by Johnny Cycles, January 9th, 2024
Welcome to my latest Dragons in Modern article! This month’s deck is Dimir Dragons featuring some truly janky dragons alongside arguably Modern’s best dragon, Murktide Regent. Will a turn 2 Murktide Regent be good enough in today’s Modern? Is Dimir Murktide better than Izzet Murktide? Will graveyard hate shut our entire deck down? Is everyone sleeping on Dragon Turtle (League 2)? Let’s find out!
Decklist – Dimir Dragons
by Johnny Cycles
Format: Modern
Creatures (14)
| 4 Stitcher’s Supplier | |
| 4 Ebondeath, Dracolich | |
| 2 Junji, the Midnight Sky | |
| 4 Murktide Regent |
Spells (17)
| 4 Fatal Push | |
| 4 Thought Scour | |
| 4 Thoughtseize | |
| 2 Altar’s Reap | |
| 3 Mission Briefing |
Artifacts (4)
| 4 Mishra’s Bauble |
Lands (25)
| 3 Bloodstained Mire |
| 2 Flooded Strand |
| 5 Island |
| 1 Misty Rainforest |
| 4 Polluted Delta |
| 6 Swamp |
| 4 Watery Grave |
Sideboard (15)
| 4 Counterspell | |
| 4 Orcish Bowmasters | |
| 2 Force of Negation | |
| 2 Foul-Tongue Invocation | |
| 2 Damnation | |
| 1 Dragonlord Silumgar |
Primary Game Plan
We want to fill our graveyard as fast as possible in order to cast Murktide Regent as early as turn 2. Magic players from the early 2010s will recognize this plan from Grixis Death’s Shadow and other decks looking to abuse the Delve mechanic with Gurmag Angler or Tasigur, the Golden Fang. But while those Grixis builds usually played one or two copies of the Zombie Fish as a hard-to-deal-with threat in a deck with other, much cheaper must-answer threats, our first win condition is Murktide Regent. We have the potential to cast it as a 6/6 flier on turn 2. How? I’m glad you asked.
This turn 1 play sets us up for a turn 2 Murktide Regent, assuming we have a second land drop. And if we mill 2 instants or sorceries with Thought Scour, that’s a 6/6 flier on turn 2. Lots of decks will have a hard time dealing with such a big, evasive threat that early in the game. We also play Stitcher’s Supplier to add consistency to our ability to fill our graveyard on turn 1.
And while our opponent takes their beats until they can answer the first Murktide Regent, we will hopefully keep making land drops and keep filling our graveyard in order to set up for either a second Murktide, or hold our mana up for, wait for it…Ebondeath, Dracolich. And yes, even for me, this card is janky. However, the Zombie Dragon has proven its worth time and time again, both because it has flash and because we can recur it from the graveyard. Not to mention it hits hard. No one, and I mean no one, sees this one coming from a Dimir deck.
Mission Briefing gives us a way to recur any instants or sorceries we mill, while also filling our graveyard. Altar’s Reap ensures a second trigger from Stitcher’s Supplier, while hopefully drawing us into our next Murktide Regent.
And that’s the plan. Our backup plan is to beat face with either Ebondeath, Dracolich or Junji, the Midnight Sky. We have Orcish Bowmasters as a semi-sneaky sideboard plan to help ameliorate the power of graveyard hate, while we also get to play the former Standard 1-of, fun-of, Dragonlord Silumgar. And who doesn’t want to play Dragonlords in Modern?!
On to the games!
League 1 – Friendly
Match 1 – Tron
Game 1 – I played Tron in a warm-up match and it felt winnable, though I lost 1-2 in a grindy, slow fashion. My opening hand was so close to keepable…
Had that fancy looking Swamp been a Watery Grave, this is a keep. Instead, I ended up with this 6:
The rest of the game went like this:
In my warm-up game, I beat a resolved Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, but that’s the 1% of games. This one went the way of the majority.
Game 2 – Kept a decent opening hand with a lot of redraws and a Thought Scour…that’s 6 cards in my graveyard on turn 1.
Now, if I can just draw a Murktide Regent…
That’s 6 cards in the yard, 3 redraws, and a LOT of lands. Still, it’s only turn 1…
I could’ve scooped at this point. What a hand! OP kept 7 with natural Tron and hot fire. Then preceded to draw extremely well. OP was nice and new to the deck, so I’m glad I played it out a bit. So…many…lands, but we probably weren’t beating that hand no matter what.
Not a great start. The games didn’t feel close. Maybe we need Spreading Seas in the sideboard if Tron is back.
League Record: 0-1
Match 2 – Izzet Murktide
It’s time to see which Murktide deck is better! TL;DR: it’s not ours.
Game 1 – I had a promising start, rough middle, and the whiff of hope to stabilize before OP finished me off.
What a great 7 for OP. 2 lands and even after double Thoughtseize, they managed to draw hot fire. I thought I’d stabilized with an 8/8 Murktide Regent, but, alas, Wizards printed a card called Unholy Heat and OP had 2 in hand…that’s some insult on injury, as those who’ve read my Dragons in Modern article know.
Game 2 – I had an ideal start. Will it be enough? Let’s find out!
That’s a turn 2 5/5 Murktide Regent, with Thoughtseize backup. Surely this will get me there…
That’s a lot of now useless counter magic, a Ledger Shredder, and a Lightning Bolt. I thought a long time about this before taking the Ledger Shredder. What are the odds they draw another burn spell to kill my Murktide Regent before dying…
Oh, they drew an Expressive Iteration the turn after my Thoughtseize…of course, they did. Note the many, many lands in my hand.
The rest of the game went in a similar fashion. OP cast two more copies of Expressive Iteration to find more hot fire, while I drew more lands.
I didn’t expect my Dimir Murktide Dragons to be better than a former (and now again) tier 1 Modern deck, but these losses felt real, real bad. If a turn 2 Murktide Regent isn’t good enough, is there any hope for Dimir Dragons?
League Record: 0-2
Match 3 – Domain Zoo
Game 1 – This seems like a bad match up. OP has early, big threats and cheap fliers to block even if I manage to stick some dragons. I had to mulligan this hand:
2 cards in the yard on turn 1, with a 3rd guaranteed on turn 2. Maybe I should’ve tried it and trusted the Magic gods.
This is better. I’m bound to draw an Island or two off those redraws. I can have 5 cards in the graveyard on turn 1. Just need a Murktide Regent.
Chose to play Thoughtseize on turn 1 since I had nothing to do with my graveyard. What is it with my opponents having 2 lands and hot fire? No way I’m beating this hand.
Finally hit my second Island on turn 4. OP drew the answer, of course. Rough beats.
Game 2 – I boarded out some of my graveyard fillers for counter magic, sweepers, and Dragonlord Silumgar. Kept a slow, but respectable 7. At least, I thought so, until I saw OP’s hand.
OP has another 2-land hand with 3 Wild Nacatl and 2 Scion of Draco. <Insert expletives here.> My triple Thoughtseize hand might keep me alive long enough to cast this Damnation and stabilize.
Not if I never draw a 4th land…
League Record: 0-3
Wow! So far, Dimir Dragons is doing as bad, if not worse, than Rakdos Dragons. I was feeling pretty bad at this point, even though my opponents had some really hot running, while I had some not so great running. Still, was this a product of a poorly made deck, or just bad luck? Let’s finish the league and find out.
Match 4 – Jund
That’s right…Jund. To be fair, it was more like Rakdos Scam splashing for green.
Game 1 – Kept a decent 7.
Double Murktide Regent is a bit awkward, but we have a lot of live draws to help cheat them out.
With double Thoughtseize and Fatal Push in hand, I took Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and Kolaghan’s Command. That left having to play around Molten Collapse, but at least that was a 1-for-1.
OP channeled their inner Reid Duke and never scooped, even when dead on board. This isn’t the first time I’ve been impressed with Ebondeath, Dracolich. More on him in Impressions from League Play below. For now, that’s our first game win. Hurray!!!
Game 2 – OP brought in some hate in the form of a turn 0 Leyline of the Void. Will we crumble to the graveyard hate or somehow persevere?
Glad I shipped this 1-lander. There was never really any question.
My 6 and…uh oh, it’s a Leyline of the Void. Right now my hand doesn’t care about that. Hopefully I won’t draw a Murktide Regent.
That’s a Murktide Regent… <Insert more expletives here.>
Look at those life totals…OP basically did 10 damage to themselves if my math is correct, maybe 11. Also, note how I’m about to flash in Ebondeath, Dracolich. I blocked the Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer with the Orc Army token, then put OP to 3 on the swing back, while keeping Orcish Bowmasters for chump blocking duty.
I even drew the Counterspell for protection.
Is that a match win? And a 2-0 match win at that? I think it is. There’s hope yet.
League Record: 1-3
Okay, okay, okay. I’m feeling a little better about this deck. We got a win. Granted, it was against a bit of a janky build, but that janky build was playing some of the best cards in Modern. Let’s see if we can get a better-than-Rakdos-Dragons 2-3 for the league.
Match 5 – Amulet Titan
<Insert still more expletives.>
There goes my 2-3 dream. I’ve never won a match against Amulet Titan. I doubt now is the time I’m going to change that.
Game 1 – This is how their turn 2 started, just to put you in my position. What could possibly go wrong?
Turn 3…
I’ll give you a moment to soak in what’s happening here.
…
…
That’s 6 copies of Amulet of Vigor, a Golos, Tireless Pilgrim, and 38 mana (I scooped before OP went infinite and drew their whole deck).
Please note, also, my Stitcher’s Supplier pooping his pants.
What a busted, busted, busted deck.
On to game 2!
Game 2 – Fatal Push out, Counter magic in. We got this…
This was sweet. Force of Negation was the 5th card in the graveyard that would allow me to cast Murktide Regent on turn 2. OP had their best start last game. Now it’s my turn. Will it be enough?
Stitcher’s Supplier getting some sweet, sweet revenge.
What’s that Amulet Titan? Boom!
Game 3 – I’ve won a lot of game 2’s against Amulet Titan only to get crushed once they’re back on the play in game 3. I was emotionally and psychologically prepared for such an occurrence. We’d always have game 2 and our turn 2 Murktide Regent!
Good opening 7. I just need a Murktide Regent to stand a chance.
Turn 1 Amulet of Vigor followed by Azusa, Lost but Seeking. Sigh. OP is set up to have another great turn 3 it looks like.
OP drew The Mycosynth Gardens but turned it into another Amulet of Vigor, which must always be the correct play. Only problem? They didn’t draw another land or any action the rest of the game.
Stitcher’s Supplier gets the last laugh. Counterspell backup even through Defense Grid guarantees me the victory. My first win over Amulet Titan!!! Sometimes they don’t always have it. And sometimes a deck playing 32 lands gets mana screwed. And sometimes both things happen and I win.
I never saw a Primeval Titan from OP, so maybe this is an Amulet Golos deck. Either way, it looks fun, powerful, and a little bit janky.
League Record: 2-3
Impressions from League 1
The Magic gods both frowned and smiled on us over the course of this league. Izzet Murktide and Domain Zoo both drew extremely well. Of course, those match-ups seem hard for us no matter what. Izzet Murktide has answers for days to our big threats while playing some of Modern’s premier 1- and 2-drop creatures. Domain Zoo can pressure our life total very quickly and our big dragons are often outclassed in combat by their cheaper threats. Tron, well, Tron before boarding feels like a true uphill battle. After board, maybe its winnable. Our two victories came with some luck of our own, but they also demonstrated the power and close-out speed our deck has.
Our game plan of casting a turn 2 Murktide Regent turned out to be pretty reasonable. We managed it a couple of times. Otherwise, we frequently cast it on turn 3. And even in the late game, a 2 mana 5/5 or, once, an 8/8 is a powerful play. The card scales up as the game goes long.
Ebondeath, Dracolich in the 4-mana slot felt great. The Zombie Dragon really over performed and was the surprise superstar of the deck. It’s true he dies to a feather, and he even gets countered by Stern Scolding, which feels real bad, but he offers a lot of upside. Flash lets us keep our mana open for our counter magic (after sideboarding). At the very least, it makes our opponent think we have counter magic. And, even when our opponent knew it was in our hand, they frequently tapped down and took 5 the next turn after we flashed it in at the end of their turn. 5 power is a lot and gives us a quick clock. And, as evidenced in our match against Jund, Ebondeath, Dracolich followed by Murktide Regent (or in reverse) finishes games with a quickness. We were able to recur it from the graveyard a couple of times, which is as powerful as it sounds.
I literally never cast Junji, the Midnight Sky and barely ever drew it. My vision when choosing it was that we could recur Stitcher’s Supplier in the late game to help cast our Murktide Regents. In an earlier draft of this deck, we also played Snapcaster Mage, which is a good target for it. However, now that I’ve seen how the deck plays out, I don’t think it does enough for us. We only have one target for its recursion clause, which leaves us hoping to hit something good from our opponent’s yard. And while a 5/5 flier with menace is powerful, it costs 5 mana and doesn’t have haste. Even had we cast it, there’s a good chance we would’ve gotten no value out of it. The question, then, is do we cut it in favor of other dragons? If so, which ones? Or, is 8 dragons enough to count as a dragon deck? If so, do we replace Junji, the Midnight Sky with some counter magic? The One Ring?
Keep reading to find out!
Decklist – Dimir Dragons…take 2
by Johnny Cycles
Format: Modern
Creatures (14)
| 4 Stitcher’s Supplier | |
| 2 Dragon Turtle | |
| 4 Ebondeath, Dracolich | |
| 4 Murktide Regent |
Spells (18)
| 4 Fatal Push | |
| 4 Thought Scour | |
| 4 Thoughtseize | |
| 4 Counterspell | |
| 2 Force of Negation |
Artifacts (4)
| 4 Mishra’s Bauble |
Lands (24)
| 2 Bloodstained Mire |
| 2 Flooded Strand |
| 5 Island |
| 2 Misty Rainforest |
| 4 Polluted Delta |
| 5 Swamp |
| 4 Watery Grave |
Sideboard (15)
| 2 Engineered Explosives | |
| 3 Inquisition of Kozilek | |
| 1 Stern Scolding | |
| 2 Hurkyl’s Recall | |
| 4 Spreading Seas | |
| 2 Damnation | |
| 1 Dragonlord Silumgar |
I’ve made a few key changes to the main deck and revamped the sideboard.
Out:
| 2 Altar’s Reap | |
| 3 Mission Briefing | |
| 2 Junji, the Midnight Sky | |
| 1 Swamp |
In:
| 4 Counterspell | |
| 2 Dragon Turtle | |
| 2 Force of Negation |
I was unimpressed with Mission Briefing, perhaps because I usually cast it in search of an answer not in the main deck. Sure, sometimes a Fatal Push helped and once I really needed a Thoughtseize, but it felt too slow and too unimpactful. Altar’s Reap is nice, but with only 4 truly good targets, there was no guarantee I’d want to cast it, or even be able to. And again, drawing 2 cards is great, but I often was hoping to find answers I didn’t have in the deck. Thus, I’ve increased the amount of counter magic. Having maindeck game against some of the more busted decks feels right. Not to mention Counterspell and Force of Negation almost always punch up.
Dragon Turtle is where the spice really is. And, yes, I know it looks odd. However, playing 8 dragons doesn’t feel on theme in a Dragons deck. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many good choices of dragons in Blue and Black. Most of the powerful ones, Iymrith, Desert Doom for example, cost 5 or more mana. More mana-intensive threats is not what this deck needs. We want more early interaction. Enter Dragon Turtle. It’s 3 mana and has flash, which compliments our newly added counter magic. Furthermore, it’s quite powerful in the right spot. Primeval Titan about to do its thing and kill us? Tap it before combat. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger ready to exile 20 cards from our library? Tap it. Opponent’s Murktide Regent holding down the fort? Tap it.
We’ll see how it plays out in real games, but I believe in the Dragon Turtle! I think it’s going to shine.
The sideboard has been changed significantly to account for Tron (Spreading Seas), Burn (Inquisition of Kozilek), and Affinity (Hurkyl’s Recall). Damnation and Engineered Explosives are for go-wide strategies like Merfolk and Rhinos respectfully.
Let’s see how this new build plays out!
Dimir Dragons 2.0 Practice Games
Match 1 – Rhinos
Let’s see how our changes help out against one of the best decks in the format. I played much of Game 1 thinking I’d just get some reps in with the deck, but it turned out to be a good game and a fun match, so I took pictures starting towards the end of Game 1.
Game 1 – There was some good back-and-forth. Then I stuck 2 Murktide Regents.
That’s a 9/9 and a 7/7…and only 2 lands. All on turn 5. 10 cards in exile, 3 in the graveyard. That’s a lot of action and power in a short amount of time.
Game 2 – I’m not sure how to sideboard…I took out Stitcher’s Supplier and Mishra’s Bauble for Spreading Seas and sweepers. I expected more graveyard hate than Endurance, which I saw in Game 1. Spreading Seas is questionable. Guess I hoped to color screw them off Red or Green, while keeping the card draw I was cutting with Bauble. It didn’t work. OP drew 2 cascade spells after I snagged their only one with a Thoughtseize. Sometimes it be like that.
That’s a pretty good opening hand. Thoughtseize left me choosing between Mystical Dispute or Violent Outburst. I took the Outburst only to have OP draw 2 more in back-to-back turns.
I had some hope that I’d kill one rhino with Fatal Push, block and kill the other with Murktide Regent and fall to 2. The next Violent Outburst crushed that dream.
Game 3 – Let’s hope for a good 7.
No real action until after OP casts a cascade spell. Still, after a look at my next 7, this was a keep. Maybe I should always keep a hand with Murktide Regent in it, even if I can’t get him out quickly. After all, I play more spells that fill my graveyard than I do dragons with delve.
Too many lands. Nothing to do between turns 1 and 4. Sigh.
Should’ve kept the first 7. That’s why we get the reps in!
That’s a Force of Negation, 2 Mystical Disputes, and 2 Violent Outbursts. The game ended the way you would expect facing a hand like that.
Still, we made it to turn 7, managed to do some things, had OP to 7. I won’t lie. I was hoping OP would fetch-shock and let me steal the win with Ebondeath, Dracolich, but OP knew better than to risk death for no value. Well played. OP was very nice, too. Fun games, despite the loss. Definitely should’ve kept that first hand. Lesson learned.
One more practice game just as a warm-up, this time against an oldie, but goodie.
Match 2 – U/W Control circa 2016
Celestial Colonnade…Snapcaster Mage…Path to Exile… Have we time traveled? OP was nice and didn’t want to rent cards, hence the dated deck. Can a Modern Horizons 2 all-star take down a deck 5 years its senior? Let’s find out!
Game 1 – I learned my lesson and kept a hand with Murktide Regent and no great way to fill the yard. The game was very grindy and long.
Will my lone Counterspell hold up against U/W Control? Seems unlikely…
I drew a lot of action, but OP had answers. Playing 1 big threat a turn against U/W Control is not a recipe for success, though I did have them almost out of cards until…
…Jace, the Mind Sculptor came down and found them back-to-back Path to Exiles. Even with 1 card in hand, it turns out Brainstorm every turn is pretty good.
Game 2 – OP never got past 3 mana, but the game still went grindy. I got to chatting with OP and must have forgotten to take pictures. Either way, the game had some back-and-forth to it, but Murktide Regent got there eventually. Here’s my opening 7:
Pretty sure I shipped this one. Double Fatal Push against U/W Control isn’t great. I kept them in mostly for Celestial Colonnade and Spell Queller, but you don’t want to see them in your opening hand.
Game 3 – A repeat of Game 1. It was a slow, grindfest until the Snapcaster beats. Oh, to be back in the 2010s again! Here’s the only picture I have:
That’s a pretty good looking hand, but we just don’t have enough counter magic to keep up with U/W Control. OP found a Rest in Peace, answered our threats, and then went aggro with Snapcaster Mage and Spell Queller.
Practice Games Record: 0-2
Not a great start for our new and improved build, but I won a game in each match, which makes me think with a little better variance and a few wiser decisions about when to mulligan, we’ll have a better record than that. Only one way to find out!
League 2 – Friendly
Match 1 – Izzet Murktide
A rematch of the two Murktide decks…but this time, we have more maindeck interaction. Will it make a difference?
Game 1 – a back-and-forth game in which the new additions to the deck really proved their worth. The MVP? You’ll never guess.
Decent opening 7. Two new cards right off the bat.
OP has a nice 7, too. What would you take?
Who’s the better Murktide deck now??? That’s a turn 3 6/6.
Force of Negation? Clearly a win. Dragon Turtle, which I pitched to cast the Force? Not exactly how I drew it up, but it works!
Uh oh, their Murktide is bigger than my Murktide. If only I could draw…
….a Dragon Turtle. It’s a Dragon Turtle!!!
And that’s how we drew it up! Dragon Turtle for the win. Dragon Turtle living its best life! The never-before-played-in-Modern Dragon Turtle taking down one of the best decks in the format!
Okay, I got that out of my system.
Game 2 – I took out Bauble and Stitcher’s Supplier for Inquisition of Kozilek, Engineered Explosives, Stern Scolding, and Dragonlord Silumgar. I figure the game will be more grindy and want more interaction. Big Daddy Silumgar will snag me OP’s giant Murktide Regent in a perfect world.
Lot of finishers…no enablers.
More interaction. I think this is the kind of hand we want to see. It definitely is if we switch out Ebondeath, Dracolich for Murktide Regent.
The game went long (12 turns) and there was some fun back-and-forth. I thought I had turned a corner when I cast Murktide Regent with Force of Negation as backup…
Curse you Evoke Elementals!
That’s exactsies if OP has nothing relevant in those 4 cards…I’m sure they don’t.
Curse you Unholy Heat!!! My hatred for you knows no bounds!
Game 3 – Brought back in the Stitcher’s Suppliers. I want as fast a start as possible.
Too many lands, but maybe I should’ve kept it.
A better opening hand depending on OP’s draw.
I have the bigger Murktide and the faster clock. OP has more cards.
One turn away…one Counterspell instead of Stitcher’s Supplier away. Close game. OP was super nice.
League Record: 0-1.
Not too surprised to lose to Izzet Murktide. The games were all very competitive, which makes me hopeful that with a few better draws or a tweaked sideboard, I’ll win some decent number of matches against the other Murktide deck. And we’ll always have Game 1 and Dragon Turtle‘s big moment!!!
Match 2 – Tron
More Tron. Seems like ever since Fury and Up the Beanstalk were banned, Izzet Murktide and Tron are the two most popular decks. Could just be the luck of the pairings, though. At least we have some sideboard hate. Let’s see how Game 1 goes!
Game 1 – Tron did what Tron does…I drew a bunch of Fatal Pushes.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and snag their only finisher with this Thoughtseize. I currently have 2 action cards in my 6-card hand.
Take the Wurmcoil Engine and deal with Ugin later. Seems like a winning strategy.
OP burns their Ugin to exile my first Murktide Regent. I draw and play a second. Feeling pretty good…until Ulamog and his unending appetite comes to the party. On to game 2!
Game 2 – Spreading Seas in, Fatal Push out. Dragonlord Silumgar is our super secret tech. The game went very long (turn 13). OP mulliganed to 4. There were several turns of me beating face with Stitcher’s Supplier while OP missed land drops. The entire game OP played as slow as molasses, which really added to the already painful game.
Feeling pretty good about this start. I just need to draw some action to close out this game before OP can dig out of their mull to 4.
5 turns later…
Stitcher’s Supplier really getting his exercise this game. OP still missing lands so, yeah, sometimes Force of Negation on Sylvan Scrying is worth it. Dragon Turtle has sat in my hand the whole game. I’m really tempted just to run it out for no value to speed up my clock. I’m holding my second Spreading Seas until after OP cracks Oblivion Stone. Hopefully the turn they have Tron won’t be too bad for us.
Turn 9…still just Stitcher’s Supplier beats.
OP finally cobbled together Tron and a finisher with the help of The One Ring. Do we counter the Ugin? No. Murktide Regent is just a 3/3. OP will surely want to bolt Ebondeath, Dracolich and weather a single attack in order to keep their 7-mana Planeswalker they can use to kill the Murktide on the next turn. That would allow me to steal said 7-mana Planeswalker with Dragonlord Silumgar and live the dream. Alas, OP took the very conservative route.
But I drew another Murktide Regent. Please also note Dragon Turtle is still in my hand. This is turn 11. Will it ever get the chance to shine? Should I have played it many turns ago? These are the questions plaguing me while I wait for my extremely slow-playing OP.
OP at 3 life. There are 3 burden counters on The One Ring. OP thinks they’re about to swing in with a 6/6 lifegain Wurmcoil Engine.
“I. DON’T. THINK. SO!” says Dragon Turtle.
BOOOOOM!
This is just how we drew it up and the very reason I held on to Dragon Turtle literally the whole game. For this very moment.
Oh, how sweet it is when a plan comes together. The icing on the cake? OP dies to their own The One Ring triggers.
The icing on the icing on the cake?
Big Daddy Silumgar gets his time to shine, thanks to slow-playing OP refusing to scoop.
I steal OP’s Karn, exile the Wurmcoil (killing the Karn in the process), then sit back and wait for The One Ring to punish its bearer.
What a long and painful game, but the end made it all worth it.
Game 3 – Another grindy, marathon of a game (10 turns). OP suddenly remembered they could play fast. Convenient how that always happens when a slow player realizes they may lose to time. Makes you wonder why they weren’t playing quickly the entire match. I countered multiple threats, got in some beats, and built up a winning board state. OP got greedy with The One Ring and couldn’t escape doom.
OP again refused to scoop. I guess losing to jank can make one salty.
League Record: 1-1
I was feeling pretty good about the deck at this point. The changes have paid off. I’m hopeful for the remainder of the league.
Match 3 – Jund Midrange
OP playing Rakdos Midrange, basically, splashing green for Questing Druid. I guess this card is the new hotness.
Game 1 – I was able to put pressure on OP, but Fable of the Mirror-Breaker coming off the top found them the answers to stabilize. Maindeck Dauthi Voidwalker hurt, as well.
Was ready to win the race until Fable found them what they needed.
Game 2 – Bauble out, Inquisition of Kozilek and Stern Scolding in.
I kept a reactive hand only to see OP’s 7. What would you take?
Another close game that saw Fable of the Mirror-Breaker letting OP find the answers they needed. I forgot the rule change that says flipped cards maintain the mana cost of their front side and wasted my Fatal Push. Based on what I drew, though, it wouldn’t have mattered.
League Record: 1-2
Our first 0-2 match. The games were close, but they didn’t feel that way. So many of the best decks are playing 2- and 3-for-1s that we aren’t. Expressive Iteration and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker have been the difference in many of our games.
Match 4 – Izzet Murktide…again
I won’t lie…I’m getting tired of this match-up. This is the 3rd time in 9 matches that I’m playing against Izzet Murktide and I’ve yet to win one. Of course, our last match was close. Maybe this one will go our way.
Game 1 – Another marathon game… I don’t find these long games with lots of counter magic back and forth very enjoyable either. I am a Green player at heart, I guess.
That’s a turn 2 Murktide Regent…if only I can draw one.
Hey, hey, hey! Sometimes you get lucky. And I have Counterspell to keep my 6/6 alive, should OP find an answer. And let’s be honest, Izzet Murktide always finds the answer.
Spell Snare?! Izzet Murktide always finds two answers, I suppose.
6 turns later…
What a fast start that somehow didn’t get me there. I did get the W, though, so there’s hope! These Izzet Murktide decks are packed with counter magic even before boarding. It’ll only get worse in games 2 and 3.
Game 2 – I kept a 1-lander, but drew very well. OP cast Expressive Iteration a bunch, found all the answers, and won on turn 11. I’ll spare you the pictures. We’ve seen it all before.
Game 3 – Another very grindy game with many a frustration. The low, er, highlights:
That’s OP finding two answers for my 8/8 Murktide…Unholy Heat and Lightning Bolt. Never not have it, I mean, them, I guess.
Turn 8, I put OP to 1 by forcing them to tap for at the cost of a life in order to counter my Murktide Regent. Surely I’ll draw well enough to sneak a single point of damage in? Surely OP won’t draw well enough to answer every single threat I play.
I even draw the Thoughtseize to help ensure I’ll get there.
OP top-decks Expressive Iteration and proceeds to chain together Counterspells, Expressive Iterations, and Snapcaster Mages for the win.
What a backbreaking loss, I’ll be honest. I drew pretty well and Ebondeath, Dracolich nearly closed out the game, but OP managed to always have an answer. Super frustrating.
League Record: 1-3
I’m feeling pretty rough after this last match. What a way to lose. But, when you play janky dragons in Modern, you have to be relentlessly positive or you just give up. Our deck did well, held its own, and was one or two draws away from winning. In fact, at one point in the game, I sent a single Stitcher’s Supplier at OP’s Narset, rather than at their face, to ensure Narset would die if they ticked her down. Hindsight being what it is, I should’ve just ignored her. Would that have been enough?
Match 5 – Izzet Prowess
Sigh. <Insert expletives.> Another <expletive> Izzet deck. Izzet burn. Oh boy. Combines the worst of two decks I don’t like playing against. Oh, and OP gets to play Expressive Iteration.
Game 1 – I kept a hand full of counter magic, cast a few copies of Thoughtseize, but never drew any action.
Guess I should’ve mulliganed.
Lots of interaction with no finisher. Had I just drawn a Murktide Regent, I may have been able to stop the bleeding and turn the corner. Notice Unholy Heat to ensure victory just for the rub-ins.
Game 2 – This is why we’re playing Inquisition of Kozilek. Will it be enough?
That’s a decent opening 7 that’s one Murktide Regent away from beating face.
Sometimes you get the basic Island over Watery Grave against Burn to spare your life total only never to draw a second Black source. OP, meanwhile, chained together Expressive Iterations, as they do.
League Record: 1-4
Impressions from League 2
I’m having flashbacks to Rakdos Dragons when I started 2-3 and each tweak led to a worse record, despite what seemed to be an increase in synergy or power level. Overall, and despite the worse record, the deck felt competitive. Main-deck Counterspell and Force of Negation were definite upgrades, while Dragon Turtle really showed its worth.
So how did we manage to do worse this time around? We lost to three decks abusing Expressive Iteration and one deck abusing Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Both of these cards are super powerful in the correct shell and offer our opponents 2- and 3-for-1s on the regular. In each of our matches, other than Izzet Burn, these cards helped our opponents pull away in what had been a stalemate or slightly favorable to us. We just aren’t playing cards like this. The closest thing we have to it is Thought Scour, which fuels Murktide Regent while drawing us a card. It’s no wonder, then, that some of our best starts and wins came on the back of these two cards.
Ebondeath, Dracolich continued to show how powerful it is. We were frequently in a position to win after recurring the Zombie Dragon from the graveyard, if only our opponent didn’t have the right answer. Alas, they seemed to always have the right answer.
Where do we go from here?
It’s worth pointing out that Izzet decks were over-represented in this league. We didn’t play Amulet Titan, Rhinos, Merfolk, or Affinity, decks we’ve seen in the past with some frequency. It’s tempting to tweak our sideboard to fight against the Izzet decks, especially if the new cards have game against these other archetypes. Damnation and Hurkyl’s Recall were both underwhelming. Even Engineered Explosives was meh. I’ve cut the former two for 3 copies of Soul-Guide Lantern and 1 more copy of Stern Scolding. I’m not sure if this is correct, but having some graveyard hate will give us something against Living End, should we ever play it, as well as a way to slow down opposing Murktide decks. I never know if graveyard hate is worth it against Izzet Murktide, but I’m also not sure we can win the Counterspell war. In the games we lost to Izzet Murktide, had we been able to nerf their graveyard in the right spot for a turn or two, we would’ve won the game. I suppose we could make the same argument about having more counter magic. This is the kind of thought circle I find myself in when (over)thinking how to beat this deck.
In the main deck, I want to try a couple of things. First, I’m cutting Mishra’s Bauble for Preordain. The former does allow us a more consistent chance of casting Murktide Regent on turn 2, but the latter gives us some much needed digging power in the mid- to late-game when we’ve stalled out. Second, I’m cutting two lands in favor of Lórien Revealed. I want to see if we still make our land drops this way while avoiding some of the flooding we experienced in our leagues. Another big benefit of these changes is that it increases the number of sorceries we’re playing, which will give us bigger and harder-to-kill Murktide Regents.
Decklist – Dimir Dragons…take 3
by Johnny Cycles
Format: Modern
Creatures (14)
| 4 Stitcher’s Supplier | |
| 2 Dragon Turtle | |
| 4 Ebondeath, Dracolich | |
| 4 Murktide Regent |
Spells (24)
| 4 Fatal Push | |
| 4 Preordain | |
| 4 Thought Scour | |
| 4 Thoughtseize | |
| 4 Counterspell | |
| 2 Force of Negation | |
| 2 Lórien Revealed |
Lands (22)
| 1 Bloodstained Mire |
| 2 Flooded Strand |
| 5 Island |
| 2 Misty Rainforest |
| 4 Polluted Delta |
| 4 Swamp |
| 4 Watery Grave |
Sideboard (15)
| 2 Engineered Explosives | |
| 3 Inquisition of Kozilek | |
| 3 Soul-Guide Lantern | |
| 2 Stern Scolding | |
| 4 Spreading Seas | |
| 1 Dragonlord Silumgar |
League 3 – Friendly
Match 1 – Storm
I saw Izzet colors and I thought I was doomed yet again to play Izzet Murktide 2 out of 5 matches, at least. Instead, it’s Storm. I have maindeck counter magic and kill spells. This should be a decent match-up.
Game 1 – Kept a great opening 7.
That’s a sweet looking hand. It’s not a turn 2 Murktide, but it’s probably a turn 3.
I also drew well. That’s a turn 5 win on the back of a turn 3 7/7 Murktide. Not too shabby.
Game 2 – Inquisition of Kozilek and Soul-Guide Lantern in, Dragon Turtle and Stitcher’s Supplier out. I had another good opening 7.
The rest of the game went as well as the first.
I drew the Murktide Regent right on time with graveyard hate as back-up. OP scooped.
League Record: 1-0
Okay, okay, okay! The tweaks I made are looking good. Of course, I just won a game against a deck that hasn’t been good in more than 5 years.
Match 2 – Izzet…Good Stuff?
Game 1 – Another Izzet deck…at least match 1 was Storm and not Murktide. But then OP played this:
I’d already killed a Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer so this surely wasn’t some strange Merfolk deck.
Izzet Tempo I suppose. OP had a good hand and stayed one step ahead of me the entire game.
1 life proved not enough to stabilize. On to game 2!
Game 2 – Super grindy game. For a huge portion of it, I attacked every turn with 2 Stitcher’s Suppliers as OP and I played a chess match of hand disruption, card draw, and counter magic. OP was super nice. Eventually, Ebondeath, Dracolich closed the game out, but not without much drama.
My opening 7 has a lot of what I want, but no finisher. Surely I’ll draw some action soon, though.
Turn 5 and Stitcher’s Suppliers still getting in there. Still no finishers…
That’s a lot of action. No wonder OP hasn’t played many creatures. They must have boarded a bunch out to make room for all their counter magic. It’s not looking great with my single Counterspell to hold down the fort.
Stern Scolding to counter Ebondeath, Dracolich. Always feels bad, but at least we can keep bringing him back!
Got there! Ebondeath, Dracolich really shines in the grindfests. Dragon Turtle has been MIA this league.
Game 3 – OP and I had to play fast. The games were grindy and we were chatting so both of us had about 5 minutes on the clock.
I kept a hand with some set-up, while OP has interaction but no threats.
Delver of Secrets! OP is also playing Snapcaster Mage. It’s like we’re back in 2013.
So far Preordain and Lórien Revealed have really shown their worth. Both have kept me in these grindy games.
OP says they missed casting Stern Scolding, but I’m not sure it would’ve mattered. I had another Ebondeath, Dracolich in hand and the Zombie Dragon is really good at coming back from the dead.
Again, shout out to my opponent, Obi-Wan-Jabroni. Very nice and friendly. The games were fun and hard, and it’s always nice when your opponent can have fun chatting with you while you play. The thing I miss most about paper Magic is interacting with my opponent.
League Record: 2-0
Alright! We’ve doubled our win total from the last league. Our changes have really made a difference. I’m feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, I had to stop for the day. Will the Magic gods continue to smile on me tomorrow when I finish the league?
Match 3 – Merfolk
Another old deck, but this one is making a comeback, unlike Storm. Will I be fast enough? They can go wide and I already play Islands for their Islandwalk lords.
Game 1 – Kept a sweet opening 7. I’m feeling pretty good about this one.
Preordain should find me the Swamp I need, if not the Murktide. Thought Scour and Stitcher’s Supplier will fill the graveyard.
OP has nothing going on, but I won’t be able to attack for another 2 turns. What would you take? I took the Force of Negation, thinking Aether Vial wouldn’t be impactful anymore. Little did I know that this decision would cost me the game.
Yup, that’s an Aether Vial putting a lord into play to leave mana up for…
I knew they had the Otawara in hand so maybe I should’ve seen this coming and taken the Vial. OP won at 1 life…
Game 2 – I trimmed some counter magic and brought in Inquisition of Kozilek and Engineered Explosives. The former seems like an obvious choice. Not so sure about the latter.
I have another good hand missing only a Murktide. OP has only 3 Merfolk. I took the lord. They drew another one the next turn…
Counterspell is a dead card, while Engineered Explosives might be good. I found the Murktide Regent. I’m feeling pretty good at this point. Cautiously optimistic at the very least.
Another very close game. I blow up 2-mana creatures with Explosives on their turn, putting their attacking creatures hitting for 7. I block the 3/4 with Stitcher’s Supplier and kill them on the backswing. Except…OP drew a Otawara, Soaring City.
<Insert expletives.>
That’s two games and the match I lost thanks to the channel land.
Extremely close match that literally came down to the wire both games. OP was dead the turn after they killed me both games.
The 5-0 dream is dead and in such a narrow fashion.
Still, a 4-1 would be a great showing for my Dimir Dragons deck.
League Record: 2-1
Match 4 – 5-color Money Pile
Not sure it’s even worth posting pictures, to be honest. I lost 0-2 and neither game felt particularly close. I executed my gameplan, but OP has too many answers, draws too many cards, and gains too much life with Omnath, Locus of Creation. Here’s a snapshot of just how the match went.
OP has 4 cards in hand and will draw 3 more on their turn. Surely one of these Murktide Regents will stick, right?
How foolish of me to think OP would ever run out of answers…
League Record: 2-2
A brutal way to lose the 4-1 dream. Can we salvage the league with a 3-2?
Match 5 – Abzan Yawgmoth
First match against this deck, which I hear is the best in the format right now. My 3-2 dream is on life support.
Game 1 – Things looked good at first, though. My opening hand had everything I could want, really.
Things went south from here, unfortunately. I drew poorly and got unlucky with my milling, for one thing.
That’s 2 of 4 Murktide Regents in the yard. At least I have 1 in hand.
That’s a lot of lands and a single Stitcher’s Supplier on my side vs. … a whole lot of creatures on OP’s side. My deck just didn’t come together the way it usually has. On to game 2!
Game 2 – Kept an interactive hand with little action.
That’s 2 copies of Grist, the Hunger Tide, two tutors, and Giant Killer, a very nice answer to my big threats. Sigh.
There’s the Yawgmoth, Thran Physician. My Fatal Push isn’t looking that great with no fetch land.
A close game, but Chop Down / Giant Killer was the all-star, killing my first Ebondeath, Dracolich, then tapping my second one down to swing in for lethal.
Another 0-2 match loss and one that didn’t feel super close. It was also one of those matches that you look back on and can’t really pinpoint where it all went wrong. I did cast Fatal Push on their Viscera Seer, knowing they had Giant Killer in hand. Maybe that was the mistake that cost me the game. OP was able to chip in damage fairly consistently and had an answer for my threats in a way that let them out-tempo me. Tough one.
Doubly tough after starting 2-0.
League Record: 2-3
Impressions from League 3
Overall, I was really happy with the changes I made. Both Preordain and Lórien Revealed made the deck run more smoothly, while finding me action when I needed it. Cutting two lands never seemed to hurt, so I think this is correct, as well. The sideboard tweaks were fine. They weren’t ever really relevant, but I also never found myself wishing I had something in the board that I didn’t. The game against Merfolk was the one that got away. So close and a really fun match. Money Pile almost feels unwinnable, unless we can stick a turn 2 Murktide with Force of Negation as back up, followed by multiple Counterspells. Against Yawgmoth, I’m not really sure. I didn’t draw that well, but maybe Damnation would’ve been good in that match-up.
Overall, I’m disappointed in the record but hopeful for the deck. I’m going to try one more league, mostly because I’m going to record it and post the video. And I’m going to make one big/small change to the deck.
No reason at least 1 copy of each of these shouldn’t have been in the deck already. And after losing the tempo battle twice to Otawara, Soaring City, I want at least one of my own. Meanwhile, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire fills our yard AND gets us a Murktide Regent that we’ve milled back.
Decklist – Dimir Dragons…take 4
by Johnny Cycles
Format: Modern
Creatures (12)
| 2 Dragon Turtle | |
| 4 Ebondeath, Dracolich | |
| 2 Troll of Khazad-dûm | |
| 4 Murktide Regent |
Spells (27)
| 4 Fatal Push | |
| 4 Preordain | |
| 1 Spell Pierce | |
| 2 Stern Scolding | |
| 4 Thought Scour | |
| 4 Thoughtseize | |
| 4 Counterspell | |
| 2 Force of Negation | |
| 2 Lórien Revealed |
Lands (21)
| 2 Bloodstained Mire |
| 2 Flooded Strand |
| 4 Island |
| 1 Otawara, Soaring City |
| 4 Polluted Delta |
| 3 Swamp |
| 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire |
| 4 Watery Grave |
Sideboard (15)
| 2 Engineered Explosives | |
| 2 Sheoldred’s Edict | |
| 4 Spreading Seas | |
| 3 Ashiok, Dream Render | |
| 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse | |
| 2 Subtlety |
Here’s the deck tech, but the TL;Dr is we’ve cut Stitcher’s Supplier for some more interaction:
League 4 – Friendly (with video of gameplay!)
Match 1 – Izzet (Temur) Murktide
I’ll warn you…I manage to punt in each of the games of this match. It was the first match of the day, so maybe I was still waking up, or maybe it was because my son was throwing up the previous night and I didn’t sleep well, but mistakes were made. Some, like not fully grasping how to respond to Flusterstorm, were unsurprising to me. I’ve never played against that card and it’s confusing. I had a feeling I was doing it wrong as I was doing it. Others, like casting Subtlety after a resolved Veil of Summer are just horrible misplays, even if I’ve actually never cast Subtlety before this match. Unfortunately, and spoiler alert, the mistakes definitely cost me.
Sigh…
We’ll also blame the fact that I’m still unused to recording my games, talking through my plays, and trying to be mildly entertaining all while navigating complicated board states and counter wars.
Enough excuses. The best way to learn is to fail.
League Record: 0-1
Match 2 – Boros Artifacts
Part of Magic is being able to move past misplays, regardless of how horrible they may be. Let’s find out if we’re able to bounce back against what looks like a budget build.
Match 3 – Orzhov Scam
With Fury banned, many Scam decks have returned to their Orzhov roots. Can we survive three Grief triggers by turn 2?
Match 4 – Thassa’s Oracle
I haven’t played against this deck since I played some Pioneer several years ago. Will we figure out what’s going on in time to find the correct line?
Match 5 – Merfolk
My nemesis after Izzet Murktide and Amulet Titan…that’s too many nemeses. Anyway, I made some mistakes here, too, like clicking Ok instead of Mulligan in game 2. That really hurt. OP, ChadWallin, was super nice and a pleasure to talk to. He says he’s been playing Merfolk for 10 years and is heading out to Denver for a tournament with it. Good luck ChadWallin! Thanks for the pleasant conversation…and the beats…lol.
League Record: 1-4
Impressions from League 4
Another league, another 1-4 record. I think the changes we made to this version are a classic example of trying to do two things and doing neither well. Our plan of filling the graveyard with 1-mana interaction worked, but only for the first Murktide Regent. After that, it was very difficult to cast a second for just . And while Izzet Murktide is primarily looking to win games on the back of its 1- and 2-mana creatures with Murktide Regent as the nail in the coffin, we’re looking to cast a Murktide as soon as possible and as often as possible. Thus, we ended up making the deck more reactive, less consistent, and, unfortunately less powerful.
Conclusion
Overall, we played 4 leagues and ended up with a 6-20 record, which makes the deck a little better than Rakdos Dragons. We went 1-4 twice and 2-3 twice. I think the best build of this deck is the 3rd version but with the addition of the two channel lands. That is the version I’ll play the next time I want to run out Dimir Dragons. I will say that, unlike Rakdos Dragons, this deck felt powerful and competitive in almost all the matches (Money Pile was the one real exception). We play some of the best cards in Modern (Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Counterspell, Preordain, Murktide Regent), while also getting surprising value out of our jank (Ebondeath, Dracolich and Dragon Turtle). We lack the kinds of 2- and 3-for-1s the best decks play, but we have maindeck game against many of the decks in the format, with the ability to have some very explosive turns.
For these reasons, I’m more reluctant to give up on this build than the Rakdos Dragons deck. I really think the deck is better than its record. I also really enjoyed playing it, despite the difficulties it presented me at times. The counter wars can be tedious, but overall I think the deck was a lot of fun. We had some really sweet plays along the way and got to see the true power of Dragon Turtle. What more can you ask for from Dragons in Modern?
Like always, thanks for reading and watching! I hope you enjoyed the videos. I’ll be making more and more of those for these articles, though I think I’ll miss the storytelling aspect of showing pictures from the match-ups. Perhaps I’ll do a mix of both. Let me know in the comments what you think. Videos over pictures? A bit of both? Do you have a Dimir Murktide deck you’d like to share? Tweaks to one of mine? Email me at johnnycycles16@gmail.com!
