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Thread: [EDH] Scion of the Ur-Dragon (Hermit Druid Combo)

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    [EDH] Scion of the Ur-Dragon (Hermit Druid Combo)



    Lands: (34)

    Scrubland
    Badlands
    Savannah
    Taiga
    Tundra
    Volcanic Island
    Bayou
    Tropical Island
    Underground Sea

    Overgrown Tomb
    Watery Grave
    Breeding Pool

    Arid Mesa
    Windswept Heath
    Wooded Foothills
    Verdant Catacombs
    Misty Rainforest
    Bloodstained Mire
    Polluted Delta
    Marsh Flats
    Flooded Strand
    Scalding Tarn

    Sunken Ruins
    Twilight Mire
    Flooded Grove

    Forbidden Orchard
    Gemstone Mine
    Tarnished Citadel
    City of Brass
    Reflecting Pool
    Command Tower
    Exotic Orchard

    Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
    Cavern of Souls

    Acceleration: (5)

    Mana Crypt
    Sol Ring
    Birds of Paradise
    Carpet of Flowers
    Lotus Petal

    Tutors: (18)

    Imperial Seal
    Grim Tutor
    Demonic Tutor
    Vampiric Tutor
    Mystical Tutor
    Personal Tutor
    Muddle the Mixture
    Intuition
    Survival of the Fittest
    Dimir Infiltrator
    Worldly Tutor
    Sylvan Tutor
    Green Sun's Zenith
    Lim-Dûl's Vault
    Shred Memory
    Eladamri's Call
    Gamble
    Imperial Recruiter

    Protection: (11)

    Force of Will
    Mana Drain
    Misdirection
    Sylvan Safekeeper
    Pact of Negation
    Mizzium Skin
    Vines of Vastwood
    Ranger’s Guile
    Mental Misstep
    Mother of Runes
    Spellskite

    Recursion: (12)

    Reanimate
    Regrowth
    Yawgmoth's Will
    Dread Return
    Memory’s Journey
    Postmortem Lunge
    Shallow Grave
    Corpse Dance
    Pull from Eternity
    Unearth
    Nostalgic Dreams
    Snapcaster Mage

    The Combo: (7)

    Hermit Druid
    Narcomoeba
    Fatestitcher
    Angel of Glory's Rise
    Azami, Lady of Scrolls
    Laboratory Maniac
    Dregscape Zombie

    Removal, etc: (12)

    Gilded Drake
    Abrupt Decay
    Beast Within
    Brainstorm
    Nature's Claim
    Ancient Grudge
    Swords to Plowshares
    Pongify
    Deep Analysis
    Cyclonic Rift
    Frantic Search
    Gitaxian Probe

    Most people don't think of broken one card combos when you tell them you have a Scion of the Ur-Dragon EDH deck. It's not like Scion of the Ur-Dragon screams combo when you read his abilities. He seems like the perfect general for a dragon theme deck and he is, but he's also the best five-color general hands down. This makes Scion of the Ur-Dragon the best general for supporting the most broken one-card combo in EDH.



    Hermit Druid is so powerful as to be worth devoting an entire deck to finding, protecting, and activating him. The deck doesn't need much in the way of a backup plan, because what's going to win through a turn three Hermit Druid activation with two to three pieces of removal, protection, or countermagic? With this deck, you're letting your opponents know what you're up to almost immediately and daring them to stop you. They won't be able to most of the time.

    How the combo works:

    Activate Hermit Druid. This will put your entire library into your graveyard because you run no basic lands. Narcomoeba will trigger and be put onto the battlefield. Pay U to unearth Fatestitcher, tap Fatestitcher to untap a land that can produce black mana. Use this land to unearth Dregscape Zombie. You now have at least three creatures which you can sacrifice to Dread Return Angel of Glory's Rise. Angel of Glory's Rise's, trigger will return Azami, Lady of Scrolls, Laboratory Maniac, Sylvan Safekeeper, Imperial Recruiter, and Hermit Druid to the battlefield. Use Azami, Lady of Scrolls to tap Laboratory Maniac, Sylvan Safekeeper, or herself to draw a card and win the game (via Laboratory Maniac's ability). If someone tries to deal with Laboratory Maniac in response to drawing a card, give it shroud with Sylvan Safekeeper or tap another Wizard to win the game in response. About the only cards that can stop this once Dread Return resolves are Stifle on Angel of Glory's Rise's trigger and split second cards.

    Now wait a minute...

    "Isn't this combo easy to disrupt?" you might ask. Creature removal, countermagic, graveyard hate, and Pithing Needle all disrupt the combo. What happens if Hermit Druid gets exiled? Even a well timed bounce spell on a creature can prevent Dread Return from being cast.

    It's a lot harder to disrupt Hermit Druid than you think.

    Let's look at the worst case scenario --- after activating Hermit Druid your Dread Return is counterspelled, one of your three creatures to cast it is killed/bounced, or someone Faerie Macabres your Angel of Glory's Rise in response to your Dread Return. Your entire library is in your graveyard and you can't use your combo. It looks hopeless, right?

    Not at all.

    Pull from Eternity and Memory's Journey can save you from almost any situation. By using Pull from Eternity to bring back an exiled Memory's Journey, you can slowly draw any card in your 99 as many times as you need to post-Hermit Druid activation. It's not an ideal situation to be in, but you're never truly hopeless as long as you can cycle Pull from Eternity and Memory's Journey.

    What if Hermit Druid is exiled? If Hermit Druid is exiled, you can tutor for Pull from Eternity to put him into your graveyard and then use Shallow Grave or Postmortem Lunge to combo without hardly missing a beat.

    Let's look at some common cards that stop our combo and how many cards we run that get around them:

    Tormod's Crypt: 8 cards (Abrupt Decay, Ancient Grudge, Nature's Claim, Beast Within, Force of Will, Mana Drain, Pact of Negation, Cyclonic Rift)

    Relic of Progenitus: 9 cards (Abrupt Decay, Ancient Grudge, Nature's Claim, Beast Within, Force of Will, Mana Drain, Pact of Negation, Mental Misstep, Cyclonic Rift)

    Nihil Spellbomb: 9 cards ([cards]Abrupt Decay, Ancient Grudge, Nature's Claim, Beast Within, Force of Will, Mana Drain, Pact of Negation, Mental Misstep, Cyclonic Rift)

    Leyline of the Void: 3 - 6 cards (Nature's Claim, Beast Within, Cyclonic Rift, possibly Force of Will, Mana Drain, Pact of Negation)

    Swords to Plowshares/Path to Exile: 11 cards (Force of Will, Mana Drain, Pact of Negation, Spellskite, Muddle the Mixture, Mental Misstep, Mizzium Skin, Vines of Vastwood, Ranger's Guile, Mother of Runes, Sylvan Safekeeper)

    You get the idea. These counts don't even include cards that can tutor for answers. It's not uncommon for this deck to be able to play through 2-3 pieces of hate without breaking a sweat.

    Give Hermit Dru--- err, Scion of the Ur-Dragon a whirl. You'll be surprised at how powerful, consistent, and resilient it is.

    Questions:

    What can be done to make the deck more optimal/consistent?

    Are any card choices sub-par?
    Last edited by Kuma; 03-02-2013 at 03:08 PM.
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