Mina and Denn, But It's Dragons

Commander / EDH Dragons Lands Ramp RG (Gruul) Tribal

Nillstan

Creature (33)

• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Dragonmaster Outcast
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Anger
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Thunderbreak Regent
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1x Nesting Dragon
• 1x Ohran Frostfang
• 1x Scourge of Valkas
• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels
• 1x Bane of Progress
• 1x Destructor Dragon
• 1x Dragon Broodmother
• 1x Hellkite Charger
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• 1x Savage Ventmaw
• 1x Scourge of the Throne
• 1x Atarka, World Render
• 1x Balefire Dragon
• 1x Dragonlord Atarka
• 1x Foe-Razer Regent
• 1x Skyline Despot
• 1x Tyrant's Familiar
• 1x Bogardan Hellkite
• 1x Scourge of Kher Ridges
• 1x Utvara Hellkite

Instant (4)

• 1x Worldly Tutor
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Sarkhan's Triumph
• 1x Return of the Wildspeaker

Land (37)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Castle Embereth
• 1x Castle Garenbrig
• 1x Cinder Glade
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Copperline Gorge
• 1x Fire-Lit Thicket
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Game Trail
• 1x Grove of the Burnwillows
• 1x Gruul Turf
• 1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
• 1x Karplusan Forest
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Raging Ravine
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Sheltered Thicket
• 1x Skarrg, the Rage Pits
• 3x Snow-Covered Forest
• 3x Snow-Covered Mountain
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Taiga
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Commander (1)

Enchantment (12)

• 1x Dragon Tempest
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Sylvan Library
• 1x Aggravated Assault
• 1x Colossal Majesty
• 1x Elemental Bond
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Defense of the Heart
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Guardian Project
• 1x Asceticism
• 1x Zendikar Resurgent

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Bonfire of the Damned
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Three Visits
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Decimate
• 1x Blasphemous Act

Artifact (5)

• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Gruul Signet
• 1x The Great Henge

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Opening

Hello all and welcome back to The Mad Shaman's Brewery!

Today, we're gonna have a look at my favorite EDH deck ever, Gruul Dragons led by Mina and Denn, Wildborn

If you're looking for a fun and effective way to violently step on your opponent, look no further. This dragon deck operates at around a low-mid 7 as far as I can tell.

Let's get into the operation.

The Basic Plan

In Magic, mana is money. In other words, a resource. The player who has more mana is at an advantage, because they can likely afford to play more cards on their turn. Makes sense right?

Well, your job with this deck is to collect a lot of mana really fast, then convert that into damage of the dragonny kind.

The deck has been known to produce enough mana to play a huge 7-8 mana dragon on turn 3, which is VERY solid in terms of ramp.

Basically you want to spend your first 5 or so turns ramping hard. And this deck WILL ramp hard with any decent hand.

All you gotta do is convert all that mana into some big ole' dragons. And if you're doing it right, you will.

Keepers and Cutters

Your ideal starter looks like something that plays Mina and Denn, Wildborn earlier than turn 4 and an extra land that turn. Turn 2 is obviously the best, though that's rare. Any hand that doesnt ramp is subpar.

You also need to keep in mind that ramp is useless if you can't follow up. Make sure you hand isn't JUST ramp so you actually have cards to play.

Average Gameplay

Once Mina and Denn, Wildborn is down, their built in landramp is usually enough to get you to that critical 7 mana early. From that point, you have a choice between setting up value engines and getting down the first of many dragons.

It's generally down to preference in most situations, because of how early it tends to happen, but theres a few key points to look at.

If the board is clear of must-kills and your opponents are just ramping out their commanders, the value and card-draw tends to be more important, since that'll give you a proper back end in the event of a wipe.

If an opponent is playing must-kills or ramping as hard as you are, get a dragon out there. Racing is more important in that situation, especially since a lot of your removal is attached to the dragons.

This is very efficient and good practice in any game, but the fact that it runs perfectly in line with the deck's plan makes it oh so sweet.

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The rest of the game is just as simple as playing dragons and turning them sideways, as well as drawing cards to keep gas in the tank.

Simple. Fun. Satisfying. Effective.

Winning the Game

A question that every good deck has to answer at some point is this. "How do you win?"

This one has a couple of ways aside from just incidental combat damage.

Atarka, World Render is a fantastic way to go about winning the game for obvious reasons. Doubling your damage output is almost never a bad thing.

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Aggravated Assault + Savage Ventmaw is one way to generate Infinite Combats. Simply attack and activate Aggravated Assault in your second main phase, netting Infinite Combats and 1 mana every cycle.

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Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Skyline Despot is not a true winning combo, but it's some ridiculously powerful synergy. Activate Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker on the end step before your turn (Targeting Skyline Despot to always be the monarch in your upkeep. This will not you 5 extra damage and two 5/5 dragon tokens EVERY TURN that this is active.

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Hellkite Charger + Savage Ventmaw is a secondary combo to Aggravated Assault + Savage Ventmaw . It does not make "infinite" combats, but it let's you pay one mana for an extra combat. Multiple times. In a ramp deck. Solid stuff.

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If I missed any, let me know.

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Closing

All in all, this deck is and will likely be my favorite for a long time. It's essentially everything I love in a deck in one big, firebreathing package.

If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas, let me know. I'll surely test any of em.

Have a nice day.

Top Ranked	Achieved #26 position overall 4 years ago Achieved #19 position in Commander / EDH 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Dragons 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Lands 4 years ago
Date added	4 years
Last updated	3 years
Key combos	Aggravated Assault + Savage Ventmaw Hellkite Charger + Savage Ventmaw Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Skyline Despot
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.17
Tokens	Copy Clone, Dragon 1/1 RG, Dragon 2/2 R, Dragon 5/5 R, Dragon 6/6 R, Dragon Egg 0/2 R, Spirit 1/1 C, The Monarch, Treasure
Folders	Gruul, Cool decks