Mono-Red Dragon Burn and Beatdown

[ZillaSmasher]

Ever since I laid eyes on Dragon Tempest I knew I had to build a deck around it, considering dragons are my favorite mythical creature. Main strategy of the deck is to get out Dragon Tempest ASAP then summon dragon after dragon to beat and burn your opponent down. Utvara Hellkite is the mvp of the deck in that regard considering it doubles your Dragon count every time your Dragons attack, inflicting massive burn damage while giving more blockers and attackers.

Currently I only want monsters with Flying in my deck so that every creature I summon while Dragon Tempest is out gains Haste and can attack the turn it is summoned. Might try to tech in Green for things like Atarka, World Render, Dragonlord Atarka, Atarka's Command, and Sarkhan Vol. Suggestions and constructive criticism are both welcome.



Creature (16)
4x Thunderbreak Regent
3x Balefire Dragon
3x Thundermaw Hellkite
3x Flameblast Dragon
2x Utvara Hellkite
1x Hellkite Charger

Instant (8)
4x Seething Song
4x Lightning Bolt

Sorcery (7)
4x Chain Lightning
3x Geosurge

Enchantment (4)
4x Dragon Tempest

Artifact (4)
4x Ruby Medallion

Planeswalker (1)
1x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

Land (20)
20x Mountain

[Weapon X]

Why not just play dragonstorm and slot that in? Playing so much chaff doesn't sound like a basis for a competetive deck.

[Ace/Homebrew]

Mostly this...

Playing so much chaff doesn't sound like a basis for a competetive deck.

What is the context for the list you posted?

Is your intention to attend sanctioned Legacy events and do well?
Or is this more about playing dragons against friends?

Neither is better than the other, but if your intentions are casual the place to get the best feedback is here: Cavius' Casual and Budget Forum (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?56-Cavius-Casual-and-Budget-Forum).

---------------------------

Whether you want to play casually or competitively, here is some advice. :smile:

Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse literally do nothing for you but put a land into play that you cannot use until your next turn. These are easily cut in place of more Mountains. If the idea is that these lands help 'thin' the deck to let you draw business, the idea is false. It doesn't work that way. The math says you need to use 4 of them in order to theoretically draw a non-land instead of a land. Most games are going to be over long before you crack the 4th one of the 6 you play. And no, I'm not suggesting you play more of them!

What does Manamorphose do for you? You are mono-red, so it certainly doesn't fix colors... Is it because it says "Draw a card"? If that is the only reason, then you should be playing a card you'd like to draw rather than Manamorphose. ***I just saw the single copy of Dragonstorm in the list.*** I assume Manamorphose is to generate storm? I actually think you would benefit from cutting both cards completely. Note that you cannot play Dragonstorm off of Geosurge.

I think your list would be stronger if you maxed out on Dragons like Thunderbreak Regent and Thundermaw Hellkite instead of the dragons that cost 7 or 8 mana.

As a general rule, cards that are type 'enchantment-aura' are awful or win-more.

The correct number of Lightning Bolts in a list is either 0 or 4. I suggest using 4 and further would recommend Chain Lightning to bring the number to 8.

[ZillaSmasher]

Mostly this...


What is the context for the list you posted?

Is your intention to attend sanctioned Legacy events and do well?
Or is this more about playing dragons against friends?

Neither is better than the other, but if your intentions are casual the place to get the best feedback is here: Cavius' Casual and Budget Forum (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?56-Cavius-Casual-and-Budget-Forum).

Thank you for the feedback. I'm currently playing this as a casual/somewhat budget deck with my friends, so I'll post it in the casual forum later. As for your suggestions, I'll take out Manamorphose for Chain Lightning, replace the 6 Fetch Lands with 6 Mountains, and take out Claws of Valakut and Dragonstorm to bump Thundermaw to 3 and both Lighting Bolt and Thunderbreak to 4.

[Begle1]

As far as "serious" decks with lots of Dragon's go, Dragonstorm is one of the best things you can do. A deck full of rituals (Rite of Flame/ Desperate Ritual/ Pyretic Ritual/ Infernal Plunge/ Seething Song/ Geosurge) along with Dragonstorm is a very solid thing. Dragonstorm has a competitive pedigree, usually fetching 4 Bogardan Hellkite's to insta-kill the opponent.

However, as you "optimize" a Dragonstorm deck, you end up taking out alot of the dragons and replacing them with rituals and card draw spells (like Faithless Looting). Past in Flames would be fun too. It ends up being a mono-red Storm combo deck that may only have four dragons in it.

Since the deck is more-or-less banned out of Modern, the essential parts are all affordable.



The other Legacy deck with dragons is "Dragon Stompy", which also doesn't necessarily play that many dragons... It just tries to make 3 mana on the first turn and lock out the opponent with a Blood Moon or Trinisphere, and then beat them up with whatever dragon (or other threat) it can cast a few turns later. Most "Dragon Stompy" decks don't even use dragons anymore, but they come and go. Thunderbreak and Thundermaw (and especially Rakdos Pit Dragon) all have a history there.



Seems like there could be a Dragonstorm deck in Legacy, that does a Stompy impersonation with Blood Moons and Chalice of the Void, but can also use rituals to combo out a Dragonstorm as a win condition...

[Ace/Homebrew]

As for your suggestions, I'll take out Manamorphose for Chain Lightning, replace the 6 Fetch Lands with 6 Mountains, and take out Claws of Valakut and Dragonstorm to bump Thundermaw to 3 and both Lighting Bolt and Thunderbreak to 4.
How have the changes been for you?

[ZillaSmasher]

How have the changes been for you?
Been going well. Kinda wish I still had Dragonstorm but I'm better off without it.

[ZillaSmasher]

How have the changes been for you?
4x Dragon Egg
4x Thunderbreak Regent
3x Thundermaw Hellkite
2x Steel Hellkite
2x Balefire Dragon
1x Utvara Hellkite
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Seething Song
2x Sarkhan's Triumph
4x Chain Lightning
4x Dragon Tempest
4x Ruby Medallion
22x Mountain

Made some more changes. What do you think?

[Ace/Homebrew]

Made some more changes. What do you think?

Dragon Egg was a nice find for the low end of your curve. :wink:

I'm not the biggest fan of Ruby Medallion though.
Have you looked at Dragonlord's Servant or Dragonspeaker Shaman? They effectively do the same thing, but can also attack (and are flavorful).

Just throwing these cards out there, because they seem like fun, flavorful cards:
Dragonmaster Outcast
Crucible of Fire


I like that Dragonmaster gives you something to do on turn 1, even though he isn't relevant until turn 7 (assuming you hit every land drop). He seems fun, but not really competitive.
Crucible of Fire lets you rely more on your low cost Dragons in case you cannot find a ritual to power out your top-end threats.

[ZillaSmasher]

Dragon Egg was a nice find for the low end of your curve. :wink:

I'm not the biggest fan of Ruby Medallion though.
Have you looked at Dragonlord's Servant or Dragonspeaker Shaman? They effectively do the same thing, but can also attack (and are flavorful).

Just throwing these cards out there, because they seem like fun, flavorful cards:
Dragonmaster Outcast
Crucible of Fire


I like that Dragonmaster gives you something to do on turn 1, even though he isn't relevant until turn 7 (assuming you hit every land drop). He seems fun, but not really competitive.
Crucible of Fire lets you rely more on your low cost Dragons in case you cannot find a ritual to power out your top-end threats.

Why do you not like Ruby Medallion? I'm also looking to add a board wiping burn spell or 2 like Anger of the Gods, Flamebreak, or Pyroclasm. You have any suggestions for what to switch out and which one do you think would be the best?

[Ace/Homebrew]

Why do you not like Ruby Medallion?
Well, let's compare Dragonlord's Servant to Ruby Medallion in the updated list you posted!

4x Dragon Egg
4x Thunderbreak Regent
3x Thundermaw Hellkite
2x Steel Hellkite
2x Balefire Dragon
1x Utvara Hellkite
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Seething Song
2x Sarkhan's Triumph
4x Chain Lightning
4x Dragon Tempest
22x Mountain

Ruby Medallion gives you no cost reduction for Steel Hellkite, Lightning Bolt, and Chain Lightning.
Dragonlord's Servant gives you no cost reduction for Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Seething Song, Sarkhan's Triumph, and Dragon Tempest.

Both come down turn 2 and color requirements are negligible because you are only running Mountains.
Based on the title of this thread, the goal is Burn and Beatdown. So I would make the argument that a 1/3 creature is better at accomplishing that plan than a :2: mana artifact. It can be the extra attacker you need to win or the early blocker if your opponent is more aggressive than you.


I'm also looking to add a board wiping burn spell or 2 like Anger of the Gods, Flamebreak, or Pyroclasm. You have any suggestions for what to switch out and which one do you think would be the best?

I would suggest Pyroclasm because Dragonlord's Servant and all your creatures (except the Egg :wink:) survive it. I personally would cut Sarkhan's Triumph for it.