Contracts!

In my first game against stonethorn, I went: Wooded Foothills, sac, pay a life to get a Forest, tap Forest to play Wild Dogs. I'm at 19.

stonethorn's play was: swamp, go. He's at 20.

It wasn't until two turns after that when I realized I failed to recognize the upkeep trigger on the Wild Dogs and that it should have passed to stonethorn on my upkeep.

In a later game, I forgot to count stonethorn's graveyard when it came to my Tarmogoyf, which means that instead of being a 4/5, it was a 3/4.

It's clearly been quite some time since I picked up this deck. Despite knowing an absurd amount of Magic cards, I still take some basic interactions for granted. This is why so many pros advise that people play the deck they are most comfortable and familiar with: They won't overlook things and make those kinds of mistakes.

It does raise the question; why play Wild Dogs, if a bad play like this is clearly there but if I can land this on turn 1 with a Forest and then attack for 5 with that and a Spark Elemental on turn 2, that's a pretty good deal. If it's later in the game, I can just cycle them for another card.

I just can't play them off a fetchland on turn 1. I mean, seriously.

And I also keep thinking about the Treefolk deck. Ideas include: Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, Pyrewild Shaman, Wasteland Viper and some cool lands. Avoiding Ruric Thar damage is going to be helpful: maximizing it via Heartwood Storyteller is key. Might be a one trick pony but maybe it'll be a fun one, especially if I can give creatures trample without using a spell. Rancor might be worth it but Brawn might be the more interesting choice.