Gruul Monsters Midrange (deck 2a in two colored series) (Frontier)

I'm doing another series of decks, this time focusing on midrange decks that are two colored.

What does the deck do:
The deck gets into playing very explosive creatures early in the game.
Playing ramp early/accelerators early.
*The deck plays a fair amount of recursion, alongside creatures that are simply difficult to remove.

What inspired the deck:
part of a series of midrange decks, this one for gruul.
I built a midrange Ferocious deck for temur, however the mana base was a bit shaky. In the end, the deck could have just as easily dropped the blue.

Step 1: Build the 4cmc and 5cmc core.

(a) Rekindling Phoenix. 4 copies.
So hard to permanently remove.
Evasion, in the form of flying.
*haste on return.

(b) Glorybringer. 4 copies.
Haste is big.
Removal on a stick is vital in these colors.

Step 2: Select a subtheme(s).
Already have a plan to have recursion play a part in the deck.
I'm looking at having my mana accelerators be dinosaur based.
-Thunderherd Migration.
-Drover of the Mighty.
*With a dinosaur based subtheme, then it is safe to say we will need to play a fair amount of dinosaurs.

Step 3: Decide on our mana accelerators.

(a) Thunderherd Migration. 3 copies.
To effectively play this card we need a minimum of 14 dinosaurs in the deck.
Probably the best early game ramp piece in the format, when you consider what 4cmc cards can play on turn 3.

(b) Drover of the Mighty. 4 copies.
A 3/3 body by the midgame that provides ramp early on.
The fact Drover becomes a 3/3 allows us to play more mana accelerators since Drover is not a dead draw midgame.
*Also requires a fair number of dino's to reach its full potential.

(c) Elvish Mystic. 4 copies.
Accelerate right out of the gate.
This, into another accelerator turn 2, skips us to playing 5cmc cards on turn 3.

(d) Oath of Nissa. 2 copies.
Grabs us that third land that we will need for turn 3 to curve out properly.
Serves as card draw in a deck that is very light on it.
*Although Commune with Dinosaurs digs two cards deeper, this lets us grab either Phoenix or Glorybringer, as well as any planeswalker we may be playing.

Step 4: Play 14 Dinosaurs without compromising the deck.

(a) Carnage Tyrant. 2 copies.
Hard to remove.
Amazing beater.

(b) Regisaur Alpha. 2 copies.
Getting two bodies for the price of one makes him that much more valuable. Even if the Regisaur is answered with removal, it still left behind a 3/3.
Giving haste to any dinosaur coming after lets us lay down serious beats.
*This on turn three is a lot to handle

(c) Deathmist Raptor. 4 copies.
Yes, it is a dinosaur. It was part of the dinosaur errata that followed the release of Ixalan.
3/3 deathtouch for 3cmc is great.
*deathtouch gives us some pseudo removal in the deck.

(d) Rampaging Ferocidon. 4 copies.
Built in evasion in the form of menace.
We are playing beatdown, so it is a great benefit that our opponent cannot gain life to stabilize.
Shuts off Saheeli combo

(e) Ripjaw Raptor. 2 copies.
5 toughness is key for blocking in this format.
Gives us card draw in a deck that struggles to draw cards.

Step 5: Add in support cards.

(a) Chandra, Torch of Defiance. 2 copies.
card draw, again very important.
emergency removal.
*playing this on turn three really helps cast whatever we want, every turn thereafter.

(b) Den Protector. 2 copies.
We will have permanents destroyed. Den Protector gets them back in our hand and is a serviceable creature besides.
There is the obvious benefit of the interaction with Deathmist Raptor. Getting back a real threat to hand and getting to put a Raptor on the board as a bonus is game altering.

Step 6: Review and revise.
We currently are playing 39 cards before lands.
We are not playing any targeted removal.

(a) Cut Elvish Mystic x4
It is ok to be a turn slower in order to have more consistent draws in the midgame.
EM is so easy to remove that you do not want to rely on it heavily.

*After cutting Elvish Mystic the deck needs to play at least 22 lands, however I'm going to be playing 23 to be safe. I want to have a chance, even if my turn 2 Drover is destroyed.

Two slots remaining in the main board. Has to be removal.

(b) Prey Upon. 2 copies.
removal is weak in these colors.
it is 1cmc, which is very important as we want to stay aggressive playing threats, and not take a turn off to remove a creature.
It will kill almost anything we face as we are playing some fairly juiced up creatures ourselves.
Target Deathmist Raptor and the deathtouch can take down a much bigger creature.
*Target Ripjaw Raptor and draw a card.

Step 7: Build a sideboard.

(a) Thrashing Brontodon. 4 copies.
serves as removal for some of the painful artifacts and enchantments we face
allows us to side in removal, while not disrupting the dinosaur theme.
*also comes in for Rampaging Ferocidon whenever we side in Sweltering Suns.

(b) Sweltering Suns. 3 copies.
*Takes down the aggro decks that can go underneath us.

(c) Deathgorge Scavenger. 2 copies.
Decent against aggro.
Helps hold Graveyard decks down long enough for us to power through.

(d) Blossoming Defense. 2 copies.
*Cheap protection against spot removal.

(e) Reckless Rage. 1 copy.
Spot removal for 1cmc that all our creatures will survive.
Triggers Ripjaw Raptor.

(f) Abrade. 2 copies.
*Double purpose removal.

(g) Shapers' Sanctuary. 1 copy.
*Card draw against decks heavy on spot removal.

Step 8: Mana base.
*Pretty simple since it is allied and two colored.

(a) Wooded Foothills. 4 copies

(b) Cinder Glade. 4 copies.

(c) Rootbound Crag. 4 copies.

(d) Mountain. 3 copies.

(e) Forest. 5 copies

(f) Ramunap Ruins. 2 copies
*can finish off a game.

(g) Rogue's Passage. 1 copy.
*Gets us through for that one big smash attack.

Final Thoughts
A) While it can be fun to turn big monsters sideways, the strategy has many holes in it. You simply have to nut draw to win in certain matchups.

B) You have no answer for Hazoret, other than to race it.

C) You have no answer for Settle the Wreckage other than to hope they don't draw it. You just either go balls to the wall and swing full and hope the opponent never sees it or you have to hold enough back during attacks to have something left after getting your board exiled.

D) Our removal is terrible.

E) Final Conclusion... unless you are playing a total all-in aggro deck, Gruul has to have a third color splashed so you can remove creatures and to battle Settle the Wreckage.