Under construction for rotation!!!
AT LEAST READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH PLEaSE!!
You can cast any Dragonlord with 1-3 of these: Shaman of Forgotten Ways, Beastcaller Savant, or Haven of the Spirit Dragon, and regularly get one in play on turn 3!! Use a green core for rampers/fixers, with red splash for later turn ease. Read below for details!
So all of the legendary dragons from the Khans block have one thing in common (besides being legendary and dragons lol): they have only 2 colored mana symbols in their casting costs. While playing creatures with all 5 colors of mana typically requires a messy and tortured mana base, there is a Standard card that fixes your mana to cover the colored-mana casting costs of all these dragons. And you could theoretically use just one color of land. He may not have a big body, and his formidable ability may be a false flag, but Shaman of Forgotten Ways is an easy-to-cast creature that can help you cast any of the legendary dragons, or their less-legendary companions. The regularly overlooked shaman from DTK, along with the usual bunch of green rampers/fixers, allows the rapid and consistent deployment of dragons. Think of it as a "dragon toolbox".
Creature SelectionDragonlord Atarka: the most expensive casting cost of the dragons, but also the biggest body. No one can block her on their own and kill her (besides her FRF counterpart Atarka, the World Render) and the 5 damage is nothing to scoff at. Killing their biggest blocker or most dangerous planeswalker in the late game can be a game ender. Great to tutor in the mirror or against midrange decks. The green mana symbol in her casting cost also means you only need one "foreign" mana to cast, which should be cake with all our mana fixers. A solid beast of a dragon that requires immediate removal or she'll put the game away. Also comes down a turn later than Dragonlord Dromoka which could be critical against decks using countermagic, as she carries a pretty big target.
Dragonlord Dromoka: As a 6 cc, she can be played as early as turn 3, if an Elvish Mystic and a Shaman of Forgotten Ways were turns 1 & 2. Great against control decks or opposing dragon decks, as only Atarka can get through a block. As the only other dragon with a green mana symbol, she can be cast with a Beastcaller Savant if the Shaman hasn't been drawn. She can effectively shut down instant speed removal during your turn, so no more "end of your turn" spells. If nothing else she'll give a strong board presence to buy time to get more lethal dragons into play.
Silumgar, the Drifting Death: This slimy serpant originally found his home in Gerard Fabiano's "Sultai Control" sideboard as a way to beat token decks. His purpose here is the same. Like a flying
Doomwake Giant
, Silumgar can drain the life of tokens just by having other dragons attack (he doesn't like to get his claws dirty).
Dragonlord Silumgar:Obviously this guy is best to save until they have something worth snatching. At worst, his body and the flying/deathtouch is really relevant to discourage aerial attacks. Stalemate their Ojutai. At best, he takes a Planeswalker that is about to ultimate or their only flying/reach blocker so you can swing for lethal.
Dragonlord Ojutai:He's here primarily to deal with control decks. Not the heaviest hitter of the bunch, but the evasion draws a big target. Pairs well with Thunderbreak Regent to make removal even more troublesome for the opponent.
Thunderbreak Regent:Pretty obvious as the only 4-drop dragon. The lightning-bolt retribution is great as even incremental damage puts them in lethal range of a 2-3 dragon swing. With all the targeted removal in Standard, Stormbreath's little brother helps add pseudo-protection. Not hard to cast with red being the other predominant color of the deck.
Other card choice breakdowns to come.
Crux of Fate is less devastating to this deck, as it will leave the rampers in play to just cast more big dragons on your next turn. And with Dragonlord Kolaghan in the deck the opponent will have to think twice before clearing a board, as she can swoop in for 6 unblocked damage the following turn. Furthermore, Haven of the Spirit Dragon can bring your dead dragons back to just get recast by the non-dragon rampers surviving the Crux.
It may be wrong to not play any scry lands, but hopefully the other fetches will suffice.
T1: Forest, Elvish Mystic.
T2: land, Shaman of Forgotten Ways.
T3: land and any 6cc dragon
Suggestions welcome, I'd like this to actually be a competitive deck. +1 if you like it!
