First, if this is not the appropriate place to post this, please let me know where I should have put it. Anyway...
I used to play MTG a lot when I was in high school. I was never really good, but I had a red white samurai dragon deck that I enjoyed playing. My younger brothers have picked up the game now and I'm itching to get back in, but it's such a different game now. So I'm reaching out for advice on building a new deck.
I'd like to do red white and blue. I really want to showcase Form of the Dragon as much as possible. I'm looking to use white to prevent damage (one brother has a wicked infect deck and I feel like stopping the damage before it happens should help), red to deal damage, and blue to counter and deck control.
I like having a little of everything, but I tend to get unfocused so I'll take whatever suggestions you've got. I'm not looking to go win any tourneys or anything, but it would be nice to beat my friends and brothers every so often. I've got plenty of budget, so getting cards shouldn't be a problem. Bonus points for any dragon theming that fits it (I love Dragon Blood and Rimescale Dragon for instance). I'd really appreciate any thoughts anyone has, I just can't seem to get started on my own.
Playing white just for the purpose of preventing damage is not a good idea, since preventing damage much like gaining life doesn't deal with the actual problem. You are just patching up wounds, while your opponent keeps stabbing you. After all, if you are already in red, then killing the creature is a better and more permanent way of keeping it from dealing damage. While 3-color decks nowadays have a lot of lands to support them, if you can do without one of those colors, going 2-colored is the better option. The land base will be easier and you will get your colors more consistently. From what you said so far, white is an easy cut.
With blue/red you can have your counter/burn deck in many different variations. Look into the Izzet guild from the two Ravnica blocks for starters. With Izzet (which is a common term for a blue/red deck) you even get their dragon leader in two different incarnations, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius. The guild also offers gems like Izzet Charm. And of course, you can run staples like Lightning Bolt and Counterspell.
Building around Form of the Dragon is also possible of course, and blue/red is a good choice of colors for this. I'd recommend a full set of Paradox Haze then, to get more value out of the Form's upkeep trigger. Or copy it with Strionic Resonator. Other upkeep triggers and triggered abilities in general become more desirable in such a deck, for example some Honden of Infinite Rage and Honden of Seeing Winds. You could also use Platinum Emperion to neutralize the Form's end of turn trigger. Since the Form costs 7 mana, you want some mana accel in the deck, maybe some Izzet Signets, Palladium Myrs, Coalition Relic, or the Urzatron, etc.
No matter what path you choose, you should start with 24 lands, and maybe even go up to 25 or more, in your 60. Control decks need their lands.
To use card tags, just encase the card name in [*c] and [*/c], or [*card] and [*/card] (without the *s). Or use the "card" button at the top of the editor window, right beside the "dice" button and the smileys.
Thanks so much for the info. I love the strionic card. It would be a great counter for those pesky decks that get my brothers in the millions of life. Some of the things they do are just ludicrous compared to what I was used to. I would like to keep white for thematic reasons, but I see the potential in the blue red. The only reason I was thinking of damage prevention was that when I used to play I did a lot of life link or healing. Of course, form was kinda counter productive to those ends. Other than healing or damage prevention, could it be worked on at all? Also, since I could use it to prevent spell damage and my life would be a measly 5, I think it'd be a nice safety feature. Maybe I'm over thinking things?
As I said, 3-color decks are viable due to lots of multilands nowadays. So if you want w/u/r, you can do it. The Khans of Tarkir block even had a whole subset, the Jeskai clan, designed as the w/u/r color combination. All I meant to say was, that gaining life and preventing damage is not enough reason to include white as a third color. But white has some of the best removal in the game, some of the best creatures, etc. There are good reasons to include white.
In regards to Form setting you to 5 life, you can even make that a feature by exchanging your life total with another player, who is then in range for a deathblow come your next upkeep. Cards like Axis of Mortality, Mirror Universe, Soul Conduit, etc. Exchanging life totals can also be done in black with Magus of the Mirror.
The end of turn trigger can also be counteracted with special counterspells like Stifle, Trickbind or Disallow. Or end the turn with Time Stop or Sundial of the Infinite. Problem with those aproaches is, that the Form triggers in each end step, not just yours.
With Teferi's Realm you can phase out the Form each turn, since phasing it out it is an upkeep trigger, so happens quite a while after it phases in. And doing this won't stop the 5 damage trigger of the Form. You just have to somehow get through to your next turn with your life total intact (so at least two triggers) or, yes, some life gain to increase it again. Big downside, though, nonflying creatures can attack you, since the Form isn't "there" to stop them.
Honestly, though, if you can establish a solid control over the game, being at 5 life should not be a problem, no one should be able to hurt you anyway. So just build yourself a control deck with the Form as a finisher. The only troublesome turn should be when you drop the Form.
Thanks so much for entertaining my insanity. I really like the idea of using my 5 life total as a feature. If I take less than 5, I heal, and those cards that can transfer life help when I can't deal enough damage. I don't plan to have milling options so an alt strat is always welcome. I can work in some white to reclaim cards as well in case I fail to counter something and I lose form. Also, I'm in love with those dragon wizards. Now I just need to figure how to stitch it together with enough control to get what I need when I need it. I'll start building and pop by when I either have something I'm proud of or need more advice. Thanks again!
Form of the dragon is great if you can cheat it in. If you're playing UWR, I'd combine it with some enchantments that give hexproof, or for complete hilarity, Overwhelming Splendor or even splash green for Sandwurm Convergence. If you want to survive infect, you'll need some decent early game removal. What colors in your friend's infect deck? Against UG infect, curfew can be really good, but if you're playing against a black or proliferate based infect deck, I'd just play countermagic and swords to plowshares.
If you need to cheat in enchantments, Academy Rector and Show and Tell are the top of the list, but are a bit pricey. If enchantment removal becomes a problem you might want to look into Teferi's Protection.
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I used to play MTG a lot when I was in high school. I was never really good, but I had a red white samurai dragon deck that I enjoyed playing. My younger brothers have picked up the game now and I'm itching to get back in, but it's such a different game now. So I'm reaching out for advice on building a new deck.
I'd like to do red white and blue. I really want to showcase Form of the Dragon as much as possible. I'm looking to use white to prevent damage (one brother has a wicked infect deck and I feel like stopping the damage before it happens should help), red to deal damage, and blue to counter and deck control.
I like having a little of everything, but I tend to get unfocused so I'll take whatever suggestions you've got. I'm not looking to go win any tourneys or anything, but it would be nice to beat my friends and brothers every so often. I've got plenty of budget, so getting cards shouldn't be a problem. Bonus points for any dragon theming that fits it (I love Dragon Blood and Rimescale Dragon for instance). I'd really appreciate any thoughts anyone has, I just can't seem to get started on my own.
With blue/red you can have your counter/burn deck in many different variations. Look into the Izzet guild from the two Ravnica blocks for starters. With Izzet (which is a common term for a blue/red deck) you even get their dragon leader in two different incarnations, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius. The guild also offers gems like Izzet Charm. And of course, you can run staples like Lightning Bolt and Counterspell.
Building around Form of the Dragon is also possible of course, and blue/red is a good choice of colors for this. I'd recommend a full set of Paradox Haze then, to get more value out of the Form's upkeep trigger. Or copy it with Strionic Resonator. Other upkeep triggers and triggered abilities in general become more desirable in such a deck, for example some Honden of Infinite Rage and Honden of Seeing Winds. You could also use Platinum Emperion to neutralize the Form's end of turn trigger. Since the Form costs 7 mana, you want some mana accel in the deck, maybe some Izzet Signets, Palladium Myrs, Coalition Relic, or the Urzatron, etc.
No matter what path you choose, you should start with 24 lands, and maybe even go up to 25 or more, in your 60. Control decks need their lands.
To use card tags, just encase the card name in [*c] and [*/c], or [*card] and [*/card] (without the *s). Or use the "card" button at the top of the editor window, right beside the "dice" button and the smileys.
You can find the guide to other useful tags here:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-rulings/251940-cardtag-explanation-aka-you-must-use-cardtags-in
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
In regards to Form setting you to 5 life, you can even make that a feature by exchanging your life total with another player, who is then in range for a deathblow come your next upkeep. Cards like Axis of Mortality, Mirror Universe, Soul Conduit, etc. Exchanging life totals can also be done in black with Magus of the Mirror.
The end of turn trigger can also be counteracted with special counterspells like Stifle, Trickbind or Disallow. Or end the turn with Time Stop or Sundial of the Infinite. Problem with those aproaches is, that the Form triggers in each end step, not just yours.
With Teferi's Realm you can phase out the Form each turn, since phasing it out it is an upkeep trigger, so happens quite a while after it phases in. And doing this won't stop the 5 damage trigger of the Form. You just have to somehow get through to your next turn with your life total intact (so at least two triggers) or, yes, some life gain to increase it again. Big downside, though, nonflying creatures can attack you, since the Form isn't "there" to stop them.
Honestly, though, if you can establish a solid control over the game, being at 5 life should not be a problem, no one should be able to hurt you anyway. So just build yourself a control deck with the Form as a finisher. The only troublesome turn should be when you drop the Form.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
If you need to cheat in enchantments, Academy Rector and Show and Tell are the top of the list, but are a bit pricey. If enchantment removal becomes a problem you might want to look into Teferi's Protection.