Most of the top-tier decks in Standard can be traced back to one of these three pillars
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But Ravenous Baloth was probably at its height in the Top 4 of Pro Tour Venice, in the hands of Jordan Berkowitz: BEASTS | Onslaught Block Constructed | Jordan Berkowitz, Pro Tour Venice 2003 Creatures (30) 2 Barkhide Mauler 4 Avarax 4 Canopy Crawler 4 Krosan Tusker 4 Ravenous Baloth 4 Tephraderm 4 Thoughtbound Primoc 4 Wirewood Elf Instants (4) 4 Shock Lands (26) 5 Mountain 6 Forest 3 Forgotten Cave 4 Contested Cliffs 4 Tranquil Thicket 4 Wooded Foothills Sideboard (15) 3 Wirewood Savage 4 Naturalize 4 Gempalm Incinerator 4 Broodhatch Nantuko Sure, Canopy Crawler probably had the higher ceiling at four mana
And by comparison, the Altar starts to feel fair
They're a fun addition to your collection and make for a great conversation piece
Thats an outrageous bit of value attached to one of your characters and it also protects you against the classic one-two punch of the meta defining ruby-amethyst control deck of set two, which would wipe your board with Be Prepared and then answer the first character you play with a Lady Tremaine which would force you to sacrifice it