4 Kird Ape
4 Tree Monkey
4 Zodiac Monkey
4 Ohran Viper
4 Simian Brawler
3 Indrik Stomphowler
4 Ancient Silverback
4 Moldervine Cloak
4 Skred
2 Savage Twister
11 Snow-Covered Forest
4 Snow-Covered Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
2 Highland Weald
2 Skarrg, the Rage Pits |
  Chimpan-A.
Description of deck by it's author
(quoted):
When they're not taking over Earth in a
post-apocalyptic future or throwing barrels at a poor Italian guy, Apes
can be found patrolling the treetops in John Avon's 9th Edition Forests.
As with Cats, four of Standard's Apes reside in the Core Set. Among the
furry-ous four, you've got your Gruul-loving Kird Apes, your Spider-esque
Tree Monkeys, your self-indulgent, yet fun and exciting Zodiac Monkeys,
and, of course, your venerable Ancient Silverbacks. The paws of the
latter, I'm told, sell for a ton on the black market. Don't worry,
though, the Silverbacks can regenerate.
I believe it was Sartre who said, “Four Apes don't make
a tribe,” which is why I was pleased to see that Coldsnap brought with it
a fifth Ape, the pugilistic primate, Simian Brawler. If you look closely,
you will see that the Brawler is holding a splintered chunk of a barrel,
just like his videogame cousin. The other key thing to note is that Simian
Brawler has a Wild Mongrel-esque activated ability. How long does each
+1/+1 last? If you said, “Until end of turn,” you are right!
The non-Ape cards are the usual array of creature
removal and creature enhancement. After playing against a Snow-heavy U/R
Wizard deck, I realized that Skred is a beating. It's as cheap as
spot-removal gets and it becomes much more powerful over time, something
that isn't true of, say, Last Gasp or Pyroclasm. The only concession you
have to make to accommodate the spell is to add Snow lands to your
mana-base, which really isn't too big a deal.
I'm pretty sure that any Green (or partially Green)
tribe based on smallish creatures wants to play Moldervine Cloak. Wurms,
for example, are already big enough that they don't really need the power
boost, but Apes and Cats and Elves can certainly use it.
Despite the fact that Snakes and Apes are natural
enemies (seriously, it was in a book), I included a set of Ohran Vipers.
They count as a Snow permanent to power up your Skreds, they draw you
cards (not an easy thing in R/G), and no one wants to block it because of
its Basilisk-ability. Moldervine Cloak will make blocking a necessity,
however, and Skarrg, the Rage Pits will often turn an opponent's
chumpblocking into a win-win for you. The other non-Ape creature is the
utilitarian Indrik Stomphowler. Its stomping and howling makes it fit
right in with its simian teammates, and its comes-into-play ability will
almost always have a target. Some of the more relevant ones include
Ghostly Prison, Faith's Fetters, and Glare of Subdual. Savage Twister
rounds out the deck because sometimes you'll absolutely, positively have
to kill every creature in the room. Accept no substitutes! |
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