Howdy! I'm in the process of the initial draft for a deck that is slightly inspired by the Khans of Tarkir block. I'm not the strongest of deckbuilders, especially when it comes to EDH, but I feel that I'm alright with the card evaluation. That all being said, I've never built a deck like this so I could use any pointers or suggestions. I hope its obvious from the title and the list itself that this is a dragonstorm/mind's desire deck designed to cheat fatties (dragons) into play. I have some budget concerns, but if it will seriously help the deck I'll find a way to make it work. No ABU Duals though unfortunately...one day. Now, for my questions:
Should I even be worrying about storm?
If so, is the deck in its current state even able to storm-out?
Should I have more things to cheat guys into play? (Sneak Attack?)
Do I need more ramp?
What am I missing?
What should I cut?
I'm currently at 90 cards by my count, so any suggestions would be appreciated before I start acquiring the pieces.
I approve of the theme. It's broadly similar to the Intet Dragonstorm deck I've been messing around with on TappedOut for some time now. I've yet to put together the linked list in paper; I'm currently instead running a creature-heavy Lurking Predator's Intet list that also includes Dragonstorm.
I'm big fan of Scourge of Valkas. It's great with Dragonstorm and even better with Sarkhan Unbroken's ultimate. Rude Awakening is another untap effect to consider alongside Turnabout. (I plan to run Reset as well, which is the cheapest of all but trick to use because of the timing restriction.) Increasing Vengeance makes stupid amounts of mana with such untap-all-your-lands effects. Past in Flames rocks for increasing storm count.
I approve of the theme. It's broadly similar to the Intet Dragonstorm deck I've been messing around with on TappedOut for some time now. I've yet to put together the linked list in paper; I'm currently instead running a creature-heavy Lurking Predator's Intet list that also includes Dragonstorm.
I'm big fan of Scourge of Valkas. It's great with Dragonstorm and even better with Sarkhan Unbroken's ultimate. Rude Awakening is another untap effect to consider alongside Turnabout. (I plan to run Reset as well, which is the cheapest of all but trick to use because of the timing restriction.) Increasing Vengeance makes stupid amounts of mana with such untap-all-your-lands effects. Past in Flames rocks for increasing storm count.
Yours is one of the decks I looked at when I started brainstorming this list actually. Lurking Predators is amazing, and that is one of my quandries: Spell heavy or creature heavy? That seems to be the beauty of Intet, you have those choices. Rude Awakening is one I missed. I'm not sure on Reset because of the timing restriction...Although if Hypersonic Dragon is out its not really an issue for my sorcery speed stuff to contribute I 'spose.
I like Scourge of Valkas. I was actually slightly worried that my dragon count wasn't high enough to warrant his inclusion...I'll have to take another look. I don't know how I missed Increasing Vengeance and Past in Flames, pretty sure they are storm staples. d'oh.
Yeah, I've got the 51-creature version of Intet Dragons I currently run and the spell-heavy, storm-focused version in the works for the future when I switch all my decks around. I've played more storm-focused builds in the past and I'm pretty sure they're more powerful overall, because it's hard to lose when you successfully cast Dragonstorm with even a moderate storm count. And, well, spells are just generally better than creatures. But creatures are fun!
I've reposted a post I made on a Karrthus thread a week ago - some of the stuff isn't applicable but I think it's good advice.
First off, sorry if this is rambly - I tend to just spew my thoughts as I think them.
Scourge of Valkas is a dragon that should definitely go in here. He and Utvara Hellkite combined can do some serious damage to the table. On that note, not sure what your budget is but Tooth and Nail could certainly enable some more shenanigans. You may want some more ramp. Although Krosan Drover and Dragonspeaker Shaman don't ramp outright they can reduce the cost of your bigger creatures. Not sure how big you are into combo, either, but Bear Umbra combines with Hellkite Charger to make infinite combat steps. Patriarch's Bidding ties into the tribal theme as well, and can be backbreaking for your opponents if your graveyard is loaded up with Dragons. Finally, I'm not sure how well it plays, but Crucible of the Spirit Dragon seems like it could be a good storage land for your purposes.
Luckily, the whole Khans block seems to offer a ton of fun goodies. I second Crux of Fate, and would also like to at least suggest Atarka, World Render, Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury,Destructor Dragon, Frontier Siege, Fearsome Awakening and Dragon Tempest (just spoiled from DTK).
As for your deck in specific, I don't think storm is the right way to go about it. Intet's too fragile to be able to stockpile multiple spells to cast at once - she's better at dropping massively cost-reduced threats combined with topdeck manipulation. It's also not a terribly fun archetype to go up against, so if you want the playgroup to enjoy the game as much as you will, you should go elsewhere.
With that in mind, I'd cut most of the storm cards and the enabling rituals/copy spells: the only ones I can see keeping are Dragonstorm and maaaaybe Mind's Desire. Intet likes topdeck manipulation, ao cards like Brainstorm and Soothsaying come to mind. Dragonlord's Servant is yet another cost reducer that I'm fond of. Dragonlord's Prerogative is a good way to draw cards, and keeps on theme. One card I would throw in for the combo aspect is Reiterate: it combines with Turnabout or Reset for infinite mana.
Finally, your creature count seems awfully low. I'd try to throw in 6-7 more, particularly if you're considering Lurking Predators, but that's just me.
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I can't agree Phosphorus's assessment of storm above. You don't need to get multiple spells under Intet or even use Intet at all to go off in storm build. Big mana plus storm is an inherently powerful strategy. There's currently a Riku of Two Reflection deck in my local meta that's always comboing off with Past in Flames, Turnabout, Reiterate, and other such nonsense. Intet with Dragonstorm isn't as strong, of course, but it's still quite explosive.
Dragonstorm combo way back in Time Spiral standard was one of my favorite decks. It had multiple rituals and Lotus Bloom to get to the magical nine mana needed to combo out for the four Bogardan Hellkites for the win. That being said, I have to side with Phosphorus in that this deck's combo seems very fragile and very difficult to pull off. Looking over the list, there are only two dragons that deal damage when they enter the battlefield and Warstorm Surge, only a few haste enablers for the dragons should you not have Warstorm Surge, and not a lot of ways to get a good storm count going without requiring a LOT of mana. And say you do get a storm count of say, six. What six dragons could you grab to kill the table? Is that even possible? I think you will find yourself disappointed a lot because the deck requires so many things to be aligned that more often than not, the combo will fail to launch.
My suggestion is that your deck would be better if you focused on either making an Intet dragons deck, or making a RUG non-Dragonstorm storm deck. When I built my Intet dragons deck, the first card I cut was Dragonstorm, because I realized that Tooth and Nail entwined did the same thing for at least one mana less than Dragonstorm + another spell.
Personally I dealt 300+ damage with Dragonstorm the other day in my 51-creature Dragons deck. I think it's plenty good enough in a dedicated storm build - honestly if anything I think my Dragonstorm-focused build will be too powerful - but as always that depends on the meta.
Scourge of Valkas, Scourge of the Throne, Utvara Hellkite and three other Dragons get you 381 damage from Scourge of Valkas triggers alone with maste haste if there's an opponent with more life than you that you can attack and you can attack with all your Dragons. With just those first three it's 96 damage from Scourge of Valkas triggers plus 50-51 from attacks.
Should I even be worrying about storm?
If so, is the deck in its current state even able to storm-out?
Should I have more things to cheat guys into play? (Sneak Attack?)
Do I need more ramp?
What am I missing?
What should I cut?
I'm currently at 90 cards by my count, so any suggestions would be appreciated before I start acquiring the pieces.
Much thanks!
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
6 Forest
1 Halimar Depths
1 Hinterland Harbor
5 Island
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Misty Rainforest
6 Mountain
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Temple of Abandon
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Wooded Foothills
Artifact (5)
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Scroll Rack
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Dragon Broodmother
1 Dragonlord Atarka
1 Elvish Piper
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Fierce Empath
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Hypersonic Dragon
1 Intet, the Dreamer
1 Knollspine Dragon
1 Kruphix, God of Horizons
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Savage Ventmaw
1 Utvara Hellkite
1 Wood Elves
1 Yavimaya Elder
Enchantment (7)
1 Abundance
1 Dragon Tempest
1 Fires of Yavimaya
1 Mana Reflection
1 Mirri's Guile
1 Sylvan Library
1 Warstorm Surge
Planeswalker (4)
1 Domri Rade
1 Ral Zarek
1 Sarkhan Unbroken
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Boundless Realms
1 Cultivate
1 Dragonstorm
1 Epic Experiment
1 Explore
1 Farseek
1 Ignite Memories
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Mana Geyser
1 Mind's Desire
1 Nature's Lore
1 Shamanic Revelation
1 Time Spiral
Instant (5)
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Reverberate
1 Turnabout
1 Twincast
1 Worldly Tutor
I'm big fan of Scourge of Valkas. It's great with Dragonstorm and even better with Sarkhan Unbroken's ultimate. Rude Awakening is another untap effect to consider alongside Turnabout. (I plan to run Reset as well, which is the cheapest of all but trick to use because of the timing restriction.) Increasing Vengeance makes stupid amounts of mana with such untap-all-your-lands effects. Past in Flames rocks for increasing storm count.
Yours is one of the decks I looked at when I started brainstorming this list actually. Lurking Predators is amazing, and that is one of my quandries: Spell heavy or creature heavy? That seems to be the beauty of Intet, you have those choices. Rude Awakening is one I missed. I'm not sure on Reset because of the timing restriction...Although if Hypersonic Dragon is out its not really an issue for my sorcery speed stuff to contribute I 'spose.
I like Scourge of Valkas. I was actually slightly worried that my dragon count wasn't high enough to warrant his inclusion...I'll have to take another look. I don't know how I missed Increasing Vengeance and Past in Flames, pretty sure they are storm staples. d'oh.
Thanks for the reply!
I don't know how the Reset plan will work out - it's currently in my Dakkon Blackblade deck - but I love the possibility of casting Dragonstorm or Mind's Desire end of turn after an opponent casts multiple spells. Hypersonic Dragon, Quicken, and Alchemist's Refuge make this doable.
Also, I recommend both Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius. The former goes particularly well with Knollspine Dragon. From Dragonstorm an empty board, Scourge of Valkas plus Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind plus Bogardan Hellkite plus Knollspine Dragon equals 15 damage to one opponent, 15 damage to the same or another opponent, and a new hand of 15 cards.
As for your deck in specific, I don't think storm is the right way to go about it. Intet's too fragile to be able to stockpile multiple spells to cast at once - she's better at dropping massively cost-reduced threats combined with topdeck manipulation. It's also not a terribly fun archetype to go up against, so if you want the playgroup to enjoy the game as much as you will, you should go elsewhere.
With that in mind, I'd cut most of the storm cards and the enabling rituals/copy spells: the only ones I can see keeping are Dragonstorm and maaaaybe Mind's Desire. Intet likes topdeck manipulation, ao cards like Brainstorm and Soothsaying come to mind. Dragonlord's Servant is yet another cost reducer that I'm fond of. Dragonlord's Prerogative is a good way to draw cards, and keeps on theme. One card I would throw in for the combo aspect is Reiterate: it combines with Turnabout or Reset for infinite mana.
Finally, your creature count seems awfully low. I'd try to throw in 6-7 more, particularly if you're considering Lurking Predators, but that's just me.
I can't agree Phosphorus's assessment of storm above. You don't need to get multiple spells under Intet or even use Intet at all to go off in storm build. Big mana plus storm is an inherently powerful strategy. There's currently a Riku of Two Reflection deck in my local meta that's always comboing off with Past in Flames, Turnabout, Reiterate, and other such nonsense. Intet with Dragonstorm isn't as strong, of course, but it's still quite explosive.
If you do want to go for infinite mana, Reset opens up various options: Reiterate, Izzet Guildmage, Nivix Guildmage. Dualcaster Mage also combos with so many things.
My suggestion is that your deck would be better if you focused on either making an Intet dragons deck, or making a RUG non-Dragonstorm storm deck. When I built my Intet dragons deck, the first card I cut was Dragonstorm, because I realized that Tooth and Nail entwined did the same thing for at least one mana less than Dragonstorm + another spell.
The Mimeoplasm || Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher || Vial Smasher/Tymna Group Slug
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief || Talrand, Sky Summoner
Yidris - Unblockable Saboteurs || Kiki-Jiki, ETB breaker
Kess, Dissident Mage
Personally I dealt 300+ damage with Dragonstorm the other day in my 51-creature Dragons deck. I think it's plenty good enough in a dedicated storm build - honestly if anything I think my Dragonstorm-focused build will be too powerful - but as always that depends on the meta.
Without infinites, Dragonstorm for six Dragons still gets you a lot of damage if you want it. Without access to mass haste you could go: Scourge of Valkas, Bogardan Hellkite, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, Knollspine Dragon, Changeling Titan, and Preyseizer Dragon. First you 15 damage to one opponent from the first four Scourge of Valkas triggers and Bogardan Hellkite. Then you draw 15 cards and deal another 15 damage. Then Changeling Titan enters, deals 5 damage, and exiles Knollspine Dragon. Then Preyseizer Dragon enters to deal 5 and eat Changeling Titan. Then Knollspine Dragon return to draw 39 cards assuming an opponent had 40 life when the sequence began. So that's 79 damage if an opponent was at 40 when you started and they don't scoop in before one of the Knollspine Dragon triggers. You can do better with a source of mass haste like Anger. You can also substitute Worldgorger Dragon for Changeling Titan for an extra 20 damage in the above sequence.
Scourge of Valkas, Scourge of the Throne, Utvara Hellkite and three other Dragons get you 381 damage from Scourge of Valkas triggers alone with maste haste if there's an opponent with more life than you that you can attack and you can attack with all your Dragons. With just those first three it's 96 damage from Scourge of Valkas triggers plus 50-51 from attacks.