My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Let me start off by saying I know that Force of Will and Underground Sea would make this deck infinitely better. I simply cannot currently afford those cards. I also know that
Griselbrand
, Iona, Shield of Emeria, and Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur could very well be better creature choices than my all-time favorite creature, Hellkite Overlord. Those other creatures are also played in 90% of reanimator decks (and for good reason) and I wanted mine to be somewhat different. This deck isn't meant for super competitive tournament play anyway. I'll be playing it against my friends and other people at my LGS.
When I first started building this deck I wanted it to focus on getting Hellkite Overlord (one of the most aggressive fatties in my opinion) onto the battlefield as quickly as possible. After some lackluster experimenting with
Dragon's Herald
and Bloom Tender, and with a little input from a friend, I decided the best route to take would be a reanimator deck.
With this deck I am able to consistently play Hellkite Overlord on turns one and two. The fact that he's such a big creature with haste is the best part, I can start beating face with him the instant I play him from my graveyard.
Lotus Petal and Dark Ritual are key sources of mana and help make it possible to play "Smaug" on turn one. Lotus Petal and Gemstone Mine also make it possible for me to regenerate my dragons if I need to. Gemstone mine also fits the flavor of the deck. Dragons love gems as well as gold don't they? :P
My friend suggested I splash some Blue for card draw. Remand gives me advantage by slowing my opponent's tempo and quickening my own. I'd like to run a playset of either Ponder, Brainstorm, or Preordain but I can't decide which of the three is best for this deck. If anyone has any advice please don't hesitate to tell me!
Gitaxian Probe + Cabal Therapy is a nasty little combo. By paying 2 life to play a probe, I can look at my opponent's hand and determine what the biggest threat is (and I get to draw a card!). Once I know what's in their hand I can cast Cabal Therapy and force them to dispose of it/them. If I don't deem their hand a current threat and I happen to have Hellkite Overlord(s) in my hand, I can use Cabal Therapy to discard it. Putrid Imp is also included in the deck for this reason.
Don't forget to +1 the deck if you like it! :)
