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Dovescape Dragon Engine

Commander / EDH

wordswordswords


So as I've played this deck for a long time I've found out this deck is actually just amazing and fun for everyone. It's really exciting to have the game suddenly change from a regular commander game into this wild rush to make as many doves as possible and smash each other with huge flocks of birds. I'll write a little about the categories and card choices as well to explain a few of the more interesting choices in greater detail.

Alright so Overall strategy here is pretty simple: you play Dovescape and then you just out dove everyone. The reason this deck is so potent is Dovescape is almost impossible to remove because almost every enchantment destruction effect that is played is on a noncreature spell and since Dovescape counters them your gameplan is pretty resilient to disruption. The other reason it works so well is most people aren't planning to have all their spells counters and get doves instead. We do.

Card choices:

Dovescape- We've talked about this. This is the card everything revolves around. Play it. It's great.

Guile- I wanted this here because this is the only infinite combo I know of in the deck. If you have Dovescape in play and anyone including you casts a spell that can be countered by Dovescape you make infinite doves.

Tutors: Idyllic Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor- The usual suspects, if you don't have Dovescape you get Dovescape. I'm not kidding. Unless you are going to die, always get Dovescape. Most of your deck doesn't make any impact on the board unless you have the card in play. Get it. Every time. You won't regret it.

Conflux- this card is here because very rarely but once in a while you cast Ramos and you just want to make him large. This card does that very well and it also is a tutor for whatever you need in a pinch.

Genesis Hydra- This card fits in this section better than any other. It isn't crazy but is very good at finding Dovescape or finding your noncreature permanents you need after Dovescape has landed which means you can't cast them.

Rune Scarred Demon- Perfect for finding a way to make your spells uncounterable after Dovescape or whatever else you need.

Protection:

Sterling Grove- this card is amazing in this deck. If you already have the Dovescape this card protects it from everything but Bane of Progress and Child of Alara, and if you don't have it just sac it and find the Dovescape. That was something I had to learn is save it as long as you can, but don't hesitate to sac this.

Greater Auramancy- See Sterling Grove you just can't sac it.

Card advantage:

Rhystic Study and Sylvan Library- These cards are countered by Dovescape but they're so good you play them anyway. Magus of the Wheel- The First of the Maguses! (Magi?) As you'll soon see we play a lot of the Maguses as they have spell effects but slip under dovescape. This one is here to get us some card advantage and help us find our real synergy pieces to end the game.

Baral, Chief of Compliance- This guy is crazy in this deck. For 2 mana you get a cost reduction and a way to loot repeatedly. Dovescape litterally makes this guy whenever one of your opponents wants to make doves you loot.

Sire of Stagnation- This card is secretly one of the most underplayed cards in commander. If you get this guy in play with Dovescape before turn 7 you'll draw at least 6 cards off it and its also a great beater if you get it early.

Bident of Thassa- This turns your doves into Ophidians and also can force your opponents to swing their puny doves into your buffed ones to murder their team or attack someone else which leaves them open for you to finish them off.

Sphinx's Revelation- One theme we're about to get into is x spells and this one works just as well as the others, and also can if made uncounterable just win you the game. Card advantage when your opponents are running out of cards is just brutal.

Buff and Shrink:

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite- This card as everyone knows is busted anyway, but is even better when it says that your opponents can't have doves and your doves are 3/3.

Sigil Captain, Mikaeaus the Lunarch, Ogre Battledriver- these cards make your doves really dangerous threats. Your opponents will fear them. Rightfully so.

Cathar's Crusade- If you play this card before Dovescape you probably can't lose with a single x spell. Champion of Lambholt- whats better than buff birds? Buff birds your opponents can't block.

Gahiji, Honored One- Gahiji has two purposes: 1. motivate everyone else to swing their birds at other people and 2. buff our birds so that we can end the game

Purphoros, God of the Forge- Probably our most efficient win condition. If you put purphoros out there everyone will know to kill you, but you usually can finish the game before they finish you.

Archetype of Imagination- Makes all our doves unblockable and has awesome synergy with Magus of the Moat

Life Total Protection:

Windborne Muse- We need ways to keep everyone from birding us to death and more importantly ways that we can slide into play under Dovescape. This is perfect on both accounts.

Suture Priest- Not only does Suture Priest allow us to pad our life total, but allows us to discourage everyone else from making birds.

Magus of the Moat- This plus Archetype of Imagination means only we can attack. It also allows to attack with more doves because our opponents beefy dudes on the ground aren't going anywhere.

Recursion:

Replenish- Our deck has a lot of enchantments and this is the best way to save both them and Dovescape.

Magus of the Will- This lets us get back Dovescape or just get value returning creatures and making some doves.

Seasons past- This card is a concession to our commander. We need more ways to recur Dovescape and this card plus Conflux can just tutor as much as we want and really kind of go off with Ramos. It doesn't come up often but when it does you're glad you had access to it.

Eternal Witness- Just the best recursion on a creature in the game. No surprise here.

Board Wipes:

Blasphemous Act- This card is a great board wipe anyway, but also makes 9 doves for just 1 mana. What a deal!

Cyclonic Rift- This card isn't great in this deck, but is just such a powerful board wipe it finds its way in.

Myojin of Cleansing Fire, Deathbringer Regent, and Supreme Verdict- One problem that the deck can have is getting overrun with doves. These cards deal with that.

Massacre Wurm- This card is broken in this deck. It basically means your opponents can never use their doves again or they'll die to the death triggers and also kills all the doves they have now which is often enough to kill your opponents on the spot.

Making our spells uncounterable:

Taigam, Ojutai Master, Boseiju, Who Shelters All, and Vexing Shusher- The next collection of cards are for 1 thing: getting your spells through Dovescape. Because of the way Dovescape is worded you get the doves anyway so you can basically get so much value your opponents have no chance.

Big X spells:

Debt to the Deathless, Villainous Wealth, and Exsanguinate- These can be win cons if we get enough mana and get Ojutai, Boseiju, or Shusher or if you don't they perform a similar job: make a LOT of doves.

Mana Ramp:

Mirari's Wake- Pumps doves doubles mana good enough in my book.

Oracle of Mul Daya, Birds of Paradise, Solemn Simulacrum, Bloom Tender, Sylvan Caryatid, and Crystalline Crawler- You want about half your mana to be able to be played after Dovescape and half before splitting the difference of ramping toward our big xs and half making doves to protect you.

Sol Ring, Prismatic Geoscope, Chromatic Lantern, Commander's Sphere, Coalition Relic, Skyshroud Claim, and Farseek- five color mana fixing is great because we have a ton of color requirements that we need to meet early.

EDITS: Cut Academy Rector added Iroas, God of Victory- turns out we had too many tutors and it was just too hard to off the rector.

Cut Rashmi, Eternities Crafter added Mentor of the Meek- needed more raw card draw and this does it better at a lower mana cost

Cut Magus of the Disk added Blood Artist- needed more ways to finish the game without getting through and this guy makes it almost impossible for your opponents to ever attack you if you just hold up your doves.

Cut Sylvan Caryatid added Supply/Demand- to be honest I had forgotten this card existed but it is perfect for this deck. It not only tutors for Dovescape but it can also be used to make lots of doves or in a pinch just make a bunch of saprolings with something like Cathar's Crusade. Caryatid was the worst of my ramp and I had too much.

Cut Mikaeus, The Lunarch added Craterhoof Behemoth- Realized I overlooked Craterhoof and Mikaeus doesn't actually normally do that much because you usually play him early and he dies to a random board wipe and if you hold him til after Dovescape you don't usually get enough value out.

Cut Farseek added Pull from Tomorrow- Farseek under-performed I have enough ramp and its awful as a draw after Dovescape lands so out it goes. I found I kept running out of cards so in its place comes Pull from Tomorrow in order to shore that up as well as it makes tons of doves as an alternate.

Cut Mirari's Wake added Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger- This cut came after drawing Mirari's wake after Dovescape so many times and just not being able to play it. This card slips under and is insanely powerful.

Cut Myojin of Cleansing Fire added Avacyn, Angel of Hope- Just had too many expensive cards to afford to add another and we had too many high end board wipes so out went Myojin to fit in more Dovescape protection.

Cut Conflux added Urabrask the Hidden- Needed more haste wanted to get through this guy is great at that. Conflux was just too expensive and we very very rarely play ramos.

Cut Seasons Past added Goblin Sharpshooter- Only we get doves now. Cutting Conflux meant cutting seasons past and sharpshooter shores up dove death nicely.

Cut Greater Auramancy added Obzedat's Aid- wanted more ways to get back Dovescape if it was destroyed and this effect has never come up as being relevant. I have Sterling Grove if I think I need to get an extra layer of protection for Dovescape and Auramancy too often is a draw where you say "man, I wish this was something more than 2 doves."

Cut Genesis Hydra added Wargate- This is basically better in every way in this deck: more colors for Ramos, Noncreature so you cann make doves, tutors out dovescape more consistently.

Cut Goblin Sharpshooter added Chord of Calling- Sharpshooter was underperforming and i wanted a way to consistently get the creature I needed.

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Date added 6 years
Last updated 3 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

13 - 0 Mythic Rares

62 - 0 Rares

10 - 0 Uncommons

5 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.89
Tokens 1/1 WU Token Creature Bird, Saproling 1/1 G, Spirit 1/1 C
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