Drafting ZZW with Matt: Forcing Mono-green

Having done a fair amount of RRR drafts lately, I decided to go back and see if forcing mono-green in ZZW is still an unbeatable strategy. While green is considered by mana to be the worst color in zen, and it's certainly weaker to an extent, this leads to it being extremely underdrafted online. Because of this, a powerful strategy is to just force mono-green, since you'll expect to see powerful commons later than they should go, and green is shallow enough that you can cut it pretty easily, further encouraging others to stay away. I decided to give this a shot and hopped into the 8/4 queue.

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:


Disfigure would be the pick for most people, but green is criminaly underdrafted online, and in mono-green, larva is absurdly huge

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:


Sticking with the plan, gladehart is the best green card. In the mono-green aggro deck, harrow loses a lot of value.
Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:


Not going to take savage silhouette 3rd over a 2/1 for 2, and Gr is acceptable.
Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:


Gladehart's get better in multiples, and I'm hoping primal bellow will wheel. Cage trap is ok, but the deck can get plenty of 4/4's.
Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:


This card is actually very good, since you can pretty much always get value out of it. A lot of people disrespect it due to the idea of auras leading to card disadvantage when they kill your guy, but if played correctly urge just eats their guys too.
Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:


Farguide is acceptable but not great. Whiplash trap is at its best in Gu where you can get in a ton of damage by removing 2 guys. Although I already have a red card, peaks does very little when your guys are already fat.
Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:


That's a late welkin turn, as well as a late mind sludge, but gear fits into the mono-green plan.
Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:


Wow, that's nice
Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:


Wouldn've liken the nissa's chosen to wheel, as there are tables where people avoid green like the plague, but I guess at least 1 person knows what they're doing.
Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:


Khalni Gem is pretty awful in a mono-colored deck, since if it gets removed you're way behind. Drake is the best card.
Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 12:

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Pack 1, Pick 13:

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Pack 1, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:


While the boa is pretty good, oracle is an absurd bomb in limited, basically making all of your draws live.
Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:


As nice as sphinx and shepherd are, woodcrasher is fatter.
Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:


Only real green card and definitely a good card to have.
Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:


With 3, we shouldn't have many issues with aggro.
Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:


In a heavy green deck, we wouldnt play any of the cards here even if splashing those colors. Hexmage is the best card.
Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:


The person 2 or 3 to our left is probably in heavy green with the chosen and the bellow we shipped pack 1. Blue is the most reasonable 2nd color to be in, and drake is acceptable.
Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:


Again no green, so take the good blue card.
Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:


Shambles is always good in this format. Hill Giants are fine when most guys are 2/x's, and being able to kill an equipment, quest, or mana screw a greedy opponent is nice.
Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:


Some much appreciated spot removal.
Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:


A decent board card vs. uw decks where most of their removal is enchantments like journey to nowhere or paralysing grasp.
Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 12:

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Pack 2, Pick 13:

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Pack 2, Pick 14:

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Pack 2, Pick 15:

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Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:


This pick was incorrect. I took the drake hoping the kitesail would wheel as the pack is very strong, but kitesail is a much better card in the heavy green deck and I should have just taken it.
Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:


DADDY'S HOME!
Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:


While it isn't great, a hasted craw wurm is the only card for us here.
Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:


With 2 larvas I want to stay as heavy green as possible, even though I'll probably be some blue, so groundswell gets the nod over banisher.
Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:


More gas is always a good thing
Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:


While the 2nd mysteries is a strong consideration, groundswell keeps me heavy green, and I'd rather not be splashing a lot of cards that don't affect the board.
Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:


Definitely helpful, being able to accelerate a 4 or 5 drop closes the game out quite often in this format.
Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:


With 2 groundswells and a vines already, I take the dude over the other pump spell.
Pack 3, Pick 9:

My Pick:


Again don't want a 3rd groundswell, though probably won't play the zendikon
Pack 3, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 11:

My Pick:


Contest is pretty crappy removal, but in the GG Green deck is definitely removal
Pack 3, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 13:

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Pack 3, Pick 14:

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Pack 3, Pick 15:

My Pick:



Here's what I ended up submitting
16 Forests
2 Island
1 Arbor Elf
1 Vines of the Vastwood
2 Groundswell
1 Explore
3 Grazing Gladehart
1 Snapping Creeper
1 Harrow
1 Feral Contest
1 Predatory Urge
2 Timbermaw Larva
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Mold Shambler
1 Mysteries of the Deep
1 Vastwood Zendikon
1 Baloth Woodcrasher
1 Terastedon

I ended up with 22 playable green cards, but decided to play the mysteries over the 2nd snapping creeper. I didn't want to play any of the blue fliers, since my green cards were fine and splashing random creatures isnt that good of an idea when you can't play them on curve.

On to the matches
Round 1 Vs. WR
Game 1:My turn 1 elf meets a burst lightning, but explore on 2 accelerates into a mysteries of the deep on 4 while he plays expedition may to find his white mana then some walking atlases. He plays claws of valakut on one of his guys, but I have a blazing torch to deal with that. Gladehart+harrow, followed by a zendikon makes it pretty tough for him to race, and when I gear up my 6/4 he dies pretty quickly.
Game 2: He brings some early beats with a steppe lynx and a kitesail, but misses his 5th land drop while I play 2/3 into gladehart+land+vines into larva. With lynx only hitting for 1, gladehart gets me out of danger, and on turn 8 I have an some elephants.

Round 2 Vs. RB
Game 1: He shows up after about 8 minutes, and while I'm dissapointed I didn't get the free win, from watching replays I should be quite favored vs his small dudes and lack of removal. I keep a reletively slow hand with a gladehart, larva, mysteries, and 4 lands. He comes out quick, but I draw into a 2nd gladehart to keep me alive long enough that a zendikon+gear can kill him from 8 when he alphas to put me DOB
Game 2: I t2 explore into t3 gladehart+land+groundswell. I get up to 28, mold shambler his only swamp, and although he has a geyser glider, he can't attack with he since I'm so far ahead in life he'd lose the race. I eventually get up to 8 mana and elephants end the game in 1 turn.

My opponent was willing to split the finals and ship the QP, and since the quest for Kai to get 45 QPs is an important one, splitting was fine.