Overview:

This Tiamat Dragon tribal deck focuses on ramping into its commander to fetch high-impact Dragons, leveraging ETB damage synergies and combat dominance. While lacking infinite combos, it utilizes redundancy in Dragon threats, cost reduction, and damage multipliers to overwhelm opponents. The deck has moderate interaction and protection but remains vulnerable to repeated removal and stax effects.

Primer:

Core Strategy: The deck aims to cast Tiamat (optimally by turn 5-6) to tutor 5 Dragons, then deploy them with cost reducers (Dragonspeaker Shaman, Sarkhan, Soul Aflame) or free casting via Dracogenesis. Key wincons involve ETB damage stacking with Terror of the Peaks, Scourge of Valkas, and Dragon Tempest, amplified by token duplication via Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm. Backup plans include combat pressure with flying Dragons and stalling via Propaganda/Ghostly Prison.

Mulligan Priorities:

• 3+ lands with color fixing (prioritize fetches/shocks)
• 2+ ramp pieces (Sol Ring, Farseek, Birds of Paradise)
• At least 1 Dragon or tutor (Sarkhan's Triumph, Worldly Tutor) Avoid hands without early ramp or color sources.

Key Tips:

• Sequence Tiamat after establishing 1-2 cost reducers for immediate Dragon deployment.
• Protect critical enablers like Dragon Tempest with Sterling Grove or Enlightened Tutor.
• Use Sneak Attack to bypass high mana costs for surprise lethal damage.
• Blasphemous Act + indestructible effects (Heroic Intervention) can clear opponents' boards while preserving yours.

Avoid Traps:

• Overextending into board wipes without protection
• Holding Dragons for "perfect" turns instead of applying pressure
• Wasting tutors early; wait to respond to developing threats

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Heavy reliance on resolving Tiamat (3+ removals cripple strategy)
• Limited graveyard recursion for key Dragons

Moderate:

• Vulnerable to Blood Moon/Back to Basics (despite 8 basics)
• Slow recovery from mass exile/Cyclonic Rift

Minor:

• Combat-focused wincons struggle against flying blockers

Most Important Cards:

• Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
• Dracogenesis
• Terror of the Peaks
• Dragon Tempest
• Sneak Attack
• Scourge of Valkas
• Sterling Grove
• Heroic Intervention
• Enlightened Tutor
• Boros Charm

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10
Can deploy game-ending Dragon boards by turn 7-8 with optimal ramp. Dracogenesis enables explosive turns but requires setup.

Resilience: 5/10
Moderate protection (6 instant-speed answers, 3 recursion effects) but folds to focused commander removal. Limited alternative win paths.

Consistency: 7/10
12 tutors/fetches for Dragons/enablers, 8 cost reducers, and 15 ramp sources ensure Tiamat access. Synergy redundancy offsets individual Dragon removal.

Interaction: 6/10
Mix of S-tier (Counterspell, Swords to Plowshares) and B-tier (Beast Within, Supreme Verdict) interaction. Light on stack control for 5-color.

Rating Justification:

This deck outperforms precon-level combat decks (rubric 5.0) through tutor density and explosive Dragon turns but lacks the speed/protection of true cEDH. Comparable to optimized casual (5.5-6.0) with:

• Turn 7-8 goldfish kills
• 2-3 interaction points per game
• Weak to common stax (Cursed Totem, Drannith Magistrate)

Power level: 5.5 - 6.0