Glad to see this thread get revived again! I actually took my Zacama deck apart because it was too powerful... It was able to consistently dominate the board on T4 or T5, which is apparently too quick for my wife's Kaalia deck and my brother's Freyalise Eflball deck.
Guardian Project should be a good addition to the decklist as another source of card draw. It's been overperforming for me in my Arcades deck lately and doesn't draw as much ire as Panharmonicon does.
Rhythm of the Wild seems like a decent card from a flavor win and also as a way to "protect" Zacama. Getting haste on her is pretty good too and the +1/+1 counter can help make the "power matters" draw effects better for the deck.
Thanks. It's amazing how quickly this deck can get to 9 mana to cast Zacama and the other expensive cards in the deck.
Good suggestion for the land. The karoo lands and the extra and drops are actually really good to net mana, as you mentioned. I forgot about the Lair, so I'll add it to replace Jungle Shrine.
I love this Dinosaur so much, so thanks for making a good thread for this. I'll echo your sentiment about the incredible board control Zacama has when in play.
I know that you've already addressed some of the creature-centric builds, but I wanted to ask you to reconsider. There are some really good draw engines that are powered by creatures, both quality of creatures and quantity of creatures. I think it's worth exploring a little more. I'm not sure how prevalent Stax decks are in your meta, but I've had a lot of good success with a mana-dork package when they try to destroy lands or put them under a Winter Orb. There are enough elves that are 1 CMC so that you always have something to do T1. Let me post my own personal list real quick and I'll try and explain my rationale.
As a quick overview, my list is more of a mono-green ETB list with a splash of removal outside of green.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Guardian Project should be a good addition to the decklist as another source of card draw. It's been overperforming for me in my Arcades deck lately and doesn't draw as much ire as Panharmonicon does.
Rhythm of the Wild seems like a decent card from a flavor win and also as a way to "protect" Zacama. Getting haste on her is pretty good too and the +1/+1 counter can help make the "power matters" draw effects better for the deck.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Good suggestion for the land. The karoo lands and the extra and drops are actually really good to net mana, as you mentioned. I forgot about the Lair, so I'll add it to replace Jungle Shrine.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I know that you've already addressed some of the creature-centric builds, but I wanted to ask you to reconsider. There are some really good draw engines that are powered by creatures, both quality of creatures and quantity of creatures. I think it's worth exploring a little more. I'm not sure how prevalent Stax decks are in your meta, but I've had a lot of good success with a mana-dork package when they try to destroy lands or put them under a Winter Orb. There are enough elves that are 1 CMC so that you always have something to do T1. Let me post my own personal list real quick and I'll try and explain my rationale.
As a quick overview, my list is more of a mono-green ETB list with a splash of removal outside of green.
9x Zacama, Primal Calamity
Mana Sources (30)
0x Mana Crypt
1x Sol Ring
1x Utopia Sprawl
1x Wild Growth
1x Exploration
1x Arbor Elf
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Llanowar Elves
2x Nature's Lore
2x Priest of Titania
3x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
3x Wayward Swordtooth
3x Wood Elves
3x Farhaven Elf
3x Cultivate
3x Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
3x Mana Flare
3x Heartbeat of Spring
4x Keeper of Progenitus
4x Vernal Bloom
4x Mina and Denn, Wildborn
4x Tempt with Discovery
4x Skyshroud Claim
5x Zhur-Taa Ancient
5x Mirari's Wake
6x Regal Behemoth
6x Mana Reflection
6x Ulvenwald Hydra
7x Zendikar Resurgent
8x Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
2x Sylvan Library
2x Elvish Visionary
2x Life's Legacy
3x Elemental Bond
3x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
4x Momentous Fall
4x Greater Good
5x Grothama, All-Devouring
5x Garruk's Packleader
5x Garruk, Primal Hunter
5x Shamanic Revelation
6x Soul of the Harvest
6x Rishkar's Expertise
7x Regal Force
Tutors (4)
1x Green Sun's Zenith
3x Fierce Empath
3x Eldritch Evolution
6x Woodland Bellower
Combo Package (5)
2x Horned Kavu
3x Fleetfoot Panther
3x Cloudstone Curio
4x Panharmonicon
4x Temur Sabertooth
Removal/Control (10)
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Pyroblast
3x Reclamation Sage
3x Krosan Grip
3x Beast Within
5x Acidic Slime
6x Duplicant
6x Warstorm Surge
8x Terastodon
3x Eternal Witness
6x Greenwarden of Murasa
Lands (34)
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Shivan Gorge
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Gruul Turf
1x Selesnya Sanctuary
1x Jungle Shrine
1x Taiga
1x Plateau
1x Savannah
1x Stomping Ground
1x Temple Gardens
1x Scattered Groves
1x Sheltered Thicket
1x Canopy Vista
1x Cinder Glade
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Windswept Heath
1x Arid Mesa
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Bloodstained Mire
6x Forest
3x Mountain
2x Plains
There's 31 creatures in the deck, which makes Gaea's Cradle a real and effective mana source. There's also enough permanents for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to be another Cradle effect so that you need less lands for Zacama to combo off. A significant number of the creatures have power 3 or greater to trigger Elemental Bond and Garruk's Packleader while also being really powerful creatures to make Momentous Fall, Life's Legacy, and Rishkar's Expertise still worthwhile. Because the creature count also makes Shamanic Revelation a decent draw spell that consistently draws 3+ cards. Adding a mana dork package also makes Harvester of Souls a better card, as does Lifecrafter's BestiaryThere's approximately 15 ETB creatures so that Panharmonicon, Cloudstone Curio, Temur Sabertooth, and the self-blinkers like Horned Kavu can get maximum effectiveness. I've had a lot of great success with it, and I haven't missed Caged Sun too much. With the addition of Elemental Bond and Garruk's Packleader, you can draw your deck with the Zacama loop.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager