A redesigned variant of my old red/green dragon deck designed to be able to play through the deck effectively without spending mana. The majority of the cards used refund themselves when played. Meaning that I play them for 0 cost assuming I have the starting mana available to me.
Playing either Birgi, God of Storytelling or Runaway Steam-Kin helps with the mana generation of the deck.
Emrakul isn't needed, but she allows us to cycle through our deck without running out of cards. I have decided to put elixirs of immortality in the deck instead.
Card Sleeves here:
https://meccha-japan.com/en/card-sleeves/128019-card-sleeves-wilds-of-eldraine-aggravated-assault-magic-the-gathering-mtgs-288.html
The gameplan of the deck is as follows:
Choose to go second to get the extra draw if you can. We are looking to ramp mana, and get Wheel of Fortune into our hand. With a little luck, you should be able to build up a mana base and draw through your entire deck. Elixir of Immortality allows us to repeat this process over and over again, or to grab cards back from the graveyard that we might need later.
Jeska's Will, when played on the first or second turn effectively gives you 6-7 red mana to spend. Or you can think of it as going +3-4 after paying it's mana cost.
Playing cards like Birgi, God of Storytelling or Runaway Steam-Kin will allow our one drops to played effectively for free, and reduce the mana cost of all of our other cards. These are important combo pieces to get the engine running and can be Gamble'd for if you already have established board. Otherwise the main targets of gamble are going to be Jeska's Will, Wheel of Fortune, Rite of Flame, and Light Up the Stage. DO NOT Gamble for the Elixir or Aggravated Assault.
Savage Ventmaw + Aggravated Assault gives us infinite combat phases until our opponent dies along with extra mana every combat step. Dragon Mage + Aggravated Assault also does the trick.
For consistencies sake, I would preferably like to run two copies of Elixir and Aggravated Assault. Thinking of cutting one copy of Light Up the Stage and Utvara Hellkite from the deck. I could also cut the dragon mage for a second Ventmaw.
With the right hand, this deck can win on your first turn.
If you need more interaction with your opponent, siding in Mindbreak Trap can be a great way of shutting down their combo and ending their turn.
Summoner's Pact + Tinder Wall may work as an additional method of deck thinning.
I want to try a version of the deck that runs burning wish instead of gamble to see how that plays.
I also want to test a version of the deck that plays Bonus Round to see if that card helps make the deck more consistent.
Additional notes:
Wednesday, Aug 21, 2024 at 11:51 AM
Blacker Lotus could be used as a replacement for lotus petal to generate additional deck thinning since it exiles itself.
Questing Druid is a powercrept version of reckless impulse or wren's resolve. It is also searchable from Summoners Pact giving us another target for that card.
Try running a version of the deck with 4 copies of birgi
Glimpse the Impossible could maybe be a budget replacement for wheel of fortune, but likely wouldn't be as good. Reforge the soul is effectively another, more expensive, wheel.
Likely Stomping Ground + Gemstone Caverns would be the mana acceleration combo if I was trying to play this deck in modern. Land Grant feels like a more legitimate pick for this version of the deck
Containment Construct lets us turn all of our discard-to-draw cards into straight draw cards. Building a deck based on that, and Bonus Round may allow us to circumvent the need for some of the higher cost power cards. Burning Inquiry suddenly becomes a great card with Containment Construct. Dragon's Rage Channeler may also be a good pick for allowing us to thin through the deck as we storm to get us closer to the combo pieces we actually need.
Birgi, Steamkin, or Ruby medallion turn Reckless Barbarian into a pyretic ritual.