Bloomburrow has become a favorite set of mine and this past weekend I decided my brief experiment with Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei had run its course. The deck never really did what I hoped it would do, and I was no longer excited to try to get it to pop off. It won a few games, but that spark of excitement that had me wanting to build it had faded.

It was time to build yet another Red Dragon deck!

While we try not to double up on topics here at CoolStuffInc.com, Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest was covered by Mark Wischkaemper over a year ago. You can read his take on this legendary Bird Dragon here. I was excited about Dragonhawk because I think I've found a new approach to building the deck that Mark hadn't gone with. I'm not going to suggest that I'm in completely uncharted territory for Dragonhawk, but my hope is that I've found a different way to build it.

Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest is a five mana 4/4 legendary Bird Dragon with flying and a neat party trick. When Dragonhawk enters or arracks, I'll exile the top X cards of my library where X is the number of creatures I control with power 4 or greater. I may play those cards until my next end step. At the beginning of that end step, Dragonhawk will deal 2 damage to each opponent for each of those cards that are still exiled.

This is the kind of commander that gets me dreaming of unrealistic best-case scenarios. I imagine exiling twenty cards, moving to my end step, and having my tablemates all conveniently and graciously die, complimenting me for my great deckbulding with their last words as their life totals go to zero. Obviously, that isn't going to really happen, but Dragonhawk does present an interesting puzzle to solve, and one that can both give me card advantage and push out damage to my tablemates.

Basic Math

Two plus two equals four.

If there's one way to sum up the concept behind this build, it's that basic math. I want a board full of lots of four power creatures. I could play a deck full of four power creatures, but they're more expensive and in Red I don't have the best ramp options. I goldfished a generic goodstuff Red deck for Dragonhawk, but it never felt like it was playing out enough bodies and I found myself falling into tired old combo lines.

I thought about building a Goblins deck and adding pump spells, and that's when I realized that what I wanted was a deck full of the cheapest creatures I could find that were either 4 power or were at least 2 power. The reason I was aiming for two power is that there are a ton of instant speed spells that can pump your team for +2/+0 in Red. Two plus two is four. Some of them require your creatures to be attacking, but that's a small price to pay to get a big Dragonhawk trigger.

The second reason I wanted to aim for cheap two power creatures is that it's not uncommon to have a Dragonhawk trigger and be lacking the mana to cast the cards that Dragonhawk exiled. If those cards are more likely to be one or two mana spells, you're more likely to be able to cast them. If they're big, bulky, 4 power threats, they'll be more likely to be stuck in exile.

The biggest challenge with focusing on cheap 2 power creatures is that I had to leave out some of my "usual suspects" when building in Mono-Red. Etali, Primal Storm makes it into an alarming number of my Red decks, but it didn't make the final cut. Dragon decks love both Lathliss, Dragon Queen, Scourge of the Throne, and Terror of the Peaks, but they didn't make sense for where I was going this time around.

While it's not quite a hug card, Goblin Guide will often become a free 2 (or 4) damage on a tablemate who is behind on land drops. All I have to do is offer to swing it at them if they promise not to block or kill it. This Goblin Scout's attack trigger will let them reveal the top card of their library and if it's a land card, they can put it in their hand. Many tables will have someone desperate enough to trade 2 life for a better chance to get a land drop on their next turn.

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is probably the best one mana Red creature ever printed. This Monkey Pirate has a combat damage trigger that will create a Treasure token and will exile that opponent's top card from their library. Ragavan has to damage a player, and the exiled card is only available until end of turn. Ragavan might be too good for this deck. If it eats removal or a counterspell that might later have been used on Dragonhawk, that's not the worst outcome.

I like to try to think outside the box, so when I came across Monastery Swiftspear I realized it was perfect for this deck. It's a one power, two toughness Human Monk with haste and prowess. My plan was to focus on two power creatures, but the entire point is to use +2/+0 instant speed pump spells. My one power Monk will be a two power monk before my +2 power pump spell even comes off the stack. My only other one power, two mana creature is Dragonlord's Servant, and it is a staple in any Red deck I build with a Dragon as the commander, as it reduces the cost of my Dragon spells by one.

Moving up to the two mana slot, it's notable that a lot of decent options didn't make sense for this list. A card like Reckless Barbarian is a 2/2 for two mana that can sacrifice itself to make two Red mana, but Dragonhawk wants my creatures to stick around. Anything that would sacrifice itself to do something helpful like destroy an artifact didn't make the cut because I wanted to maximize the number of creatures I'd be keeping in play.

I'm running Dragon Tempest, Axgard Cavalry, Lightning Mauler, and Raccoon Rallier in the list as two mana, two power permanents that can give Dragonhawk haste. Dragon Tempest is an enchantment, but all the rest are creatures. Axgard Cavalry and Raccoon Rallier tap to give target creature haste. Lightning Mauler has a soulbond trigger, and will give haste to any creature it's soulbonded to. Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei can also give my creatures haste, but at the cost of a Red mana.

Loyal Apprentice is in the list as a way to get 1/1 Thopter artifact creatures. It's not likely that I'll be making those into four power creatures to increase my Dragonhawk triggers, but it will be nice to have a few flying blockers sitting around after I send what might be my only flyer into battle.

There are a lot of two mana, two power legendary Red creatures beyond Goro-Goro that are worth running in this deck, but Magda, Brazen Outlaw is definitely the best. I'm not really on a treasure theme, but if I am able to get three Treasures I might want to tutor up an artifact or Dragon card.

I've got a few good three mana, two power creatures in this list, including Laelia, the Blade Reforged, Feldon of the Third Path, Dragonspeaker Shaman, and Captain Lannery Storm, along with a few three power three drops. My goal was to have a super low mana curve, but some creatures were too good to leave out even at three mana.

The Power of Four

All of those two and three power creatures are useless for Dragonhawk if I can't pump them, but there happen to be a lot of pump spells for me to press into service.

The best three mana +2/+0 pump spells will be ones that don't require me to attack. For three mana I can turn a half dozen cheap two or three power creatures into Dragonhawk triggers with cards like Volatile Claws, Gnawing Crescendo, Goblin Surprise, Outlaws' Fury, or Valley Rally. These are all variations on the same theme, but the part that matters is that +2 power boost.

Pack Attack, Dinosaur Stampede, and Trumpet Blast will only pump up my attacking creatures. As long as I put my Dragonhawk trigger on the stack first, hold priority, and cast the pump spell before the trigger resolves, I'll get that bonus for my commander's cool party trick. Mercadia's Downfall is also in the list but it gives attacking creatures +X/+0 where X is the number of nonbasic lands defending player controls.

Having to send my little guys into battle is inconvenient. Sometimes they'll end up dying, and none of my pump spells give a boost to their toughness. Fortunately, I've got a few spells for that. Barrage of Boulders will ping my opponents creatures for 1 damage each, and if I control a creature with power four or greater, creatures can't block. Magmatic Chasm and Seismic Stomp are also in the list as ways at sorcery speed to keep creatures without flying from blocking.

Another way to build Dragonhawk is to simply play four power creatures. I didn't want to do that, but I also couldn't turn away from running a few cheap ones, along with some of the better ones.

I was able to find a couple of two mana, four power creatures. Wall of Torches is a 4/1 Wall with defender. Slumbering Cerberus is a 4/2 Dog that doesn't untap during my untap step. It's got a Morbid ability that lets it untap at the beginning of each end step if a creature died that turn.

Defiler of Instinct and Roaming Throne are fantastic four-mana four-power creatures for this deck. The former lets me pay life for the Red mana pips in my Red spells. The latter is everything Dragonhawk ever wanted in a piece of furniture and more. If I make it a Dragon (or a Bird), Roaming Throne will double my commander's enter the battlefield trigger and will also double its attack trigger. If my goal is to push out forty damage in a turn, I'll need to exile twenty cards. If I can play my commander with haste and immediately attack, all I'll need is five creatures with four or more power in play.

I'm also running Bonehoard Dracosaur, and Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs, but that's the top of my mana curve if you don't count Blasphemous Act. The former will give me some impulse draw and either treasures, 3/1 Dinosaur tokens, or both. Kazuul will give me 3/3 Red Ogre tokens if I'm attacked and the player doesn't pay their taxes. Both are very good in Dragonhawk, though probably not Roaming Throne good. Getting additional 3 power creatures sets me up for a big turn if I've got a pump spell in hand.

Temp(es)ting Fate

This deck's first night out saw it have a game where I did next to nothing and Dragonhawk got countered the first time I tried to cast it. In the second game, at a lower powered table, it was actually really fun and got me achingly close to nabbing the win. The combination of damage from my commander and damage from my Dragonhawk triggers were a good combination, but my real takeaway was that the deck was lacking something.

It was only after those first few test games that I added in Roaming Throne, Strionic Resonator, and Blade of Selves. Dragonhawk triggers are delayed triggers, so even if my commander is gone I'll still be able to push out 2 damage for each exiled card. That means Blade of Selves in a four player game can give me my attack trigger along with two enter the battlefield triggers for token copies that will die to the legend rule. I hope to someday see a dream scenario play out where I've got a decent little army, a Roaming Throne, a pump spell in hand, and I can attack with Blade of Selves attached to Dragonhawk.

Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest

• Creatures (30)
• 1 Axgard Cavalry
• 1 Bonehoard Dracosaur
• 1 Captain Lannery Storm
• 1 Defiler of Instinct
• 1 Dragonlord's Servant
• 1 Dragonspeaker Shaman
• 1 Feldon of the Third Path
• 1 Flametongue Yearling
• 1 Goblin Guide
• 1 Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei
• 1 Greasewrench Goblin
• 1 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
• 1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged
• 1 Lightning Mauler
• 1 Loyal Apprentice
• 1 Magda, Brazen Outlaw
• 1 Magda, the Hoardmaster
• 1 Monastery Swiftspear
• 1 Nogi, Draco-Zealot
• 1 Professional Face-Breaker
• 1 Raccoon Rallier
• 1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1 Raging Battle Mouse
• 1 Roaming Throne
• 1 Slumbering Cerberus
• 1 Sunset Strikemaster
• 1 Treasure Nabber
• 1 Viashino Pyromancer
• 1 Wall of Torches

• Instants (15)
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Dinosaur Stampede
• 1 Dynacharge
• 1 Gnawing Crescendo
• 1 Goblin Surprise
• 1 Mercadia's Downfall
• 1 Outlaws' Fury
• 1 Pack Attack
• 1 Pursue Glory
• 1 Street Spasm
• 1 Trumpet Blast
• 1 Valley Rally
• 1 Volatile Claws
• 1 Volcanic Rush
• 1 Wild Magic Surge

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Barrage of Boulders
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Magmatic Chasm
• 1 Mana Geyser
• 1 Reforge the Soul
• 1 Seismic Stomp

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Dragon Tempest

• Artifacts (11)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Blade of Selves
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Gilded Lotusfoil
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Nyx Lotus
• 1 Ruby Medallion
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Strionic Resonator
• 1 Sword of Hearth and Home
• 1 Sword of the Animist

• Lands (36)
• 26 Mountain
• 1 Arena of Glory
• 1 Bonders' Enclave
• 1 Castle Embereth
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 1 Spinerock Knoll
• 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

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I think this list is going to fall somewhere between brackets 2 and 3. I had higher hopes, but the reality is that the list is very dependent upon both the commander and having a pump spell in hand. I think there are enough pump spells in the list for the deck to work, but it doesn't feel like a powerhouse of a deck. That's by design. I play at more lower powered tables these days than I did a few years ago and I want the games to be fun and balanced. If you wanted to drop this list in power a little more, you'd probably replace Roaming Throne and Blade of Selves with a few more cheap 2 power creatures.

I don't yet know if this is a better approach to Dragonhawk than simply playing four power creatures. It goes without saying that there are some great four power creatures in red. Goldspan Dragon almost made the cut, and there are plenty of other strong cards that could fill out a retooled Dragonhawk deck that didn't want to rely on pump spells to actually work. Whether it would be an upgrade to my list or not is something I'm still trying to figure out.

Final Thoughts

If you've noticed that I have a Bloomburrow fixation, you're correct. In the past few years I can think of few sets outside of Bloomburrow and Tarkir: Dragonstorm that I've really loved. While I may have railed against Universes Beyond more than your average content creator, I appreciate that we get a variety of different sets every year. There's always a good chance there will be something for a Commander player to really sink their teeth into.

I'm very much hoping that Dragonhawk becomes another deck that stays together for more than a few months. I've had a series of Red decks that have been taken apart and rebuilt over the past few years, but I've also got a Lathliss, Dragon Queen deck that I don't think I'll ever take apart. It would be nice to have Dragonhawk stick around for longer than Goro-Goro or Alexios, Demios of Kosmos managed to last. Before them I had a few Goblin decks that were together for over a year, but for some reason those Goblin decks were never able to find a place in my heart.

I've been talking about Avatar being on the horizon for a few weeks, so there's a good chance I will be pivoting over to writing about that set next week. I've been rewatching the show, which has been fun. I may even try building another "deck in a box" for that set and if I do, I'll definitely share it with you here.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!