”Dragons emerge from tempests fully formed and terribly hungry.”
”Dragons erupt from peaks of chaos and flow from rivers of molten rage.”
”Dragons come not in packs or in herds but in storms.”
As someone who finds infinite combo somewhat boring most of the time (in Commander at least), I thought that Prossh was the last commander that I would actually build. The issue became that building Kresh the Bloodbraided, Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper, or even Shattergang Brothers, they all would prefer to have Prossh as the commander as it is so much more synergistic with the cards that these decks want to run. Since that would inevitably lead to pretty familiar territory (and territory that I have explored already in my Wort, the Raidmother and Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder decks), I decided at one point to make my Jund deck Dragon-Tribal and go with Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund as my commander.
The issue with that was that the deck was pretty bad and not very fun to pilot. Getting “Dragon-flooded” was a very real problem, and I found myself wanting to pare down the number of dragons I was running considerably. I figured that 14-15 made a good number, so I stuck with that and ditched the rest. That opened up all sorts of deck space with which to do something cool with, but having Karrthus as my commander really limited my options. I decided that the best thing to do was to go back to Prossh and add in a few of the synergy cards without going into combo territory, specifically so that I could go with Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar to help power out my dragons. The result is the following:
5/19/2017:
+1 Glorybringer - Another great Dragon addition and a much more in-theme "removal" card than Shriekmaw
+1 Sarkhan Vol - I'm looking forward to hitting the ultimate on this one.
-1 Shriekmaw - Replaced with Glorybringer
-1 Explosive Vegetation - I decided I could forgo a ramp card.
Card Choices
As you can see, the deck does make a few key concession to the fact that Prossh is the commander, but most of the synergy cards are there to support the main theme of swinging in with big, flying, firebreathing dragons.
The deck needs and wants tons of mana of specific colors. The deck needs BBBRRRGGG to be able to cast everything, so you need to pay attention to what you are fetching.
Turning Kobolds into cards, damage, mana, or removal. I’d love to be able to squeeze in Dictate of Erebos, Fecundity, Outpost Siege, or Earthcraft, but I didn’t want to overdo it. I also wanted to make sure that the deck didn’t become too reliant on Prossh.
All these cards all compliment your stable of Dragons or help fuel your Dragon shenanigans. Sarkhan the Mad deserves a special mention, as its -2 works very well for turning Kobolds into Dragons, and the -4 can sometimes be a finisher.
So that is where the deck is right now. I'm trying to keep it semi-casual, dragon-themed, and non-combo oriented, so any suggestions that keep those thought in mind are appreciated.
Purphoros, God of the Forge will probably get boring the 6th or 7th time you do it. I suggest maybe Blood Artist or Zulaport Cutthroat because theyre a little squisher and you've gotta be careful when to stick them, makes it slightly more challenging to get the free win.
Xenagos, the Reveler can generate a huge amount of mana with Kobold tokens, it's incrimental too so it stays fairly relevant. 2/2's are a real body also.
Both modes on Outpost Siege are amazing. Dragon Mode doesn't care where the creature goes as long as it leaves the battlefield and drawing an extra card is good stuff.
Edit:
The original dragon speaker Sarkhan Vol make 10 5/5 fliers for 2RG the first turn it's played (and survives) when paired with Doubling Season
Purphoros, God of the Forge will probably get boring the 6th or 7th time you do it. I suggest maybe Blood Artist or Zulaport Cutthroat because theyre a little squisher and you've gotta be careful when to stick them, makes it slightly more challenging to get the free win.
Xenagos, the Reveler can generate a huge amount of mana with Kobold tokens, it's incrimental too so it stays fairly relevant. 2/2's are a real body also.
Both modes on Outpost Siege are amazing. Dragon Mode doesn't care where the creature goes as long as it leaves the battlefield and drawing an extra card is good stuff.
Edit:
The original dragon speaker Sarkhan Vol make 10 5/5 fliers for 2RG the first turn it's played (and survives) when paired with Doubling Season
Purphoros is great no matter if you are combo-ing out or not, and I like it enough for it to stay. It's actually quite easy to hit 5-devotion to red in this deck, so it can often swing in as a creature, and the oft-forgotten +1/+0 ability is amazing either with a Kobold army or with your Dragons. I understand what you are saying with Purphoros wins sometimes coming out of nowhere, but he is just such a dynamic card that I will likely keep him in the deck.
Planeswalkers are often such an afterthought when I deckbuild that I often miss possibilities like this one. I love the idea of running Xenagos, the Reveler in place of something like Explosive Vegetation.
At one point, I had both Frontier Siege and Outpost Siege in the deck alongside Palace Siege. All of them were good and very flavorful. Frontier Siege got cut early because I didn't have enough flyers to trigger the Dragons mode, and the Khans mode is just okay. Outpost Siege was a tough cut and one of the last cards to leave the deck. The Dragons mode is great as a finisher and the Khans mode is great when you are in topdeck mode.
I hadn't really considered Sakhan Vol. The +1 ability plays well with an army of Kobolds, and the -2 ability plays nicely with the various sac outlets. I may have to try that out. I'm just bummed that Sarkhan Unbroken ended up as a Temur card....
I like the suggestions. Maybe I need to look at cutting a ramp card or three to put in more business spells. Thanks!
+1 Glorybringer - Another great Dragon addition and a much more in-theme "removal" card than Shriekmaw
+1 Sarkhan Vol - I'm looking forward to hitting the ultimate on this one.
-1 Shriekmaw - Replaced with Glorybringer
-1 Explosive Vegetation - I decided I could forgo a ramp card.
Cards that seemed interesting, but not good enough: Mouth // Feed - I'm not sure that this is better than other card draw options already under consideration. Insult // Injury - Feels like potentially just a win-more, but it still could be pretty awesome.
Hour of Devastation Neheb, the Eternal - I pretty much tried this in every red deck I could because it really helps out with one of red's weaknesses; ramping mana. But in a deck that is also green, Neheb is much less interesting and it eventually got cut. Samut, the Tested - I wasn't very impressed with Samut when it was first spoiled, but in this deck he is especially well positioned. The +1 giving big dragons Double Strike is a huge beating, and the ultimate of being able to drop a few large dragons into play for free is pretty solid.
Dominaria Darigaaz Reincarnated - The fact that it comes back on its own for free is a nice touch (although waiting 3 turns is a lot), but the thing that drew me to Darigaaz is that he has built-in Haste. Thallid Soothsayer - Would be a good way to turn Kobolds into cards, but I'm unsure how much I really want to make the deck about Prossh versus being about the Dragons. Verix Bladewing - Broodmate Dragon is probably the worst Dragon I run in this deck, and this is just a worse Broodmate Dragon in my opinion. Whisper, Blood Liturgist - An interesting way to turn Kobolds into Dragons.
Battlebond
Sadly, nothing. The only Dragon was Khorvath Brightflame, which seems awkward and terrible.
M19 Bone Dragon - Everyone seems all excited about this card, but it seems like a card for Standard and not Commander. Liliana's Contract - So I don't run any Demons so that part is irrelevant, but 4 cards for 5 mana and 4 life seems pretty good. Demanding Dragon - Bringing along a Lava Axe doesn't seem that appealing to me. Lathliss, Dragon Queen - This seems like a perfect addition to the deck Sarkhan, Fireblood - Another great addition to a Dragon deck Sarkhan's Unsealing - Seems like it could be a really good repeatable source of damage and/or removal Spit Flame - Reusable removal seems legit Sarkhan Dragonsoul - The ultimate would be the ultimate for this deck, but the +2 ability doesn't seem to cut it in order to survive long enough to ult. Poison-Tip Archer - Another possibility for just comboing with Prossh Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire - Seems like it could be fun, especially when I only have to sac a Kobold on my end for a potential upgrade to a Dragon and I get to take out the opponent's most dangerous permanent in exchange for a spin of the wheel. Dragon's Hoard - A slam-dunk Dragon Tribal card.
In the end, I decided that I liked enough of the M19 cards to want to make some big changes in order to fit everything in.
-1 Skyshroud Claim - There is a lot of ramp in this deck and cutting one of the more expensive ones made sense.
-1 Ashnod's Altar, -1 Phyrexian Altar - There really isn't a lot for these cards to do, especially given that I'm already at 6+ mana once I cast Prossh and have tokens to sac to these.
-1 Spawning Pit - I liked having this around to make tokens to sac to Shattergang Brothers, but it just doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion
-1 Insurrection - Too much mana, usually not necessary, and with the reduction of sac outlets it is less effective.
-1 Grave Pact - I'm not using this enough, plus the deck has plenty of other removal options
+1 Dragon's Hoard
+1 Lathliss, Dragon Queen
+1 Sarkhan, Fireblood
+1 Sarkhan's Unsealing
+1 Spit Flame
+1 Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire
As someone who finds infinite combo somewhat boring most of the time (in Commander at least), I thought that Prossh was the last commander that I would actually build. The issue became that building Kresh the Bloodbraided, Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper, or even Shattergang Brothers, they all would prefer to have Prossh as the commander as it is so much more synergistic with the cards that these decks want to run. Since that would inevitably lead to pretty familiar territory (and territory that I have explored already in my Wort, the Raidmother and Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder decks), I decided at one point to make my Jund deck Dragon-Tribal and go with Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund as my commander.
The issue with that was that the deck was pretty bad and not very fun to pilot. Getting “Dragon-flooded” was a very real problem, and I found myself wanting to pare down the number of dragons I was running considerably. I figured that 14-15 made a good number, so I stuck with that and ditched the rest. That opened up all sorts of deck space with which to do something cool with, but having Karrthus as my commander really limited my options. I decided that the best thing to do was to go back to Prossh and add in a few of the synergy cards without going into combo territory, specifically so that I could go with Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar to help power out my dragons. The result is the following:
Updated through Amonkhet – 7/6/2018
1 Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
Non-Dragon Creatures – 12
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Dragonspeaker Shaman
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fierce Empath
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Smothering Abomination
1 Zirilan of the Claw
1 Acidic Slime
1 Shattergang Brothers
1 Regal Force
Dragons – 17
1 Glorybringer
1 Scourge of Valkas
1 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Broodmate Dragon
1 Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire
1 Darigaaz, the Igniter
1 Dragon Broodmother
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Moonveil Dragon
1 Lathliss, Dragon Queen
1 Hoard-Smelter Dragon
1 Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
1 Atarka, World Render
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Bladewing the Risen
1 Utvara Hellkite
1 Rampant Growth
1 Nature's Lore
1 Farseek
1 Nahiri's Wrath
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Spit Flame
1 Harmonize
1 Crux of Fate
1 Promise of Power
1 Dregs of Sorrow
1 Eliminate the Competition
1 Violent Ultimatum
Enchantments - 8
1 Dragon Breath
1 Dragon Fangs
1 Dragon Tempest
1 Goblin Bombardment
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Sarkhan's Unsealing
1 Crucible of Fire
1 Palace Siege
Planeswalkers - 4
1 Sarkhan, Fireblood
1 Sarkhan the Mad
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Artifacts - 8
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Gruul Signet
1 Golgari Signet
1 Dragon's Hoard
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Badlands
1 Taiga
1 Bayou
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Graven Cairns
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Twilight Mire
1 Command Tower
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Temple of the False God
1 Kher Keep
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Gaea's Cradle
5 Forest
5 Mountain
2 Swamp
5/19/2017:
+1 Glorybringer - Another great Dragon addition and a much more in-theme "removal" card than Shriekmaw
+1 Sarkhan Vol - I'm looking forward to hitting the ultimate on this one.
-1 Shriekmaw - Replaced with Glorybringer
-1 Explosive Vegetation - I decided I could forgo a ramp card.
7/6/2018:
-1 Skyshroud Claim
-1 Ashnod's Altar
-1 Phyrexian Altar
-1 Spawning Pit
-1 Insurrection
-1 Grave Pact
+1 Dragon's Hoard
+1 Lathliss, Dragon Queen
+1 Sarkhan, Fireblood
+1 Sarkhan's Unsealing
+1 Spit Flame
+1 Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire
1 Frontier Siege
1 Outpost Siege
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Savage Ventmaw
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Savage Beating
1 Skullmulcher
1 Spellbreaker Behemoth
1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
1 Where Ancients Tread
1 Rohgahh of Kher Keep
1 Kobold Taskmaster
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Painful Truths
1 Fecundity
1 Oversold Cemetery
1 Dictate of Erebos
Card Choices
As you can see, the deck does make a few key concession to the fact that Prossh is the commander, but most of the synergy cards are there to support the main theme of swinging in with big, flying, firebreathing dragons.
Ramp
The deck needs and wants tons of mana of specific colors. The deck needs BBBRRRGGG to be able to cast everything, so you need to pay attention to what you are fetching.
Prossh synergy cards
Turning Kobolds into cards, damage, mana, or removal. I’d love to be able to squeeze in Dictate of Erebos, Fecundity, Outpost Siege, or Earthcraft, but I didn’t want to overdo it. I also wanted to make sure that the deck didn’t become too reliant on Prossh.
Note that Spawning Pit is also one of the few ways to make a spare artifact for Shattergang Brothers.
Dragons
These deserve a one-by-one explanation:
Scourge of Valkas – Extra direct damage for each Dragon I play.
Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury – Extra creature pumps for each Dragon I play, including your little army of Kobolds.
Steel Hellkite – Great all-around card for removing problematic permanents.
Broodmate Dragon – Brings along a friend, but arguably the worst of the Dragons in the deck.
Darigaaz, the Igniter – Gets in some added damage and lets you take a look at what an opponent may be up to.
Dragon Broodmother – Feeds other sac effects and sac triggers
Kokusho, the Evening Star – A Dragon you don’t mind sacrificing
Moonveil Dragon – Firebreathing for your whole team
Hoard-Smelter Dragon – Some extra artifact kill
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund – Unlike Ents, Dragons love to be hasty…
Atarka, World Render – Dragons also love Double Strike…
Balefire Dragon – Part of the deck’s removal suite that remove opponent’s creatures en masse while leaving your alone.
Bladewing the Risen – Can pump all Dragons, plus the Dragoon reanimation effect is amazing.
Utvara Hellkite – Dragons making more Dragons…
Dragon-Themed Cards
All these cards all compliment your stable of Dragons or help fuel your Dragon shenanigans. Sarkhan the Mad deserves a special mention, as its -2 works very well for turning Kobolds into Dragons, and the -4 can sometimes be a finisher.
Removal
Ideally, Shattergang Brothers can sack a Kobold to kill a creature, a Spawning Pit token to take out an artifact, or a Dragon Breath or Dragon Fangs to take out an enchantment. All the other options were selected to try and avoid killing your Dragons, so no Damnation or Rolling Earthquake. Violent Ultimatum is a little bit of a reach, but other options are Lavalanche, Pernicious Deed or Gaze of Granite. Insurrection is a beating, especially with a sac outlet on hand.
Card Advantage/Recursion
I wanted to sneak in a Painful Truths, Night's Whisper, Greater Good, Oversold Cemetery, Greenwarden of Murasa, or Wheel of Fortune into the deck, but you only have so much space.
So that is where the deck is right now. I'm trying to keep it semi-casual, dragon-themed, and non-combo oriented, so any suggestions that keep those thought in mind are appreciated.
- Purphoros is great no matter if you are combo-ing out or not, and I like it enough for it to stay. It's actually quite easy to hit 5-devotion to red in this deck, so it can often swing in as a creature, and the oft-forgotten +1/+0 ability is amazing either with a Kobold army or with your Dragons. I understand what you are saying with Purphoros wins sometimes coming out of nowhere, but he is just such a dynamic card that I will likely keep him in the deck.
- Planeswalkers are often such an afterthought when I deckbuild that I often miss possibilities like this one. I love the idea of running Xenagos, the Reveler in place of something like Explosive Vegetation.
- At one point, I had both Frontier Siege and Outpost Siege in the deck alongside Palace Siege. All of them were good and very flavorful. Frontier Siege got cut early because I didn't have enough flyers to trigger the Dragons mode, and the Khans mode is just okay. Outpost Siege was a tough cut and one of the last cards to leave the deck. The Dragons mode is great as a finisher and the Khans mode is great when you are in topdeck mode.
- I hadn't really considered Sakhan Vol. The +1 ability plays well with an army of Kobolds, and the -2 ability plays nicely with the various sac outlets. I may have to try that out. I'm just bummed that Sarkhan Unbroken ended up as a Temur card....
I like the suggestions. Maybe I need to look at cutting a ramp card or three to put in more business spells. Thanks!+1 Glorybringer - Another great Dragon addition and a much more in-theme "removal" card than Shriekmaw
+1 Sarkhan Vol - I'm looking forward to hitting the ultimate on this one.
-1 Shriekmaw - Replaced with Glorybringer
-1 Explosive Vegetation - I decided I could forgo a ramp card.
Cards that seemed interesting, but not good enough:
Mouth // Feed - I'm not sure that this is better than other card draw options already under consideration.
Insult // Injury - Feels like potentially just a win-more, but it still could be pretty awesome.
Hour of Devastation
Neheb, the Eternal - I pretty much tried this in every red deck I could because it really helps out with one of red's weaknesses; ramping mana. But in a deck that is also green, Neheb is much less interesting and it eventually got cut.
Samut, the Tested - I wasn't very impressed with Samut when it was first spoiled, but in this deck he is especially well positioned. The +1 giving big dragons Double Strike is a huge beating, and the ultimate of being able to drop a few large dragons into play for free is pretty solid.
Dominaria
Darigaaz Reincarnated - The fact that it comes back on its own for free is a nice touch (although waiting 3 turns is a lot), but the thing that drew me to Darigaaz is that he has built-in Haste.
Thallid Soothsayer - Would be a good way to turn Kobolds into cards, but I'm unsure how much I really want to make the deck about Prossh versus being about the Dragons.
Verix Bladewing - Broodmate Dragon is probably the worst Dragon I run in this deck, and this is just a worse Broodmate Dragon in my opinion.
Whisper, Blood Liturgist - An interesting way to turn Kobolds into Dragons.
Battlebond
Sadly, nothing. The only Dragon was Khorvath Brightflame, which seems awkward and terrible.
M19
Bone Dragon - Everyone seems all excited about this card, but it seems like a card for Standard and not Commander.
Liliana's Contract - So I don't run any Demons so that part is irrelevant, but 4 cards for 5 mana and 4 life seems pretty good.
Demanding Dragon - Bringing along a Lava Axe doesn't seem that appealing to me.
Lathliss, Dragon Queen - This seems like a perfect addition to the deck
Sarkhan, Fireblood - Another great addition to a Dragon deck
Sarkhan's Unsealing - Seems like it could be a really good repeatable source of damage and/or removal
Spit Flame - Reusable removal seems legit
Sarkhan Dragonsoul - The ultimate would be the ultimate for this deck, but the +2 ability doesn't seem to cut it in order to survive long enough to ult.
Poison-Tip Archer - Another possibility for just comboing with Prossh
Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire - Seems like it could be fun, especially when I only have to sac a Kobold on my end for a potential upgrade to a Dragon and I get to take out the opponent's most dangerous permanent in exchange for a spin of the wheel.
Dragon's Hoard - A slam-dunk Dragon Tribal card.
In the end, I decided that I liked enough of the M19 cards to want to make some big changes in order to fit everything in.
-1 Skyshroud Claim - There is a lot of ramp in this deck and cutting one of the more expensive ones made sense.
-1 Ashnod's Altar, -1 Phyrexian Altar - There really isn't a lot for these cards to do, especially given that I'm already at 6+ mana once I cast Prossh and have tokens to sac to these.
-1 Spawning Pit - I liked having this around to make tokens to sac to Shattergang Brothers, but it just doesn't do enough to warrant inclusion
-1 Insurrection - Too much mana, usually not necessary, and with the reduction of sac outlets it is less effective.
-1 Grave Pact - I'm not using this enough, plus the deck has plenty of other removal options
+1 Dragon's Hoard
+1 Lathliss, Dragon Queen
+1 Sarkhan, Fireblood
+1 Sarkhan's Unsealing
+1 Spit Flame
+1 Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire