Fossil Frenzy! [Dinosaur Tribal] [Beatdown]

Update: Everything is changing!

Are you ready for a helping of Fossil Fury?

I love this archetype and I've been toying around with it for a long time. It's not going to change the meta and it can't deal with those 50-Premium-Legendary decks that are always stinking up the queues, but it's a fun, effective, and affordable deck that feels fair and interesting to play. The game plan is pretty simple: you're hitting the board hard and stacking Dino synergies until the opponent can't keep up with you.

You have two win conditions: Evelina, Valley Searcher and Avisaur Patriarch, and you win by abusing them in slightly different ways. Evelina is a handbuffer: she wants to hit the field right away and then work together with Amber Acolyte but especially Kimi, Expedition Guide to get a few +1/+1s on your Dino's. T2 Evelina into T3 Kimi 2/5 into T4 attack with Kimi to summon a shifted 2/2 Explorer is pretty much a winning formula every time; these are usually the cards you're mulliganing for. Patriarch Familiar wins you games by spreading out wide with a bunch of cheaper Units (handbuffed Avirax Familiars and Pteriax Hatchlings are his favorites) before hitting his Ultimate and running over whatever resistance still remained. Between Evelina and the Patriarch, your Dino's get stupid big stupid quick.

I'd really been sleeping on Savage Skybrood for a while before I realized how insanely good it is in a dedicated Dino deck like this on. It gets out of hand quick, and can singlehandedly deliver you the tempo you need to keep your opponent on their heels until you win. Twilight Hunt is just an amazing removal, buff, and synergy card that replaces itself to boot, but just using it on Skybrood T2 to remove the enemy T1/2 drop and get its health above Torch range just can't be underestimated. Omnivorous Vorlunk and Predatory Carnosaur round out your removal suite so you can keep pushing damage while expanding your board (the Vorlunk takes handbuffs insanely well.). Nesting Avisaur is a decent body with built-in hand-extension when you've flooded with Power, and it synergizes with the evergreen Avirax Familiar to boot. Twinbrood Sauropod is just a big, dumb expendable beater that extends your resources immensely and breaks stalemates. The same goes for Amber Monument's Rhinarcs. Finally, Serasaur Bull may look like attachment removal (which it is), but it's mostly going to stick in your hand to deliver that final bit of burst you need to close out the game. It'll often be severely buffed, and after going up against your flood of Dino's, most opponents won't be ready to deal with a huge Charger.

That's about it! Before I wrap it up, here are some tips to consider when playing this deck:
- Twilight Hunt is great on all Dinosaurs but does even móre work on Kimi because it activates her ability!
- You can't discount Displaced Oryctodon's Shift cost with Avisaur Patriarch! But you cán buff Skybroods with it!
- You're often going to have multiple instances of the same Unit, but with different amounts of buffs on them. It can be tempting to only play the ones with the most buffs, but that can be a mistake. For one, you might be able to copy the best ones later on. For two, if your opponent has removal, it's better they use it on your weaker cards. Really think about what they might have, and play the cards that would make it most awkward for them to deal with instead of just going for the strongest.
- If the opponent offers to trade against your Echo Units, it's often best to let them! Remember, they spend at least a full draw, you're only spending half of one!
- When playing Avisaur Patriarch or Avirax Familiar, really think about if you're going to be able to be able to curve out into anything worthwhile on the next turn. If not, it can be better to instead play for tempo and drop a bigger body instead. Also, losing one of these on the enemy turn can cause you to stall horribly; make sure you have a back-up plan if that happens.
- Avisaur Patriarch's effect only works with Dinosaurs, don't make the mistake of popping the Ultimate when your board is half-filled with Explorers!
- Don't be afraid to skip Nesting Avisaur's effect unless you have a lot of Power! A 4 Power 3/3 Flying isn't great, but it's not that bad either, and it's typically going to be discounted and/or buffed anyway. You don't want to Power screw yourself.
- If you're sure you'll reach at least 5 balanced Power, don't spend your Amber Monuments too quickly! The 5/5 Rhinarcs are great Units that take all your buffs really well.
- If you're up against a Justice control deck, don't empty out your hand for maximum tempo! Harsh Rule is a cruel mistress, and you don't have any Aegis or mass draw to survive.
- And finally, this deck really favor Time Influence, but make sure you get at least 2 of each early on for the Patriarch. After that, make sure you get to 3 Time Influence for the Carnosaur. Beyond that, it doesn't matter.

PS: If you have Dilphex Stalker, feel free to swap it with Omnivorous Vorlunk. I really like the higher attack and Overwhelm on the Oryctodon, but the Scout on the Dilphex is really juicy, and it'll value-trade more often after it's taken a buff. Try both and see which you like better.

Go have fun!