( Silumgar, the Drifting DeathSilumgar, the Drifting Death | Steven Belledin)

Tarkir: Dragonstorm has given us some beefy new Dragons. Teval, Arbiter of VirtueTeval, Arbiter of Virtue serves as a brutal reminder of the power of the delve mechanic, Ureni of the UnwrittenUreni of the Unwritten can fill the sky with Dragons alarmingly quickly, and Betor, Kin to AllBetor, Kin to All can do some truly busted things if you gather together enough high-toughness creatures, but if there's one lesson that the time-warped plane of Tarkir teaches us, it's that we should never forget our history. The original Tarkir block also gave us a scaly brood of imposing draconic commanders, but not all of these legendary Dragons from 10 years ago have earned a place in the hearts of the Commander community.

Silumgar, the Drifting DeathSilumgar, the Drifting Death, who we'll be examining for Under the Radar today, currently leads only 401 decks. The reason for Silumgar's unpopularity is pretty clear: he's a Dimir Dragon kindred commander printed before that could be a viable strategy. There were only 19 Dragons available in Silumgar's color identity when he was first released. Now that figure has more than trebled to 72, meaning there are more than enough blue and black Dragons to fill Silumgar's roost.

Let's have a look at Tarkir's grumpiest former overlord and see what a blue and black Dragon kindred deck built around him looks like.

Silumgar Strategies

We'll build a Dragon kindred deck to take advantage of Silumgar's ability to reduce the stats of creatures for every Dragon we attack with. We'll need to get throngs of Dragons out as quickly as we can, protect them from board wipes and other removal effects, and use kindred support cards, like Herald's HornHerald's Horn, Kindred DiscoveryKindred Discovery, and Vanquisher's BannerVanquisher's Banner, to reward us for building our deck primarily from creatures of a single type.

Since Dragons typically have high mana values, we'll need to play plenty of ramping effects to get them out as early as possible. While we don't have access to green, there are plenty of artifacts that we can use to accelerate our mana production. SignetsSignets, talismanstalismans, clocksclocks, and baublesbaubles are great in any deck, but we'll need them at a higher rate here to account for all of the costly creatures that we'll be running.

We also need to ensure that we're selective about the Dragons that we run. There are some great Dragons in our colors now, like Boneyard ScourgeBoneyard Scourge, Brainstealer DragonBrainstealer Dragon, and Keiga, the Tide StarKeiga, the Tide Star. This means that there's no need to put in pack filler like Oculus WhelpOculus Whelp, Chardalyn DragonChardalyn Dragon, or Mindscour DragonMindscour Dragon.

Finally, it would be good to grab some effects that synergize with Silumgar's ability. Since Silumgar destroys creatures by reducing their toughness to 0, any other cards that we can find that debuff the opponents' creatures will be great, since they will help to finish big creatures off. Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge works fantastically at finishing the job in your second main, once you've swept in with a wave of Dragons during your combat phase.

Silumgar's Average Deck

There are currently 401 Silumgar, the Drifting DeathSilumgar, the Drifting Death decks logged on EDHREC. The Average Deck function takes them all and then pops out a fun list based on recurring cards that appear across many of them. The results generated factor in new cards that are quickly rising in popularity, so don't worry about missing any of the spicy new cards from Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Here's what the list looks like:

Don't let the absence of red fool you: this is absolutely a Dragon kindred deck. Including Silumgar himself, there are 23 Dragons here ready to take flight. If you count changelings, like GraveshifterGraveshifter, and clone cards, like Spark DoubleSpark Double, then every single creature here is a Dragon or has the potential to become one. You don't need to run a 100% pure Dragon list for this to work. In fact, it may be worth slipping some non-Dragons in there to give yourself access to more rampramp and other usefulother useful utility effectsutility effects.

Our curve is quite high, but we do have a lot of mana rocks to help soften that cost. Similarly, we've got a lot of great card draw effects, like Reconnaissance MissionReconnaissance Mission and Roiling DragonstormRoiling Dragonstorm, to ensure that we'll never be short of Dragons. A Dragon in the hand is worth two in the deck, after all.

Silumgar loves hoarding Treasures, and this list certainly shows that off. There are some pricey cards here, from the $40+ Ancient Silver DragonAncient Silver Dragon, to $20-$30 cards like Morphic PoolMorphic Pool, Astral DragonAstral Dragon, and Ancient Brass DragonAncient Brass Dragon. Even setting those aside, Watery GraveWatery Grave, Kindred DiscoveryKindred Discovery, and Spark DoubleSpark Double also cost you a pretty penny. You don't need to spend as much as a Dragon Lord of Tarkir to put a fun list together. If you need to cut some of these cards for budgetary reasons that's understandable. Ancient Silver Dragon is strong, but there are plenty of other curve-topping Dragons out there for a fraction of the price.

Now let's drift into some analysis...

5 Cards to Keep for Silumgar

Sivitri, Dragon MasterSivitri, Dragon Master

Currently in 54% of decks

While Dimir Dragons isn't a massively popular archetype, Sivitri, Dragon MasterSivitri, Dragon Master is a staple card for the strategy. A tutor that can dissuade opponents from attacking you and potentially act as a Crux of FateCrux of Fate if it reaches seven loyalty. While we're not sliding Sivitri into our command zone, she's still more than welcome in this blue and black draconic deck.

Changeling OutcastChangeling Outcast

Currently in 60% of decks

This deck, like many Dragon decks, is lacking when it comes to low-cost creatures. Fortunately, Changeling OutcastChangeling Outcast is a pretty damn good one-drop that is, technically, a Dragon. Since this card is unblockable, if we have Silumgar, the Drifting DeathSilumgar, the Drifting Death in play we can send it after any player to wipe out their one-toughness creatures without risking anything. Changeling OutcastChangeling Outcast is also the cheapest way to trigger any of our cards that care about Dragons entering play, like Dragon's HoardDragon's Hoard, Kindred DiscoveryKindred Discovery, and Roiling DragonstormRoiling Dragonstorm.

Reflections of LittjaraReflections of Littjara

Currently in 40% of decks

This card isn't quite Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm, but it does a great impression of her by cloning any Dragons we cast. Since Dragons tend to be pretty massive, we'll be getting our five mana's worth for this card back pretty promptly. Two Braintstealer DragonsBraintstealer Dragons can quickly strip our opponents of their best cards. Two Astral DragonsAstral Dragons will give us 20/20 worth of stats spread out over six bodies. Even cloning legends like Keiga, the Tide StarKeiga, the Tide Star and Junji, the Midnight SkyJunji, the Midnight Sky will grant us an immediate effect of their death triggers when we sacrifice them to the legend rule.

Cloning Dragons always ends well, and definitely isn't the premise for an episode of a fantasy-themed Black Mirror spin-off.

Scavenger RegentScavenger Regent

Currently in 10% of decks

Black Dragon kindred decks have a surprisingly high number of one-sided board wipes. There are already cards like Crux of FateCrux of Fate and Kindred DominanceKindred Dominance, and now we have Scavenger RegentScavenger Regent. It does require a potentially steep mana investment, but given that it gets rid of creatures by depleting their toughness, it can take out indestructible creatures. And of course, when you don't need a board wipe, Scavenger RegentScavenger Regent can swoop in as a 4/4 flyer.

FlatlineFlatline

Currently in 39% of decks

Silumgar'sSilumgar's ability to wipe out creatures by reducing their toughness to nothing is undeniably powerful, but it can sometimes struggle to finish off big threats. It can be hard to get enough Dragons out to fully deplete the toughness of stompy monstrosities like Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger, Worldspine WurmWorldspine Wurm, or Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus. That's where FlatlineFlatline comes in.

By reducing the stats of all of our opponents' creatures to 0/1, we'll only need to attack each of them with a single Dragon to rid ourselves of all of their creatures. What's better is that Flatline isn't even the only card with an effect like this. Polymorphist's JestPolymorphist's Jest, Mass DiminishMass Diminish, and Sudden SpoilingSudden Spoiling all offer a similar ability to turn even the mightiest creatures into bite-sized snacks ready to be devoured by our Dragons.

5 Cards to Cut for Silumgar

Silumgar MonumentSilumgar Monument

Currently in 44% of decks

If you want this card in your deck alongside Silumgar's CommandSilumgar's Command for flavor reasons, then I would be the last person to stop you. Go nuts and build a massive monument to our Dimir Dragon overlords. In terms of raw power, though, there are much better mana rocks out there. The six mana that we need to spend transforming this into a Dragon would be better spent on just about anything else. If we spend six mana on Marang River RegentMarang River Regent then we get a 6/7 flyer and can bounce two cards. If we spend six mana on this, we get a 4/4 flyer for a single turn.

With monuments like this, it's no wonder the Dragon Lords of Tarkir ended up getting deposed.

GraveshifterGraveshifter

Currently in 46% of decks

While black and blue don't have the best selection of Dragons, things aren't so desperate that we'll need to run GraveshifterGraveshifter. This deck does need cheaper creatures but, at four mana, GraveshifterGraveshifter is still quite pricy. Not only that, but its ability to return creatures to our hand isn't tremendously useful, since we'll need to pay all of the mana to cast them again.

While Fearsome AwakeningFearsome Awakening isn't an amazing card, it's the sort of graveyard recursion that this deck wants. Putting one of our Dragons straight back into play from the graveyard is more useful than playing a 2/2 that brings them back to hand since we probably won't be able to recast them until our next turn.

Crucible of the Spirit DragonCrucible of the Spirit Dragon

Currently in 30% of decks

Don't confuse this card with Haven of the Spirit DragonHaven of the Spirit Dragon, which I would recommend keeping. Crucible of the Spirit DragonCrucible of the Spirit Dragon can be useful in five-color Dragon decks thanks to its ability to fix mana, but it's not useful here. We would always rather have a blue/black dual land, or even a basic IslandIsland or SwampSwamp than this crummy Crucible. We need to sink mana and time into this card for it not to function like a WastesWastes, and even when we do make that investment we can't use the mana for anything other than Dragons and their abilities.

Even the most devoted Dragon kindred player would admit that you need to run some instants, sorceries, enchantments, and artifacts in your deck, and this card can't help cast those.

Necromaster DragonNecromaster Dragon

Currently in 41% of decks

Necromaster DragonNecromaster Dragon is a 10-year-old bulk rare that just can't cut it anymore. We're unlikely to have the two spare mana lying around that this card requires to make Zombie tokens. Even if we do, we'd be much better off using it to hold up a counterspell or to cast a better Dragon instead. This card's milling effect also has no synergy with the rest of the deck and may end up helping out anyone else at the table that wants to load up their graveyard. The pool for potential Dragons is deep enough that we can avoid running this.

Draconic LoreDraconic Lore

Currently in 32% of decks

While it's easy to ensure that Draconic LoreDraconic Lore gets cast for its reduced cost, the card is still only a HarmonizeHarmonize. In Commander, it's better to have recurring card draw effects than one-off effects. This deck has an amazing suite of draw spells, like Kindred DiscoveryKindred Discovery, Reconnaissance MissionReconnaissance Mission, and Roiling DragonstormRoiling Dragonstorm, that will keep our hand fully stocked up as the turns go by. It's just not as efficient to sink between four and six mana into a one-off drawing effect.

5 Cards to Add for Silumgar

Bone DevourerBone Devourer

Currently in 4% of decks

Bone DevourerBone Devourer is a shiny new Dragon from Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander. While a 2/2 for doesn't sound hugely appealing, this bone-munching monster has the potential to grow significantly bigger. Its ability to gain a +1/+1 counter for every creature that dies on the turn that it enters play works wonderfully with Silumgar'sSilumgar's ability to kill lots of creatures. It can also be flashed out in the aftermath of a board wipe to help us stabilize. Finally, when the time comes for Bone Devourer to die, it draws us plenty of cards as it goes.

Thrilling EncoreThrilling Encore

Currently in 8% of decks

Bringing out a pumped-up Bone DevourerBone Devourer after a board wipe is one thing, bringing every creature on the battlefield back into play under our control is quite another. Thrilling EncoreThrilling Encore is another spell that synergizes perfectly with Silumgar'sSilumgar's ability to kill so many creatures. Tactically target your Dragon attacks to get as many creatures killed as possible, and then use this card to seize them all for yourself. Thrilling Encore is a real showstopper.

Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum

Currently in 17% of decks

Since this deck is based around casting big creatures and has no access to green, we'll need tools to help us ramp. Fortunately, Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum exists for situations exactly like this. I'm sure I don't need to explain what makes this sad little robot such a powerful card; it has stood the test of time since 2003 as one of the best ramping options out there. It may not be a Dragon, but Silumgar'sSilumgar's should be honored to include this unhappy artifact creature in his brood.

Dragonstorm GlobeDragonstorm Globe

Currently in 3% of decks

Dragonstorm GlobeDragonstorm Globe isn't quite as good as Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum, but it's certainly a lot better than ManalithManalith. This deck will need more mana rocks than usual due to the high cost of many of its creatures. We can slot this card into the vacancy created by tagging out Silumgar MonumentSilumgar Monument. This mana rock rewards you for running Dragons, and is significantly less expensive than Mox JasperMox Jasper. In fact, you can buy more than 100 Dragonstorm Globes for less than the price of a single Mox Jasper, and recreate your very own cardboard Dragonstorm Globe.

Whether you choose to put this card in your deck or use it for an arts and crafts project, it's a perfectly serviceable mana rock.

Blood ArtistBlood Artist

Currently in 3% of decks

As has been pretty well established at this point, SilumgarSilumgar is great at killing things. Blood ArtistBlood Artist, meanwhile, is a card that loves it when things die. While Blood ArtistBlood Artist typically works best in sacrifice-based decks, since this card doesn't care about who controls the creatures that die, it also works nicely here. If we use Silumgar to attack an opponent with a massive board of small creatures, then we can damage them not only using combat damage, but also with some extra pings from Blood Artist.

Conclusion

Building kindred decks in colors that don't support them can be challenging, but it's also very rewarding. Missing red locks Silumgar, the Drifting DeathSilumgar, the Drifting Death out of all sorts of useful cards, from Minion of the MightyMinion of the Mighty to Lathliss, Dragon QueenLathliss, Dragon Queen. There are plenty of mono-red Dragon decks out there already, though, and who wants to do things the easy way?

Of course SilumgarSilumgar is far from the only commander from the original Tarkir block that needs some love. You could experiment with Selesnya Dragons using Dromoka, the EternalDromoka, the Eternal, or go for a more aggro-focused build around Kolaghan, the Storm's FuryKolaghan, the Storm's Fury.

Tarkir is more than just its Dragons, and commanders like Anafenza, Kin-Tree SpiritAnafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, and Surrak, the Hunt CallerSurrak, the Hunt Caller could also use a re-evaluation. When another 10 years have gone by, who knows which commanders from Tarkir: Dragonstorm we'll be looking back on nostalgically, and which will have slipped Under the Radar.