Do you like large creatures? What about huge, enormous, massive?! In that case, you’ll want to get your hands on the Tramplesaurus Rex precon. It will allow you to consistently put the biggest threats on the table.
Let’s explore more about this deck, including its game plan, commander, full decklist, and even a few upgrade ideas.
High-Powered Dinosaurs
As befits a mono-green deck, the theme is pretty straightforward. Playing absolutely massive creatures, ideally Dinosaurs.
There’s also a lot of ramp, starting as early as turn one, which helps cast your Dinos ahead of schedule. The secondary minor theme, power-matters, plays neatly with your main one. After, all most of MTG’s Dinosaurs got at least 4 power.
As expected, both themes are reflected in the deck’s commander.
Main Commander: Ghalta, Primal Hunger
Ghalta is a pretty straightforward card — a massive 12/12 Dinosaur for twelve mana. That wouldn’t be anything special without the built-in cost reduction.
The latter allows you to cast Ghalta for as cheap as two green mana. Now, that’s quite absurd, but not unrealistic in a deck filled with large creatures, and this one certainly fits the bill.
Just putting such a massive creature in play can already feel great, but you’ll also benefit from other power-matters cards.
Of course, you might be familiar with Ghalta, if you’re an experienced player, after all this is not a new card. (Although it does feature an awesome new borderless art.) In fact, all cards in the deck are reprints, as is the case with each Foundations precon.
What’s the Deal With Foundations Precons?
When Wizards were designing these, their main goal was to create a beginner-friendly Commander product. While regular Commander precons can be complex and expensive, Foundations decks solve this by only using reprints.
That allows Wizards to make the decks cheaper and more straightforward. Note, this doesn’t mean that the cards are bad, quite the contrary.
There’s a bunch of green Commander staples in the deck. (Llanowar Elves, Birds of Paradis, Rishkar’s Expertise.) Even if you at some point take this deck apart, you’re left with a bunch of useful cards.
Even as is, Tramplesaurus Rex precon is a perfectly fine “big stompy” deck, that can hold its own in any casual environment. A few card swaps, and you can easily battle even against upgraded regular precons.
That’s why even more experienced players are buying it.
Another popular idea is to purchase all five of them, and use them as a board game on its own. Your friends come over, and you already got the decks ready. You won’t spend time discussing who brought a too strong deck.
Anyhow, let’s get back to this specific deck, and check the list.
Tramplesaurus Rex Decklist
Best Reprints
If you’re wondering about value, this deck offers some great cards, that you wouldn’t expect in such a cheap deck. Here are some of the best options:
Naturally, there are still cards that you could add in order to make it play even better. So without further ado, here are a few quick recommendations.
Tramplesaurus Rex Upgrade Ideas
As players start to upgrade their freshly acquired mono-green decks, these are likely among the first cards they’d add. Thus, their prices might spike in the future. So, if you’re already eyeing them, now might be a good time to pull the trigger.
Wayward Swordtooth
Swordtooth is a solid card on its own, and sees play in many green decks. It allows you to play additional lands, and is fairly quickly able to participate in combat. A three mana 5/5 is certainly above rate.
But paired with Ghalta, it becomes even better, as it provides 5-mana cost reduction for it. At this point you’re really getting an awesome deal.
Devil Dinosaur
Lords (creatures that buff other creatures of the same type) are typically smaller. But as is appropriate for Dinosaurs, this one is quite massive. Not only will you be casting Ghalta for cheaper, all of your Dinos get hexproof.
That’s a great combination of abilities, especially on a four mana 5/5.
Now this card’s price is quite hefty. So, if you’d prefer something a bit more budget-friendly and/or not Marvel related, you could go with Slumbering Trudge. (It’s like Dark Ritual on steroids for casting Ghalta.)
Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
Selvala isn’t a Dinosaur, but it’s an otherwise perfect card to pair with Ghalta, as it simply does everything you’d want it to do.
The first ability grants card advantage. Sure, your opponents might occasionally profit from it, but you’ll typically benefit the most.
The second ability is also extremely useful. It’s not a rare for it to generate five or more mana, and with your commander in play, you’re actually turning a single green mana into 12 mana. Now that’s just absurd right?
Do You Like Dinosaurs?
So, do you like the new Ghalta artwork and the other 99 cards this deck contains? Will you get one of those precons for yourself? If you plan on doing so, now might be a good time to lock-in that Amazon preorder price and avoid any potential price increases.
If you’re looking for details about other decks, check Foundations Commander precons here.
Until next time, enjoy casting massive creatures, and may your Ghalta always cost just a couple of mana.