I just love Dragons. I really love them a lot. I love them so much I wrote a whole series based on a book series about Dragons. I also built a Simic deck around Korlessa, Scale Singer which is far and away my most popularly played deck of 2025 - and I see it continuing into 2026. It's a blast to play.

So, imagine my excitement when I saw a clear Dragon commander in the Avatar spoilers!

Okay. Before you write me off as losing my marbles completely, hear me out.

What is a Dragon from the game's perspective? Well, it all kind of started with this Creature, right?

We have a flying Creature with a fairly large body. Sometimes Dragons have that same ability (which we've since named firebreathing for what I'd assume are obvious reasons). Other times they have other abilities, like Haste, or extra damage, and they like to mess around with Artifacts.

You know what else functions like a Dragon a lot of the time in this game of ours? Angels. And Sphinxes.

Think about it - large flying Creatures with extra abilities. Let's make a Dragon deck, y'all.

Sokka, Lateral Strategist | Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commander (1)
• 1 Sokka, Lateral Strategist

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Angel of the Dire Hour
• 1 Angelic Skirmisher
• 1 Bruna, the Fading Light
• 1 Dream Trawler
• 1 Emeria Shepherd
• 1 Ethereal Valkyrie
• 1 Gisela, the Broken Blade
• 1 Glorious Enforcer
• 1 Inspired Sphinx
• 1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
• 1 Luminous Angel
• 1 Medomai the Ageless
• 1 Quantum Riddler
• 1 Sphinx Ambassador
• 1 Sphinx of Enlightenment
• 1 Sphinx of Magosi
• 1 Sphinx of the Revelation
• 1 Sphinx of the Second Sun
• 1 Sunblast Angel
• 1 Trinket Mage
• 1 Valkyrie Harbinger

• Instants (9)
• 1 Aetherize
• 1 Access Denied
• 1 Amazing Acrobatics
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Reality Shift
• 1 Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier
• 1 Swords to Plowshares

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Austere Command

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Aether Tunnel
• 1 Aqueous Form
• 1 Protective Bubble
• 1 Steel of the Godhead
• 1 Writ of Passage

• Artifacts (24)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Azorius Signet
• 1 Azorius Cluestone
• 1 Azorius Keyrune
• 1 Azorius Locket
• 1 Bonder's Ornament
• 1 Brotherhood Regalia
• 1 Chronatog Totem
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Decanter of Endless Water
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Hourglass of the Lost
• 1 Midnight Clock
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Misleading Signpost
• 1 Ojutai Monument
• 1 Silver Shroud Costume
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Starnheim Memento
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Thunder Totem
• 1 Trailblazer's Boots
• 1 Wand of the Worldsoul
• 1 Whispersilk Cloak

• Lands (39)
• 7 Island
• 7 Plains
• 1 Access Tunnel
• 1 Azorius Guildgate
• 1 Celestial Colonnade
• 1 Citadel Gate
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Deserted Beach
• 1 Drifting Meadow
• 1 Faerie Conclave
• 1 Fortified Beachhead
• 1 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Irrigated Farmland
• 1 Lonely Sandbar
• 1 Mystic Gate
• 1 Port Town
• 1 Prairie Stream
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Remote Isle
• 1 Restless Anchorage
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Sea Gate
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 Temple of Enlightenment
• 1 Thriving Heath
• 1 Thriving Isle
• 1 Tranquil Cove

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Our Commander is a 2/4 with Vigilance for 3 mana. That's fine, and the high Toughness means we can reliably attack more often, which is good, because we're going to attack with Sokka a lot. The idea is to stick Sokka and one Dragon Angel or Sphinx, then attack and draw more Dragons Angels and Sphinxes.

Sokka's not that pricey, but a lot of our other Creatures are. So we've got 39 Lands.

"But wait!" I hear you cry. "You always say you start with a minimum of 40 Lands! What's up with that?!"

It's true. And I started with 40 Lands. However, we have Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Galcier. And while I'm not normally one to count the double-sided Land cards as Lands, in this case, it works, because we have so much ramp. 19 rocks, to be exact. Everything from Arcane Signet on down to Wand of the Worldsoul. Often, these guys will give us ways to use excess mana (see Bonder's Ornament or Azorius Locket). Since we're not racing to get to Sokka, I wasn't worried about fast mana, but we do have some of the 2-drops just so we can cast Sokka on time after casting a rock. We really can't have enough mana in this deck, and this many sources will get us there.

I'd like to point out Expedition Map. This card is really here for one reason: Access Tunnel. Access Tunnel is one of the best ways we have of keeping Sokka relevant in a longer game - at some point, it's going to be impossible to attack with him without losing him to combat damage, and we don't want to do that if we can avoid it. It's worth knowing Trinket Mage is also here, purely to get Expedition Map (it can also get Sol Ring, but if you don't have the Map, get that).

Sokka does a nice job drawing for us, of course, but we can always use more cards. Midnight Clock is kind of hilarious and a great way to refill, but the Sphinxes like to help us here. Dream Trawler, for example, draws when it attacks. Inspired Sphinx draws a few and pumps out little fliers should we need them. Isperia, Supreme Judge is a fun little rattlesnake. Quantum Riddler is the kind of Sphinx card I love - quirky. Low on cards? Here, have an extra. Sphinx Ambassador doesn't draw but does add resources to our 'field. Sphinx of Magosi is one of my favorites, and note it doesn't tap - we can pump as much mana as we've got into that guy. Ethereal Valkyrie isn't a Sphinx but also gives us extra cards when it attacks, so we'll take it. And Emeria Shepherd is an Angel too, which doesn't draw but gets stuff back from the 'yard, which is great when those things are Dragons.

We'll probably win with this airborne army. We make a lot of really big flying Creatures and it's quite likely we can do a good amount of damage with them. We can also overextend a bit - keep one in your Hand in case the board gets wiped so you can keep drawing with Sokka, but otherwise, don't be afraid to play them out and attack! We don't want this game to drag out - get those life totals going down and move the game along.

Angel of the Dire Hour is perfect here, as is Sunblast Angel. In addition, we have Austere Command, which is one of the best Wrath of God variants ever printed in my opinion (choices are awesome). Cards like Access Denied, Path to Exile, and Generous Gift all add to the sense we're a permission deck - which we're not, really, but we pretend well and we might be able to scare the table into not doing things because they assume we'll counter it like a normal Azorius deck, not a Dragon deck.

We've got a few other ways to sneak Sokka through. Probably the best is Steel of the Godhead, which has always seemed really strong for the price to me. But Writ of Passage, Aqueous Form, Protective Bubble, and Aether Tunnel all get him there, as does Whispersilk Cloak, Silver Shroud Costume, and Brotherhood Regalia.

Angelic Skirmisher is great for us. We've also got Bruna, the Fading Light and Gisela, the Broken Blade, which meld into Brisela, Voice of Nightmares. I've never managed to make that happen in an actual game, but I keep trying to make it happen; consider it a challenge. Remember Bruna can get Gisela back if Gisela should wind up in the 'yard. And if you manage to do damage with Medomai the Ageless, you can probably figure out how to win fairly quickly afterward.

This deck swings hard, fast, and in the air - just like Dragons. In many ways, it functions the same ways as any normal Dragon deck, just with better support and draw. So, get out there and swing for the win with your Azorius Dragon deck!

Thanks for reading.