Dragon Engine Beatdown

Commander / EDH Dragons Flying Haste

drwombat

Mana Sources (40)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Cascading Cataracts
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Dragon's Hoard
• 3x Forest
• 1x Frontier Bivouac
• 1x Gruul Signet
• 1x Haunted Ridge
• 1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
• 3x Island
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Mana Vault
• 6x Mountain
• 1x Orb of Dragonkind
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Rockfall Vale
• 1x Savage Lands
• 1x Secluded Courtyard
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Stormcarved Coast
• 1x Sundown Pass
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Tome of the Guildpact

Counter Management for Ramos (6)

• 1x Branching Evolution
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Primal Empathy
• 1x Scale the Heights
• 1x Snakeskin Veil
• 1x Storm the Seedcore

Dragons (21)

• 1x Ancient Bronze Dragon
• 1x Atarka, World Render
• 1x Balefire Dragon
• 1x Bladewing the Risen
• 1x Crosis, the Purger
• 1x Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1x Hellkite Charger
• 1x Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient
• 1x Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
• 1x Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• 1x Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
• 1x Nicol Bolas, the Ravager  ^Flip
• 1x Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
• 1x Numot, the Devastator
• 1x Ojutai, Soul of Winter
• 1x Old Gnawbone
• 1x Savage Ventmaw
• 1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death
• 1x Tiamat
• 1x Utvara Hellkite
• 1x Wrathful Red Dragon

For Removal and Damage (9)

• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Cindervines
• 1x Clan Defiance
• 1x Dreadbore
• 1x Jund Charm
• 1x Lavalanche
• 1x Sultai Charm
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Void Rend

Commander (1)

General Supporting Cards (11)

• 1x Alpha Authority
• 1x Brokers Charm
• 1x Conflux
• 1x Curator's Ward
• 1x Hindering Light
• 1x Ionize
• 1x Psychic Strike
• 1x Timely Ward
• 1x Trap Essence
• 1x Villainous Wealth
• 1x Whirlwind of Thought

Dragon Support (7)

• 1x Crux of Fate
• 1x Dragonlord's Servant
• 1x Dragonspeaker Shaman
• 1x Sarkhan Unbroken
• 1x Sarkhan's Triumph
• 1x Sivitri, Dragon Master
• 1x Urza's Incubator

For Improved Attacking (5)

• 1x Aggravated Assault
• 1x Dragon Tempest
• 1x Fires of Yavimaya
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Temur Ascendancy

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"The fear of dragons is as old and as powerful as the fear of death itself."
-Utvara Hellkite flavor text

My attempt at a Ramos dragon tribal deck. It has gone through many iterations as a result of game play, discovering cards I didn't know existed, feedback received, and just general love of tinkering.

Introduction

Heavy on the multicolored spells, I used only Dragons (or cards that specifically state they support Dragons) for the creature base. Because the deck is CMC heavy and needs to get going there are a variety of mana rocks and draw spells in the deck to get at cards. The deck isn't the fastest, but in a casual environment it's stable enough to withstand the early game pretty well. There are a couple of counterspells, some direct spot removals or damage spells as well as some larger scale board wipes. Along with a handful of draw spells, these help control the board long enough to get Ramos going and/or cast a few killer big beasts. With haste being a sub-theme, once the dragons do come out it's easy to start turning the tide in your favor.

Creatures: the Dragon Beatdown

Each of the dragons in this deck was chosen for a specific purpose and ability. I collect dragons, and there are nearly 300 unique dragons in the Multiverse. Finding just ~25 for a deck was no small challenge, and they had to be effective and provide good synergy with the deck, mostly being multi-color or have debilitating effects and abilities.

Dragons like Hellkite Charger and Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient have haste. Atarka, World Render gives all of your dragons double strike. Lathliss, Dragon Queen makes each new dragon you cast come with a 5/5 buddy. The newer Baldur's Gate dragons have great powers, too, like Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm, Wrathful Red Dragon and Ancient Bronze Dragon. Dragonlord Dromoka makes your turns a safe haven. Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius lets you draw cards for 2 mana while inflicting (a small amount of) pain, the Utvara Hellkite gives out free buddies when it's time to attack, and Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury buff everyone for each attacker in our deck - OUCH!

Other helpful benefits: Numot, the Devastator can wipe out annoying lands and slow down your opponents, Ojutai, Soul of Winter can paralyze an opposing army for an extra turn, and Tiamat (or Conflux) can tip the scales in your favor just by being cast. Playing either card gets Ramos 5 counters, which means you immediately have 10 free mana you can tap into and cast one or more of the dragons you just searched for! Balefire Dragon can wipe out entire ground-based armies with a single attack, and Silumgar, the Drifting Death can wipe out most lower-toughness armies assuming you have 2 or 3 dragons that can attack in synergy. Bladewing the Risen can get back an important Dragon that was lost in battle. Crosis, the Purger is especially effective against mono-colored opponents but can really mess up anyone's game plan.

Savage Ventmaw, Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient, Old Gnawbone and Commander Ramos, Dragon Engine himself are there to give you copious additional amounts of mana for those high-cost dragons and "x" spells. I intentionally left out Ancient Copper Dragon, because Old Gnawbone triggers on any creature not just himself inflicting damage. I also left out Ancient Silver Dragon, because it's mono-colored, very high-cost, and doesn't really hit the Ramos "counters & mana" theme.

Yea yea ... it's unlikely all of these will ever be on the battlefield at once, but with great synergy just a few dragons can really get it done.

Dragonlord's Servant and Dragonspeaker Shaman had to make the cut as they help cast those big baddies that have been developing in Urza's Incubator.

Feeding Ramos

Scale the Heights and Snakeskin Veil each allow you to pad Ramos with an extra counter. Hardened Scales add more counters on a recurring basis not just once. Primal Empathy is great for card draw since usually dragons will be among the biggest creatures on the board, but in the event they're not, you can add another counter to Ramos each turn.

In the counterspell section, Trap Essence nets you 5 counters on Ramos (3 for the mana colors when you cast it and 2 from the effect) meaning you get to counter an opponent's creature or key spell and then immediately be ready on your turn with 10 free mana to cast a big one of your own.

And as detailed below, almost every spell in here is multi-colored so it boosts Ramos more than mono-colored spells with similar effects or abilities.

Sarkhan and Bolas

What would a dragon deck be if Sarkhan and Nicol Bolas didn't appear somewhere? Sarkhan's Triumph is a tailor-made Dragon Tutor. Perfect. Then Sarkhan Unbroken helps with card draw, mana, and can tutor unlimited dragons. Presumably with haste, remember? YIKES.

As for Bolas, I went with the flip-card version. It's affordable to cast outright as Nicol Bolas, the Ravager   and has a good ability for a 4/4 flyer at 4 mana. Once you have more mana, flipping it results in Nicol Bolas, the Arisen   and some really great abilities. Always the biggest, baddest dragon - he had to make an appearance.

Support: it's all about Flexibility

In a deck that is slow to get started and relies on multi-color spells to feed the Commander's ability, an emphasis was placed on spells that do multiple things and are at least 2 colors. Sultai Charm can destroy a creature, an artifact, or an enchantment - and if that isn't needed then draw some more cards. Putrefy, which costs the same CMC as Murder but can kill an artifact if needed, was the better choice. Growth Spiral beat out Explore because it is multi-colored for Ramos. Meanwhile, Counsel of the Soratami was taken out to make way for a multi-color replacement: Brokers Charm - both cost 3 cmc, net you two cards, but the Charm can also kill a creature or destroy an enchantment and places 3 counters on Ramos not just one.

I have gone back and forth about how to protect Ramos. If he dies, he's expensive to re-cast and the whole deck relies on his synergy. I like Diplomatic Immunity and Lightning Greaves, BUT they prevent you from targeting Ramos for your own purposes. So no 'shroud' or similar will work. And Swiftfoot Boots is great, but zero colors. So I went this Alpha Authority and Curator's Ward as each give hexproof and a counter for Ramos along with Timely Ward which is instant-speed indestructibility in an Aura. I've also gone with three multi-colored counterspells, ideally to be saved for when they're really needed (like saving Ramos or preventing another commander from being cast) and not for minor annoyances: Ionize, Psychic Strike, and Trap Essence. Since the classic counterspell is mono-colored, these were better choices for the Ramos theme.

Those cards that aren't inherently flexible need to add something special. For those, I chose things that were powerful but different since playing different opponents might end up needing different solutions. And then, to keep the beatdown going: Aggravated Assault (an ability Hellkite Charger also has), which can go on indefinitely if also attacking with Savage Ventmaw.

I tried to limit the number of super mana-expensive cards outside of the Dragons themselves, as there is no guarantee Ramos will go off, but for those times that he does and there are oh say 10 extra mana just floating about in the aether, I included Villainous Wealth to cripple someone else's plans and Lavalanche to blast someone's own horde to bits. Both provide 3 counters for Ramos as well, so they help replenish the purpose of the deck, too.

And then some cards just had to make the list because they are specific to dragons in general - like Crux of Fate to kill everyone BUT me and Torment of Hailfire because Nicol Bolas.

Gaining an Advantage

A number of cards add a bonus card draw. In addition, Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius allows card drawing with his ability. Tome of the Guildpact, while it costs {5} is also an underrated artifact in my opinion giving you the chance to make any color mana, and accelerate card draw in a deck focused on so many multicolor spells.

Another focus I mentioned is haste. Big dragons take a while to develop and get out, why wait another turn to use them? Enter Rhythm of the Wild, Fires of Yavimaya, Temur Ascendancy, and Dragon Tempest to make the most of everyone the moment they arrive on scene. I chose each of these over the simple "Fervor" since each had another benefit or ability added to the haste.

Lastly, this is not a fast ramp deck by any stretch. But it has to still compete a little, right? So, while I included a number of dual lands, I specifically tried to eliminate any that come in tapped except the ones with optional shock or ones like Haunted Ridge. This deck is not going to need big mana in the first few turns so those can be played turn 3 or later and not come in tapped. I also made sure to include each of the Signets that included red mana. Lastly, some 3-color lands (though they enter tapped) and a few "mana of any color" options.

Bottom Line: it's a really fun deck to play if it gets going, and especially so if you just love dragons as a tribe.

Top Ranked	Achieved #85 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #69 position in Commander / EDH 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Dragons 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Haste 2 years ago
Date added	2 years
Last updated	11 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 20 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.89
Tokens	Copy Clone, Dragon 4/4 R, Dragon 5/5 R, Dragon 6/6 R, Treasure
Folders	Commander Decks, Cool!, My Commander Decks, Rainbow Bullshit