Secrets of Strixhaven was officially released two weeks ago, and it’s safe to say that the set has its fair share of powerful cards. Some powerhouses were predictably quite impactful across multiple formats, but others proved their worth in more unexpected fashion.
One of the most intriguing examples of the latter is Slumbering Trudge, a big body with a major downside. Thanks to its size and incredible efficiency, this Plant Beast has started making a name for itself in a new Modern deck. Following multiple Magic Online Modern League 5-0s and a Challenge top 16, it seems that this Mono-Green brew is starting to pick up steam.
Building Around Slumbering Trudge
The main goal behind this Mono-Green Trudge archetype is to get Slumbering Trudge into play as quickly as possible. Despite its inability to attack or block for one mana, this deck just wants the Plant Beast in play to get started.
Once in play, you can cast The Great Henge for just three mana. This artifact is capable of burying your opponents in card advantage while accelerating your plays. With 28 total creatures in the main deck, chaining creatures together and presenting an overwhelming board presence is trivial.
In addition to The Great Henge as a synergistic card advantage engine, Life’s Legacy also makes an appearance here. While this card doesn’t offer quite as high a ceiling as The Great Henge, drawing six cards is no joke. Getting to cast and immediately sacrifice Slumbering Trudge before your opponent retains priority is also a huge luxury versus Solitude and Fatal Push decks.
Besides maximizing card draw engines, Slumbering Trudge’s massive stats also enable Fanatic of Rhonas as a huge burst of mana. With expensive threats from Ouroboroid to Craterhoof Behemoth, this strategy utilizes the excess mana well.
Given how important Slumbering Trudge is to this deck’s game plan, it’s imperative that you have reliable access to the one-drop. Fortunately, Green Sun’s Zenith excels at tutoring Slumbering Trudge into play for cheap. You can even search for the Plant Beast with Summoner’s Pact in a pinch, so long as you ensure you don’t lose to its trigger.
Combo Finish
With all of these tutors and card advantage sources in the mix, this deck does a great job finding its most impactful tools to close the game with. In fact, this shell even offers a combo finish that can be set up in short order. This combo focuses on combining the power of Ashaya, Soul of the Wild and Quirion Ranger.
Quirion Ranger naturally provides value through untapping Fanatic of Rhonas or removing stun counters from Slumbering Trudge, but Ashaya unlocks a new world of possibilities. See, with both cards in play, Quirion Ranger is able to bounce itself with its ability.
With any mana-producing creature, such as Dryad Arbor or Fanatic of Rhonas, to untap, this sets you up to bounce and replay Quirion Ranger infinite times. If that mana source taps for two or more mana, say thanks to Badgermole Cub, you’ll net infinite mana in the process. On top of that, Springheart Nantuko‘s presence can also net you infinite tokens. Add The Great Henge into the mix, and you’re free to draw as many cards as you wish. From there, you should have no problem putting together a win with Craterhoof Behemoth.
Mono-Green for the Win
Overall, this deck’s flexibility gives it a shot to compete with a lot of decks in Modern. Against most “fair” decks, Mono-Green Trudge has the tools needed to dominate the long game. After all, any incremental advantage your opponent gains by sticking Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or Quantum Riddler gets singlehandedly outclassed by The Great Henge.
At the same time, though, thanks to the deck’s combo angle, Mono-Green Trudge is able to turn the corner quickly and win out of nowhere. Thanks to this, racing aggro decks like Boros Energy are doable even without much in the way of removal. Many of your key pieces also outsize the damage-based removal this archetype runs, giving your key cards a surprising amount of survivability.
Unfortunately, even this deck’s best draws will struggle to keep up with Ruby Storm, Neobrand, and other fast combo decks. While these matchups aren’t a lost cause thanks to Damping Sphere and Vexing Bauble out of the sideboard, winning without drawing them is tough.
While this does ultimately limit Mono-Green Trudge’s breakout potential, it’s still impressive what the deck is capable of with the right draws. If you’re interested in surprising players at your next Modern FNM with a sweet brew, this is a worthy consideration.
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