Salutations friends! Have you ever wanted to feel the power of throwing dragon's fire into the face of your opponents, but didn't want to spend hundreds on a competitive Red/Green Monsters deck featuring Wooded Foothills, Dragonlord Atarka and her
Atarka's Command
's? Too much money if you ask me!
Welcome to Budget Gruul Dragon Storm, a pincer attack featuring the midrange strength of powerful dragons, while pulling surprising finishers with
Descent of the Dragons
into Dragon Tempest. Two decks in one, all the value :)
The deck runs mana dorks like Elvish Mystic and Rattleclaw Mystic for throwing out early Thunderbreak Regents and a rogue creature not seen much, Savage Ventmaw. I know what you're thinking: a 4/4 for 6?? Why do that when you've got the Thunderbreak Regents?? Savage Ventmaw is interesing because, once Dragon Tempest is on board, he's basically a free cast 4/4 flyer that punishes removal when Thunderbreak Regent is online, and really improves our late game tempo through mana generation from its attacks. A very interesting and powerful tool in our deck. And with our ramp, it'll be easy to cheat him out early.
Please note: I run two Nissa, Vastwood Seer
in this deck because I happened to pull 2 in packs. SHE ISN'T NEEDED IN THE DECK, AS IT WOULD UNDERMINE THE BUDGET BUILD. Replace with Sylvan Caryatid, Courser of Kruphix, or other associated ramp dorks. Her planeswalker side definitely helps for the midgame however.
This deck combines midrange Dragons with the Dragon Tempest/
Descent of the Dragons
combo, whereby the board is flooded with sac-outlets like your early game Mystics and Goblins from Dragon Fodder/Hordeling Outburst to then be turned into Dragons and either outright kill the opponent with Dragon Tempest, or swing for the win afterwards. The deck is built to accommodate both win conditions, with ramp helping to accelerate it. Not drawing into Dragon Tempest? Don't worry, your mid range ramp into powerful flyers will keep you in a nice board state, and
Descent of the Dragons
even into 2 or 3 sac-able creatures with Thunderbreak Regent online makes dealing with several 4/4 flyers tricky at best. Are your bomby dragons dying to removal? Draw removal attention to Nissa, Vastwood Seer
, or flood the board with Goblins and burn to stall as you flip her for card advantage. The deck has multiple outlets that allow it to strive through the game without yielding too many advantages if luck isn't on your side.
The sideboard increases our deck's versatility. Aggro/Red Deck got you down? Board in Feed the Clan and
Wild Slash
/
Seismic Rupture
to take care of early threats like Goblin Rabblemaster or
Abbot of Keral Keep
. Thopters and Ensoul siphoning your spirit?
Arc Lightning
gives versatility to take out multiple Thopters, while Naturalize takes out an Ornithopter, or the Ensoul Artifact itself (as well as Sphinx's Tutelage in some Turbo Fog lists I've seen). Got too many Siege Rhino's to take care of? Roast and Crater's Claws give you the removal you need for the big beasties common to Abzan/the Red-Green mirror.
So there you have it! An innovative Dragons brew combining two popular Dragon archetypes into a budget pincer attack strategy to keep your opponent on edge for how you'll achieve victory! Set your opponents ablaze, not your wallet! Hope you enjoyed the ride, and as always, be sure to leave any feedback you'd like!
