So yesterday I smashed my keyboard after getting wrecked by yet another Dragonstorm deck at local game night. Figured if you can’t beat em, join em – time to build my own dragon-summoning monstrosity. Pulled out my dusty card boxes, dumped everything on the living room floor, and started digging.
The Awful First Draft
Grabbed every cheap red spell and dragon I owned. Slapped together 60 cards thinking “how hard could it be?” Spoiler: very hard. First test game went like this:
- Got mana screwed twice
- Drew all dragons when I needed spells
- Drew all spells when I needed dragons
- Died before casting a single dragon
Realized fast that just cramming dragons ain’t cutting it. This deck needs gas. Like actual ways to survive long enough to do the big boom thing.
Building The Engine Room
Stared at the mess for hours checking tournament decks online. Lightbulb moment: rituals and cantrips are the secret sauce. Scoured my collection for:
- Anything making extra mana (those ritual spells)
- Cards letting me sift through my deck fast
- Cheap draw spells to find pieces quicker
Added like eight rituals and a bunch of card filters. Took out the clunky mid-game dragons – no room for slow stuff. Only kept the absolute heaviest hitters that end games immediately.
The Breakthrough Test
Third rebuild felt different. Played five goldfish games (solitaire mode):
- Game 1: Hit dragonstorm turn 4
- Game 2: Ritual chain turn 3 = two dragons
- Game 3: Got interrupted but recovered turn 5
Finally saw how the machine actually runs: Stall early → hoard rituals → explode dragons. Not pretty but oh boy it clicks.
Local Armageddon
Took the monster to Friday Night Magic. Sweaty palms territory. Key moments:
- Round 1 vs control: Cast dragonstorm through counterspell. Dragons ate his face.
- Round 2 vs aggro: Survived at 2 life then stormed off turn 4. Opponent looked physically ill.
- Final round: Drew all rituals zero dragons game 1 (oof). Sideboard saved me game 2. Took match 2-1.
Stood there holding prize packs thinking “holy cow this actually works”. The deck ain’t consistent but when it pops? Pure glory.
Still hate playing against it though. Karma’s coming for me next week for sure.
