(Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai | Art by Daarken)

Here, There Be Dragons...

Welcome back to 60 to 100, the series where we take beloved decks from 60-card formats and convert them to Commander.

The release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm has lured me back into jamming games of Standard for the first time in a while. Since the set's release on MTG: Arena, I've been scouring the internet for decks to slot my favorite new cards into, like Skirmish RhinoSkirmish Rhino and Magmatic HellkiteMagmatic Hellkite.

So far, one deck has really captured my attention: Jeskai() Dragons. In this article, we're going to be looking at a very early draft of the deck and then we're going to port it over to Commander.

I'm really excited for this one, as I'm not normally one for kindred strategies. My goal today is to make a Dragon kindred deck that doesn't make me yawn. Let's get to it, shall we?

The Source Material

What Does Jeskai Dragons Do?

Jeskai Dragons is what I like to call an aggressive control deck. Many of our Dragons double as removal spells or card draw, thanks to the new Omen subtype. This flexibility allows the deck to play a fairly slow early game. You slow down your opponent with the Omen side of Dragons, like Runescale StormbroodRunescale Stormbrood or Twinmaw StormbroodTwinmaw Stormbrood, then start deploying Dragons and running your opponent over.

Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai is the piece that ties the whole thing together. Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai is both a way to refill your hand while you're turning your Dragons sideways and a way to bounce Dragons back to your hand to re-use their enters triggers, which makes certain cards that would ordinarily be a little underwhelming much stronger.

The first time that you resolve Magmatic HellkiteMagmatic Hellkite's enters trigger isn't the biggest deal. The third or fourth time you blow up your opponent's land, that's another story. All of this comes together to form a control deck that can also satisfy my secret Timmy urge to cast giant creatures.

The Commander

The most appealing part of Jeskai Dragons to me is bouncing and replaying Dragons with explosive enters triggers. It scratches the same itch that blink decks, like Yorion, Sky NomadYorion, Sky Nomad, do, and that's exactly what I'm looking for. Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai is the obvious commander for leaning into this strategy. Additionally, Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai is a card advantage engine, which gives me the option of burning a lot of cards to ramp into them and then refilling my hand by doing combat damage.

The biggest change in dynamic between the Standard and Commander versions of this deck is that in Standard, you're playing a control deck until you turn the corner and start playing Dragons. In Commander, you don't really become a control deck until the Dragons have already hit the board.

Ramp

Mana VaultMana Vault is a card that I'm usually reluctant to included in casual decks, even in the Optimized (4) bracket where I'm aiming for this deck to sit. I'm not fond of one-time use ramp that is effectively card disadvantage. However, Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai draws cards to make up for it and getting it out there as quickly as possible is paramount. I'm using this deck to try out Mox JasperMox Jasper as a ramp option. I'm generally skeptical of the newest addition to Mox family, but I think this deck can take advantage of it better than most.

Then, alongside the typical suite of Talismans and Signets, I've included some cost-reducers, like Sarkhan, Soul AflameSarkhan, Soul Aflame. I like the cost-reducers a lot as they can effectively generate two or more mana in a turn in later stages of the game where you're hopefully casting more than one Dragon in a turn.

The Dragons

There are a lot of excellent options for Dragons to replay using Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai. Thundermaw HellkiteThundermaw Hellkite comes in and taps down most opposing creatures that could block your Dragons. When used over and over again, you can push an obscene amount of damage through over the course of two or three turns.

Stormscale ScionStormscale Scion is a new card that can add an unfathomable amount of power to your board when cast once. Picking it up and playing it again, even at a storm count of two or three, can create an insurmountable advantage. Obsidian CharmawObsidian Charmaw is a rather mean card that Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai can turn into a once per turn land destruction engine.

Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai isn't just good for reusing enters or cast triggers. You can return GlorybringerGlorybringer to your hand after exerting it to get around the downside of your creature not untapping. Picking up a Dragon with an Omen or Adventure side, like Twinmaw StormbroodTwinmaw Stormbrood or Sword Coast SerpentSword Coast Serpent, to use their other halves is an extra bit of utility that can come up from time to time, though I would advise you to be careful when doing this with Omens as they do shuffle themselves back into the deck after resolving.

I'm very much in love with the sheer number of options each combat step provides because of the versatility of Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai's ability. That versatility will likely create a lot of games where you walk away thinking about the seven or so combat steps where you probably could have made a better decision.

Hellkite CourserHellkite Courser is a sweet new card that helps get Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai back into play if they are removed too many times. This card would be good in just about any deck that really cares about having its commander in play, but it's particularly good here. Once Hellkite CourserHellkite Courser brings Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai to the battlefield, you can attack with Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai and bounce it back to your hand. This circumvents the pesky "return it back to the command zone" clause.

Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant and Scourge of the ThroneScourge of the Throne are threats that will end the game nearly every time you cast them. If you aren't outright winning the game, Scourge of the ThroneScourge of the Throne gives you another combat step to draw cards by attacking with your Dragons. Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant also opens up a pretty easy path to commander damage kills, given that Zurgo and OjutaiZurgo and Ojutai will be hitting for 8 damage each combat step.

Interaction

One potential complication you can arrive at when playing a deck like this is the amount of removal that putting huge Dragons into play tends to draw. When you have 40 power on your board, your opponents will be digging for removal, be it a Doom BladeDoom Blade or a DamnationDamnation.

I've included several ways to help mitigate this problem. First, we have a plethora of traditional protection spells, like Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude, Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection, and Boros CharmBoros Charm. Second, there are several Dragons that ward off interaction. Thunderbreak RegentThunderbreak Regent and Scalelord ReckonerScalelord Reckoner disincentivize opponents from pointing spot removal at your board.

If there's one thing I've learned about Commander players, it's that adding a small cost to a game action they would otherwise be happy to take often stops them from taking that game action entirely; PropagandaPropaganda and Ghostly PrisonGhostly Prison are fantastic examples of this phenomenon.

Finally, I've included the cycle of Dragons with death triggers from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, like Atsushi, the Blazing SkyAtsushi, the Blazing Sky. While they don't directly prevent removal, they do kind of dare your opponents to cast their Wrath of GodWrath of God. If a board wipe does happen, these death triggers will hopefully leave you in a better position than your opponents to rebuild.

Counterspells are a critical part of any blue deck's interaction suite. Stubborn DenialStubborn Denial is a hard counter for just one mana if we control a creature with four or more power, something a deck filled with big Dragons shouldn't struggle to do. I've also included a number of counterspells that synergize with our Dragons, like Dispelling ExhaleDispelling Exhale and Lofty DenialLofty Denial.

I find that "counter target spell unless its controller pays 4" is just enough to be good even in later stages of the game. Runescale StormbroodRunescale Stormbrood is a Dragon and a counterspell. It isn't particularly good at either of those jobs, but alas I could not resist the combination.

In a deck that wants to put a Dragon on the battlefield nearly every turn, removal spells that reward you for doing just that are a high priority. Hammerhead TyrantHammerhead Tyrant just might be my favorite of the cards to come out of the most recent Commander decks. Aside from having the coolest head ever put on a Dragon, it is also a Tidespout TyrantTidespout Tyrant.

Terror of the PeaksTerror of the Peaks can snipe creatures off the battlefield each time one of yours enters, something our commander virtually guarantees will happen at least once each turn. Invasion of TarkirInvasion of Tarkir is effectively multiple removal spells, one when you cast it and then many more when you flip it and start attacking with it in play.

Wrap Up

This is the seventh installment of this series that I've written, and I'm really happy to see this series return to its original home on EDHREC! If you'd like to see the other installments I've written, you can find them on Commander's Herald.

If you are enjoying Tarkir: Dragonstorm as much as I am, I'd recommend my last article in which I build a deck centered around Tempest HawkTempest Hawk. Thank you so much for reading, and I'd love to hear about the cool Dragon decks you're building with cards from the new set down below.