Storming Legends - The Ur-Dragon

Commander / EDH Aggro Battlecruiser Dragons Flying Goodstuff Haste Midrange Ramp

Narrash

Creature (33)

• 1x Atarka, World Render
• 1x Balefire Dragon
• 1x Bladewing the Risen
• 1x Dragon Broodmother
• 1x Dragonlord Atarka
• 1x Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1x Dragonlord Kolaghan
• 1x Dragonlord Ojutai
• 1x Dragonlord Silumgar
• 1x Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
• 1x Dromoka, the Eternal
• 1x Faeburrow Elder
• 1x Firkraag, Cunning Instigator
• 1x Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
• 1x Hellkite Courser
• 1x Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient
• 1x Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
• 1x Korlessa, Scale Singer
• 1x Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• 1x Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy
• 1x Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
• 1x Morophon, the Boundless
• 1x Ojutai, Soul of Winter
• 1x Rith, Liberated Primeval
• 1x Rivaz of the Claw
• 1x Scion of Draco
• 1x Scourge of the Throne
• 1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death
• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Utvara Hellkite
• 1x Wrathful Red Dragon
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels
• 1x Zurgo and Ojutai

Instant (4)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Land (36)

• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 2x Forest
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
• 1x Indatha Triome
• 1x Island
• 1x Ketria Triome
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 1x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Raugrin Triome
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Swamp
• 1x The World Tree
• 1x Unclaimed Territory
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Zagoth Triome

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
• 1x Sarkhan, Fireblood

Commander (1)

Artifact (11)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Dragon's Hoard
• 1x Herald's Horn
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Orb of Dragonkind
• 1x Prismatic Geoscope
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x The Great Henge

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Crux of Fate
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Patriarch's Bidding
• 1x Rishkar's Expertise
• 1x Skyshroud Claim

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Dragon Tempest
• 1x Garruk's Uprising
• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Sarkhan's Unsealing
• 1x Temur Ascendancy

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Deckbuilding Philosophy

I love Dragons, and I love them all equally, whatever their color identity. And it so turns out that there are 3 5C commanders made straightforward for dragons. Tiamat, Scion of the Ur-Dragon and The Ur-Dragon. Scion decks are good, undoubtedly. It is competitive, powerful but combo-heavy and repetitive, two things I don't want to build around.

The Ur-Dragon on the other hand, speaks to me on a more spiritual level. The primordial essence of all dragonkind; with the beating of its wings are created storms from which Dragons are spawned across the Multiverse.

Strategy

"No machinations, no puppet strings, no plots. Just pure, sweeping death." - Tasigur, the Golden Fang

As written above, we pave our way to victory through pure, sweeping death only. We play {W} {U} {B} {R} {G} but unlike Scion decks we are in less of a rush rush to get all our colors by turn 5. Depending on our hand, by turn 6, it's more important to have x2 {R} mana source and other colors since some Dragons cost {X} {R} {R}. That being said, in order to wreak havoc on our enemies we do have some sort of preemptive strategy.

Hoarding treasures - Ramp

Dragons are powerful but the catch is that they cost quite a lot of mana; fortunately our Commander's Eminence ability helps us with that. Which brings us to our deck's sub-theme, as accurately advertised by the C17 Draconic Domination precon: ramping.

We run {G} mana and artifacts to summon Dragons much more quickly. Of course, we run a package of green ramp which helps putting more lands under our control like Cultivate and Skyshroud Claim. Faeburrow Elder is huge in this deck since it taps for at least 2 coloured mana but taps for 3 consistently. Spells that reduce {X} mana of a chosen type (read Dragon cards) such as Urza's Incubator, Herald's Horn and Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma are especially powerful combined with The Ur-Dragon's Eminence. Add to that the Mirari's Wake and our Dragons can take the board over quickly.

On swift Wings - Haste enablers

Of course our deck is slower than most , but our Dragon can pose quite a threat. And there's nothing more frustrating than summoning a powerful creature and having it dealt with before it could do anything because of the summoning sickness.

That is precisely why haste-enabling spells are a must have. Conveniently these are mostly low-cost spells, such as Lightning Greaves. In this category Dragon Tempest shines the brightest. In your opening hand this is a game-winning card. Having hasty Dragons by turn 2 is a huge advantage, albeit one that will turn the table's attention against you.

Fire and Claws - Doubling damages

We choose quality over quantity. Our board won't be as crowded as a Sliver deck of course. But a few turns with a Dragon left unchecked can prove quite dire to our enemy's life total. Which is why we can end it even more quickly with cards such as Xenagos, God of Revels, Atarka, World Render and Sylvia Brightspear, which can be tutored by Eladamri's Call.

Fuel for the Firebreathers - Draw

We can't afford to run out of threats and need some ways to draw cards. Spells that reward playing toughness >3 or >4 creatures are powerful enough to offer another kind of positive effect combined with drawing cards, such as Temur Ascendancy, Garruk's Uprising and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner are great. The Great Henge helps us ramp AND draw, and with dragons it consisently costs only {3}{G}{G}. Of course, no reason not to run Dragon's Hoard, both for ramp and card draw.

With constricting Tails - Board Control

With how expensive dragons are, we have to help them staying on the board. Instead of going all-out on hard removal we have some alternatives. Crux of Fate and Earthquake are one-sided board wipes, like Balefire Dragon if it connects. Though there needs to be more dragons for it to work, Silumgar, the Drifting Death can act as one while Wasitora, Nekoru Queen can go around hexproof and be particularly useful against voltron decks. Sarkhan's Unsealing transform every dragon into a potential removal spell, much like Terror of the Peaks does. Finally, Ojutai, Soul of Winter is really helpful to force the board open for our dragons to get through.

Should you (not) play this deck ?

Pros

• Dragons. Dragons. Hellkites. Dragons.
• Access to {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}.
• Dragons are a popular tribe and have potential additions every set.
• The Dragon package is swappable. Not fond of Dragonlord Kolaghan ? Sure, swap it for Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund, or any dragon you like if you want.
• Not repetitive.

Cons

• Early game can be problematic, Dragons come at a high price.
• Your commander doesn't get to be cast often.
• Can be inconsistent, unlike Scion of the Ur-Dragon decks.

Why not play X card(s) ?

Notable exclusions

It's not that I'm not opened to suggestions, but some cards that others Ur-Dragon decks run keep popping up so I figured I should list some notable cards that I choose not to run. Of course, wether or not you decide to run them is up to you, no deck is exactly similar to one another, but these are cards I feel do not fit MY version of the deck (or maybe they do and I'm an idiot, works too).

• Crucible of Fire: plain and simple, it's a win-more card. I'd rather sacrifice a +3/+3 for ramp or say a Patriarch's Bidding.
• Dragonlord's Servant and Dragonspeaker Shaman: reducing the colorless mana cost of Dragons is great, especially considering we love our commander for doing it from the command zone. With that said, I'm not a fan of reducing costs on a stick. Herald's Horn and Urza's Incubator both do a better job, being artifacts. That doesn't mean I can't add those two creatures for more consistency, but I find colored ramping to be much more important. Also, having them removed feels bad. That being said, I do run Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma because of said ability, but he also has an interesting triggered ability and bigger body.
• Minion of the Mighty: very powerful... in a vacuum. With the 6 power requirement, I think you'd be lucky to cheat just one dragon into play with this card, let alone 2 or 3. Whatever your Dragon deck, I don't think you'd ever want to run that card. Overall, a bait card, an unreliable waste of a slot.
• Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund: I'd be a hypocrite if I said that a 7/7 haste-enabler for 6 is bad considering that I run Dragonlord Kolaghan. But I do prefer her over Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund for two simple reasons. 1) Kolaghan is already an haste-enabler on a stick, and mostly I just like Kolaghan. That being said, Kolaghan costs {G} less, which I'm not saying matters, if at all, but 2) Nobody in my playgroup plays any Dragon or "gain control of target creature" effect. Karrthus's ability is virtually useless for me.
• Nicol Bolas, the Ravager  : at first, budget issue. But I love the card, so I sat and started to think, what should I cut it for ? Then I realized the Ravager was at worst a 4/4 for 3 who makes every opponents discard a card. At best he's a beast of a Planeswalker, but let's face it, by the time I can invest 7 mana, it'll have been removed. And if he were to flip, he's too big a threat, he wouldn't last a turn and we don't want the whole table against us. Overall I feel he's a very strong cards in 60 formats but not so much here.
• Spit Flame: while {R} is not much of an investment to get it back, even for a deck supposed to be tapped out each turn, {2}{R} each time adds up. I feel like for an extra {1}, Sarkhan's Unsealing does a strictly better job.
• Vampiric Tutor and Demonic Tutor: the answer is mostly budget. Outside of Dragons there are very few cards I'd actively want to draw (Xenagos, God of Revels and the Mirari's Wake do come to mind). As a tutor alternative, Eladamri's Call does a lot considering its price.
• Warstorm Surge: much like Crucible of Fire, I feel it's a win-more card. While the {2} extra mana is justified, I much prefer Sarkhan's Unsealing which costs loss and paints less of a target on our head. Terror of the Peaks is a Warstorm Surge on a body for {2}{R}{R}, and it's a Dragon.

Monolith to the Glorious

Worthy Adversaries

Offer +1 Upvote to the Ur-Dragon and his brood

Other decks

• {G}{U}{R} Sneks on a Plane - Xyris, the Writhing Storm {G}{U}{R}
• {B}{G}{U} X Gon' Give It To Ya - Zaxara, the Examplary {B}{G}{U} (WiP)
• {U}{B} Krothuss wgah'nagl fhtagn - Runo Stromkirk {U}{B} (WiP)
• {G}{U} Constricting Coils - Koma, Cosmos Serpent {G}{U} (WiP)
• {W}{B} Debt to the Deathless - Obzedat, Ghost Council {W}{B} (WiP)

Credit to The Deckcoders' Alliance for the code on this page

Top Ranked	Achieved #24 position overall 6 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Battlecruiser 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Dragons 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Five Color 5 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	11 months
Splash colors	WUB
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	23 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.22
Tokens	Copy Clone, Dragon 1/1 RG, Dragon 4/4 R, Dragon 5/5 R, Dragon 6/6 R
Folders	Commander/EDH, Decks i like, Dragons Change?, Ur-Dragon Ideas, Dragon dynamite, Fire shit, Draconic Domination upgrades, decklists, Commander - Bastien , Want
Based on	Draconic Domination-WUBRG Dragon Tribal C17 PreCon Elfarcher73 EDH