Overview:

This 5-color Dragon tribal deck leverages The Ur-Dragon's cost reduction and card advantage to deploy massive flying threats rapidly. The strategy combines explosive mana acceleration (vaults, Moxen, rituals), creature-based combos, and combat overkill. The Ur-Dragon acts as both a cost reducer and a value engine, enabling early Dragon deployment and refueling via attack triggers. Hidden commanders like Sneak Attack and Old Gnawbone enable alternative win lines, while tutors and high card quality ensure consistency.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Explosive Start (Turns 0-3): Mulligan for fast mana (Mana Vault, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual) or early ramp (Birds of Paradise, Arcane Signet). Cast The Ur-Dragon as early as T3 using cost reducers like Roaming Throne (set to Dragon) or Temur Battlecrier.
2. Cheat/Overwhelm (Turns 3-5): Deploy Dragons via Sneak Attack, Hellkite Courser, or Urni of the Unwritten. Use Terror of the Peaks and Dragon Tempest to burn opponents on ETB. Goldspan Dragon and Old Gnawbone generate Treasures for mana acceleration.
3. Combo Kill (Turns 4-6):
   • Infinite Combats: Aggravated Assault + Old Gnawbone (generate enough Treasures to fuel Assault’s activation).
   • Massive Burn: Sneak Attack + Terror of the Peaks + Ancient Copper Dragon (sacrifice/reanimate loops via Volrath's Stronghold).
   • Storm Finish: Dragonstorm with storm count 1+ to fetch Scourge of Valkas and Ancient Gold Dragon for lethal triggers.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2+ mana sources (including fetches/duals) and 1-2 accelerants (e.g., Mana Vault + Sol Ring).
• Prioritize hands with a T1-T2 Esper Sentinel or Mystic Remora against spell-heavy pods.
• Avoid hands lacking red mana for rituals or Dragon cheats.

Key Tips:

• Use Sneak Attack to bypass commander tax by sacrificing The Ur-Dragon before end step, then recast from the command zone.
• Roaming Throne doubles The Ur-Dragon’s attack trigger, drawing 2 cards per Dragon and cheating 2 permanents.
• Temur Ascendancy gives haste and draws off Dragon ETBs.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Repeated removal of The Ur-Dragon cripples cost reduction and card advantage.
• Board Wipes: Blasphemous Act, Toxic Deluge, etc., reset the board with minimal recursion (only Haven of the Spirit Dragon/Volrath's Stronghold).
• Anti-Cheating Hate: Containment Priest, Hushbringer nullify Sneak Attack and Hellkite Courser.

Moderate

• Artifact/Enchantment Reliance: Stony Silence or Collector Ouphe shuts off Moxen, Sneak Attack, and Treasure synergies.
• Stack Interaction: Limited counterspells beyond Mana Drain/Swan Song; combos can be disrupted.

Minor

• Color Fixing: Early-game color screw possible despite fetches (e.g., missing green for dorks).

Most Important Cards:

• The Ur-Dragon (Cost reduction, card advantage)
• Sneak Attack (Cheat Dragons, combo enabler)
• Old Gnawbone (Treasure generation, infinite combat combo)
• Terror of the Peaks (Burn finisher)
• Mana Vault (Explosive acceleration)
• Aggravated Assault (Infinite combats)
• Demonic Tutor (Tutor critical pieces)
• Roaming Throne (Doubles Ur-Dragon triggers)
• Esper Sentinel (Early-game stax and draw)
• Dragonstorm (Game-ending storm line)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 8/10

• Capable of T3-T5 wins via fast mana into Sneak Attack combos or Ur-Dragon-fueled Dragonstorm.

Resilience: 6/10

• Protection (Teferi's Protection, Heroic Intervention) and recursion (Volrath's Stronghold) mitigate setbacks, but heavy reliance on commander and combat leaves it vulnerable to repeated interaction.

Consistency: 8/10

• 12 tutors (e.g., Demonic Tutor, Worldly Tutor) and potent draw engines (The Ur-Dragon, Rhystic Study) ensure key pieces are accessible.

Interaction: 5/10

• Efficient spot removal (Swords to Plowshares, Cyclonic Rift) and counterspells (Mana Drain) disrupt opponents but lack breadth for prolonged control.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at cEDH-adjacent speeds (T3-4 wins) with explosive mana and combo potential but lacks the stack control and redundancy of top-tier lists. Resilience issues against board wipes and commander-focused hate anchor it in high power rather than cEDH.

Power level: 7.5 - 8.0