Since the GoT hype is up again with the new season, i thought i'd "wake the dragon(deck)" to bring back its flavor!
This deck's strategy consists in controlling early and mid game, then lay all the dragons and scourge the battlefield with Ice and Fire.
Early game: Is about disrupting the opponents game while filling your hand with cards to pave the way for your middle game.
Gitaxian Probe is a great T1 spell that gives us card advantage and gives us intel about our opponent's plan, so we can know what to save our counters and burns for. It is great to trigger Curious Niv's infinite loop if you run out of mana.
Remand: Delays their game while speeding up ours. Fills our hand.
With 10 dragons in your deck,
Draconic Roar
and Silumgar's Scorn will proc their full effect almost every time, making them above-the-curve efficient.
The first one can handle any uncounterable threat, while the latter can take down threats that evaded our counterspells, while putting at the same time our opponent to a faster clock.
Dragonlord's Servant to play a T3 Thunderbreak Regent or accelerate your game towards your infinite combo. They also provide a nice body to block.
Mid to late game: By now, you should have a couple of flyers to help you end the game. Both Thunderbreak Regent and
Icefall Regent
have in-built protections. The first one even protects your other dragons by punishing the opponent for targeting them.
I like to think of Thunderbreak Regent and
Icefall Regent
as the monocolored, more primal halves of Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. Each one gives you either dmg or utility, while Niv gives you both, in a lesser scale.
Against combo-creatured based decks, you will want to play the
Icefall Regent
; while when facing a more controllish deck, Thunderbreak Regent would be more adecuate.
The other way to victory is to play the star of the deck, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, and attach Curiosity to him. After that, draw a card by either using Remand, Gitaxian Probe, Into the Roil, attacking with another curious dragon or just survive for 1 turn.
With a good starting hand, you can net your infinite combo by turn 4:
T1: Land
T2: Land, Dragonlord's Servant
T3: Land, another Dragonlord's Servant
T4: Land, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Curiosity + Gitaxian Probe
This deck tends to constantly win between turns 6-8. I know that seems slow for modern, but take into account that it plays like a Control-Stomp deck. So it is faster than a control deck, but slower than an aggro or stompy.
Win cons:
1) Flying beatdown with
Icefall Regent
, Thunderbreak Regent, Thundermaw Hellkite, dragon whelps or even Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, with some lightning from
Draconic Roar
Lightning Boltand Thunderbreak's Stormshield (patent pending).
2) Pseudo infinite combo with Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Curiosity
Sideboard:
Against:
Affinity, Equipment, artifacts: Shattering Spree and
Annul
Enchantments:
Annul
and
Kiora's Dismissal
Twin, ETB effects: Torpor Orb and
Leyline of Singularity
Token swarm:
Leyline of Singularity
, Maybe will add Anger of the Gods or
Izzet Staticaster
Delve and graveyard decks: Tormod's Crypt
RDW: Dragon's Claw
Lifegain/Soulsisters: Leyline of Punishment
This deck is meant to be a competitive kitchen table deck, privileging theme and flavor over max effectiviness.
It gets a lot cheaper if you remove the fetchlands and shocklands.Hope you enjoy the deck!
