While many were happy to see that Standard was left untouched by yesterday’s MTG bans, no changes may not bode well for Tarkir: Dragonstorm. The aggressive package in Standard is so powerful that it is also dominating the Pioneer format.
Many players were looking forward to a Dragon Standard deck appearing in the Standard format. As a fan favorite archetype, there would likely be a long line of enthusiastic players who would pick up the archetype. Sadly, there weren’t a lot of powerful Dragons spoiled that looked like they could impact Standard. It’s tough to do aggro better than the Bloomburrow Mice, and it’s tough to play a better long game than the Duskmourn Overlords.
Just because it’s tough, however, doesn’t mean that players are going to give up. One MTG Hall-of-Famer took it upon himself to try and design a Dragon-themed deck for the Standard format, and it looks pretty powerful.
Frank Karsten’s Turn 4 Dragon Kill
Frank Karsten, elected into the MTG Hall of Fame in 2009, has created an incredibly explosive Izzet Dragons deck. The deck is almost mono-red in practice, but one izzet-colored card from March of the Machine: Aftermath adds a second color to the deck. You can find the decklist here.
Two different Sarkhan are present in this list, but both can do a similar thing. Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant can Behold a Dragon to create a Treasure on entry. Otherwise, it grows when you cast Dragons.
Sarkhan, Soul Aflame has a static ability that reduces the casting costs of Dragons by one. Unlike Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant, this Sarkhan transforms into the Dragons you play. That happens to have some scary synergy with Twinflame Tyrant.
It’s ironic that the star of the show in this Dragon deck isn’t even from Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Twinflame Tyrant doubles the damage that all of your sources you control. When Sarkhan, Soul Aflame copies Twinflame Tyrant for the turn, that means that all of your damage will get doubled twice. This allows both of your Sarkhan to swing in for 24 damage on turn 4:
- Cast Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant on turn two.
- Cast Sarkhan, Soul Aflame on 3.
- Cast Twinflame Tyrant on 4 (both Sarkhans can ramp). Sarkhan Soul Aflame will copy Twinflame Tyrant, and Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant will gain Flying and a +1/+1 counter.
- Swing for 6 damage. Because your damage gets doubled twice, you’ll deal 24 damage.
Other Cards
Frank Karsten’s Dragon deck also utilizes a fun Stormscale Scion and Mox Jasper package. These two cards can be used to cheat in a Stormscale Scion early with high Storm count. Just make sure that you hold your Mox Jasper instead of casting them right away.
Otherwise, Karsten’s deck employs Stingerback Terror, a gigantic Dragon from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. You can Plot this card on 3 to ensure you have a higher chance of creating a decent curve. Your turn two Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant can also ramp into this.
Mox Jasper needs some cheaper Dragons in order for it to consistently create value. Fortunately, Shivan Devastator can act as both a late-game threat and a smaller Dragon to help you ramp mana. Phyrexian Dragon Engine can draw a lot of action over the course of the game, allowing you to play a better attrition game.
Finally, Invasion of Tarkir offers removal and a threat all in one. The front side of this card can generally kill most threats on sight, as long as you have some Dragons to back it up, and Defiant Thundermaw will scale your damage at an absurd rate.
Personally, I’m not sure if I would use the Mox Jasper Package in this deck. Stormscale Scion is definitely a fun card, but I think you would need the Storm to make the creature worthwhile. Even one extra copy of the Scion is an ok deal for six mana. Getting two copies should make you ecstatic. That said, I think there’s a decent chance that either cards ends up stranded in your hand.
Fortunately, there are other cards to consider.
Other Dragons to Try
Tarkir: Dragonstorm offers a few more tools for this deck to try. If you’re willing to stretch your mana base to Jeskai, there are a few more treats available to consider, as well.
Magmatic Hellkite fits right into this deck’s gameplan without requiring a riskier manabase. For four mana, you get a slightly overstatted Flyer that freezes an opponent’s land for a turn. This also means that it could force your opponent to use any interaction as soon as it comes into play. While this Dragon isn’t as explosive as the other ones, it buys time for your bigger plays, and is probably a bit more consistent.
Stretching to Jeskai offers Zurgo and Ojutai, which synergizes really well with this deck. Sarkhan, Soul Aflame can copy Zurgo and Ojutai without the Legend rule applying, setting you up for two Anticipates to refill your hand. You can even direct the damage to Invasion of Tarkir and still get the payoff! Personally, this is the direction I would be interested in leaning with this deck.
You can also try the new Shiko, Paragon of the Way if you try Jeskai. This could give some recursion to your Sarkhans that get removed, but the potential is a lot less interesting than Zurgo and Ojutai.
Final Thoughts
This Dragon deck certainly looks like a lot of fun. The deck may not be competitively viable, but Dragons already look a lot better than initially thought during Tarkir: Dragonstorm spoiler season.
Our guess is that this deck will initially be a bit behind the rest, but with some refinement and an established metagame in mind, MTG Arena players may be able to climb their way to the Mythic ranking with a Dragon deck.
