[Primer] Six Shades of Dressnought aka Vaka-Nought

[Clark Kant]

Dress Down is an incredibly synergistic addition to Stiflenought. Dress Down has significant utility beyond the combo, works beautifully with Uro and also cantrips so that your Dreadnought getting Sworded doesn't set you back. Instead it just gains you 12 life for the cost of two mana while maintaining card parity. And that's the floor for the card. The ceiling is that one single swing with Dreadnought wins the game while your opponent is still searching for a removal spell. Dress Down finally made Dreadnought a competitive legacy level card. This deck initially started development as Vaka Nought but the Dressnought name seems like the better route to go since Vaka Nought was based on an inside joke that few people understand. Here is the original thread this deck originated in... https://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/...12s-and-Titans

The game plan for every Dressnought list is to disrupt your opponent's manabase with Stifle and Wasteland, disrupt their win conditions using Daze, FoW or Dress Down, and win using a Dreadnought and either Uro or Dragon's Rage Channeler (alongside Lazav to abuse the Surveil shenanigans) while they are still rebuilding. Dress Down makes this game plan much more consistent with a much smaller floor should the Dreadnought be destroyed. Stifle should be aimed primarily at fetchlands/wastelands when the matchup allows. Stifling the Dreadnought trigger makes sense against decks that are not playing either white or black, and against decks that are focused on comboing out quickly and thus do not pack maindeck removal. But in the majority of matchups, you should aim your early game Stifles at Wastelands/Fetchlands and dig for a Dress Down when you want to slam a 12/12 Dreadnought. The optimal time to cast Dress Down is during the end step of your opponent's turn. This gives you access to all of your mana on your subsequent turn that you cast any combination of Dreadnought(s) along with a titan like Uro/Kroxa on your subsequent turn.

I would like to share the six lists here that I have had fun playing and winning with and I hope that people here have input on how to turn multiple 4-1s into 5-0s. One approach might be to cut Daze and go for a slower more controllish and less tempo based gameplan, by adding Walkers and Urza’s Sagas. But the tempo strategy has won me a lot of games, so I am hesistant to cut Daze and go the grindier approach. I attempted to take that route for the Sultai build. It could also work in Bant, since Bant Control is already a well defined archeatype and putting up strong results without the aid of the Dressnought combo, so adding Dressnought to the list is going to win games, but it would remain up in the air if the wins are due to the Bant Control shell or due to the addition of the Dressnought package. Stifle pairs so well with Dreadnought that overall, I think Daze + Stifle + Wasteland is the correct route to go with this deck. I would love to see other’s brews and ideas shared here as well...


Simic Dressnought

3 Wasteland
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Prismatic Vista
3 Tropical Island
3 Snow-Covered Island
2 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Urza's Saga

4 Stifle
4 Dress Down
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Sylvan Library
1 Ice-Fang Coatl
1 Brazen Borrower

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
1 Force of Negation
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard:
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
1 Flusterstorm
1 Divert
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Wilt
2 Veil of Summer
2 Carpet of Flowers
3 Endurance

Above is the Simic List list I sent to BoshNRoll when I saw Dress Down spoiled, to play through a league due to my laptop's issues with mtgo and frequent crashes when attempting to record mtgo leagues. In hindsight, this list should have been maindecking either a Soul-Guide Lantern or Pithing Needle, but this oversight didn't stop him from 4-1ing with the list, only losing to Oops All Spells which ironically is a very favorable match-up for Dressnought. His 4-1 video is linked below. Its a fun watch and provides excellent guidance to playing Dressnought correctly...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETm2CazPDq8

PAV67 subsequently 5-0ed with a nearly identical list... https://magic.wizards.com/en/article...21-06-19#pav_-


Bant Dressnought

4 Wasteland
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Flooded Strand
3 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Karakas
1 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Forest

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Stifle
4 Dress Down
4 Force of Will
3 Daze

3 Prismatic Ending
1 Swords to Plowshares

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
2 Sylvan Library
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Ice-Fang Coatl
1 Brazen Borrower
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard:
3 Endurance
2 Knight of Autumn
2 Carpet of Flowers
1 Serenity
1 Karakas
1 Brazen Borrower
1 Containment Priest
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Mother of Runes
1 Pithing Needle
1 Swords to Plowshares

Prismatic Ending is such as amazing and versatile card. The Simic list above evolved to Bant due to how powerful and versatile Prismatic Ending is, and I have since 4-1ed with a list very close to the above list.

I am currently testing Terminus in the list (adding Portent to set it up) as being able to wrath opposing creature based decks for a single mana is incredibly powerful. Terminus pairs really well with your win conditions since your never have to worry about losing your own threats to Terminus. Everything synergies well. If youre playing an opponent packing StP, Dreadnought gains you 12 life which buys you time to stabilize. If your opponents do not play white based removal, Uro is a nightmare for them to deal with. If you have either a Dreadnought or Uro on the board, your guys are bigger than your opponents and you don't need to use Terminus. But if they manage to kill your Dreadnought/Uro, you simply wrath the board for a single mana which buys you a bunch of time to try again. Your cantrips work well really well at enabling Terminus and digging for threats/answers. I think this is the correct direction for Bant Dressnought to take...

3-4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

4 Ponder
3 Portent
3 Prismatic Ending
3 Terminus
1 Soul-Guide Lantern

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will

3-4 Stifle
4 Dress Down
1 Sylvan Library

1-4 Urza's Saga
17-20 Other Lands

I am still trying to iron out exactly how many Urza's Sagas and Wastelands to run in the list, and which second utility artifact to pair with Urza's Saga (Retrofitter vs Pithing) and if I should opt to run 0 Wasteland, 4 Sagas and cut a Dreadnought or Stifle or two due to Saga being able to tutor them up when needed.


Sultai Dressnought

4 Thoughtseize
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
3 Force of Will
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Witherbloom Command
1 Daze
1 Force of Negation
1 Mishra’s Bauble
1 Nihil Spellbomb/Pithing Needle

4 Stifle
4 Dress Down

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
2 Baleful Strix

1 Bayou
2 Urza's Saga
2 Wasteland
2 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Polluted Delta
4 Misty Rainforest

Sideboard:
3 Endurance
2 Carpet of Flowers
2 Plague Engineer
2 Sudden Edict
1 Pithing Needle
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Flusterstorm
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Damping Sphere
1 Hullbreacher

Baleful Strix being an artifact synergizes well with Urza’s Saga and Saga works well in this grindier midrange approach alongside utility cards like Needle and Spellbomb. Witherbloom Command has proven to be surprisingly versatile and maindeckable alongside Uro making even the mill mode on the card very useful.

There is a very different direction that the above list can viably take. Swap the Urza's Sagas out with Wastelands, swap out Needle and Spellbomb for Dazes and maybe even swap Baleful Strix for Tarmogoyf or Brazen Borrower or some other utility card, that list would look as below. I opted to take a grinder route built around Urza's Saga but cutting the Sagas for Wastelands, and replacing the maindeck artifacts with Dazes and other cards absolutely has merit and would bring this list closer to the other versions of Dressnought. That list would look as below...

4 Thoughtseize
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
3 Daze
3 Force of Will
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Witherbloom Command
1 Force of Negation

4 Stifle
4 Dress Down

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
1 Endurance/Tarmogoyf
1 Sylvan Library/Baleful Strix
1 Brazen Borrower/Jace

1 Bayou
2 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Polluted Delta
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Wasteland


Dimir Dressnought

4 Thoughtseize
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
2-3 Daze

4 Stifle
3-4 Dress Down
1-2 Mishra’s Bauble
1 Nihil Spellbomb/Pithing Needle
0-1 Retrofitter Foundry
0-3 Hymn to Tourach

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
2 Baleful Strix
1-2 Lazav, the Multifarious
1-2 Brazen Borrower
0-1 Hunted Horror

1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Flooded Strand
2 Wasteland
2-4 Urza's Saga
4 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
4 Misty Rainforest

Possibly the strongest Dimir Dressnought list would pair it with 4 Death's Shadow as Dress Down turns Shadow into a 13/13 the turn that you swing with it. I ultimately opted to leave Death's Shadow out as there is a whole seperate thread devoted to that specific strategy here... https://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/...8-Death-Nought

I've gone back and forth on maximizing to 4 Urza's Saga as a way to tutor up Dreadnought consistently since you do not have Uro as a backup threat, and this approach seems to be working well, significantly more so than playing Hunted Horror to act as additional copies of Dreadnought.

The above list is the least finalized list in the thread and I am strongly considering scrapping development on this list until some new tech comes up, as Dimir Dressnought performs subpar to the other five alternatives for now. It likely needs some additional tweaking as Ive at times even maindecked Hunted Horror due to the deck otherwise becoming too reliant on Dreadnought and thus vulnerable to Surgical Extraction. I am also exploring leaning heavily on the mana denial approach by utilizing Sinkhole to supplement the 4 Stifle and up to 4 Wasteland. Alternatively, Dauthi Voidwalker is an incredibly powerful card and potentially an excellent alternative threat to Dreadnought that serves double duty by hating out other legacy decks. Going this direction might make Dark Ritual a consideration as well but would probably add to much inconsistency to the deck. Dauthi Voidwalker has consistently overperformed but I haven't found room for it maindeck yet.


Grixis Dressnought

4 Thoughtseize
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
3 Force of Will
1 Force of Negation
1-3 Mishra’s Bauble
0-1 Nihil Spellbomb/Retrofitter Foundry

4 Stifle
3-4 Dress Down

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
1-4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
1 Lazav, the Multifarious
0-1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

1-4 Urza's Saga
2-3 Wasteland
1-2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Badlands
2-3 Underground Sea
2-3 Volcanic Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn

Channeler and Lazav pair so incredibly well together. The additional Surveils that Channeler provides are great at helping dig a large threat into your yard for Lazav to copy, while also helping to dig for a Dress Down if you do not have a Lazav in play.

As for utilizing this powerful interaction, the two directions to take the deck is to either play 4 Urza's Sagas to help nab Dreadnought and drop Kroxa or to play Kroxa due to being able to escape it thanks to Surveil fairly easily. Kroxa is no where near as powerful as Uro which is why I never play more than 1-2 copies and cutting this Titan entirely and possibly replacing it with Gurmag Angler might not be a bad direction for the deck above either.


Temur Dressnought

4 Wasteland
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Volcanic Island
2 Tropical Island
1 Taiga
1 Snow-Covered Island

4 Stifle
4 Dress Down
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
2-3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
1-2 Brazen Borrower
1-2 Sylvan Library

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3-4 Daze
3-4 Force of Will
1 Force of Negation

Sideboard:
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Brazen Borrower
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Wilt
1 Endurance
2 Veil of Summer
2 Carpet of Flowers
2 Pyroblast
2 Abrade

I opted to take the Temur list in a hyper aggressive direction, similar to Temur Delver. Until they get run over by a Dreadnought, your opponents will think they are playing vs Delver and will heavily focus on countering or killing DRC/Ragavan asap, and will expect Lightning Bolt and will thus value their life total highly when casting Ad Nauseam or utilizing Sylvan Library. In doing so, your smaller threats really function to draw out removal and counterspells that would have otherwise hit your Dreadnought or Uro. Your smaller threats also all generate pseudo card advantage (DRC's surveil trigger helps you dig for your Dress Downs while filling up your yard for Uro, meanwhile Ragavan makes treasure tokens and lets you cast your opponents cantrips to help dig for combo pieces). The small threats also serve to ping at your opponents life total so that a single swing with either a Dreadnought or a Uro wins the game.

Surveil is such an incredibly strong ability and boot strapping it to Channeler made it very abusable. DRC is incredible at helping you dig for combo pieces and filling your yard to escape Uro multiple times if you do not win in the early game itself on the back of a 12/12 trampler. The main weakness with this approach is that the only interaction that you have game one with your opponent's game plan is Daze, Force, Brazen, Stifle, Wasteland and Dress Down (against specific matchups). Postboard, you have quite a bit more interaction with your opponent, but the sideboard should probably gain additional graveyard hate.

Maindecking an Endurance or two is solid in the current meta in the Uro builds. But doing that requires that Ponder be replaced with Abundant Harvest.

Or maindecking Abundant Growth in the Urza's Saga heavy builds or the Dragon's Rage Channeler builds, ala...

0-4 Urza's Saga
16-20 Other Lands

4 Stifle
4 Dress Down
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
3 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
2-4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
2-4 Mishra’s Bauble
1-2 Brazen Borrower
1-2 Sylvan Library
0-4 Abundant Harvest
0-2 Abundant Growth
0-3 Endurance

4 Brainstorm
0-4 Ponder
3 Daze
4 Force of Will

The above is my wildest brew. I only had the chance to play the above list twice (once with 3 Urza’s Saga and 3 Mishra’s Baubles and another time with 3 Abundant Harvest, 1 Abundant Growth and 2 Endurance) and both lists felt very powerful (Saga and Endurance both did a lot of work and I haven’t figured out which is stronger).