Dracoplosion

One of the things I miss most about older MtG is the cleverness. I know this might seem strange, but when it came to things such as artwork, vocabulary and even card names; Wizards of the Coast did some pretty cool things. Take today’s deck for example: it uses a card called Draco. Did you know that Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky, or that it is the Latin word for dragon? Oh, you did? How awkward.. well anyway, today we’re going to be talking about Dracoplosion!

Alright so let’s start with the combo. You got your Dracos and you got your Erratic Explosions. Since these are easily your biggest source of damaging the opponent, you definitely want to be running 4 of each. The idea is to cast an Erratic Explosion with Draco being on the top of your library. Generally, you do this by using Lim-Dûl's Vault, Brainstorm and/or Scroll Rack, but I suppose if you’re desperate then you can just roll the dice and/or become religious.

Lim-Dûl's Vault. This is one of those cards that are severely underplayed in various formats. While it doesn’t put a card directly into your hand, it does everything else you want in a tutor. Don’t think of it as just a tutor either, it can also be used to smooth out your draws, and helps find your numerous combo pieces. One piece of advice I would like to add regarding Vault is that you have to take extra care when cracking fetch lands. Because of its numerous decisions, combined with its use in the actual combo setup; it is important to remember that Vault is both an invaluable, but difficult, card to play.

The control. The deck doesn’t play any Sol lands or mana ramp, so it takes a few turns to get going. Because it is so reliant on the combo as a win condition, the deck also needs an aspect of control to buy you some time. Duress and Force of Will do double duty as both protection for both you and the combo. Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Fire // Ice also help, as they can stop your opponent from amassing too many early threats. The good news is that once the combo goes off, you only probably only need one of them to finish off the opponent.

While researching decks that used Draco and Erratic Explosion, I discovered various different versions of them. Many had incorporated other colours and strategies of their own, including the use of White for Orim’s Chant and Green for Worldly Tutor. I had also read about decks that chose to focus more on Scroll Rack rather than Lim-Dûl's Vault. I think there are benefits and negatives to each approach, and you should try tinkering with several before deciding on the one that fits you best. Happy Brewing!

Dracoplosion

Land

4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Volcanic Island
4 Underground Sea
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp

Total: 19

Creatures

4 Draco

Total: 4

Spells

4 Erratic Explosion
4 Brainstorm
4 Portent
4 Lim-Dul's Vault
4 Force of Will

1 Scroll Rack
4 Duress

3 Overmaster
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Chain Lightning
3 Fire // Ice
1 Chain of Vapor

Total:  37

Sideboard

1 Misdirection

2 Chain of Vapor

4 Daze

2 Pyroblast

4 Tormod’s Crypt

2 Pyroclasm