The Dragonstorm combo deck in Magic: The Gathering is a high-risk, high-reward strategy that revolves around a powerful sorcery spell called “Dragonstorm.” and was popular during the Time Spiral Standard and in major tournaments such as World Championships.
In a nutshell, here’s how the deck works:
- Dragonstorm: The centerpiece of the deck is the card “Dragonstorm,” a sorcery that allows you to search your library for a dragon card and put it directly into play. However, it comes at a hefty mana cost, requiring you to pay nine mana to cast it.
- Mana Ramp: To cast Dragonstorm, you’ll need to generate a significant amount of mana quickly. The deck typically includes cards like “Rite of Flame,” “Seething Song,” and “Desperate Ritual” to accelerate your mana production.
- Storm Mechanic: Dragonstorm takes advantage of the “Storm” mechanic, which triggers additional copies of the spell for each spell cast before it during the same turn. This means that the more spells you cast in a single turn, the more dragon creatures from your library that you can fetch with Dragonstorm.
- Dragon Creatures: Once Dragonstorm resolves to depend on its storm copies, it lets you search your library for Dragon creatures, particularly the Bogardan Hellkite, that enter the battlefield simultaneously. These dragon creatures have an ETB effect that can deal 5 damage to any target, and having four copies entering the play usually gets you to win the game with 20 damage in total dealt to your opponent.
- Win Condition: The ultimate goal is to overwhelm your opponent with the dragon tokens summoned by Dragonstorm. These dragons’ ETB effect might be the usual win condition but in any case, there is a need to attack, flying and high power are making it difficult for your opponent to defend against them.
- Timing: Timing is crucial when playing the Dragonstorm combo deck. You’ll want to wait for the right moment to cast Dragonstorm when you have generated enough mana and have a critical mass of spells to maximize its potential.
This combo deck is known for its explosive turns and the ability to surprise your opponent with a sudden influx of powerful dragon creatures. However, it’s a risky strategy, as it heavily relies on drawing the right cards and executing the combo before your opponent can respond effectively. If successful, it can lead to a thrilling victory, but if it fails, it can leave you vulnerable to counterattacks.
Linked here are some of the notable Dragonstorm decklists.