[Inspired by NorthernWarlord's Budget Series]
Are you new to Magic: The Gathering? Is your collection of cards lacking? Do you need a new deck for your game night with your friends? Well look no further than here!
Sarkhan, the Planeswalker with a love for Dragons. Hailing from the plane of Tarkir, a place once inhabited by Dragons, he has many powers that go well with these powerful creatures! In Sarkhan's Rage v.2 you'll be in control of many powerful Dragons along with Sarkhan himself! Take to the skies with classic Dragons like Shivan Dragon and Malfegor, the Demon Dragon, then show your opponent the true power of dragons with Sarkhan the Mad!
The Budget / Starter series is to help people to who are either new to the Magic: The Gathering, or simply those who can not afford to spend a lot of money on booster packs or individual cards. It can be of help to beginners or experts alike.
Dragons, Firebreathing, and Sarkhan!
Dragons have been a part of Magic: The Gathering for quite a long time. While there are many different types of Dragon decks, this one has a strong focus on an ability that has come to be called Firebreathing. Generally, a creature with Firebreathing will have one red mana nets you an additional power on your creature. Along with that, this deck features the Sarkhan the Mad Planeswalker card. Planeswalker cards were introduced in the Lorwyn block and have been a staple card type ever since. Planeswalkers focus like Enchantments with special powers that require the use of Loyalty counters. Similar to other kind of counters, you can add or remove a set amount of Loyalty counters in order to activate one of the Planeswalker's abilities. This may be a lot of information to take in, but I'm sure once you get the hang of the cards, you'll know what to do. Now for the actual "How to Play!"
You'll need to keep your opponent back long enough for you to get out your Dragons, so you'll want to play cards like Circle of Flame, Terminate, or Mind Rot fairly early on. To help pump up your Dragons early on, play Crucible of Fire. The first Dragons you'll want to play are Dragon Hatchling and Dragon Egg. Both may seem weak at first, but given enough Red mana, they became a large threat. Since a large number of the spells you'll be playing cost less than 5 mana, Bituminous Blast can help you get a bunch of cards quickly. When you have the mana, it's time to play your bigger creatures! Shivan Dragon is probably your best choice, as the card not only is already scary enough, but its Firebreathing ability will make this card terrifying. When you have the Dragon army assembled, it's finally time to play Sarkhan himself! First, use his second ability to replace any weak or non-Dragon creatures. Then pump up your Firebreathing Dragons, and follow up with Sarkhan's -4 ability which should wipe out your opponent, and you shall claim your victory!
Key Cards to this deck:
Sarkhan the Mad: Though it is true the other Sarkhan card is powerful, this one for this deck is the icing on the cake. When you've powered up your Dragons, his final ability will devastate your opponent.
Shivan Dragon: A classic Dragon that is quite scary with enough firepower. (Pun intended.)
Crucible of Fire: With the reprint of this card, its price dropped greatly, allowing me to put in not one, but two of these cards. This early game Enchantment will make your Dragons scarier and make them even better for Sarkhan the Mad!
Circle of Flame: A nice Enchantment that will not only discourage non-Flying creatures from attacking, but it will also make your opponent less likely to attack Sarkhan when he arrives on the field.
Dragon Hatchling: Early Dragon, early Firebreathing, need I say more?