Deck Tech Tuesday • MTG Arena Standard • Treasure-fueled hasty Dragons backed by Voice of Victory
Overview
Dragons are back on top of the skies in Standard. Boros Dragons has been one of the loudest decks on the ladder this past week: it took down a 32-player MTGO Standard Challenge on September 21, placed 2nd in the Challenge 16 on September 20, and keeps posting 5-0 league finishes. It sits at roughly 3% of the tracked metagame, but it is the deck everyone is talking about since The Hobbit landed in Standard, and it is built around one of the set's marquee mythics: Smaug the Magnificent.
The plan is simple and brutal. Cheap enablers (Momo, Sarkhan, Voice of Victory) set up a curve of evasive four- and five-mana Dragons that hit the table with haste or immediate value. Smaug makes a Treasure every upkeep and turns that pile of Treasure into direct damage every time he attacks. Voice of Victory keeps opponents from casting spells on your turn, so your big swing turns can't be blown out by instant-speed removal or counterspells.
If you like proactive decks that still punish slow, greedy opponents, this is the one to grind on Arena this week.
Key Cards
- Smaug the Magnificent: A 4-mana 4/3 flier with haste that creates a Treasure at the beginning of your upkeep. Whenever he attacks, he deals damage equal to the number of Treasures you control to any target. Every turn he survives, the damage goes up. He can snipe a blocker, clear a planeswalker, or go straight to the face.
- Voice of Victory: Your opponents can't cast spells during your turn. That shuts off counterspells, flash blockers, and instant-speed removal while you are attacking. Mobilize 2 also adds two attacking 1/1 Warriors each combat.
- Momo, Friendly Flier: The turn-one play. The first non-Lemur flying creature spell you cast each turn costs {1} less, so Clarion Conqueror comes down on turn two and Smaug or a Hellkite on turn three. Momo also grows whenever another flier enters.
- Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant: Behold a Dragon on entry to make a Treasure, which ramps you and immediately powers up Smaug. Sarkhan gets a +1/+1 counter and becomes a flying Dragon whenever a Dragon enters under your control.
- Clarion Conqueror: A 3-mana 3/3 flying Dragon that stops activated abilities of artifacts, creatures, and planeswalkers. It hoses Food, Clues, Maps, equipment, and planeswalkers. Note: it also stops you from cracking your own Treasures, but Smaug still counts them for damage.
- Nova Hellkite: A 5-mana 4/5 flying, hasty Dragon that pings an opposing creature on entry. You can also warp it for {2}{R} to get a hasty hit and an ETB ping now, then recast it from exile later. Momo's discount stacks on the warp cost.
- Magmatic Hellkite: A 4/5 flier that destroys an opponent's nonbasic land. They get a basic back, but it enters tapped with a stun counter. This punishes greedy three- and four-color mana bases badly.
- Twinmaw Stormbrood: Flexible top end. Early on, cast the Omen side, Charring Bite, for 2 mana to deal 5 damage to a creature without flying (it shuffles back into your library). Late game, cast the 5/4 flier for 6 and gain 5 life.
Full Decklist (60 + 15)
Creatures (30) 4 Momo, Friendly Flier 4 Voice of Victory 4 Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant 4 Clarion Conqueror 4 Smaug the Magnificent 4 Magmatic Hellkite 4 Nova Hellkite 2 Twinmaw Stormbrood Instants (6) 4 Burst Lightning 2 Erode Lands (24) 4 Sacred Foundry 4 Sunbillow Verge 4 Inspiring Vantage 4 Multiversal Passage 4 Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon 2 Cavern of Souls 1 Mountain 1 Plains Sideboard (15) 4 Seam Rip 3 Rest in Peace 2 Boros Charm 2 Pyroclasm 1 Get Lost 1 Split Up 1 Magda, the Hoardmaster 1 The Legend of Roku
Estimated price: ~$489 (paper, MTGGoldfish list price for the Challenge-winning build)
MTG Arena Import (Paste-Ready)
Copy the block below and choose Import in the MTG Arena deck builder.
Deck 4 Momo, Friendly Flier 4 Voice of Victory 4 Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant 4 Clarion Conqueror 4 Smaug the Magnificent 4 Magmatic Hellkite 4 Nova Hellkite 2 Twinmaw Stormbrood 4 Burst Lightning 2 Erode 4 Sacred Foundry 4 Sunbillow Verge 4 Inspiring Vantage 4 Multiversal Passage 4 Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon 2 Cavern of Souls 1 Mountain 1 Plains Sideboard 4 Seam Rip 3 Rest in Peace 2 Boros Charm 2 Pyroclasm 1 Get Lost 1 Split Up 1 Magda, the Hoardmaster 1 The Legend of Roku
Strategy Guide
Early game (turns 1-3)
- Lead with Momo on turn one whenever you can. The discount is what makes the curve work.
- Turn two is Voice of Victory, Sarkhan (behold a Dragon from hand for a Treasure), or Clarion Conqueror off Momo's discount.
- Use Burst Lightning and Erode to keep the board clear of mana creatures and early threats. Hold kicked Burst Lightning for later if the board is stable.
Mid game (turns 3-5)
- Deploy Smaug as early as possible. A turn-three Smaug off Momo or a Treasure is your strongest start and demands an answer immediately.
- Stagger threats against sweepers and removal: one big Dragon per turn is usually enough. Keep Voice of Victory in play before your big attack turns so the opponent can't respond on your turn.
- Magmatic Hellkite is best when the opponent relies on dual lands for colored mana. Target the land that cuts them off a color.
- Warp Nova Hellkite for extra hasty damage, or to snipe an X/1 like a mana creature.
Late game (turn 6+)
- Crack Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon ({4}, tap, sacrifice) to tutor whatever Dragon you need: Smaug for reach, Magmatic Hellkite against greedy mana, or Twinmaw Stormbrood for life.
- Count Treasures before you crack them. Each one you keep is 1 more damage from Smaug's attack trigger.
- Kicked Burst Lightning (4 damage) plus a Smaug trigger closes most games from surprisingly high life totals.
Win Conditions & Combos
- Smaug's Treasure clock: every upkeep adds a Treasure, and every attack converts your Treasure count into damage to any target. Sarkhan Treasures stack with it.
- Hasty air force: Smaug and Nova Hellkite both have haste, so opponents get very few chances to answer them before they deal damage.
- Voice of Victory lock on your turn: opponents can't cast removal or counterspells during your turn, which protects your biggest swings.
- Mana denial: Magmatic Hellkite plus stun counters can Time Walk a control player off their colors.
- Reach: kicked Burst Lightning and Smaug triggers to the face finish games when the board stalls.
Sideboard Guide
| Matchup | In | Out | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono-Green Landfall | +1 Get Lost, +1 Split Up, +2 Seam Rip | -2 Twinmaw Stormbrood, -2 Magmatic Hellkite | Their mana is mostly basics, so Magmatic is weaker. Race in the air and remove their best threat every turn. |
| Izzet Spellementals / Izzet Prowess | +2 Seam Rip, +2 Boros Charm | -2 Twinmaw Stormbrood, -2 Clarion Conqueror | Voice of Victory is excellent here. Seam Rip exiles cheap threats, and Boros Charm gives you reach or indestructible. |
| Dimir Midrange | +2 Boros Charm, +1 Get Lost | -2 Burst Lightning, -1 Twinmaw Stormbrood | Stagger threats and keep Voice down before attacking. Magmatic Hellkite on their dual lands is strong. |
| 4c / Azorius Control | +2 Boros Charm, +1 The Legend of Roku, +1 Magda, the Hoardmaster | -2 Erode, -2 Burst Lightning | Cavern of Souls naming Dragon plus Voice of Victory blanks their counterspells. Boros Charm's indestructible mode beats sweepers. |
| Jund Sacrifice / Mardu Discard / Sultai Reanimator | +3 Rest in Peace, +1 Get Lost | -2 Twinmaw Stormbrood, -2 Clarion Conqueror | Rest in Peace shuts off recursion like Bloodghast and reanimation targets. Keep Clarion in if they rely on activated abilities. |
| Go-wide (Boros Tokens / Boros Dwarves) | +2 Pyroclasm, +1 Split Up | -2 Magmatic Hellkite, -1 Twinmaw Stormbrood | Your Dragons survive Pyroclasm; their tokens don't. Clarion Conqueror stops Equipment activations. |
Budget Notes
The premium list runs about $489 in paper. Arena players need 6 mythic wildcards (4 Smaug, 2 Cavern of Souls), about 46 rares, 2 uncommons, and commons for the main deck. Smaug is the engine, so don't cut him. Here's where you can save:
| Premium card | Budget swap | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Cavern of Souls | 1 Mountain + 1 Plains | Saves about $100. You lose uncounterable Dragons against control, but Voice of Victory still covers your own turn. |
| 4 Voice of Victory | 4 Magda, the Hoardmaster | Saves about $70. Magda makes a Treasure when you commit a crime (Burst Lightning, Hellkite ETBs), which pumps Smaug. You lose the anti-counterspell effect. |
| 4 Multiversal Passage | 2 Mountain + 2 Plains | Saves about $30. Basics still turn on Sunbillow Verge's red mana. |
| 2 Erode | 2 Get Lost | Cheaper, and it also hits enchantments. Your opponent gets Maps instead of a land. |
| 4 Sunbillow Verge | Keep for now | If you have to cut it, replace it with basics before cutting Sacred Foundry. Two-color mana is forgiving here. |
With these swaps, you're looking at roughly $285 in paper and far fewer rare and mythic wildcards on Arena, while the Smaug + Hellkite core stays intact.
Final Thoughts
That's Boros Dragons: fast, evasive, and very hard to interact with on your own turn. Paste the list into MTG Arena and let us know how Smaug treats you on the ladder. A new Deck Tech Tuesday lands every week at manariotgames.com. Follow Mana Riot Games so you don't miss the next Standard build.