Oh.
Yeah.

Things I know I want for this deck:
Dinosaurs
Dinosaur Tribal
Chosen Creature Type Tribal
Double Strike
Additional Attack Phases
Damage Amplification
Mana
Card Flow <-Gishath provides some, but it's very specific and conditional
Haste
Protection
Enrage triggering effects
Removal
Top of the library manipulation































OK I think I finally have my pool set, or at least I've gone through all the categories that I've thought of so far. Now to put something together.

First pass at cuts.































Almost forgot to add this guy:


First pass complete.
(down to 615 cards from 1291 if I'm counting correctly. XD)

Name
Cuts round 2:

































Second pass done, 12 duplicates removed
Down to 265+27 cards.

Cuts round 3:


































Third pass done.
Down to 139+27 cards.
I think now is the time to split this out into a more typical deck format for me. I need to attack this list from a different angle.

Commander (1)
Gishath, Sun's Avatar

Creatures (59)
Dinos (25)
Old Fogey <- Have foil
Raptor Hatchling

Deathgorge Scavenger
Deathmist Raptor <- Have foil
Kinjalli's Sunwing <- Have foil
Ranging Raptors
Shivan Raptor <- Doesn't exist in foil

Grimlock, Dinobot Leader // Grimlock, Ferocious King
Imperiosaur <- Have foil
Ripjaw Raptor
Steadfast Armasaur

Charging Monstrosaur
Raging Swordtooth
Regisaur Alpha
Snapping Sailback
Sun-Blessed Mount <- Doesn't exist in foil

Bellowing Aegisaur <- have foil
Burning Sun's Avatar
Carnage Tyrant <- have foil
Colossal Dreadmaw

Goring Ceratops <- have foil
Thundering Spineback
Verdant Sun's Avatar

Ancient Brontodon
Wakening Sun's Avatar

Non-Dinos (34)
Orochi Leafcaller

Goblin Diplomats <- so good with caltrops and friends
Scavenging Ooze
Skyshroud Elf
Ulvenwald Tracker

Boros Reckoner
Eternal Witness
Hua Tuo, Honored Physician <- O.O
Radiant Kavu <- Personal consideration!!
Stonecloaker <- also possible protection
Tamanoa

Iroas, God of Victory
Keeper of Progenitus
Spitemare <- if I go damage reflection

Basandra, Battle Seraph <- so good with caltrops and friends
Glory
Harbinger of the Hunt
Kumano, Master Yamabushi
Phytohydra <-oooooooooohhhh
Sprouting Phytohydra<-YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
Stuffy Doll <- if I go damage reflection
Urabrask the Hidden
Xenagos, God of Revels <-OOoooooooooohhhh. O.O

Aurelia, the Warleader
Regal Behemoth
Soul of the Harvest
Soul of Theros
Vigor <- it may be a nonbo with enrage, but it's still really good


Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Gruul Ragebeast

Ashen Firebeast <- I think this gets the nod
Scourge of Kher Ridges<- yesssssssss
Stonehoof Chieftain

Reya Dawnbringer


Non-Creatures (80)
Chained to the Rocks
Reinforcements <- yes!
Sensei's Divining top
Sol ring
Worldly Tutor

Cream of the Crop
Dolmen Gate<-seems good to me
Dowsing Dagger // Lost Vale
Island Sanctuary <- gishath abuse
Key to the City
Lightning Greaves <- also protection
Mark of Asylum <- nonbo w/ enrage, but one-sided damage wipes
Nahiri's Machinations<- I like this with Gishath
Pounce
Rest in Peace
Savage Punch
Scroll Rack
Strionic Resonator <- doubles Gishath triggers
Swiftfoot Boots <- also protection

Champion's Helm
Chromatic Lantern
Congregation at Dawn <- omg!
Darksteel Plate
Godsend <- Removes blocker so more trample damage can get through
Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun <- have foil
Penance
Recross the Paths
Shield of the Oversoul
Thaumatic Compass //Spires of Orazca

Arcbond <- Oh hi there
Caltrops
Elemental Bond
Lashknife Barrier <- nonbo w/ enrage, but one-sided damage wipes
Light of Sanction <- nonbo w/ enrage, but one-sided damage wipes
Magebane Armor <- nonbo w/ enrage, but one-sided damage wipes
Onward // Victory
Radiant Flames
Savage Stomp
Scourge of the Nobilis
Snake Umbra
Stranglehold

Acorn Catapult
Aether Flash <- Oh. Yaaaassssss
Bullwhip
Chain Reaction<-Enrage trigger wipe
Cold Storage <- that's kinda funny with dinosaurs
Fiery Confluence
Greater Good
Lightmine field
Oracle's Vault
Parallax Wave <- Versatile removal or protection
Powerstone Minefield <- I'm sensing a theme here...
Pyrohemia <- Probably best enrage trigger
Seize the Day
Settle the Wreckage
Tempt With Discovery

Chandra's Ignition<-enrage trigger wipe
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Gratuitous Violence
Hour of Devastation<-more efficient than magmaquake, but fixed value
Huatli, Warrior Poet
Privileged Position
Stunted Growth <-oof! can be used on someone else too[/sblock]
Traverse the Outlands

Akroma's Vengeance
Hour of Revelation
Huatli, Dinosaur Knight
Killer Instinct
Kindred Charge
Omen Machine <- seems brutally good in my deck
Staff of Nin <- also cardflow
Warstorm Surge <- wow that just seems really good

Akroma's Memorial
Dimensional Breach <- Actually a legitimate win condition for me (so long as nobody has a maze of ith or similar effect)
Disaster Radius <- one sided wrath
Star of Extinction <- have foil
Zendikar Resurgent

Blasphemous Act

Genesis Wave
Subterranean Tremors


Lands (27)
Cavern of Souls
Path of Ancestry
Unclaimed Territory
Horizon Canopy
Meteor Crater <- Flavor win or fail? XD

Blighted Woodland
Krosan Verge
Myriad Landscape

Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
Kessig Wolf Run
Temple of the False God
Throne of the High City
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Hanweir Battlements
Slayers' Stronghold
Yavimaya Hollow
Desert
Scavenger Grounds
Arcane Lighthouse
Dust Bowl
High Market
Homeward Path
Miren, the Moaning Well
Rogue's Passage

Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Flamekin Village

Riftstone Portal

Aha. So my creature count is high but it's nothing compared to my non-creature count.
Also, my non-color-fixing land count is too high.
Edit: My first Grimlock link now appears to be broken, found a new one.

Commander (1)
Gishath, Sun's Avatar

Creatures (35)
Dinos (25)
Old Fogey <- Have foil
Raptor Hatchling

Deathgorge Scavenger
Deathmist Raptor <- Have foil
Kinjalli's Sunwing <- Have foil
Ranging Raptors
Shivan Raptor <- Doesn't exist in foil

Grimlock, Dinobot Leader // Grimlock, Ferocious King
Imperiosaur <- Have foil
Ripjaw Raptor
Steadfast Armasaur

Charging Monstrosaur
Raging Swordtooth
Regisaur Alpha
Snapping Sailback
Sun-Blessed Mount <- Doesn't exist in foil

Bellowing Aegisaur <- have foil
Burning Sun's Avatar
Carnage Tyrant <- have foil
Colossal Dreadmaw

Goring Ceratops <- have foil
Thundering Spineback
Verdant Sun's Avatar

Ancient Brontodon
Wakening Sun's Avatar

Non-Dinos (10)
Hua Tuo, Honored Physician <- O.O
Radiant Kavu <- Personal consideration!!

Iroas, God of Victory
Keeper of Progenitus

Basandra, Battle Seraph <- so good with caltrops and friends
Sprouting Phytohydra<-YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
Xenagos, God of Revels <-OOoooooooooohhhh. O.O

Regal Behemoth
Vigor <- it may be a nonbo with enrage, but it's still really good

Ashen Firebeast <- I think this gets the nod


Non-Creatures (47)
Sol ring

Cream of the Crop
Dolmen Gate<-seems good to me
Dowsing Dagger // Lost Vale
Mark of Asylum
Scroll Rack
Strionic Resonator <- doubles Gishath triggers

Champion's Helm
Congregation at Dawn <- omg!
Godsend <- Removes blocker so more trample damage can get through
Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun <- have foil
Penance
Shield of the Oversoul
Thaumatic Compass //Spires of Orazca

Caltrops
Elemental Bond
Magebane Armor <- nonbo w/ enrage, but one-sided damage wipes
Savage Stomp
Scourge of the Nobilis
Snake Umbra

Aether Flash <- Oh. Yaaaassssss
Chain Reaction<-Enrage trigger wipe
Cold Storage <- that's kinda funny with dinosaurs
Greater Good
Lightmine field
Powerstone Minefield <- I'm sensing a theme here...
Pyrohemia <- Probably best enrage trigger
Seize the Day

Cathars' Crusade <- Newly added and possibly overkill, but the potential this has...
Chandra's Ignition<-enrage trigger wipe
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Gratuitous Violence
Huatli, Warrior Poet
Traverse the Outlands

Hour of Revelation
Huatli, Dinosaur Knight
Kindred Charge
Omen Machine <- seems brutally good in my deck
Staff of Nin <- also cardflow
True Conviction <- Added back in
Warstorm Surge <- wow that just seems really good

Akroma's Memorial
Disaster Radius <- one sided wrath
Star of Extinction <- have foil
Zendikar Resurgent

Genesis Wave
Subterranean Tremors


Lands (39)
Cavern of Souls
Path of Ancestry
Unclaimed Territory
Meteor Crater <- Flavor win or fail? XD
Command Tower
Mirrodin's Core
Reflecting Pool
Jungle Shrine

Temple Garden
Sacred Foundry
Stomping Ground
Sheltered Thicket
Scattered Groves
Canopy Vista
Cinder Glade

Arid Mesa
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills

Blighted Woodland
Krosan Verge
Myriad Landscape

Temple of the False God
Dust Bowl
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
Kessig Wolf Run
Slayers' Stronghold
Yavimaya Hollow
Homeward Path

Flamekin Village

Riftstone Portal

3 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Plains


122 cards. Much closer now. This deck looks like so much fun! Hopefully some of the side strategy toys survive the last 22 cuts.

Commander (1)
Gishath, Sun's Avatar

Creatures (29)
Dinos (21)
Old Fogey <- Have foil

Deathgorge Scavenger
Deathmist Raptor <- Have foil
Kinjalli's Sunwing <- Have foil
Ranging Raptors

Grimlock, Dinobot Leader // Grimlock, Ferocious King
Ripjaw Raptor
Steadfast Armasaur

Charging Monstrosaur
Raging Swordtooth
Regisaur Alpha
Snapping Sailback

Bellowing Aegisaur <- have foil
Burning Sun's Avatar
Carnage Tyrant <- have foil
Colossal Dreadmaw

Goring Ceratops <- have foil
Thundering Spineback
Verdant Sun's Avatar

Ancient Brontodon
Wakening Sun's Avatar

Non-Dinos (8)
Hua Tuo, Honored Physician <- O.O
Radiant Kavu <- Personal consideration!!

Iroas, God of Victory

Basandra, Battle Seraph <- so good with caltrops and friends
Sprouting Phytohydra<-YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
Xenagos, God of Revels <-OOoooooooooohhhh. O.O

Regal Behemoth
Vigor <- it may be a nonbo with enrage, but it's still really good

Non-Creatures (32)
Sol ring

Dowsing Dagger // Lost Vale
Mark of Asylum
Scroll Rack
Strionic Resonator <- doubles Gishath triggers

Caltrops
Champion's Helm
Elemental Bond
Godsend <- Removes blocker so more trample damage can get through
Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun <- have foil
Magebane Armor <- nonbo w/ enrage, but one-sided damage wipes
Scourge of the Nobilis
Shield of the Oversoul
Thaumatic Compass //Spires of Orazca

Aether Flash <- Oh. Yaaaassssss
Chain Reaction<-Enrage trigger wipe
Cold Storage <- that's kinda funny with dinosaurs
Lightmine field
Powerstone Minefield <- I'm sensing a theme here...
Pyrohemia <- Probably best enrage trigger

Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Huatli, Warrior Poet
Traverse the Outlands

Huatli, Dinosaur Knight
Omen Machine <- seems brutally good in my deck
Staff of Nin <- also cardflow
True Conviction <- Added back in
Warstorm Surge <- wow that just seems really good

Akroma's Memorial
Star of Extinction <- have foil
Zendikar Resurgent

Subterranean Tremors


Lands (38)
Cavern of Souls
Path of Ancestry
Unclaimed Territory
Meteor Crater <- Flavor win or fail? XD
Command Tower
Mirrodin's Core
Reflecting Pool
Jungle Shrine

Temple Garden
Sacred Foundry
Stomping Ground
Sheltered Thicket
Scattered Groves
Canopy Vista
Cinder Glade

Arid Mesa
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills

Blighted Woodland
Krosan Verge

Temple of the False God
Dust Bowl
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
Kessig Wolf Run
Slayers' Stronghold
Yavimaya Hollow
Homeward Path

Riftstone Portal

4 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Plains


100 cards!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssss~

Creatures(Dinos)/Non-Creatures/Total
1-0(0)/1/1
2-1(1)/4/5
3-6(4)/9/15
4-4(3)/6/10
5-7(4)/3/10
6-6(4)/5/11
7-3(3)/3/6
8-3(3)/0/3
x-0(0)/1/1

Average CMC:5.07(5.23)/3.94/4.48

Whooee that's hefty.


Card Draw (that doesn't restrict what I can grab): 7.5 (Freyalise only half a card b/c it's her ult that draws)
Ramp: 12
Spot Removal: 8
Wipes: 10 (admittedly caltrops and raging swordtooth might not actually kill anything on their own, but still)

I may end up having to cut some toys for more low end stuff (probably ramp) to drop the curve, but for now this seems like a fantastic first crack that I'd love to try.

I'll take a moment to mention that changelings from Lorwyn are all dinosaurs.

Thanks. Forgot about those.
On cursory glance the only ones I'd consider are Chameleon Colossus, Mirror Entity, and Taurean Mauler.
All of those are terrifyingly powerful in their own right even without tribal support.
I could see making room for them, but I'd rather not use them if I don't need to as they sure don't look like dinosaurs.

Got some games in this past Saturday and Gishath certainly has power.
In its current form it's a bit of a slow starter, but if you let it get off the ground it's rather terrifying.
In particular Gishath is MUUUUCH more powerful as a killer by general damage than I realized.
I was only thinking of his damage in terms of how many cards deep he can dig for his triggered ability, but in actuality he has this tendency to just END people with general damage, especially considering how much damage amplification/doubling I've put in the deck.
Also my "mucking with combat" package is too cute and takes away valuable slots that I need in order to better support Gishath.
Mostly what I need is more CONSISTENT ramp.

To that end:
Out (12):
1 Aether Flash
1 Lightmine Field
1 Radiant Kavu <- sad to see this go, but it's too cutesy and Gishath is too big to care
1 Mark of Asylum
1 Huatli, Dinosaur Knight <- Just not efficient and too dependent on having a dinosaur out already
1 Magebane Armor
1 Omen Machine
1 Sprouting Phytohydra <- I don't actually have a good way to abuse it
1 Powerstone Minefield
1 Caltrops
1 Flamekin Village <- don't need the haste that badly and I'd rather have a land enter untapped
1 Riftstone Portal <- I only have two ways of getting it into the graveyard realistically (dust bowl and star of extinction)

In (12):
1 akroma's vengeance <- wanted an enchantment wipe and this conveniently hits everything else too
1 lifecrafter's bestiary <- needed more good card draw
1 Harmonize <- Wanted card draw that was relatively cheap and didn't rely on me having my general out b/c once he's out he's card advantage all his own
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Farseek
1 Nature's Lore
1 Chromatic Lantern <- The only exception to my mana fetching ramp package is here to give me extra red sources for Pyrohemia activations
1 Tempt with Discovery
1 Ranger's Path
1 Hunting Wilds
1 Forest
1 Mountain


I have 3 cards left in that I consider "pet" cards or that are still a little sideways, but that I still think are worth including (at least for now):
1 Meteor Crater
1 Cold Storage
1 Basandra, Battle Seraph

There may be other suboptimal cards left in the deck, but I think it will probably just take more reps with the deck to suss them out.
Obviously Ghalta (and probably/hopefully several other new dinos) will go in the deck once the new set comes out (or at least when game day/store championship rolls around), but that's still a little ways off.

RIX update: Ohhhhh yeeeeaaaaaah.

My luck for pulls has been really good for RIX so I'm only actually missing Polyraptor.
Besides that, I've cranked the dino count a little bit and cut some of the cute stuff. Focusing more on beating face with Gishath and letting it generate me stupidly good incidental value.

Commander (1)
Gishath, Sun's Avatar

Creatures (32)
Dinos (28)
Old Fogey

Deathgorge Scavenger
Deathmist Raptor
Kinjalli's Sunwing
Ranging Raptors
Thrashing Brontodon

Grimlock, Dinobot Leader // Grimlock, Ferocious King
Majestic Heliopterus
Raging Regisaur
Ripjaw Raptor

Raging Swordtooth
Regisaur Alpha
Temple Altisaur
Trapjaw Tyrant

Bellowing Aegisaur
Burning Sun's Avatar
Carnage Tyrant
Etali, Primal Storm
Regal Behemoth <- Is now officially a dino!!
Ghalta, Primal Hunger <-Realistically more like 6 cmc

Goring Ceratops
Thundering Spineback
Verdant Sun's Avatar

Ancient Brontodon
Polyraptor <- Placeheld by Cold Storage. Cute as Cold Storage may be, I am a proactive deck and holding up 3 mana is just something I don't plan on doing if I can avoid it.
Wakening Sun's Avatar
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Zacama, Primal Calamity

Non-Dinos (4)
Sakura-Tribe Elder

Forerunner of the Empire
Iroas, God of Victory

Xenagos, God of Revels


Non-Creatures (29)
Sol ring

Dowsing Dagger // Lost Vale
Farseek
Naturalize <- The one with the crushed sword stuck to the underside of the sauropod's foot
Nature's Lore
Strionic Resonator

Champion's Helm
Chromatic Lantern
Elemental Bond
Godsend
Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun
Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Orazca Relic <- I know it's nominally worse than Commder's sphere, but it's dino themed
Scourge of the Nobilis
Shield of the Oversoul
Thaumatic Compass //Spires of Orazca

Chain Reaction
Hunt the Weak <- No it's not very good, but it's the one with the view from inside the theropod's mouth so it goes in!
Hunting Wilds
Pyrohemia
Ranger's Path

Traverse the Outlands

Akroma's Vengeance
Staff of Nin
True Conviction
Warstorm Surge

Akroma's Memorial
Star of Extinction
Zendikar Resurgent

Lands (38)
Path of Ancestry
Unclaimed Territory
Meteor Crater
Command Tower
Mirrodin's Core
Reflecting Pool
Jungle Shrine

Temple Garden
Sacred Foundry
Stomping Ground
Sheltered Thicket
Scattered Groves
Canopy Vista
Cinder Glade

Arid Mesa
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills

Blighted Woodland
Krosan Verge

Temple of the False God
Dust Bowl
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
Kessig Wolf Run
Slayers' Stronghold
Yavimaya Hollow
Homeward Path

5 Forest
4 Mountain
3 Plains



Creatures(Dinos)/Non-Creatures/Total
1-0(0)/1/1
2-2(1)/5/7
3-5(5)/10/15
4-6(4)/5/11
5-5(4)/1/6
6-6(6)/4/10 <- Ghalta here
7-3(3)/3/6
8-5(5)/0/5
9-1(1)/0/1

Average CMC:5.27(5.48)/3.83/4.60

Lol, the averages went up. Fortunately I have a TON of ramp

Card Draw (that doesn't restrict what I can grab, target at least 10 according to Command Zone): 11 (including my 2 cycling lands and the cycling on Akroma's Vengeance)
Ramp (target at least 10 according to Command Zone): 19 (this glut of ramp is the only reason this curve works)
Spot Removal (target at least 5 according to Command Zone): 9 (not including Raging Regisaur or Staff of Nin)
Wipes (target at least 5 according to Command Zone): 5 (not including Raging Swordtooth)

Got to play a proto version of this tonight (It wasn't quite in this form), and wow the increase in dino density is noticable. I know I only went up a few, but it was enough. I understand that part of that is variance, but I also must give credit to the fact that my individual dino quality is a bit higher now too. So having only a few more, but having a much larger portion of my targets be more impactful, made the changes feel truly outrageous.

I'm pretty happy with how this deck plays as is (well...as much as you can trust a single game's worth of testing).