Neriv, Heart of the StormNeriv, Heart of the Storm | Art by Victor Adame Minguez

Blink & Burn

Hello, fellow brewer, and welcome back to Brew For Your Buck, where we swap out the top 10 most expensive cards in a deck with 10 budget cards that add a unique twist. Tarkir: Dragonstorm is here, and it's time to start looking at all the Dragony goodness the set has in store for us.

Three-color sets are always fun, and this is no exception. Of course, you gotta pick your favorite clan, and for me, it's Mardu. I've always liked the aesthetics and mechanics of the cards, and if you've followed this series at all, you know my playstyle tendencies lean towards .

Oh, the possibilities. Neriv will speed up Commander games like that (I snapped my fingers), which is always welcome, and the text on the card leaves open a ton of brewing options, from haste, to myriad, to straight-up burn. Taking a look at the average list from EDHREC we get a starting price of $417.78. These nonlands are our big offenders:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection ($40.00)
               2. Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant ($26.09)
               3. Terror of the PeaksTerror of the Peaks ($19.99)
               4. Jeska's WillJeska's Will ($18.46)
               5. Battle Angels of TyrBattle Angels of Tyr ($14.01)
               6. Voice of VictoryVoice of Victory ($13.96)
               7. Orthion, Hero of LavabrinkOrthion, Hero of Lavabrink ($10.26)
               8. The Master, MultipliedThe Master, Multiplied ($9.17)
               9. Goldspan DragonGoldspan Dragon ($7.34)
               10. Aurelia, the WarleaderAurelia, the Warleader ($6.05)

Total Value of Cuts: $165.33

Another very top-heavy list, it seems. As for the lands, it would be easier to list the lands NOT being replaced. Early brewers of Neriv have built a great albeit very expensive mana base. Check the final list for how I rebuilt it to replace the expensive lands and gain an additional $178.14 in savings, for a total of $343.47.

On first look, the deck seems to be focused around hasted creatures, or things like Blade of SelvesBlade of Selves, which give us tapped and attacking copies. That's all well and good, but why limit doubling that damage to just your combat phase? Neriv will see blinked creatures as new instances of "a creature you control", so we can re-use a single instance of a burn trigger over and over again.

Additions

Blink

To clarify how the triggers are going to work, let's use Red DragonRed Dragon as a simple example. It domes all your opponents for 4 damage, and it's a Dragon, so it's on theme. We'll also assume Neriv is on the battlefield, so the goal is to maximize the number of times we can trigger Red DragonRed Dragon to deal 8 damage to each opponent. Presumably we only need to do that five times to win, so let's see how fast we can get there.

Semester's End ($0.37) and Lae'zel's Acrobatics ($1.25) are the first additions. Not only do they blink the entire team (and if you roll well, blink them twice), they're also our substitutes for Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection, helping to protect our board. Four mana is a lot to hold up in both cases, but the payoff is huge in response to a board wipe or with a good group of creatures with ETB value.

Quick note: if you're going to cast these right before you untap, make sure to clarify to the table that it's in your opponent's second main phase, not their end step, or you won't have your creatures on your turn! Red Dragon triggers: 1 (maybe 2) = 8 (maybe 16) damage.

Next up, we have another new card from Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Mardu SiegebreakerMardu Siegebreaker ($1.77). This works similar to the myriad cards we have in the deck, like Duke Ulder RavengardDuke Ulder Ravengard or Blade of SelvesBlade of Selves, with the key difference being that it makes a third copy of the creature it exiles.

Myriad will only make two (assuming you have three opponents), so it gives us another trigger and another instance of combat damage to combo with Neriv. Then, when it dies or leaves the battlefield, you get your creature back for presumably another trigger! Red Dragon triggers: 3 (maybe 4) = 24 (maybe 32) damage

Of course, where would a blink deck be without PanharmoniconPanharmonicon ($3.02)? In our Red Dragon example, it functions the same as a single blink, but the potential is so much higher. Doubling the triggers means that each instance of the damage is doubled, so if you have a way to blink multiple times or create multiple copies, the burn gets out of hand real quick.

Let's go to magical Christmas-land and say we have Neriv, PanharmoniconPanharmonicon, and Mardu SiegebreakerMardu Siegebreaker that exiled Red DragonRed Dragon on the battlefield. Siegebreaker attacks, making three Red Dragons (also attacking).

They each trigger twice when they enter for six total Red Dragon triggers, all which get doubled to 8 damage. Yes it's unlikely, but it is possible. And we are here for the possible. Red Dragon triggers: a lot = a lot x 8 damage

Tokens

Another way to increase our Red Dragon trigger count is by making a bunch of copies of it. We have ways to do this via myriad or just straight copy effects, like Delina, Wild MageDelina, Wild Mage. I noticed we were missing Echoing AssaultEchoing Assault ($0.53).

In this particular case, we're only ever getting one Red Dragon trigger, but crucially this lets us copy multiple creatures for multiple ETBs just for attacking. On top of that, any other tokens we have running around get menace, making them even harder for opponents to ignore.

Mirage PhalanxMirage Phalanx ($1.42) is another way to copy a creature, plus we get a free 4/4 (which will probably attack for 8) to boot. If the Red Dragon that we soulbonded to dies, we can then play another creature, soulbond to it, and keep the party going. Firbolg FlutistFirbolg Flutist ($0.17) relies a bit on our opponents' creatures, but with all the blink and tokens copies we can make, who cares? We can just end up stealing all the important creatures from our opponents and, thanks to myriad, everyone gets smacked by them!

Damage Amplification

One of red's signature effects is amplifying damage. We lose out on Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant because of the price, but that doesn't mean we can't have some. Gisela remains in the deck, and we'll also throw in Quest for Pure FlameQuest for Pure Flame ($0.51). Its low mana cost means you can sneak it in anywhere along the curve, and we're dealing so much damage that this will come online in no time.

Once we're ready, pop the Quest and double all the damage for our big damage turn. With Neriv doubling a bunch of that damage again, it probably means we win.

Redder Dragons

We've talked a bunch about Red Dragon, but what about other creatures that will give us the same, if not more benefits? Fear of Burning AliveFear of Burning Alive ($0.04) is a Red Dragon that can also wreck opposing board states since we have a pretty decent spread of card types to support Delirium.

If you're looking for some closer to Red Dragon, how about a Bird Dragon? Dragonhawk, Fate's TempestDragonhawk, Fate's Tempest ($3.92) is one mana cheaper and provides us some crucial card velocity or a ton of damage. If Neriv is out, you probably just want to leave all the cards exiled on the turn Dragonhawk enters, since all that damage will be doubled. After that, Dragonhawk's trigger will still deal damage but it won't be doubled with Neriv.

Wrap Up & Savings

Let's see what we saved:

Not bad at all for our first foray into Tarkir: Dragonstorm! There are a bunch of ways to customize this deck, like adding Bogardan HellkiteBogardan Hellkite, Tyrant of Kher RidgesTyrant of Kher Ridges, and other Dragon cards, or you could lean more in the extra combat direction and maximize attack triggers. I did feel that the deck's curve was a little top heavy, so let me know in the comments if you've got some sub-4 mana cards we could throw in as well. Also, if you're interested in having one of your decks BFYB-ified, send an email to [email protected], include an Archidekt link and a few sentences about what you're hoping to improve, and it might be featured in a future article (after all the Tarkir stuff). Until then, happy brewing, and I'll see you next time when we brew for your buck!

Please note: card prices listed in this article are accurate at the time of writing, but prices can vary over time and between locations.