Draconic Roar: Standard Mono-Red Dragon Burn

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Before We Start

Foundations adds new material to many traditional tribes, and the powerful, cool Dragon tribe is no exception. However, although Dragons are very strong, their costs are mostly clunky. Is there really a way to pack lots of them into a deck? This time let’s take on a Standard Dragon tribal deck!

Card Analysis

To cast Dragons efficiently, acceleration is absolutely necessary. Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind, reprinted in Foundations, is the core of this Dragon deck. Not only is it a three-mana ramp artifact that lets you jump from three mana to five, but the mana it produces also gives the Dragon spells you cast haste, so your Dragon can hit the opponent with a wake-up call the turn it enters. The decklist is as follows:

Decklist

Of course, four Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind alone is certainly not enough ramp, so we also use Dragonlord’s Servant and Heraldic Banner as supplementary acceleration. Dragonlord’s Servant gives Dragon cost reduction, and its weakness of a poor body is shored up by Heraldic Banner, letting it still contribute some power late in the game.

With ramp settled, let’s look at the Dragons themselves. Since the deck’s ramp tempo is three jumping to five, and the rare and mythic Dragons happen to cluster at five mana, we put the main Dragon creatures at that cost. First is Bonehoard Dracosaur, which does both offense and defense. A 5/5 flying first striker can stop the vast majority of creature threats, and in your upkeep it impulse-draws two cards, and depending on the types of the exiled cards also makes Dinosaur and/or Treasure tokens. Without a doubt, play a full set.

Next is Dragonhawk, Fate’s Tempest, which also has impulse-draw ability. It impulse-draws on entering or attacking, and cards you do not use can be converted into direct damage, combining aggression and staying power. Considering it is legendary, play two.

Terror of the Peaks is the embodiment of pure damage. It has a built-in Warstorm Surge that lets all your other entering creatures hit any target directly, and with its own alternative protection of 3 life, it can usually deal at least 3 damage. However, the body itself is not outstanding and it relies on another creature entering, so I do not play a full set.

There are plenty of choices at six mana and above. After testing and consideration, I chose the relatively plain Shivan DragonTyrant of Kher Ridges. It deals 4 damage to any target on entering, great whether for removal or burning face, and its built-in firebreathing lets it deal double-digit damage in one punch after surviving a turn, making it a fitting finisher at the top of the deck.

Having the creatures concentrated at five and six mana seems a bit risky, so we also use the cost-flexible Shivan Devastator as a curve supplement.

With the creatures covered, next are the removal choices. Based on the need for direct damage, the fact that the three-mana artifact ramp leaves one mana, and the abundant mana in the late game, for one-mana removal I use the kickable Burst Lightning, plus the Dragon-specific Battle Invasion of Tarkir // Defiant Thundermaw, which can raise its reach early by revealing Dragon cards in hand. Although defense five is rather high, it can be punched through by the deck’s hasty Dragons. After Invasion of Tarkir transforms, Defiant Thundermaw sends a Shock every time one of your Dragons attacks, also a powerful Dragon card that causes trouble if not answered. For nonbasic lands, I put in four Cavern of Souls for now; readers who want other special lands can adjust themselves.

Gameplay Demo

This video is made up of two games. The first is against a black-green deathtouch poison deck, where I simply and brutally ended the game with turn-three Orb, turn-four hasty Terror of the Peaks, and turn-five hasty Tyrant of Kher Ridges. The second is against a blue-black control deck built around Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber. In this game the opponent countered the Orb on turn three, and then I used Bonehoard Dracosaur and Dragonhawk, Fate’s Tempest to farm resources back and forth while burning face. Although the opponent sent out bigger Demon tokens, fear of burn left them in an awkward spot, unable to advance or retreat. In the end Terror of the Peaks and Dragonhawk formed a combo that transformed into Defiant Thundermaw, removing the opponent’s Demon token and dealing 9 damage directly to the opponent, then I sent a Burst Lightning to burn their last 1 life and win.

Conclusion

Although the version introduced in this article is mono-red, with slight adjustments to the lands it can actually become two colors or more. Interested readers can try it from many angles. For example, Sarkhan, Soul Aflame and Rivaz of the Claw both synergize quite well with the deck, and you can add more kinds of removal to handle threats mono-red cannot answer. Wishing all readers a fun time playing.