Leviathan's picture
By: Leviathan, Mike Morales
Jun 01 2011 10:24am
5
Login to post comments
6520 views


INTRODUCTION:  THAR BE DRAGONS!

So after writing about Radiant, Archangel a little while ago, I was thinking about other large fliers that I might be able to build around, and cheaply.  There are always new dragons coming out, at least a new one every set, so I figured that would be easy.  Most of the dragons are pretty cheap as they usually don't see much Standard play.  So I set off on my search for dragons!


Who doesn't like dragons
?

Of course, I have already done a dragon deck a while ago using Bladewing the Risen, so I wanted to do something a little bit different.  The Bladewing deck was essentially a dragon beatdown deck.  So I searched through most of the dragon related legends and found someone that I hadn't seen put too much use, if at all. 

Before we go any further though, I just want to warn you guys that I didn't follow through on my quest to build a budget deck.  There were just too many holes and weaknesses in the deck for me to stick near 20 tickets.  However, I think the deck is still affordable and fun to play, and that's what counts. 

THE DECK:  HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

Let's take a close look at our Commander:

zirilan of the claw

He obviously wants you to play with dragons, and gives you the ability to tutor up whatever dragon you want.  The tutoring ability is pretty sweet, as it means that you can search up the specific dragon you want for any situation you have.  It also means that the deck isn't really a straight beatdown deck, as the dragons you search for don't stick around.  Unfortunately, the dragons you search up get exiled at the end of the turn.  You don't want to lose your creatures after getting only one use out of them, so if you come up with some good sacrifice outlets, you can make sure that you can get them into the graveyard then out of it for future use.  In addition, you will want some mana acceleration and card draw, both of which aren't really synonymous with mono-Red decks.  So we are looking for sacrifice outlets, ways to get things from your graveyard into your library, card draw and mana accel.  Once I added some answers, I found that I actually didn't have as much room for dragons as I thought.  Here are some of the dragons that I didn't get to put into the deck:

ancient hellkite flameblast dragon fledgling dragon shivan hellkite

rakdos pit dragon rimescale dragon knollspine dragon lightning dragon

I really liked some of these guys and tried each of them out, but they didn't quite make the cut.  Either they required too much mana to use effectively, or they were situational in such a way that I never found the right situation for them.  In order to deal with creatures Ancient Hellkite, Shivan Hellkite and Flameblast Dragon required a bunch of extra mana.  Rimescale Dragon required that he stay in play in order to be effective.  Knollspine Dragon needed to be tutored up after combat, which made him counterproductive.  And I rarely was Hellbent or achieved Threshold.  In other words, I never actually tutored for any of these guys when I had them in the deck.

However, I did find uses for many dragons that I don't think I would have thought about using in the past.  So in an ideal world, I would be able to tutor up a dragon (or two), use its ability if needed, attack, and then sacrifice it for a beneficial effect.  Then, if all went smoothly, I could put the same dragon back into my library and do it all over again.  It took me a little while to come up with a list that I felt happy about showing you guys, but I think what I have here is decent.  Here is the deck:

 

Probably not what you were expecting at first.  Only 14 dragons!  But each of them has a purpose.  Let's break the deck down a little bit.

Sacrifice Outlets  
greater gargadon Altar of DementiaAshnod's AltarCarnage AltarClaws of GixCulling DaisHelm of PossessionPhyrexian AltarPhyrexian VaultSpawning PitGreater GargadonGoblin BombardmentDiamond ValleyMiren, the Moaning Well 
Altar of Dementia, Ashnod's Altar, Carnage Altar, Claws of Gix, Culling Dais, Helm of Possession, Phyrexian Altar, Phyrexian Vault, Spawning Pit, Greater Gargadon, Goblin Bombardment, Diamond Valley, Miren, the Moaning Well:  It was extremely rare for me to use Zirilan's ability without having a sacrifice outlet at hand.  Obviously the outlets that required no mana were the easiest to use, and often the best.  Included in these cards is a little bit of life gain, card draw and theft.  The best part is that most of these will also help Zirilan from being tucked.  With a deck that relies on its Commander as this one, that is pretty important. 
Destruction  
mordant dragon Bogardan HellkiteFire DragonMordant DragonHoard-Smelter DragonSteel HellkiteThunder DragonAll is DustShattering SpreeRolling ThunderEarthquakeRolling Earthquake
Bogardan Hellkite, Fire Dragon, Mordant Dragon, Hoard-Smelter Dragon, Steel Hellkite, Thunder Dragon, All is Dust, Shattering Pulse, Shattering Spree, Rolling Thunder, Earthquake, Rolling Earthquake:  We have a variety of  ways to deal with permanents.  With the large amount of artifacts in the deck, All is Dust seems like a no brainer.  However, it is the one of only two ways we have of dealing with enchantments in the deck (the other being Steel Hellkite) so that's why I included Gamble.  Mordant Dragon only needs to be pumped once to take care of Titans, and Hoard-Smelter Dragon can take care of artifacts.  The X spells are especially good when you have mana doublers like Gauntlet of Might out. 
"Recursion"  
reito lantern

JunktrollerSoldevi DiggerReito LanternElixir of Immortality
Junktroller, Soldevi Digger, Reito Lantern, Elixir of Immortality:  Recursion is in quotes because these cards do not fit the typical definition of the word.  Obviously these guys are all in your deck to get used dragons from your graveyard back into your library.  Reito Lantern was the all-star here, as there were several games where people forgot it was in play while trying to bring things back from their graveyard.  It was also good at dealing with Genesis, Anger, and any other incarnation or card that was effective from the graveyard.

Junktroller actually got a lot of people laughing at me, but it usually served its purpose.  If you can think of any other ways to get cards back into your graveyard in mono-Red, let me know in the comments. 

Card Draw  
dragon mage

Wheel of FortuneSword of Fire and IceSkullclampSerum TankCulling DaisDragon MageCarnage Altar
Wheel of Fortune, Sword of Fire and Ice, Skullclamp, Serum Tank, Culling Dais, Dragon Mage, Carnage Altar:  As this is a mono-Red deck, it has the usual problems with card draw.  Fortunately, several of your methods of draw are artifacts, all of which can be tutored up with Hoarding Dragon.  The card that I was most pleasantly surprised with was Serum Tank.  There are always artifacts being played in Commander games, and I never had it run out of counters.

My favorite play was searching up my Dragon Mage the turn after someone just put 23 cards in their hand with Praetor's Counsel.  It was sweet to watch all those cards go right back where they came from. 

Finishers  
dragon tyrant

InsurrectionDragon TyrantHellkite IgniterBanefireHellkite ChargerTwo-Headed Dragon
Insurrection, Dragon Tyrant, Hellkite Igniter, Banefire, Hellkite Charger, Two-Headed Dragon:  Obviously most of these guys get better with mana doublers like Extraplanar Lens out.  The Tyrant is your big bad boy, and I usually pulled him out to deal killing blows.  Hellkite Charger really likes Sword of Feast and Famine, and can lead to infinite attack steps if unmolested.

The two cards that surprised me the most were Hellkite Igniter and Two-Headed Dragon.  The Igniter was extremely easy to pump into a huge monster due to the high amount of artifacts in the deck.  And there were many games where people would get a flier out, thinking they were safe, and Two-Headed Dragon would be able to slip right by. 

On top of all that, we have a couple of different ways to untap or get multiple uses out of Zirilan with Thornbite Staff, Thousand-Year Elixir and Rings of Brighthearth.  The deck also packs a decent amount of mana acceleration with Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, etc.

So typically if I had a sacrifice outlet early on, I would get it out, then Zirilan.  If there was nothing particularly threatening at the time that needed answering, I would usually tutor for Hoarding Dragon first, who would get me whatever artifact I wanted (usually Gauntlet of Might).  Then it was off to the races and making sure that you had answers all the time.  If you could recur Hoarding Dragon a couple times, you would be in pretty good shape.  Oftentimes Zirilan would get blown up a couple times, and his mana cost would be out of reach.  Then you have to sit back and turn into a dragon beatdown deck.  It's not the best plan, but it does all right.

This is a mono-Red deck that is extremely focused on its Commander, so you can expect the typical problems to tuck effects, enchantments, card draw, the usual.  I found that in order to shore up any weaknesses, I was taking out dragons.  This was usually not a bad thing, since my Commander acted as a dragon tutor, and I didn't really like drawing my dragons anyway.  However, aside from the typical problems, the number one card that hosed the deck was the following:

maze of ith

That's right, the Maze slowed us down a ton until we found a way to destroy it.  Most of the time I could only tutor for one dragon at a time, and with the Maze out my damage dealing capabilities were greatly diminished.  If Wizards printed a dragon that could destroy land I would have been extremely happy.  Instead, I relied upon Strip Mine, Tectonic Edge and Ghost Quarter, or by slipping Lightning Greaves on my attacking dragon.  Also, if someone is playing Akroma, Angel of Wrath as their Commander you are basically dead meat.

The other little trick I had to use occasionally was when I was playing defense and had to hold back Zirilan on defense.  If no one attacked me, I could use Zirilan at the end of the turn before mine.  The summoned dragon would then stick around for my turn.  If needed I could summon another dragon, or just attack with the first one.  Came in handy every once in a while, and helped push some damage through when dealing with Maze of Ith.

Let's take this deck for a spin, shall we? 

THE GAME:  FIGHT!

Let's see who I am going up against in this game:

Sakashima the impostor Wrexial, the risen deep Kami of the Crescent Moon

That's a lot of Blue in this game, which can often lead to problems.  Sakashima can be any variety of Blue control/theft/copy or whatever.  Wrexial is typically a control deck, but I have seen a kraken/Thing from the Deep theme deck using him in the past.  I don't really know what to expect from the Kami player, so I am interested in what he pulls out.  I win the roll.   Here is my opening hand:

Shattering SpreeSnow-covered mountainclaws of gixThunder Dragonsnow-covered mountainbraid of firePhyrexian Vault
Shattering Spree, Snow-Covered Mountain
, Claws of Gix, Thunder Dragon, Snow-Covered Mountain, Braid of Fire, Phyrexian Vault

The Snow lands are for Extraplanar Lens, but they don't do anything this game.  I keep, but I probably shouldn't have.  The hand only has 2 lands, which I usually try to avoid.  However, I liked having a lot of early turn plays, and when I have seen people use Kami of the Crescent Moon as their Commander in the past, they usually drop it early.  I'm hoping this guy does the same thing.  The Kami player mulligans to 6.  In this game, Sakashima = S, Wrexial = W, and Kami = C.  Why C?  I dunno, just to shake things up.

Round 1
Me:  Draw Gauntlet of Might, play Mountain.
S:  Island, Ponder.
W:  Swamp.
C:  Island, Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Font of Mythos!

font of mythos
On the first turn!

So C obviously likes the draw spells.  I assume that he is going to use Psychosis Crawler, but he could either try and punish us more, or just use stuff like Soramaro, First to Dream.  I am curious as to how it will go.

Round 2
Me:  Draw Skullclamp, Scrying Sheets and Thornbite Staff.  Play Mountain, Claws of Gix and Braid of Fire.
S:  Island, Thought Courier.  Discards Sensei's Divining Top to get to 7 cards in hand.
W:  Island.  Discards Bouncing Beebles and Inkwell Leviathan.
C:  Doesn’t untap Mana Vault (39).  Plays an Island, then Kami of the Crescent Moon, then Howling Mine!  We are going to be drawing a ton.

Round 3
Me:  Draw Culling Dais, Mana Vault, Gamble, Spinerock Knoll and Expedition Map.  Play Scrying Sheets, Mana Vault, then Zirilan.  I end up discarding Thornbite Staff, Expedition Map and Phyrexian Vault.
S:  Island, then activates Thought Courier, discarding Halimar Depths.  Then plays Sculpting Steel, copying Sol Ring.  Discards Enclave Cryptologist, Precognition and Planar Portal.
W:  Plays Mystifying Maze, then Fleshbag Marauder, clearing the board of creatures.  Unfortunately, C somehow loses his Command Zone, and Kami goes to the graveyard.  Seems like a strange bug, but C says that it has happened to him before.  W discards Beseech the Queen, Darksteel Ingot and Dimir Machinations.
C:  Doesn’t untap Mana Vault (38). 

C concedes during his turn.  I assume it's because he lost his Commander, as he seems to be doing all right so far.  But he doesn't give any explanation.

Round 4
Me:  I don’t untap my Mana Vault (39) and draw a Mountain, which I play, followed by Gauntlet of Might.
S:  Island, then Capture of Jingzhou.
S:  Island, then Walk the Aeons.
S:  I am half expecting him to play Temporal Manipulation, but he doesn't.  Instead, he drops Hive Mind!

hive mind
Oh boy.

This could be just for laughs, or to screw people up.  I dunno what's going on with most of this game, but I know that things are scaring me.
W:  Expedition Map, sacrificing it for Reliquary Tower, which he plays.

Round 5
Me:  I don’t untap my Mana Vault (38), and draw Diamond Valley.  Play Spinerock Knoll, sticking Helm of Possession under it.  Then I play Zirilan again.
S:  Island, then Cast Through Time.  More shenanigans.
W:  Diamond Valley of his own, then Mimic Vat.

mimic vat
Bad news for me.

Obviously Mimic Vat wrecks my plans.  When I sacrifice my dragons, W is going to have a shot at stealing them.  I know I don't want that, but I do have an answer that I can search up. 

Round 6
Me:  At this point, Braid of Fire gives me 4 mana during my upkeep, and I use it to activate Zirilan.  I search up Hoard-Smelter Dragon so that I can get rid of the Mimic Vat, and do so right away.  I don’t untap my Mana Vault again (37), and draw a Mountain.  I play my Diamond Valley and Skullclamp, equipping my Hoard-Smelter Dragon, who is now 10/5.  I attack S with the Dragon (30) since he scares me.  I then sac the Dragon to Diamond Valley, going up to (42) and draw Hoarding Dragon and Fire Dragon.  I would rather have those guys to search up, but that's what happens sometimes.  I then activate my Spinerock Knoll and put Helm of Possession into play. 
S:  Reliquary Tower of his own, then Telling Time.  With Hive Mind out we each get a copy, and with mine I put a Mountain in my hand and another on top of my library.  S then casts Mindslaver, probably my least favorite card, especially when playing this game. 

mindslaver
I really dislike this card.

By packing so many sacrifice outlets, Mindslaver can really hurt me.  And especially because of my sacrifice outlets, people like to point the Slaver in my direction.  But S doesn’t have enough mana to activate it this turn, thank God.
W:  Terramorphic Expanse, sacrificing it for a Swamp.  Then suspends Deep-Sea Kraken.  So maybe there is a kraken theme after all!

Round 7
Me:  During my upkeep I use Braid of Fire mana to activate Zirilan, searching up Hellkite Igniter, because I plan on bringing the pain!  I currently have 5 artifacts in play, so this will be good.  I leave my Mana Vault untapped (41) and draw Insurrection.  I play a Mountain, then activate the Igniter once.  I use Shattering Spree to blow up S’s Mindslaver.  Hive Mind triggers, and both of my opponents target my Helm of Possession.  W later admits that he wasn't paying attention.  In response I activate the Igniter 3 more times before the Helm blows up.  Igniter is now 26/6, and I attack S (4).  Finally, I sacrifice the Igniter to my Diamond Valley (47).  
S:  Telling Time rebounds, and triggers Hive Mind.  I put Reito Lantern in my hand and Journeyer's Kite on top of my library.  S plays an Island, then tries to Volition Reins Zirilan.  However, I sacrifice Zirilan to Claws of Gix (48).  S then casts Copy Enchantment, copying Hive Mind. 
W:  Royal Assassin. 

Round 8
Me:  I use my Braids mana to untap my Mana Vault, then draw Journeyer's Kite.  I play my Mountain, then Hoarding Dragon, searching up Thousand-Year Elixir.  I then re-cast Zirilan. 
S:  Casts Thought Dissector, then Sakashima.  With Sakashima being cast, W’s Deep-Sea Kraken un-suspends.  Sakashima copies my Hoarding Dragon.  Then uses the Dissector on me for 2, revealing my Mana Crypt.  That’s not good for him. 
W:  Shizo, Death's Storehouse.  Attacks me with the Kraken (42). 

Round 9
Me:  I use Zirilan during my upkeep to search up Bogardan Hellkite, killing S and W’s Royal Assassin.  In response, W uses the Assassin to kill Zirilan.  Draw Spawning Pit.  I equip Hoarding Dragon with Skullclamp and attack W with both dragons.  W uses Mystifying Maze on the Hoarding Dragon, but I sacrifice it to Claws of Gix (43).  I draw a Mountain and Grim Monolith, and get the Thousand-Year Elixir into hand.  W drops to (34).  I then sac the Hellkite to Diamond Valley (49), play a Mountain and Zirilan again.  I play Reito Lantern, then discard Grim Monolith and Thunder Dragon to get to 7 cards in hand.
W:  Withered Wretch, which he uses to get rid of all the dragons in my graveyard.

Using the Wretch would normally make me sad, but not this time.  Attacks me with the Kraken (43).  Fortunately for me, he tapped his Mystifying Maze.

Round 10
Me:  I use Zirilan to search up Dragon Tyrant.  I have more than enough mana to take out W.

CONCLUSION

So I have to admit, this deck doesn't win a whole lot.  In order for it to work properly, you have to have a bunch of pieces in play at the same time.  As a result, mass sweepers like Planar Cleansing and Austere Command can really hurt the deck, and you can have a really hard time recovering from them.  And it's not like people ever play cards like that in Commander, right?  The other issue is that this is a very Commander dependent deck.  Once people figure that out, Zirilan has a huge set of crosshairs on him, and he never lasts long.  Of course, part of that is because I am a fairly aggressive player.  I assume that if you play a little more conservatively, you might do a little bit better with the deck.

The deck can be found for download and purchase HERE.  For some reason all the MED4, Scars of Mirrodin and MBS cards aren't included, not sure why that isn't working.  The deck comes out to around 130 tickets, which is on the cheaper end of the scale.  Most of the cost is in the Swords and Grim Monolith.  You should try and keep the Swords, but Grim Monolith isn't entirely necessary.  You could replace it with Basalt Monolith if you want.

So in the end, this is more of a fun deck than a super competitive one.  You will have the occasional game where you dominate, but most games someone will slow you down, typically the person playing the good stuff deck.  The deck can be a lot of fun, even when people decide to gang up on you.  Just watch out for Mindslavers though.

Hope you enjoyed the deck.  Until next time!

Leviathan, aka Tarasco on MTGO
mrmorale32 at yahoo dot com

CONQUEROR & COMMANDER ARCHIVE

9 Comments

Man this deck was painful to by Paul Leicht at Wed, 06/01/2011 - 11:47
Paul Leicht's picture
5

Man this deck was painful to play against. Very very slick with all kinds of versatile responses to various decks. It was fun playing against you but I am glad this deck is no longer your favorite pet. :D

Mono red typically doesn't do by themonkey at Wed, 06/01/2011 - 12:26
themonkey's picture

Mono red typically doesn't do all that well, but this was very powerful. And it looked like you had a blast playing it. At least when you weren't up against 3 Mazes if Ith.

And I'd still consider this a budget deck. To me a budget deck may still have some expensive cards in it, but the expensive cards are those that are very utilitarian and can be used in almost all decks. Even if you are a budget player, it's useful to spend a little extra money to pick up things like Strip Mine or a sword or two.

Feldon's Cane is another way by ForestFire0 at Wed, 06/01/2011 - 15:24
ForestFire0's picture

Feldon's Cane is another way of getting your graveyard back into your deck. Another card I would suggest with all those artifacts is Mirrorworks. I have it in a Brion Stoutarm deck with a high number of mana artifacts, equipment, and other artifacts (many of the same ones you have in this deck) and I'm never sorry to draw it. It's nice to get an extra sol ring for free, but getting 2 Gauntlets or Extraplanar Lenses is amazing. Oh, and I know this was built before NPH, but Caged Sun would be a worthy addition as well.

Seem like this deck could use by bogtrog at Wed, 06/01/2011 - 15:31
bogtrog's picture

Seem like this deck could use Tel-Jilad Stylus. A cheap one card dragon reload seems pretty good.

I love seeing Junktroller in your deck. It is my all time favorite GY hate card. Everybody forgets about him. I can't tell you the number of times I have had other players try and make a big recursion only to have my silly wall stop them cold.

Personally, I never run my mono red decks without a few fork effect cards in it. You deck looks pretty mana hungry, so maybe you can't keep the mana open. Being able to piggyback on other playes tutors, ramp and card draw can really make up for some of red's natural weakneses though. And if you get your own copy of someone elses game breaker, so much the better.

Budget wise did you consider Mask of Memories over the SoFI? Sure mask is not as good overall, but on pure card draw it is arguably better. It is also easier on mana costs, in addition to the pocketbook.

Tel-Jilad Stylus would be by Leviathan at Wed, 06/01/2011 - 17:31
Leviathan's picture

Tel-Jilad Stylus would be perfect. It completely skips the middle step of having to go to the graveyard, which is pretty sweet. I would probably take out Phyrexian Vault for it. Feldon's Cane is another good option as well.

My first draft of the deck had Reiterate and Wild Ricochet. I thought that with the mana doublers I would have an easy time of holding these guys, but I was wrong. The deck is definitely mana hungry, and I was never holding much back.

Mirrorworks is definitely worth a shot. There are a ton of artifacts, and although having an extra copy of Ashnod's Altar wouldn't be all that exciting, and extra Sword or mana rock would be nice.

I remember when I first found Mask of Memories when I got back into Magic and thinking it was a pretty sweet card. It is definitely worth a look as a budget option instead of Sword of Fire and Ice. Draw and sifting isn't bad.

The deck is still pretty budget and it is pretty fun. You could probably cut it down to 60 or 70 tickets with a little bit of work. And definitely add Caged Sun!

Howdy and G'Luck! by Elbinac at Mon, 06/06/2011 - 14:07
Elbinac's picture

Safe Haven could be used as another way to protect/recur your dragons.
With a Crucible of Worlds it even becomes repeatable.
Granted it's a lot stronger with Sun Titan but it would still be functional.

And of course I've already discussed with you the merits of using search lands with Rings of Brighthearth.

For the archive readers by evoke at Sun, 01/01/2012 - 16:46
evoke's picture

Noting for the archive readers that the since printed Sundial of the Infinite is amazingly good in this deck, making all the temporary dragons permanent and having a wicked synergy with mimic vat. It can be tutored up if hoarding dragon is the first dragon that your commander tutors, enormously smoothing the reliability of the plan. It follows you want to add the inexpensive Buried Ruin land to easily reacquire Sundial or Mimic Vat if blown up, and can revamp the build to decrease the redundancy of the sacrifice outlets, shoring up strengths and weaknesses with the freed up slots. Innistrad also added a couple fun and suitable new dragons, one of whom patches a deck weakness by providing sweeps.

Much thanks to the author for the overall commander series. So enjoyable.

One other solution card by evoke at Sun, 01/01/2012 - 17:25
evoke's picture
5

Also mentioning that Incendiary Command solves the Maze of Ith problem neatly, plus it's card draw.

Good stuff, thanks for the by Leviathan at Thu, 01/05/2012 - 23:53
Leviathan's picture

Good stuff, thanks for the updates with the new cards! Sundial is definitely worthy of inclusion in here. Incendiary Command is interesting, I think I would have a hard time figuring out what to cut for it. If only there was a mono-Red dragon with an Avalanche Rider ability...