When planeswalkers come to blows, the results can be explosive. When THREE all meet in battle, the entire multiverse feels the effects....
Be it fate or manipulation or a simple misunderstanding that has brought them together, three powerful planeswalkers find themselves on the plane of Zendikar with dueling purposes. The pyromancer Chandra Nalaar seeks an ancient power deep in the caverns of the plane. The mindmage Jace Beleran seeks Chandra, wondering about the magic she seeks and how the fiery mage may put it to use. And the dragon-worshipping warrior Sarkhan Vol seeks the approval of his powerful master, prepared to show no mercy to any who stand in his way... including Chandra when they meet deep inside the caverns of the plane. When Jace joins the escalating conflict, an ancient power will indeed be unleashed on Zendikar, and the multiverse will be forever changed.
Who will emerge victorious in this fateful duel, the alliance of Jace's ingenuity and Chandra's fury, or the raw draconic power of Sarkhan? The multiverse awaits an answer....
Having a lot of fun with my ever-growing list of Duel Decks. (Click the "Duel Deck" tag under my profile to see the rest. So far I have Elspeth vs. Xenagos, Strength vs. Numbers, Karn vs. Tezzeret, and most recently Humans vs. Vampires.)
*** (The opposing deck is here: http://www.mtgvault.com/jre47/decks/dd-jace-chandra-vs-sarkhan) ***
Just like Wizards' Duel Decks, my Duel Decks are centered around a mythic and features primarily Modern-legal cards with some older ones mixed in (which, if printed, would get the new, current border and in some cases updated art as well). It also sticks to just a handful of rares and tends to go with a lot of one-ofs among other cards, with a small handful of key cards that may get multiple copies (and even then, usually only two). Also, unlike Event Decks and other feature decks from Wizards, Duel Decks lack sideboards. I tried very hard to keep with all those restrictions here... believe me, if this were your more typical constructed deck, it would look a lot different!
Well okay, in fairness, this one looks a bit different in one major respect: it has TWO mythic rares. One is the namesake Sarkhan, who seems initially to unfairly be having to take on two opposing planeswalkers in Jace and Chandra. But he has another mythic helper that can seize control of the board quickly when it hits: Hellkite Overlord. That thing is a HOUSE, and nearly impossible to stop unless the opponent is able to counter it. It's the epitome of the raw, majestic power Sarkhan reveres in dragonkind.
Not surprisingly, dragons are the major theme of the deck, as you can tell by the rares: Broodmate Dragon, Flameblast Dragon, Preyseizer Dragon, Form of the Dragon, Crucible of Fire, Banefire, and even the thematic land Dragonskull Summit, along with the super powerful Violent Ultimatum.
The cards in this deck can put a dozen different dragons onto the battlefield, and many more cards are focused around getting them into play sooner (Dragonspeaker Shaman, Geosurge, Seething Song, etc.), boosting them even more (like Crucible of Fire), or even sort of becoming one (the risky but very powerful Form of the Dragon), which is what happened to Sarkhan in his actual duel with Chandra and eventually Jace.
As powerful as these massive flying beasts can make you feel, tread carefully. The opposing deck has some excellent answers and can either burn many of your dragons out of the sky or counter them outright before they ever have a chance to strike. Thankfully many of Jace and Chandra's most powerful spells are pretty expensive too, so wait until they're tapped out and then drop a hungry, firebreathing menace on them. If you can land one or two dragons and make them stick, you should be able to simply overpower their magic and stall tactics before long.
I appreciate any feedback you can provide here, good or bad. Anything I can improve? How is the balance between the two decks? Any gaping holes that you see? Useful comments will get you +1 rep points and a virtual slap on the back. :-P Thanks for reading...hope you like it!