The Dragonmaster

Sheldon Menery

2/29

#EDH

I've been threatening for quite some time to take Karrthus Tyrant of Jund off of his spot as General of a Beast deck and honoring Brian "The Dragonmaster" Kibler's victory at Pro Tour Dark Ascension seems like a ripe opportunity to put Karrthus where he belongs: at the head of a Dragon army. I still haven't decided whether Adun Oakenshield or Xira Arien will pilot the existing Karrthus (and his Beasts) deck.

Before I get to that I want to tell you about the insane play from the last time I was at Armada Games playing in some friendly games before League started. I was playing Kresh the Bloodbraided and Kyle was playing his Treva the Renewer life gain deck. The other two players were already out of the game I was at eleven and Kyle was at somewhere near 100. I had Hamletback Goliath who was pretty large (+20 or so) Primeval Titan and Mikaeus the Unhallowed on the battlefield along with a large pile of land including Phyrexian Tower and Grim Backwoods. Kyle with Leyline of Vitality in play proceeded to drop Palinchron and courtesy of three bounce lands created an infinitely large amount of mana and gained an infinite amount of life. I told him that he needed to pick a number for his life total and he said "80 billion." I then reminded him that Hamletback Goliath was then +320 billion since a four-power Palinchron came into play for every life he gained. He dropped Windbrisk Raptor and Treva but then had nothing else. Kudos to him for not having lame Capsize to go with the infinite life combo.

It was still looking bad for me as I didn't have Kessig Wolf Run (it got Strip Mined earlier) or a way to give Hamletback trample and his twelve-power worth of guys was enough to kill me. I was holding two lands in hand and nothing else. I knocked the top of my deck and got Pelakka Wurm. I felt positively Kibleresque. It was enough life to keep in me in the game since I could cast it gain the seven sacrifice it to Grim Backwoods draw two cards one of which is Acidic Slime to take out the Leyline and the other Devouring Swarm and go to twenty-five. It was still not a winner but it kept me in it. I battled with Primeval Titan just to get more lands. He didn't care about his life total so I couldn't Jedi Mind Trick him into blocking.

On his turn he didn't attack since he really had nothing to gain and everything to lose if he couldn't kill me. The next turn I peeled Yavimaya Elder which turns out is a Human (so no Mikaeus shenanigans). I cast it then sacrificed it to draw a card thinning my deck of the last of its land. The card I drew is Flayer of the Hatebound which is the hope I needed. I cast it then sacrificed it to Grim Backwoods drawing Inferno Titan. When it came back I pinged the Raptor for five. I cast Inferno Titan pinged the Raptor for three more killing it then sacrificed it to Phyrexian Tower bringing it back for seven more to kill Treva. I then used the Devouring Swarm to sacrifice the Primal Titan which came back and blew up Palinchron (technically forced him to bounce it but the result was the same) and came across for all that Hamletback damage. Chicken dinner.

The other insane play was while playing Lord of Tresserhorn: I activated Havengul Lich and cast Mikaeus the Unhallowed out of someone else's yard thereby allowing me to sacrifice all my Zombies—which included Vengeful Dead—to Grimgrin Corpse-Born making corpses of the other players.

I also uncovered an unintended infinite combo in that Lord of Tresserhorn deck: Gravecrawler Goblin Bombardment and Rooftop Storm (plus another Zombie on the battlefield). And in researching this deck (which was going to have Priests added—I was figuring on going with some kind of Dragon Cult theme) I discovered Spine of Ish Sah and Priest of Yawgmoth which while not infinite seems saucy.

I'm going to break this list down a little differently than I have in the past. I'm going to run the list in normal breakdown format and also comment on the individual cards broken down more by functionality groups. I think I might do this a little more often when building decks to keep in mind that there needs to be a number of elements to deck. Even themed decks have to have some utility and the ability to be in the games they play.

The ramp suite is obviously the collection of cards that will help us get to there being a bunch of Dragons in the skies. Board control consists of dealing with other people's stuff en masse and removal is pinpointed destruction. It includes enchantment and artifact destruction as well as creature. Card draw is just that and I've made it a separate group because sometimes I forget to include enough. Graveyard hate is required in this format. I don't advocate dedicating too many slots to it but you need something to keep the insanity in check. Damage is just that—the Dragons bring the hurt all the time.

One of the approaches I took to the deck was to try to be additionally thematic with many of the rest of the spells. You'll notice aggressive language with many of the other spells: Decree of Pain Violent Ultimatum etc. since I figured Dragons are by nature aggressive. I considered putting in the extra combat step stuff like Savage Beating but in the end decided to go with a little more utility. The Dragons come and sweep the landscape before them and then take to the air to dominate the land.

I wanted to make a playable deck that's not a slave to the theme which meant limiting the number of actual Dragons. In Jund colors there are 63 of them so I obviously couldn't pick them all. It's a little mana-greedy which is why the ramp suite is so large. Hopefully I don't spend all my time just ramping and get killed before doing anything else. It's also tilted pretty well towards red which means I'll need to be careful about the basic land balance. Having green early in the game is a must which is why I'll run fetch lands when I'm normally kind of ambivalent about them unless they have a purpose other than smoothing out the land (like landfall or something).

Here's the list in raw decklist format:

LEGENDARY LANDS (1)

Volrath's Stronghold

BASIC LANDS (15)

Mountain 6
Forest 5
Swamp 4

Here's the breakdown:

RAMP SUITE

Cultivate: Gotta get those lands.

Darksteel Ingot: I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of mana rocks since they generally get blown up but the Ingot is indestructible.

Dragonspeaker Shaman: I put this in the ramp suite because it makes stuff cheaper. Obviously ramp puts stuff into play and lands generally stay around all game but the Shaman seems both interesting and thematic.

Exuberant Firestoker: As I was researching the fire and damage theme I came across this guy. He's a little ramp and a little extra damage. It's certainly an outside-the-box choice. If he doesn't work out he can always become Wood Elves.

Gift of the Gargantuan: Lands in the hand dudes in the hand I'm actually not sure about this since there are so many sorceries in the deck. I might eventually change this to Harmonize but we'll see how it runs.

Gilded Lotus: I like this especially since there are a number of things that require three red.

Rampant Growth: The ramp for which Ramp was named.

Sakura-Tribe Elder: Another two-drop for getting lands.

Skyshroud Claim: The lands coming into play untapped probably won't be as important in this deck as it is in others (meaning Explosive Vegetation might be okay in this slot) but the fact that it can get dual lands is key.

Sol Ring: This deck will hang it out there with the mana so I fully expect to occasionally get blown out by an Oblivion Stone.

Solemn Simulacrum: I get one of my ten staples right?

Thran Dynamo: It was this or Worn Powerstone but I figured the extra mana is worth the extra mana.

Yavimaya Elder: OK staple number two. So sue me.

THE DRAGONS

Balefire Dragon: I really wanted all or most of the Dragons to do some kind of double-duty and this one sets the standard. He's a must-block.

Bladewing the Risen: One of the things I (and many other EDH players) love is recursion and this deck is quite weak in that regard (intentionally since I do it with lots of other decks). Bladewing is a slight nod in that direction.

Darigaaz the Igniter: The hand reveal is a little more important than the few points of damage. Darigaaz was one of the dragons on the bubble but his iconic status led me to keep him.

Dragon Broodmother: Can't have a Dragon deck without a mom.

Dragon Roost: The card draw suite is a little weak so I thought that having the enchantment that creates dudes would be a good idea. It's kind of like card draw. Okay it's nothing like card draw but it's something to do with mana. Maybe I should be playing Braid of Fire.

Dragonmaster Outcast: Boom Dragons. No one will kill this guy with spot removal instead saving it for more dangerous creatures.

Flameblast Dragon: Rawr take some to the face. This guy made me think about putting Mage Slayer in the deck.

Hellkite Charger: I feel okay playing this guy since I'm not including Bear Umbra for infinite attacks. Getting a second attack step however could swing some games.

Hoard-Smelter Dragon: Another double-duty card you don't really need to use this guy in combat to get value.

Kargan Dragonlord: He's an early drop who can get quite large. Given the small number of small dudes in the deck it's a nice starter. Late game he's either nine mana for an 8/8 trampler or something to discard to Greater Good.

Knollspine Dragon: This could also go into the card draw suite. It'll be nice to connect on an empty hand.

Moonveil Dragon: I'm mostly playing this because it's new. It's not like I have an army of guys to fire-breathe up but even a few points for a few big guys can be a difference-maker.

Mordant Dragon: Another you need to block this guy scenario the Mordant Dragon will take out annoying utility creatures.

Ryusei the Falling Star: I like the imagery of him hitting the graveyard exploding and roasting everything on the ground. Having the option to sacrifice him to Greater Good in response to an Avenger's Landfall trigger seems like some good protection.

Sarkhan Vol: Yeah he has two other abilities but I'm focused on his ultimate. The more I think about it the more I wonder why I'm not playing him in other decks. All his abilities are pretty damn good.

Scourge of Kher Ridges: Mostly there to control the ground but I'm sure there are situations where the other flyers might get out of hand.

Steel Hellkite: More board control in steely flying form.

BOARD CONTROL

Blasphemous Act: When you need it it only costs R and it kills nearly everything.

Damnation: When other players get off to a better start than you Damnation will save your day.

Pernicious Deed: It's both a downside and an upside that this doesn't wipe out Planeswalkers.

REMOVAL

Ashes to Ashes: Given how gloriously good recursion is in the format I've been on a bit of an exile kick lately. I'll gladly eat five damage to get rid of (for good) two things that are plaguing me. Note that it's one of the few targeted black removal spells that can take care of black creatures.

Beast Within: Sometimes you just need to get rid of something good. Whatever you're targeting with it is likely better than the 3/3 you're giving them.

Chaos Warp: Kind of like Beast Within only there's a shot that they'll get something better and a shot that they'll get nothing at all. It can also be key in dealing with problematic Generals. If I have this in hand early and one of those Generals like Azusa or Omanth (here's looking at you Michelle!) comes out he's getting shuffled in.

Decimate: People avoid playing this because they think they won't have targets. In an EDH game I'd say you're in the exceptional circumstance if you don't have targets.

Hull Breach: Usually you pay extra for the kind of flexibility that Hull Breach gives you. In this case you don't.

Into the Core: Again on the exile kick. It's an instant which is huge. You must have two targets since it doesn't say up to two…

Invader Parasite: At first blush this seems like this is there to punish the mana ramp guys but I'm actually intending on using to take care of the problem lands like Academy Ruins Cabal Coffers and friends. At one more mana than Ravenous Baboons the one extra power and the exiling are well worth it.

Maelstrom Pulse: I've recently come around to the value of Maelstrom Pulse in the format. I wanted to squeeze in both this and Sever the Bloodline but there just wasn't room. I have other ways of taking care of creature swarms which is what I think I fear most.

Strip Mine: There are savagely good lands in the format and they must die.

Ulamog the Infinite Gyre: The deck is also weak on recursion so I thought Ulamog the right choice to do a little double-duty.

Violent Ultimatum: By the time I can cast this I know there will be three things that I really want to wreck plus it fit in with the violence theme.

Wasteland: See Strip Mine.

DAMAGE

Comet Storm: I like this as a finisher and I don't need infinite mana to do it. I'm surprised we don't see more of it.

Earthquake: All your ground-pounders are belong to us. And when I say us I mean the graveyard.

Fault Line: A hidden gem if there ever was one. The thing is an instant! I was thinking about this vs. Inferno but this is just better.

Kessig Wolf Run: I put this in the damage space because the trample part will enable blocked guys to do some extra damage and in a long game could provide the tip over the top.

Lavalanche: I don't necessarily like targeting one person but when one person gets out of hand you need to rein them in.

Sarkhan the Mad: This is the first card that I knew I wanted to put into the deck. Boom!

Skarrg the Rage Pits: Again trample means getting through to the player.

Warstorm Surge: I will not get upset when someone blows up this thing. Especially with the giant Dragons it will be a killer or a sweeper.

CARD DRAW

Decree of Pain: I didn't know whether to put this in board control or card draw but the card draw section was looking a little weak. Don't undervalue the cycling end of this for when those Avenger Landfall triggers go on the stack.

Fierce Empath: Putting exactly the Dragon I want into my hand is definitely card draw. Well I guess it's technically Tutoring but you get the point.

Greater Good: I wish there was something like Greater Good that I could play instead but there isn't anything and big guys mean big draws. I suspect that Greater Good will be the fate of Ulamog most of the time.

Momentous Fall: Life gain and card draw at the same time in cheap package. There aren't any Lords of Extinction or Hamletback Goliaths here so it won't ever be that absurd but then again I won't have to worry about decking myself with it. Stealing someone else's ridiculous guy (The Mimeoplasm anyone?) with Sarkhan and then sacrificing it to this would be tech.

GRAVEYARD HATE

Bojuka Bog: This and the bounce lands should provide some graveyard cover. It's not the most robust but it'll do.

Scrabbling Claws: It can eventually be a cantrip. I'm not a Relic of Progenitus fan since I like my graveyard (especially shuffled back into my deck).

OTHER UTILTY

Anger: I actually don't play this much so I figured I'd give it a whirl. Haste wins games.

Basilisk Collar: The Collar combos nicely with a few of the Dragons such as Scourge of Kher Ridges and Mordant Dragon.

Dragon Breath: Haste is an underrated ability in this format. I just have to remember that these enchantments are in my graveyard.

Dragon Fangs: Again with the Trample.

Dragon Shadow: Fear is probably the weakest ability among these so Dragon Shadow's inclusion is more about completeness than anything. While playing the deck if I find it lacking I'll definitely replace it.

Insurrection: I haven't played this card in forever and since Karrthus Insurrections Dragons I felt it was in flavor. Bow to the awesome might of Karrthus and his minions! Join us or die! Or join us and die!

Kiki-Jiki Mirror Breaker: Another card that I don't play because I don't like being associated with infinite combos I chose KJ because 1) it's good and 2) double Dragon.

Quicksilver Amulet: A way to put really expensive stuff into play for cheap and as an instant. It's not a linchpin for the deck but when I have it and keep it out it'll be quite good.

Volrath's Stronghold: Sometimes you just need to get back your guys. Again since the recursion in the deck is moderately weak it deserves a slot. I think that it'll be less likely to get blown up by people after they see the deck run a few times since I don't have lots of enters the battlefield trigger creatures.

You'll notice no Primeval Titan which this mana-hungry deck would probably really love in order to get out all those lands it'll need. The primary reason I'm not including it is that we're doing an experiment in the next iteration of the Armada Games EDH League: we're in-store banning Prime Time for one League iteration. This is a fact-finding mission but it is not—I repeat is not—a lead up to banning it in the format. Do not panic and sell all the copies you have. We just want to see if it actually matters and creates more fun games or if the games feel any less degenerate. I strongly suspect that neither will be true. Bomby-ness is a hallmark of the format and the Prime Time fosters that. Some decks in some games will get slowed down a touch and the decks that rely on early Cabal Coffers/Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth will suffer but I think that's about it. I'll continue to disagree that Prime Time is bad for the format and certainly not nearly as bad as the card folks keep comparing it to (faultily IMO) Kokusho. I'll keep reporting back on what we find.

Karrthus and his Dragons raining fire from the sky seems like a viable way to Embrace the Chaos. As designed I'm slightly worried about the high mana curve and its color-greediness but we'll see if the ramp suite can help overcome that and how it does in play.

#EDH

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About Sheldon Menery

Judge Emeritus Sheldon Menery is one of the most influential judges in the history of the game. He popularized Magic Q&A here on SCG with "Ask the Judge" and was a leading force in redefining fair play at the professional level. He pioneered Commander and is the public face of the format. He has Head Judged countless Pro Tours, World Championships, and Grand Prix and has played in five National Championships. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Gretchyn and their five cats: Dasher, Cupid, Comet, Vito, and Vixen.

SheldonMenery

The Dragonmaster

ARTIFACTS (7)

CREATURES (19)

ARTIFACT CREATURES (2)

LEGENDARY CREATURES (5)

ENCHANTMENTS (7)

INSTANTS (5)

PLANESWALKERS (2)

SORCERIES (16)

LANDS (21)