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Maybeboard


BR dragons deck that I plan on taking to game day and hopefully tweaking to a competitive list.

To flesh out this out a little; I have been contemplating sleeving up the the UR Dragons deck that is being championed by Jeff Hoogland but I have a slight problem. I'm terrible at playing with blue counter magic. With that issue I decided to take the red shell of that deck and inject some black to make it more my style. This is the current result that will be tweaked as I get more testing.

Some Pros over UR Dragons:

  • More Explosive. Both Kolaghan cards have a form of haste, plus a pump ability that triggers off every attacking dragon.

  • Better Ability to Deal with Resolved Threats. The UR must counter the threats before they happen. With the B over U, we can run kill spells to deal with any issues that happen and can top deck an answer to a problem.

  • Hand DIsruption. Turn 1 or 2 Thoughtseize is still a good play no matter the format. Add in Kolaghan's Command and Duress in the sideboard and we have some good proactive answers to problems.

  • Potentially Better Aggro Matchup. B gets access to Drown in Sorrow with is great against aggro strats.

  • Kolaghan's Command gives some threat recursion for the longer games.

Cons over UR Dragons:

  • Less Draw and Selections. We lose out on Anticipate and Dig Through Time meaning we cant find our outs as easily. Hopefully we can be more explosive to counter this issue.

  • Less protection for our creatures. Without the counter magic or Icefall Regent 's ability, we will run into more spells that we can't stop.

Thoughts on Card Choices:

  • Dragonlord Kolaghan - Great curve topper as a 6/5 hasty flier. The giving haste is mostly irrelevant in this deck, but the bottom text has the potential to do some serious damage. Not reliable at all, but definitely worth trying.

  • Flamewake Phoenix x4 - we want the full compliment of this card as we are definitely more aggro based. The recursion is a nice extra. Terrible blocker though.

  • Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury x2 - A fantastic 5-drop that surprises most opponents. I've played it as a 1-of in a Mardu Midrange deck and I was happy to see it everytime. With the ability being triggered for every dragon it is possible to get +2/3 to each creature fairly easily.

  • Stormbreath Dragon x3 - It's funny that the best dragon in dragons of tarkir standard is from theros block. Not much to say that hasn't been said. Only a 3-of currently.(it's all I got)

  • Thunderbreak Regent x4 - One of the best feelings is having two of these cards in play with burn in hand. Also makes dealing with any other threats a much more difficult decision.

  • Foul-Tongue Invocation x3 - being able to deal with UW heroic and provide some lifegain to offset thoughseize is good enough. Will definitely be tested as to whether the main or side is the best spot for it.

  • Kolaghan's Command x3 - Can provide many options and is never dead in hand. Early game is deal 2/discard at instant speed. Late game is bring back the dragon that helps us win/whatever is relevant. I have a feeling this card is being slightly underated. But I've been wrong before.

  • Crux of Fate - a big addition over UR dragons. this gives us a great out against the wider strats. We just don't have as much ability to dig for it and that may make this a bad choice, but the threat of it might be enough to make players play around it.

  • Hero's Downfall x3, Thoughtseize x3, Wild Slash x2, Lightning Strike x3, Ultimate Price x2 - standard B/R removal package

Mana Base is pretty simple. Need to have both double red and double black by turn three so will probably need to play 8 taplands plus the fetches. Will fluctuate as testing is done.

Sideboard Options:

  • Most of the sideboard cards will be in flux as I tweak the deck.

  • I do want to point out that I think Goblin Rabblemaster as a 3 or 4-of in the side might be the best place for that card. Every deck must build to deal with that card and having that as a post board option when the opponent is boarding to fight bigger might be a great decision. This could be a terrible idea, but I still like bringing these in against control on the play.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoyed my take on a (hopefully) potential competitive deck. Please let me know your thoughts on the deck and what I might be missing or overlooking.

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Game day was small at 8 people but I faced two tier one decks and a janky one.

Round 1 - vs UB Control (ashiok variant)

  • Game 1 thougtseize a dig through time, but he can answer all my threats and I had several removal spells sit dead in my hand. He got to ultimate an ashiok and just milled me the rest of the way while chaining digs and getting answers.

  • Game 2, A single Flamewake Phoenix does most of the work and he finally has to play an ugin at 1 life that I downfall. Rabblemaster comes off the top for the win.

  • Game 3, Drop a Rabble master that just won the game. He played a perilous vault but couldn't find a 5th mana source to take out the rabble. Had a kolaghan in hand to win even if he did find the land.

Round 2 - vs GW Protection (Played lots of protection spell for his few creatures)

  • Game 1, Not expecting the deck, had several removal spells fizzle against his prot, but manage to get out a thunderbreak and storm fury for the unexpected win.

  • Game 2, Can't kill his guys and he just steamrolls me.

  • Game 3, He doesn't find prot spells and I easily defeat him.

Round 3 - Mono Red Aggro splash Atarka command (the pro tour winning decklist)

  • Game 1, Won a game I shouldn't have. Had to thoughtseize 2 in the first four turns actually saved me by 3 points of damage. Killed him in two turns after dealing with his threats.

  • Game 2, Drew into my sideboarded angers and several removal spells which locked the board down. Managed to kill with thunderbreak and Storms fury.

Semi Finals - Same GW prot deck. ( everyone I played made top 4)

  • Game 1, He drew into 3 elspeths back to back that took out three of my regents. Couldn't recover enough to stop his threats.

  • Game 2, I misplayed my turn two thoughtseize. Being skittish of elspeth, I took that instead of a suspension field that eventually landed on a regent. I removed all his threats and then flooded a little where If I had let him kill the regent with elspeth I could have rebought my regent several times. Ended up racing at the end but he managed to pump a wingmate roc token and some soldier tokens for the exact amount to kill me or I would have won next turn.

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Date added 9 years
Last updated 9 years
Legality

This deck is not Standard legal.

Rarity (main - side)

4 - 2 Mythic Rares

30 - 9 Rares

10 - 2 Uncommons

1 - 2 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 3.23
Tokens Emblem Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker, Goblin 1/1 R
Folders Other decks to play
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