Maybe some lifelink then? Basilisk Collar -- potentially a board wipe and a ton of life with a "when attacks" trigger

@illumfolly: Sorry, I only ever saw post #7, missed post #6.

I think you're right about Shattering Spree, will be ordering one soon. The Crucible of Worlds is a bit hefty for the benefit it gives me (since I only have 4 fetches) but I'll try testing with a proxy. The fetches themselves are in the deck to provide more shuffling options for Scroll Rack and Sensei's Divining Top (as well as Zirilan's shuffle). But I do see the point: if I try and win via MLD and Worldgorger Dragon and get blown out of the water I'll be in a very bad position.

The Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast are on the sideboard because the group I typically play with doesn't have much blue, but I know going to the LGS I will need to side them in.

And the Basilisk Collar I think is too niche to run; it only really helps with the Balefire Dragon and, while that would gain me a lot of life, it doesn't really help me win.

Basilisk Collar is more for deathtouch than lifelink, but yeah I feel you.

Did you ever run Dragon Tempest?

That haste seems pretty good, as well as the damage backup. Could probably replace hammer of purphoros neatly.

I have not run Dragon Tempest. It would work the same way as Scourge of Valkas, which I can tutor, but the redundancy would be nice. The haste though is almost exclusively for Zirilan, since the deck dosn't really function without him. Getting him out and passing turn with him up is very important to start trying to get some dragons out, so I don't think I would replace Hammer of Purphoros but I could see it coming in for Puppet Strings, which is the most expensive card of its type in the deck.

The only question I have is how do you protect your commander reliably? Because the decks seems that it falls apart without Zirilan in play.

Well you typically wouldn't play him until you have enough mana to use his ability and haste or a pair of boots out. After that you are able to tutor for Changeling Berserker or Worldgorger Dragon to protect him from removal. Cavern of Souls protects him from counterspells. But the reason there are so many haste enablers and mana rocks is to both rush him out quickly and to replay him immediately after he is removed. Unless they destroy all of your artifacts or play something like Linvala, Keeper of Silence it is relatively easy to bounce back.

Hi,your most recent deck changes looks precisely like mine: less taplands, remove slow ramp for fast ramp etc...And I think the deck got so much better. Also I am very certain that Koth was to slow.

Here is my list:http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zirilan-july-2016/difference of our lists:- i run even more cheap rocks

• i dont run the 2 card combo Hellkite charger & sword

• the only boardwipe left is ugin & disk

• Urzas Armor is just to troll my group since 95% of our combos rely on "ping for 1 times infinity"

• Treasonous Ogre - still unsure about him.

• i run blood moon and Magus of the Moon

• dragon tempest (you should really get it), minion reflector

• Feldon is still new and requires testing

In comparison I still stick to hoarding dragon: my meta has a lot of removal - i can make him die quite easily and usually just fetch sundial)The removal is also the reason that I like the deck to be less dependent on the commander. It happened quite often that Zirilan was around 13 mana to recast.

Sneak attack, the doublers (flameshadow conjouring, minion reflector) and Feldon all make the dragons function without our commander.The minion reflector combos with flameshadow conjuring and kiki as you described. However you can also end the loop by letting the original worldgorger exile the token first.So you win when you are undisrupted and have kiki or flameshadow conjuring or minion reflector in game and worldgorger comes into play.

Maybe I will keep the cycle lands. They are "4/2R:Draw Two" with rings of brightearth.

Quicksilver Amulet feels to slow: You need to set it up and then you still only save 3 to 4 mana per dragon.

I will get a copy of Kiki, an ancient tomb and another haste enabler for my deck.

@nazarener: Thank you for commenting on my deck, love to hear from other Zirilan players. I'll try and address everything succinctly...

• I was running the Hellkite Charger + Sword of Feast and Famine combo because I was running Hoarding Dragon, which can fetch the sword. I've since removed the dragon, which makes it less likely to happen, but it is still basically an instant win if I happen to draw it between turns 5-7

• The boardwipes I run (Apocalypse, Decree of Annihilation, Jokulhaups) are all specifically to use with Worldgorger Dragon. Like drawing the sword, drawing these is an instant win if you play it out right, but much riskier due to Worldgorger exiling your stuff. Ugin is very powerful but expensive, but I have one I'm not using and may consider it.

• The Quicksilver Amulet I agree is expensive to use, I've been thinking about removing it (maybe for Minion Reflector or Dragon Tempest)

• I've been trying out some cheaper rocks as well. Jeweled Amulet is currently being tested, and I was planning on buying a Lion's Eye Diamond before the spike. Any others you would recommend?

• Feldon of the Third Path I know is very good if it is complementary to your build. I know that DarkRequiem and Noah5Reason's decks use it to good affect with sacrifice outlets. I've been trying to tool the deck to use sacrifice outlets since I'm finding I want to save my dragons less and less, so he is currently still in consideration for my deck. Besides Culling Dais, what other cheap sac outlets would you recommend? I know Altar of Dementia functions as an alternate win condition as well (with enough dragons)

Ashnod's Altar, Goblin Bombardment, High Market, Miren, the Moaning Well and, although somewhat sub-par, Claws of Gix. The lands are extra cool since they don't come into play tapped and provide you mana, not slowing you down a single bit.

Had never considered Culling Dais. That might be interesting.

If that's a KC reference, then all the +1s from me. And the deck itself is good too!

With Conjurer's Closet, you can order the triggers. Your new dragon gets bounced first. When it changes zones, the game recognizes it as a new instance of whatever it is. Then, when Zirilian's trigger of "remove from the game" happens, it will look for the first instance of the creature and not the second.

TL;DR- do it right, and you can keep the creature instead of exiling it or shuffling it back in.

Erratic Portal is also nice as a control element and an anti-nuke thing for your own creatures.

@Sloanan: It is! I was going to have the song in the description but Youtube only has the guitar part uploaded.

@KaraZorEl: Thanks for the suggestions. I actually used to run both of those but found that they were too expensive and took too long gain value. The deck is aiming to try and combo out or deal enough combat damage to win between turns 5-7 and those two artifacts don't fit in the curve. Erratic Portal was actually part of an infinite combo with Changeling Berserker and Worldgorger Dragon but the chances of drawing the Portal were slim and it was not extremely helpful outside of the combo (it was a couple of times). But thank you for looking through my deck!

Came here to say I like the king crimson reference lol. And the deck is also great!

Stormbreath Dragon in competitive metas is actually pretty insane. I understand the mana used to tutor and go monstrous is very intense, but in my play group if Necropotence comes into play, it draws 20 cards. If I have the mana, it's a player kill.

Although you rely heavily on shuffle effects and bounce, be mindful of how useful a Reito Lantern can be. It can hit ANY graveyard. Against reanimate decks, it is very strong.

Since this is more of a combo build, Zealous Conscripts wouldn't hurt. I like Goblin Matron for finding Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. It's not the most reliable way to win in red, but its not bad. Also if someone else plays Zealous Conscripts and targets your kiki, they win. Something I like my sacrifice outlets for.

Interesting idea with Erratic Portal! I haven't considered that card before. I do really enjoy it.

Has anyone ever killed your Worldgorger Dragon in response to it's first ability on the stack? You lose all of your permanents :/ that's happened to me a few times. I can't think of a way to stop that.

@Adamaro: Thanks for the reply.

I have had Worldgorger Dragon blown out before, and it sucks. Sundial of the Infinite can stop it they target it on your turn (but it will probably still cost you the game, since you're only bringing the Worldgorger in if you're trying to combo out). I have Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast in the sideboard for going up against a lot of blue players (Cyclonic Rift, Capsize, etc.). If you have Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker you can make a copy in response to their removal, which will put Worldgorger Dragon's trigger on the top of the stack again. That's really it though. I don't typically tutor for it unless players with potential creature removal are tapped out or I know another player will win when it comes back to their turn.

I may reconsider Stormbreath Dragon but it is still a pretty steep cost to pay, I'll need to see how it works out. I did run Reito Lantern at one point but I had no sac outlets at the time. I'm still contemplating adding sac outlets (since I rarely need to use a dragon more than once) so if I do decide to I may side it in. I have contemplated running Goblin Matron (I'd rather run Imperial Recruiter if I had the money) but I have to actually test it. I don't think I'll be adding Zealous Conscripts because it is basically a dead draw if I don't have Kiki-Jiki and red needs all of the synergy it can get.

And thanks! I came up with that combo myself. It is a bit clunky but it's fun. I have Erratic Portal sided out until I finish retooling the deck with sac outlets and Hoarding Dragon.

Ruffigan,

I appreciate the reply. I never thought of using Sundial of the Infinite to stop my Worldgorger Dragon! That's awesome! I honestly reserve Worldgorger Dragon for mass removal attempts.

Imperial Recruiter would be an amazing addition to both of our decks. I would rather fund a Gauntlet of Might instead of it though. $200.00 tutors :\

I was considering Skyship Weatherlight recently. Now that I bring it up, I'm still considering it. If the game is on the slower end, you could remove a couple utility artifacts/creatures. A dead draw could ruin the potential though. Lucky for us Scroll Rack and Sensei's Divining Top can help mitigate dead top decks. However, I feel like an early Skyship Weatherlight could prove useful without needing the Hoarding Dragon immediately. I'll have to test it myself, before I can put the "Adamaro stamp of approval" on it..

I digress...

I won't use Zealous Conscripts only because I use Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, I don't feel as though my present meta is prepared for it yet. However, zealous works well with sacrifice outlets, and even better with my Claws of Gix. However that would require you to retool and revamp your deck's primary strategy...

My group (including myself) hasn't exactly conformed to the sideboard rules of EDH yet. I'm OK with it I spose. I'm missing out on a potential Burning Wish, but I can live with that. I actually prefer not playing with a sideboard!

I run into a lot of Zirilan of the Claw decklists that use Kilnmouth Dragon, which in testing I found to be mildly inadequate. Even gunning something down for 9 damage seems pretty good, but with the small amount of dragons you run, do you ever exceed 6 damage (=2 dragons in hand). My main concern is cards like Avacyn, Angel of Hope and things red really has a hard time with.

@Adamaro: I've played my deck probably 75+ times and Kilnmouth Dragon may only have been relevant in 1/10 of those but it was very important. You are bound to run into a situation where your hand ends up full of dragons, either from an underwhelming opening hand; an unlucky Dragon Mage/Knollspine Dragon/Wheel of Fortune; or bad draws. In scenarios such as this you can use it draw a lot of cards with Knollspine Dragon, and even if all you can do is tutor it for 15 damage, that is better than being a sitting duck. My deck also utilizes a lot of copy creature/copy ability/untap creature cards so you can get more mileage out of it.

It is also another source of damage for Worldgorger Dragon combos. Sometimes your Scourge of Valkas/Bogardan Hellkite/Spawn of Thraxes will be MIA and you just need a way to deal direct damage to win. Similarly, if those same dragons are MIA, you can use it as a way to kill utility creatures such as Blood Artist/Deadeye Navigator/Seedborn Muse.

I am definitely looking into tuning the deck to have sac outlets so I can add Hoarding Dragon back in. It is what enables the Sword of Feast and Famine/Hellkite Charger combo which should be considered basically non-existent if playing without Hoarding Dragon.

I don't know how I feel about Skyship Weatherlight. It has a very powerful ability but an investment to put a card in hand is approaching untenable, especially since it can potentially be destroyed before you can activate it. If all you need is one card I think Gamble would be the better option, even if you risk losing said card.

The sideboard I have is mostly for when I go to play at my LGS. People are dicks there and like to run Grand Arbiter Augustin IV stax and Zur the Enchanter Doomsday type decks so the anti-blue cards are a necessity there. My group doesn't play much blue so there isn't much reason to have it in there normally.

Awesome deck. I have a mono red dragon deck with Zirilan as well (not fully updated on this site though).

Some cards you def need:

Braid of Fire - a growing pool of red mana.

Conjurer's Closet - Use this on a dragon you've tutored for with Zirilan and poof, you don't lose the dragon.

Hoarding Dragon - Finds conjurer's closet or other Artifacts

Mirrorpool - Can also be used to copy a creature that you've tutored for with Zirilan, a copy that you get to keep.

Mudslide - All your stuff flies...

Hellkite Tyrant - An alternate wincon

Some other cards I'd highly consider: Mana Flare, Warstorm Surge, Belbe's Portal, Crucible of the Spirit Dragon

Some other cards to consider: Crucible of Fire, Curse of Bloodletting, Dragon Tempest, Rage Reflection, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Great Furnace, Rogue's Passage, Spinerock Knoll, Dragonspeaker Shaman

Good Luck +1

Conjurer's Closet? it lets you keep your creatures that you tutor'd with the commander as long as you trigger Closet first

Great minds think alike Zirilan of the Claw dragon machine funk it's nice to see another Zirilan list on tappedout and it looks mean too.

2 suggestions: Through the Breach and Seize the Day.

Hedron Archive > Worn Powerstone. Costs 1 more, but the option for card draw is nice. Alternatively, Arcane Signet or Ruby Medallion can work as well.

Deflecting Swat - WAY too much utility and for free? Sign me up!

You're lacking some card draw there, you can't always rely on your commander. Endless Atlas, Mind's Eye, Skullclamp, even Solemn the sad robot is potentially worth an inclusion as it helps mitigate your weaknesses of lack of ramp and card draw

Command Beacon - For when your commander is too expensive

Blast Zone - Gets rid of enchantments that you can't interact with

I understand limiting your nonbasics is a priority given your 4 mana doublers, should you wish, you can remove myriad landscape, but personally, I think myriad is a great card and is not a target for LD. If they destroy your Myriad, then thats LD thats not gonna target your cavern of souls or any other relevant utility land.

Generator Servant - ?

@Profet93: Thanks for checking out my deck and for your feedback!

• I think I am going to replace Worn Powerstone with Arcane Signet. The Hedron Archive comes out too late be much help I think but the Signet is can get Zirilan out early and taps for .

• Deflecting Swat is definitely a good card and could find a spot in here. I will have to see what I can remove.

• I think I am fine on the card draw front. I have a couple different ways to filter through my deck and though I do often deplete my hand very early by playing rocks Zirilan can grab Dragon Mage or Knollspine Dragon to refill it.

• Command Beacon is a maybe. I can definitely see the use and there are games where it would be helpful but losing a Mountain can hurt, especially since I have multiple cards that care about them. Same with Blast Zone. I'll put them on the Maybe Board and test them but my initial thought is that unless they replace a non-basic I already have they're not going to fit in.

• Generator Servant I'll have to test. I can see the utility but I'm thinking I'd rather just have a ritual or rock unless it is in my opening hand.