The Ur-Dragon Initiative

Commander / EDH* Derpsofdoom

SCORE: 72 | 74 COMMENTS | 20353 VIEWS | IN 42 FOLDERS


Rabid_Wombat says... #1

Tight list man, I really like it. I'd recommend dropping Palace Siege for Dragon Arch and moving all of the Dragons from your maybeboard to your mainboard so you have a better chance of cheating them into play. A couple more boardwipes are needed because Elves etc.. will just go wide and crush you. Belbe's Portal and Quicksilver Amulet might be handy as well. Oh yeah, City of Brass should be in every 5 color deck too imho. Good hunting.

August 20, 2017 1:44 a.m.

Salmonman1064 says... #2

I'd replace Dragonlord Kolaghan with regular Kolaghan. The Dragonlord is basically just a haste enablers but baby Kolaghan tears people up with team buffs.

August 20, 2017 2:07 a.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #3

Nice deck :)

A few great dragons: Hellkite Tyrant, Balefire Dragon, and Scourge of the Throne. Crosis could probably be cut.

Also love Selvala's Stampede for cheating big creatures into play.

Temur Ascendancy could replace Elemental Bond. Haste is very important in this deck.

August 20, 2017 9:33 p.m. Edited.

Derpsofdoom says... #4

Rabid_Wombat: Thanks for the comment and suggestions. I do want to fit in Dragon Arch and Belbe's Portal but I do have a hard time getting rid of Palace Siege because of the recursion it does bring. Grabbing back the Deathbringer Regent for another round of field clearing is nice. I do have an extra board wipe style card in mind and that is Balefire Dragon.

Salmonman1064: Yeah, I like the haste that Dragonlord Kolaghan brings, but you are probably right in the fact that other stuff can do it better and the regular Kolaghan is awesome with a dragon army. Thinking of getting Temur Ascendancy to replace the lost haste giver.

MegaMatt13: Glad you enjoyed the deck and yes, I love Hellkite Tyrant, Balefire Dragon, and Scourge of the Throne. I just don't own a scourge. Selvala's Stampede looks awesome and I have seen it before and was really thinking about adding it. Though another card I was thinking that could fight for its spot is Kindred Summons, which looks like it could do work and for one mana more, it is instant. I am already considering replacing Elemental Bond with Temur Ascendancy, I just didn't own the Temur Ascendancy.

Thank you for all your comments, guess it is time to go back to the drawing board and see what I can configure. Might cut Harmonize, but could also add Soul's Majesty or the mentioned Selvala's Stampede.

August 20, 2017 10:12 p.m.

jeffbriem says... #5

I run a Scion of the Ur-Dragon tribal deck, and I really like yours evolution of the deck using the Ur-Dragon himself. From my experience playing dragon tribal, I'd recommend Austere Command as a multi-purpose board wipe. Can hit small creatures while leaving your dragons unmolested, while also getting troublesome enchantments and/or artifacts in one card. Merciless Eviction is also a must run, I think for when you need to exile creatures, artifacts or planeswalkers. I'd also recommend a Boros Charm as either protection from board wipes or a surprise finisher by giving your commander double strike. I also like Heroic Intervention both as a response to a board wipe or as a way to make my boardwipes one-sided for only 1G.

I also agree with many of the earlier commentors. Swapping Temur Ascendancy for Elemental Bond is a good upgrade; you still get the draw when a creature enters, but it also gives all your creatures haste. Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury turns each attacking dragon into an anthem boost. I don't think I'd run city of brass though. The damage still applies even if you are using it with Chromatic Lantern or Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Reflecting Pool is a good substitute. I'd also consider Bojuka Bog to help with graveyards and Krosan Verge as ramp/color fixing. Regarding graveyard recursion, I like Whip of Erebos. Giving your creatures lifelink is a nice bonus, and throwing a huge dragon at your opponent with lifelink is even better.

I find my favorite targets for Scion of the Ur-Dragonare two dragons in your maybeboard - Hellkite Tyrant and Steel Hellkite . I'd want those three dragons main board. I've found Intet, the Dreamer and Deathbringer Regent to be underwhelming, so they may be good potential replacements. I also tend to favor the OG Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker over Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh.

Good luck with the deck!

August 21, 2017 10:30 a.m.

Derpsofdoom says... #6

@jeffbriem

Thank you for the ideas jeffbriem. I do like the idea of Austere Command and have moved it to my maybe board as I still need to decide where to put it in, especially since I am trying to add more dragons to the deck right now. I also really like the idea of Whip of Erebos and have replaced Palace Siege with it. I think I have my mana base down but I do like the idea of Bojuka Bog for pesky recursion decks like Meren of Clan Nel Toth. I also moved a few more ramp cards into the deck to see how that speeds up the deck, though it might have to many of the three drop mana rocks now. Considering removal of Commander's Sphere for another dragon. Hellkite Tyrant, or Steel Hellkite for the possible board wipe power? Anyway thanks again, hopefully version 2 gets as much good feedback as version 1 did.

August 22, 2017 11:42 a.m.

Rabid_Wombat says... #7

Hellkite Tyrant for sure- an extra wincon and looting shiny Sol Rings etc.. from your opponents is tough to beat :)

August 22, 2017 6:32 p.m.

I like to add Command Beacon to every high CMC Commander deck.

August 24, 2017 7:45 a.m.

Derpsofdoom says... #9

@Rabid_Wombat Hey thanks for the suggestions and yeah, Hellkite Tyrant is basically a must. I love that card and love everything that it does. So it has been added, as well as Steel Hellkite for another possible board wipe tactic. Both of these dragons are fun to play. I have also considered Dragon Arch but considered not to run it in the possibility that I have full red dragons in hand and can't use it. I would consider running Belbe's Portal or Quicksilver Amulet over the Dragon Arch just because of the number of red dragons I have. Probably would swap Descendants' Path for one of them. As for City of Brass. I would rather not run it in the event that somebody has a combo that is just tapping and untapping my cards, which if they decide to do to City of Brass, well that would really bad. Thanks for all the suggestions and hopefully you still enjoy the changes made to the deck.

I also want to say thank you to MegaMatt13 for his support and suggestions, I have noticed his The Ur-Dragon deck on the website as well and plan on leaving a comment/maybe a suggestion for it. Been thinking on it.

Thanks to Salmonman1064 as well for his suggestion. Hopefully this deck continues to evolve and might eventually become super competitive in the future.

Down with Scion of the Ur-Dragon and begin the rise of The Ur-Dragon!

August 25, 2017 12:51 p.m.

legomanalec says... #10

Honestly a 9 drop commander isn't playable, Scion of the Ur-Dragon will always be the best dragon tribal commander.

August 26, 2017 11:32 p.m.

Rabid_Wombat says... #11

legomanalec the Big D is totally playable - Fist of Suns combined with ABUR Dual & Fetches means you can cast him easily. And Urza's Incubator makes him a 7 drop ;)

Scion of the Ur-Dragon may be the most competitive dragon tribal commander but he ain't the most fun..that title goes to The Ur-Dragon!

August 27, 2017 2:57 a.m.

legomanalec, in the base Ur-Dragon deck, there's 4 ways to reduce his cost:

Herald’s Horn

Dragonlord's Servant

Dragonspeaker Shaman

Fist of Suns

I played two games with an unchanged Ur-Dragon precon last night, and I had no trouble casting him multiple times, even with the decks sub-optimal mana base.

August 27, 2017 10:12 a.m.

For the record, I will be playing a minimum of three more games with it in precon form, so I can better assess its needs when I begin updates.

August 27, 2017 10:15 a.m.

legomanalec says... #14

I'm just saying Scion of the Ur-Dragon is more fun and a better card in general.

August 27, 2017 10:12 p.m.

Rabid_Wombat says... #15

Scion of the Ur-Dragon is more "fun" if you are into cheezy reanimation type effects...if you want to actually cast dragons from your hand and play beatdown battlecruiser Magic The Ur-Dragon is easily the better Commander.

August 28, 2017 12:23 a.m.

Derpsofdoom says... #16

@Comic_Book_Joker, Rabid_Wombat, and legomanalec. Gentlemen, I thank you for your comments, but deciding whether The Ur-Dragon is better than the Scion of the Ur-Dragon is sadly all opinion really. In my opinion, I will always love The Ur-Dragon over his scion but that is me. At the same time, there is no right or wrong answer when building a deck for these two. The two dragons build two very different style of decks that they almost cannot be placed in the same category. Like to win with an army of dragons, then go with The Ur-Dragon. Prefer to combo with only one monster and win that way, go with Scion of the Ur-Dragon. The two decks both work and function very differently. Another thing to consider is the fact the Scion of the Ur-Dragon's deck is completely reliant of having scion out on the field. If you don't have scion, you might be able to do a few things, but ultimately, your commander is how you win. With The Ur-Dragon, you don't need to use the commander to win. He accomplishes exactly what he needs to accomplish by being in the command zone, and when it is time to drop him, whether it be safely or for that extra push, he is there for you when you need him.

Competitive wise, Scion of the Ur-Dragon might be more competitive right now, but I have no doubt that there is a deck somewhere that can be a competitive with The Ur-Dragon at the helm. It might not exist now, it might not exist till future cards are released, but there more than likely is some way to make him super competitive. Who knows, maybe we will return to Tarkir and get some enemy colored dragonlords. A green/black dragon that could reanimate would be awesome. I thank you for listening and enjoying the deck, I just would prefer to keep fights/bickering (not to say you were, just trying to stop it before it escalates to something like that) to a minimal. After all, we are all here to build decks, and to help each other better our favorite decks. Then there is of course to play our finalized creation with our playgroup and dominate them with a horde of dragon. Have a great day everyone and for anybody that is currently in Texas, stay safe from the hurricane.

August 28, 2017 12:46 p.m. Edited.

Legendxp says... #17

Warden of Evos Isle is another good mana reducer to put in a deck like this.

August 29, 2017 5:54 p.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #18

Just curious about how your experience playing the deck has been?

My experience is that I've been pleasantly surprised with how quickly it can function. The Ur-Dragon's mana reduction helps out A LOT. It's also been very synergistic as a lot of dragons have abilities that benefit each other. On that note...I'd like to advocate for including Wasitora, Nekoru Queen and Dragon Broodmother. The Fate Reforged dragons as well as Scourge of Valkas, Utvara Hellkite, and Dragon Tempest all benefit from having more dragons on the field. I've found the tokens that Wasitora and Broodmother produce to be very helpful with these effects.

How have Hellkite Charger and O-Kagachi been working for you? They are dragons that (so far) haven't made the cut for me, but I'm curious how they perform for you.

August 29, 2017 7:32 p.m.

Derpsofdoom says... #19

@MegaMatt13: Hey MegaMatt13. I am actually also very curious how it fully runs and in my play testing, it seems to do really well and I do really like that cost reduction for the dragons. I just wish that I could play it right now, but I should be able to play it soon. I currently live in Texas and so hurricane Harvey has put a damper on my play time for this deck. All of my commander 2017 stuff came the day before the mail was cancelled from the storm. Also, on another note, no my house has not flooded and my family is alright. On another note, I do not own a Dragon Broodmother so I can't add that one just yet but it looks like it might be good for getting those Dragon Tempest/Scourge of Valkas triggers. I love how Wasitora, Nekoru Queen looks and just haven't put her in. I feel that O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami is a huge deterrent, especially if you can give it double strike so that you can remove two permanents. The Hellkite Charger has been looking towards my cut line just because of the fact it costs lots of mana to use its extra battle effect. Especially since I already have Scourge of the Throne and Aggravated Assault.

August 29, 2017 7:49 p.m.

Rabid_Wombat says... #20

Derpsofdoom picked up a Scourge of the Throne before it's price spiked - thanks for the tip!

Hope hurricane Harvey clears off so you can get to hit some kitchen tables...I've owned dozens of EDH decks and have to say that the upgraded Draconic Domination is the best Commander deck ever IMHO!

August 29, 2017 10:11 p.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #21

Rabid_Wombat, wow that price spike is insane. I think I got my copy for about $8 a long time ago. It was part of my Xenagos deck.

I agree with you that this deck is powerful. Most of the dragons in it are great. Just needed an upgrade to mana fixing and a bit of spot removal and it's good to go.

August 29, 2017 10:22 p.m.

Derpsofdoom says... #22

@Rabid_Wombat: Holy crap, did not see that Scourge of the Throne went that much in price. It was originally like $13 from cardkingdom when I was building this deck. This thing shot in price solely because of this new commander deck?! So glad that my friend traded me his for the Hour of Devastation I had. He didn't care and I asked him if he was ok with the value difference and he said it was fine. He wasn't use the Scourge of the Throne so hey, guess it is my gain. Yeah I am looking forward to playing this because of the fact it is dragons. In just about every card game that I could play, I would always build a dragon deck of some sort. Back when I use to play yu-gi-oh, I always had my main deck as a dragon deck or something that had a dragon as its all star card. Magic it was harder but with this new commander, the dream can be lived and I can't wait to play it. Some of my pretesting might show that a few more ramp cards might be nice. Also thinking of cutting Temple of the False God for Reflecting Pool or something along those lines. The two colorless is really situational and only usable for spells like Selvala's Stampede or Rishkar's Expertise. Most of the time my dragon spells get cost reduced so much that temple just doesn't shine.

August 29, 2017 11:49 p.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #23

If you are looking for a different land, both Exotic Orchard and Ancient Ziggurat are performing well in mine. The exotic orchard is at worst an untapped tri-land in most cases.

August 29, 2017 11:57 p.m.

Rabid_Wombat says... #24

I'll second MegaMatt13- Exotic Orchard is real handy, especially when you play in groups of 3-4 peeps. Another land that has been a stand out performer for my deck is Cascading Cataracts - when you are struggling for mana it saves the day with 5-color combinations for Fist of Suns, O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami or even The Ur-Dragon himself!

August 30, 2017 12:31 a.m.

ImtheRealBear says... #25

Thunderbreak Regent punishes people for messing with your dragons. Dragonmaster Outcast is a dragon token gen.

August 31, 2017 3:08 p.m.

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