DTK Draft: The Roles of Green Commons

I've thinking some different ways to write the guide for now, this time, I'd try to explain the green commons by the roles they would able to fill. I hope this could tell importance of each card even better than to explain them one by one.

Defenders

I think that green is the best defensive color in the DTK draft set. With offensive creatures, you have to wait a full turn to be able to use them, often, you will never block with them at all except by trading, green, however, have cheap creatures with good toughness and nice power that will stop your opponent's early aggression and make you able to go aggressive yourself if needed. Green also features reach, that will make opposing fliers think twice before attacking lest get shot down in at least a trade. Those defensive feats makes green creatures impact the board the moment they are dropped from your hand. Let's look at some of the best defenders green have:

Glade Watcher: 3/3 for 2 mana is amazing. You can expect to be safe in the early turns when you drop it. Watcher will make weaker creatures unable to touch you and possibly trade for something that is more valuable than him. He is really valuable when you are facing an aggro deck with small creatures.

Dragon-scarred Bear: Regeneration on creature this big is fearsome. When formidable is active and you have mana available, he'll block any land creature and provided with few combat tricks could even triumph over it. Regeneration made this bear really hard to stop as both defender or attacker.

Aerie Bowmasters: I really like the 3/4 stats and reach. Not only small land creatures, now even those small fliers cannot land their small blows on you turn by turn. With few combat tricks, they could even shot down a dragon! I prefer to hard-cast them as in my opinion they provide far more long-term benefit that way compared to spending 9 mana to megamorph them. They cost 2GG though so you'll have incentive to mainly play green to have them efficiently on your side.

Colossodon Yearling: 4 toughness is really tough for early creature. Think of it as smaller, cheaper, Aerie Bowmasters.

Anti-flier Cards
Except for Aerie Bowmasters, I think that most of Reach or Anti-flier cards (can I call those Anti-Aircraft cards?) is best reserved to side when you know your opponent have threatening flier. I still categorize them as defensive cards. Here they are: 

Archers of Qarsi (FRF): Strong power but low toughness, you'll make them trade only against enemy dragons. You can think them a passive removal.

Ainok Artillerist: With +1/+1 counter he becomes Archers of Qarsi. The fact that you have to work to trigger his reach makes him less favorable for me.

The Draft set only have two real Reach creatures (sorry artillerist), but there are spells that will allow you to dominate the skies as well:

Shape the Sands: If you have a creature with enough power, Shape the Sands can trade with your opponent's most valuable flier. +0/+5 can save your creature from damage-based removal like Scorch too.

Return the Earth and Pinion Feast: Both kill a flier with Return also able to pop other target (if needed) and Feast able to Bolster 2. They are green's only direct creature removal and are expensive so it's better to save them for the best target.

Mana Providers

Ainok Guide: Although not a direct advantage, he can save you from not having your 3rd mana. He can also fetch a land of your secondary color or fetch your splash color to make sure you can play your splash card in time. When you are content with your mana already he'll be your mainstream 2-drop.

Whisperer of the Wilds (FRF): Cheap mana ramp with small upside of generating more mana in late game by having ferocious. Chances are you'd never really use her as blocker too unless desperate. If you have low-cost 4 power creature she'll be great for your tempo!

Map the Wastes (FRF): Ramps you up and in the same time provides a little board presence with Bolster. Same as Ainok Guide, Map the Wastes will make your mana-organizing life easier.

Sheltered Aerie: Playing sheltered aerie is the same as playing an additional mana on that turn and you can think it costs two mana on the turn you play it. The ability to produce a mana of any kind of color could help your deck in playing powerful splash card. The aerie might be better played in turn 4 or 5 when you have another spell ready to cast.

Removals

Epic Confrontation: Green's cheapest, most effective removal. This card is 75% Savage Punch if Savage Punch doesn't have Ferocious condition, so I'd say this card is the best removal green have here.

Hunt the Weak (FRF): Green's second fight removal. You do get a permanent boost in form of +1/+1 from it but I think it's still a bit expensive. When you don't get Epic Confrontation be sure to take this!

Grim Contest (FRF): Grim Contest is a little unique and is very dependent on your and your opponent's creature. Just compare the creatures on the field's toughness to see what this could kill.

Return to the Earth (FRF) and Pinion Feast: You already read about them. Expensive removal that I'd say better save them for sideboard.

Combat Tricks

Tread Upon: Unleash the Bear's little brother. Although smaller, I think +2/+2 is already enough to overcome any creature and trample could catch an opponent off-guard.

Shape the Sands: I mentioned it first as anti-flier card as it gives your creature Reach, however +5 toughness will make sure your creature survive a combat, but to make it an effective combat trick, your creature also have to have an adequate power, which is something Green or Red should have no problem of.

Archetype: +1/+1 Counters, Formidable, and Ferocious.

These are archetypes associated with green in the set. I think that each of them deserve their own articles (and not only involving single color or commons), so I'll leave it here for now.

Others

Servant of the Scale, Frontier Mastodon (FRF), Guardian Shield-bearer: cards that can be comboed with +1/+1 counter theme.

Atarka Beastbreaker, Feral Krushok (FRF), Sandsteppe Scavenger, Ambush Krotiq (FRF): Mainly frontline combatants. Ambush Krotiq can be used to save your creature from Reduce in Stature or Pacifism. You can easily attack with Atarka Beastbreaker when you reach 6 mana on your turn. The better ones of them are Atarka Beastbreaker and Sandsteppe Scavenger.

Ainok Artillerist, Archers of Qarsi (FRF), Conifer Strider: Outside of Reach aspect, they trigger Ferocious and contribute big to Formidable. They could also be used to keep your opponent's big creature from attacking, however except for conifer strider, they are weak to damage based removal.

Naturalize: A sideboard card. Useful especially against white due to their powerful, cheap enchantments.

Temur Runemark: The runemark boost and trample match well and might make your games goes faster, but might not be that much compared to Vigilance, First Strike, or Flying.

Formless Nurturing, Ethereal Ambush (FRF): Manifest doesn't really interest me due to its inconsistency. Having to pay extra mana for mediocre benefit doesn't really interest me either. Formless Nurturing however might be useful if in +1/+1 counter theme and Ethereal Ambush is useful when you need field presence (albeit small in size) quick.

Combatants

They serve as the main combatant of your deck. What I categorize as main combatant is creatures that have balanced offensive and defensive capabilities, a 5/1 or 1/6 for example, would often have a specific role. (*=creature in morph form. **=creature when they are morphed)

1 drop: Servant of the Scale
2 drop: Ainok Guide, Glade Watcher, Atarka Beastbreaker
3 drop: Dragon-Scarred Bear, Colossodon Yealing, Frontier Mastodon, Segmented Krotiq*
4 drop: Aerie Bowmasters
5 drop: Stampeding Elk Herd, Feral Krushok, Sandsteppe Scavenger
6 drop: Segmented Krotiq, Ambush Krotiq
7 drop: Segmented Krotiq**

Wrapping Up

So that wraps up all green's commons! What do you think of them? See you in next article!