After a discussion with a friend, I realized that I have been building decks bottom-up; that is I focus on mechanics first. Which is all well and good for competitive play, but itnhas absolutely causes me to tryhard when it comes to Casual decks.

As such, Im going to try a top down approach and build around a story theme instead. In this case, I want to try only using basic lands and cards associated with Ravnica generically, the Gruul, and the Selesnya.

Any suggestions?

Is this Commander or 60-card?

60-card non singleton ... let's say Budget Modern (so Shocks are unlikely).

Im having trouble with this because Ghired lends himself to be a kind of midrange/aggro card and Im so used to playing control and/or combo. Thinking of using Ghired and Ilharg together, but that crowds up the five CMC slot.

4 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Gruul Guildgate
8 Forest
6 Plains
4 Mountain

1 Selesnya Signet
3 Gruul Signet

4 Wasteland Viper
3 Pit Fight
3 Viashino Shanktail
2 Ghor Clan Rampager

4 Birds of Paradise
3 Selesnya Guildmage
1 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
4 Knight of Autumn
4 Loxodon Hierarch
2 Ghired, Conclave Exile
2 Ilharg, the Raze-Boar

This is a very rough list right now, but I like this a little bit. Main synergy is between Ilharg and Ghired.

4 Hero of Precinct One
2 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
1 Skarrg Guildmage
1 Selesnya Guildmage
3 Gruul Spellbreaker
2 Knight of Autumn
3 Domri, Chaos Bringer
1 Loxodon Hierarch
1 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Ghired, Conclave Exile
1 Armada Wurm
1 Ravager Wurm
4 Flower // Flourish
4 Thrash // Threat
3 Signal the Clans
3 Selesnya Charm
1 Clan Defiance
8 Plains
4 Mountain
3 Forest
4 Gruul Guildgate
2 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Gruul Turf

go wide with hero and alpha strike with flourish
curve domri into a hasty ghired
roll the dice with signal the clans

Might switch up a few things as I absolutely despise Signal the Clans and I want to still try Ilharg from both a thematic and mechanical standpoint, but I like this. Thanks Mown

If you want less of a token emphasis than what I made then you could consider Rhytm of the Wild as another good source of haste for both Ilharg and Ghired.

True ... actually what about Convoke cards? Chord of Calling is actually relatively inexpensive now, and with all of the token production seems like it wouldnt be hard to pull off.