Zirilan of the dragons

Commander / EDH Aggro Casual Control Mono-Red Multiplayer

Adamaro

Instant (5)

• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Grab the Reins
• 1x Into the Core
• 1x Wild Ricochet
• 1x Word of Seizing

Sorcery (3)

• 1x All is Dust
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Wheel of Fortune

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Dragon Tempest
• 1x Flameshadow Conjuring
• 1x Sneak Attack

Artifact (23)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Coldsteel Heart
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Elixir of Immortality
• 1x Fire Diamond
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Helvault
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x MImic Vat
• 1x Mind's Eye
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Rings of Brighthearth
• 1x Rishadan Pawnshop
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sundial of the Infinite
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Tel-Jilad Stylus
• 1x Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1x Thran Dynamo

Creature (28)

• 1x Balefire Dragon
• 1x Bogardan Hellkite
• 1x Changeling Berserker
• 1x Dragon Mage
• 1x Dragon Tyrant
• 1x Feldon of the Third Path
• 1x Goblin Matron
• 1x Goblin Welder
• 1x Greater Gargadon
• 1x Hellkite Igniter
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Hoard-Smelter Dragon
• 1x Hoarding Dragon
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1x Knollspine Dragon
• 1x Moltensteel Dragon
• 1x Scourge of Kher Ridges
• 1x Scourge of the Throne
• 1x Scourge of Valkas
• 1x Skyline Despot
• 1x Steel Hellkite
• 1x Stormbreath Dragon
• 1x Thunder Dragon
• 1x Thundermaw Hellkite
• 1x Treasonous Ogre
• 1x Tyrant's Familiar
• 1x Utvara Hellkite
• 1x Worldgorger Dragon

Land (37)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x High Market
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Safe Haven
• 1x Scrying Sheets
• 27x Snow-Covered Mountain
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

Commander (1)

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Gamble
• 1x Vandalblast

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Crucible of Fire

Artifact (12)

• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Gauntlet of Might
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mycosynth Lattice
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Omen Machine
• 1x Panharmonicon
• 1x Quicksilver Amulet
• 1x Synod Sanctum
• 1x Unstable Obelisk

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Creature (2)

• 1x Anger
• 1x Imperial Recruiter

Land (3)

• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 1x Miren, the Moaning Well
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

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Reactive and aggressive dragon tribal. This deck is basically a dragon toolbox. Geared toward casual play. This is completely done as an original thought with help, insight, and advice from friends and others.

I've been using this deck since 2010, and I love it. I am open to any and all suggestions and criticisms.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate it.

Synergies & Tactics Show

Worldgorger Dragon & Changeling Berserker respond to mass removal or allow additional ETB effects.

Stay off the throne with Treasonous Ogre, Mana Crypt or Moltensteel Dragon to gain more benefits from Scourge of the Throne.

Scourge of Valkas/Dragon Tempest/Warstorm Surge & Utvara Hellkite to deal (usually) lethal damage.

Sundial of the Infinite is an all star card. Synergies include: Zirilan of the Claw, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Mimic Vat, Flameshadow Conjuring, & Feldon of the Third Path.

Sensei's Divining Top & Scroll Rack help filter your draws to increase number of dragons in hand for Sneak Attack or reduce the number for Zirilan of the Claw. These cards also help draw quality.

Caution! Show

Be mindful of opponents who are capable of instant speed targeted removal. If an opponent responds to your Worldgorger Dragon's first ability trigger, the second trigger will go on the stack (returning nothing to play) and you will lose all of your permanents.

Try to think ahead as frequently as possible. Don't search up dragons like Hoarding Dragon without a way to gain a benefit from him dying. If he gets exiled from Zirilan of the Claw's delayed trigger, you won't get anything from it.

Sometimes it is better to play defensively than offensively. Know who the biggest threat on the field is. Try to figure out who is going to combo, what their colors are capable of, and make a determination of their win condition preemptively. If your opponents can win fast, try to leave Zirilan of the Claw untapped and respond accordingly. Sometimes sitting still is the best strategy. If you end up not needing to respond with anything, you can always tutor up a dragon at the end step of your last opponent's turn. This will grant you 1 dragon on your turn that will for sure last until the end of your turn (unless you have effects that state otherwise).

Be careful not to over extend when your opponents have graveyard hate. Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void, Tormod's Crypt and other effects can greatly effect your game plan. You may want to play more conservatively as to not throw your dragons into exile prematurely.

Responding accordingly can win you the game. In this deck, if an opponent gains 10,000,000,000 life, you lose the game. Zirilan won't be hitting 21 general damage and your dragons won't reach their goal in time. Responding to a combo is better than 30 damage sometimes.

Lastly, if you can't attack due to some effect like Ensnaring Bridge or something, don't waste time trying to remove it immediately. You can always take it out at the end of someone's turn. Not to mention, Sundial of the Infinite in response to an opponent's "end of turn" (ONLY ON YOUR TURN) tutor/fetch counters their spell/ability. (which happens more often than you'd think!). I've also used the sundial to stop a Desertion effect. It ended my turn, but it's better than staring down a fat dragon or losing a permanent.

Cards I really want to include Show

- These cards I own, but haven't found a spot.

• Currently testing and researching

Possible cuts Show

- These cards aren't performing well

• Skyline Despot *If tutored for, he only draws 1 card.

• Moltensteel Dragon *Never have enough life to make this worth while.

• Nevinyrral's Disk *Too slow

• Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle *Not reaching 5 mountains, generally tapped lands put me behind.

• Safe Haven *This has only been relevant once.

• Caged Sun *Either destroyed or doesn't help enough to matter.

• Conjurer's Closet *Cost doesn't outweigh the benefits.

I'm having some consistency troubles... which is odd with a general that tutors. Not consistently getting the mana I want on time. I feel as though I'm spending quite a bit of time playing too defensively. If I take too many risks, the deck will be easily defeated for a few reasons:

1, It's

2, I tutor every turn (Aven Mindcensor effects)

3, Activated ability on general (Pithing Needle etc)

4, Torpor Orb & Containment Priest

I'm fine playing around these handicaps, but if the deck is not performing correctly, it is easy to fall behind and become shut out early on.

Top Ranked	Achieved #31 position overall 7 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	15 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 3 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.40
Tokens	Copy Clone, Dragon 5/5 R, Dragon 6/6 R, The Monarch