Advice for protection for izzet dragons
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 15, 2022, 10:59 a.m. by NTakamura
I have a Dragon tribal deck that has Renari, Merchant of Marvels and Dragon Cultist as my commander and background. I recently played a few games with it and once I had 2 dragons they became a target. I know this is what comes with big creatures. So my question is what are some way to protect them? The deck theme is around casting dragons at instant speed and blinking them for extra value. I can see the blinking as somewhat of Protection. But so fat I have; Deadeye Navigator, Displacer Kitten, Essence Flux, Ghostly Flicker, March of Swirling Mist, Planar Incision, Teferi's Time Twist, Vanishing, Vodalian Illusionist. Let no if I am missing something in the blink category or if there are other forms of protect I can use. Here is a link to my decklist.
bushido_man96 says... #4
I agree with the idea of adding in some counter magic. That's blue's bailiwick. But what about staples like Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves? You may not want shroud on your creatures, so maybe not the Greaves. But the Boots, Mask of Avacyn, and others like it will go along way to protecting your commander.
September 15, 2022 11:54 p.m.
armageddonrabbit says... #5
Realistically, I'd probably second the hexproof equipment.
Maybe Thunderbreak Regent, and/or Niv-Mizzet, Parun are worth a look? Maybe not as effective protection as the others, but they are synergistic dragons.
September 18, 2022 12:38 p.m.
Crockosneef says... #6
Oh fun, I'm actually in a relatively similar situation, as I'm working on a Renari/Cultist deck, myself! While I run Lightning Greaves, I mainly run counter magic and removal. We have different themes, though, as you're going for blink.
Instant speed blink is definitely your best bet, as they go splendidly with your theme. While the cards you've listed there are definitely quite strong, I personally would shy away from the creatures and enchantments, as being able to cast just about anything at instant speed is definitely a strength which should be played into. Taking into account artifacts which blink you like Voyager Staff might be a good option? I also think phasing is a bit antithetical to your overall game plan, as they don't enable ETB duplication and there's just way more instant-speed blink enablers out there that are worth running over the phasing cards. That's my 2 cents, anyway.
September 18, 2022 3:32 p.m.
I agree with multimedia that Spellskite is a good option.
Personally, I like Kira, Great Glass-Spinner the most, as it protects your whole board at a low mana cost.
Hope this helps!
September 19, 2022 8:27 a.m.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I did add some Counterspell to the deck. Crockosneef I would be interested to see how your version looks like.
September 19, 2022 12:08 p.m.
Crockosneef says... #10
NTakamura I have it posted in my deck lists if you want to come take a look. It's still a WIP, as I'm trying to see what works and what doesn't. For example, looking at your Renari deck, Supreme Will is a card which somehow completely went under my radar and I'll have to try that one out.
plakjekaas says... #2
The blue way of protecting your stuff is traditionally Counterspell and its kin.
September 15, 2022 2:33 p.m.