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Hi all, this is a 95% power reanimator combo deck revolving around big-ass dragons. My intent with this build was to create a powerful yet fun reanimator list; turn one Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur feels pretty bad for everyone but you, however a turn one Atarka, World Render is scary yet answerable. I’m still tweaking this list, so check back every once in a while for more updates!
General Gameplan and Deck Info
This is a glass-cannon combo deck. Remember that. Also, this is a REANIMATOR deck, not a Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck. Well, it is a Scion deck as he is the deck's general, however the gameplan isn't slamming Scion asap (sometimes it is the correct line, but your hand is probably pretty bad if that's the case). Ideally you want to pitch a few dragons and bring 'em back in the early turns.
Your combo is extremely vulnerable to hate like Tormod's Crypt or Rest in Peace. The flashiest way to win is putting all dragons in the deck, just seven, onto the battlefield at the same time. It's an instant-kill against most pods, which is as follows:
- You cast Patriarch's Bidding naming dragons (or Living Death) with all seven dragons in the graveyard.
- All dragons enter at the same time, putting seven Scourge of Valkas triggers on the stack. They resolve, each dealing seven damage to any target, totaling to forty-nine damage.
- You go to attacks, triggering Utvara Hellkite, making seven more dragons. This puts seven more Valkas triggers are put on the stack, each dealing fourteen damage to any target, totaling to ninety-eight damage, with a grand total of 147 damage from Valkas. Oof.
- If you opponents still aren't dead, you probably have a Scourge of the Throne trigger and are about to attack again. You'll make fourteen new dragons, putting fourteen twenty-eight damage triggers on the stack, totaling to 392 damage, coming to a final grand total of 569 damage from Valkas. Big oof.
Note that this doesn't account for combat damage, just Valkas damage. Also note that this doesn't happen in the majority of games; I've only pulled this off in an actual match a handful of times.
A lot of the opening hands you'll draw from this deck are extremely explosive. There's a high quantity of fast mana, cheap card filtering, reanimation and tutors, so mulligans are generally pretty good. I'm extremely happy with the consistency this deck has achieved, especially considering it's five-color. Your manabase and spells can be very, VERY painful, however this is intended to some extent. Scourge of the Throne is one of the key dragons in the deck, and Scourge requires your life total to be lower than your opponents in order to trigger its second triggered ability. If you ever get too low on life, putting Dragonlord Dromoka on the battlefield will help you stabilize.
Your graveyard is likely to be MASSIVE at most points throughout the game; the delve spells, Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise, will always be able to be cast for close to the minimum cost. Both are a great way to refuel after dumping your hand.
Your reanimation spells vary in effectiveness. Necromancy can be used to save a creature in the yard from hate or an opponent's own reanimation spell. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund negates the tap clause on Dance of the Dead the turn he enters (as he untaps all dragons on ETB), letting him swing immediately if he's brought back by it. Karrthus is an all-star of the deck by the way, and he's one of my favorite cards. He'll steal back your dragons if your opponents have taken any (or gain control of enemy dragons, like Prossh, Skyraider of Kher), he gives the team haste, he's a 7/7...he dope.
So when do I play Scion?
There are a few scenarios where it's beneficial to cast your general.
- If you've got an opening hand full of fast, colored mana and no Entomb effects.
- It's the late-game and your opponents have exhausted their removal.
- You were able to get one or two dragons out early, but can't reanimate others.
Card Selection
I'll talk about interesting cards, skipping those that are fairly self explanatory, such as Brainstorm and Demonic Tutor.
Oath of Druids: I'm currently testing Oath to see how strong it is, even with the inclusions of Birds of Paradise and Deathrite Shaman. It's possible that I can up the dragon count, I might throw Dragon Tyrant in the deck.
Intuition: Get creative with your piles! This card often presents an opponent with an "always bad" (for them) choice, such as: Snapcaster Mage, Past in Flames and Yawgmoth's Will. It also works as a double-entomb effect.
Scourge of Valkas: Despite appearing fairly weak compared to the other dragons in the deck, if this is out and multiple dragons enter the battlefield at the same time (or Scourge enters with them), they all see one another enter. Check the scenario listed above to see why this is included. Additionally, it's great at pinging x/1's or x/2's like Birds of Paradise, Dark Confidant, Tymna the Weaver, etc. Finally, you can do the firebreathing trick with Scion if necessary:
- Put two Scion activations on the stack by holding priority before the first resolves.
- Let the first resolve, choosing Valkas. Before the next Scion activation resolves, use Valkas' firebreathing ability as much as you want.
- Let the second Scion activation resolve, choosing any other dragon. Atarka is generally the best after a pump as she gives double strike, so if you've pumped Scion five times with Valkas (6 attack from Atarka + 5 pumps from Valkas = 11 * 2 = 22 = ded), you only need one swing to kill someone via combat damage.
This is mana-intensive (nine mana!) but an easy way to kill someone if your other threats have been removed.
Dragonlord Dromoka: Dromoka is much less imposing than the other dragons, but she serves the important purpose of stopping your opponents from casting spells during your turn. The lifelink is a nice way to recover from a low life total as well.
Dragonlord Kolaghan: Kolaghan is probably the weakest dragon in the deck; the majority of the time I find her not necessary to reanimate or put in the graveyard. Her initial inclusion was a backup plan if you've lost Karrthus. I've considered cutting her many times, but am unsure of what I'd like to replace her with.
Enjoy!
