the Wildspeaker can be cast at instant speed (outside of dinos cast with Progenitor’s Icon), soyou’re vulnerable to losing your board and having nothing left to draw a new hand.
Veloci-Ramp-tor is also a little unflexible, thanks to alack of targeted removal and graveyard hate. We’ll attempt to shore up these weaknesses with a few budget improvements.
Atzocan Seer
Most ofthese cards do too little for the price point. There’s a vast gulf between Bellowing Aegisaur and Etali, Primal Storm or even Earthshaker Dreadmaw, for example. The same can be said for Raging Regisaur and Raging Swordtooth.
Cards likeShifting CeratopsandThundering Spinebackaren’t terrible, but they’re not greateither – especially compared to some budget upgrade options we’ll discuss below.
Fiery Confluence is an answer, but it’s a little too situational. We can certainly replace it with something more flexible. Drover of the Mighty and Atzocan Seer can also be tossed in favor ofcards that offer more options.
Veloci-Ramp-tor Commander Deck Budget Upgrades
A lot of Veloci-Ramp-tor’s underperforming cards deal with the Enrage sub-theme, so the budget upgrades suggested are going tofocus on what the deck does best:play big dinosaurs. Thankfully, we can both play big dinos and still have the flexibility to deal with threats as they arise.
Ghalta and Mavren
Wouldn’t you rather have this 12/12 trample than a Thundering Spineback? This dinosaur/vampire combo isn’t just a massive body–they’re also a one-card army that can either trample for the win or gain back all your life.
Huatli, Poet of Unity
Huatli offers way more than Atzon Seer while still helping ramp up your mana production.
Hulking Raptor
You’re still looking for ramp at four mana, and Hulking Raptor provides that ramp. Consider this a slightly worse Thran Dynamo with teeth.
Intrepid Paleontologist
Intrepid Paleontologist offers two things: graveyard hate and potential graveyard recursion. Add on some multicolor mana ramp, and this is perhaps the perfect card to add to Veloci-Ramp-tor.
Kogla and Yidaro
Kogla and Yidaro offers targeted artifact and enchantment hate (something this deck lacks) or a 7/7 body that can either run at your opponent or fight their critters and win. However you play it, this card is incredible for Veloci-Ramp-tor.
Tranquil Frillback
A dinosaur Swiss army knife. Need an enchantment or artifact dead? Is somebody’s graveyard recursion causing a headache? A little short on life? This dino solves all three problems, either singly or entirely.
Trumpeting Carnosaur
This noisy dinosaur offers yet more targeted removal at the cost of being discarded, or you’re able to simply play it to have a big trampling body combined with card draw. There’s no downsides here.
Other Budget Upgrades To Consider
Instant-speed answersare a nice thing to have.Return to Nature,Tamiyo’s Safekeeping, andBeast Withinare all good additions.
Consider a fewmore board sweepersto turn the tables on your opponents.Blasphemous Act,Vanquish the Horde, orChain Reactionare all good options, with Chain Reaction and Blasphemous Act potentially adding to your Enrage triggers.
This deck simply cries out forSwiftfoot Boots, andReap the Pastis an excellent way to refill your handafter your opponents cast a board wipe.
