Tarkir: Dragonstorm is chock full of sweet Dragon haymakers that are designed to take over games. Cards like Ureni, the Song Unending make it very difficult for the opponent to come back in the game once they resolve.
Yet, from a Constructed standpoint, most of the Dragons that are seeing consistent play so far are those with solid Omens attached. From Scavenger Regent to Marang River Regent, these flexible pieces of top-end double as decent spells, making them strong at different points in the game.
In fact, one particular common Dragon is starting to make its presence felt in Pauper in a multitude of different archetypes. The Dragon has shown up in Gruul Storm, Goblin combo, Gruul Tron, and even mono-red Dredge. Both halves of the card aren’t individually that exciting, but as we will see, the card is worth more than the sum of its parts.
The Value of the Omen
The common Dragon that is quickly emerging as a Pauper staple is Stormshriek Feral. Stormshriek Feral isn’t the most efficient creature in the world, but as a hasty threat that can grow on command, it does provide decks with a nice piece of top end.
The main source of value, though, comes from the Omen half of the card. Flush Out is identical to Tormenting Voice, which is already almost good enough for Pauper. There are numerous decks that play minor upgrades to Tormenting Voice. For example, Rakdos Madness decks utilize Grab the Prize, since the archetype is focused heavily around dealing damage, and the two extra points of damage can be essential.
In the case of Stormshriek Feral, you just need a deck that is interested in the Omen and has a use for the Dragon half of the card. Mono-red Dredge (shown above) is a perfect case. This deck already utilizes cards like Faithless Looting and Cathartic Reunion to help you churn through your and discard important cards.
Whether you’re discarding Sneaky Snacker and resurrecting it for free or discarding Stinkweed Imp and Dredging to fuel your graveyard, you want a high density of discard outlets. The only issue is that you need most of the deck to be centered around creatures. Otherwise, reanimating Lotleth Giant via Dread Return wouldn’t be a reliably lethal source.
This is where Stormshriek Feral pulls its weight. You’ll almost always be casting the Omen half, which can bring back Sneaky Snacker just fine. However, any copies you discard or mill over add to your creature count, which is a big deal. Mono-red Dredge is a great example of a deck that makes use of the Omen and Dragon halves of Stormshriek Feral, and we’re just getting started.
Stormshriek Feral as a Combo Card
As good as Stormshriek Feral is in mono-red Dredge, it’s likely at its best in combo shells that are capable of generating tons of mana. In decks like Goblins combo or Gruul Storm, Stormshriek Feral can act as a legitimate win condition.
In Goblin combo, the Omen half sets up your Unearth synergies while digging for your combo pieces in the process. For those unfamiliar, Goblin combo revolves around three main cards: First Day of Class, Skirk Prospector, and Putrid Goblin. With the two creatures in play, you can cast First Day of class, then sacrifice Putrid Goblin infinite times to Skirk Prospector and net infinite mana.
From there, there are a handful of ways you can win the game. Stormshriek Feral is the latest addition that serves as one of these infinite mana outlets. If the opponent doesn’t have any flying blockers at the ready, sinking your mana into Stormshriek Feral will get the job done singlehandedly. Once again, you’ll primarily be looking to cast Flush Out until your combo is set up, but having access to Stormshriek Feral later on is incredibly useful.
Gruul Storm utilizes Stormshriek Feral in a similar manner. Gruul Storm abuses Goblin Anarchomancer and Thornscape Familiar as cost reducers and pairs them with mana production and cards like Glimpse the Impossible that generate card advantage.
Stormshriek Feral fills roles both as a way to dig for your best cards and as a mana sink when applicable. Thanks to your cost reducers, Flush Out is incredibly cheap, and you may be able to cast multiple copies of Stormshriek Feral on the same turn and win the game that way. The common Dragon does a lot to improve the deck.
Fringe Strategies for Stormshriek Feral
While Gruul Storm, Goblins combo, and mono-red Dredge seem like the best homes for Stormshriek Feral, that hasn’t stopped players from exploring and brewing other ideas. Take this sweet Gruul Tron decklist, for instance. Thanks to the unbanning of Prophetic Prism, Tron decks can play more color intensive cards with less of a drawback.
This Tron deck borrows a lot of ideas from Gruul Ponza, featuring creatures like Writhing Chrysalis. However, the Tron package allows you to get a big edge on mana and take over the late game with Self-Assembler and Boulderbranch Golem. Stormshriek Feral is a nice threat in the deck that you can always play early as an Omen to dig for Tron lands.
Stormshriek Feral’s definitely strongest in Pauper, but some players have experimented with the card in Standard shells like Rakdos Reanimator. Overall, Stormshriek Feral really showcases how big of a role flexibility can play when it comes to a card’s Constructed viability.
