How to Train Your Temur Dragon(storm).
Oh, to be a Dragon floating on the wind like a really heavy fire-breathing leaf. We can’t manage that, but we can manage to play as many of the new Dragons thanks to all of the new Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commanders in both the main set and the Commander Precons. There are a lot of them out there, but if your main is dragons, then you’ll want to play Ureni of the Unwritten.
Ureni is a brand-new Temur legendary that’s all about Dragons and is also a Dragon. So, because we know everyone loves these scaly fiends, we’re going to break down everything you need to know about the character and the card.
Lore Intro
Ureni of the Unwritten
Commander: Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Mythic
Ureni is one of the spirit dragons that appeared after a ritual held by the clans of Tarkir that was supposed to wipe out the normal Dragons. Thankfully, not all of these Dragons are evil, and Ureni is the one who chooses to side with Temur to guide them toward a new and positive future. Alongside Eshki, the two have helped reinvigorate the clan and have pushed them more into the modern age than ever before.
Strengths
Ureni of the Unwritten is a seven-mana green, blue, and red 7/7 with flying and trample. It reads, “Whenever Ureni enters or attacks, look at the top eight cards of your library. You may put a Dragon creature card from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.” Eight cards is helluva a lot, and because you just put the card into play, it can’t be countered.
Aside from being massive, the fact that this triggers on both entry and on attack means that you can potentially trigger this twice on the turn it enters, as long as you can give your creatures haste. That’s really easy to do in Temur, and then there’s the fact that Dragons tend to be some of the largest creatures in the game. It’s expensive, sure, but it’s also rather strong.
Weaknesses
The main weakness of Ureni is that it costs a whopping seven mana to cast. It would also be really nice if it had some built-in protection, but it’s already doing such an absurd amount that it’d cost even more mana if it did. We just have to work a few cards into the main decklist to tackle these problems, but there are several ways to reduce the cost of Dragons, and we’re definitely going to be using them.
Recommended Archetypes
There’s only really one logical archetype for Ureni, and it’s Dragons. We will be playing as many Dragons as possible while putting in a few ways to give everything haste, reduce the cost of the Dragons, and a few other great bits and bobs. Expect a lot of synergy here, and also some Dragon tokens.
Key Cards
Before we get into how we’d build this deck, here are some important cards we think every Ureni of the Unwritten deck should have:
- Sarkhan, Soul Aflame
- Urza’s Incubator
- Dragon Tempest
- Broodcaller Scourge
- Atarka, World Render
- Hellkite Courser
- Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
Strategy
Our strategy is pretty simple — we need to make our Dragons cheaper, and ramping is obviously going to be a part of this, but there are some excellent ways to actually lower the mana you have to spend on each of these giant creatures. Sarkhan, Soul Aflame is a three-mana blue and red 2/4 that makes you Dragons one less to cast, but it also becomes a copy of different Dragons as they enter for a turn, which is fun. Then there’s Urza’s Incubator, a three-mana artifact that makes your Dragons cost two mana less to cast.
Dragon Tempest is a two-mana enchantment that gives your dragons haste and also lets your Dragons deal damage to any target equal to the number of dragons you control when they enter. That’s a great way to turn Ureni’s ability into direct damage, and it can be a huge boost in damage output along with versatility. Broodcaller Scourge is an excellent card from the Temur Roar Commander Precon that costs seven-mana and is a 5/7 with flying. Whenever one or more Dragons you control deal damage to a player, you get to put a permanent from your hand with mana value equal (or less) than the damage dealt into play. Free is good, and this is fun with Dragon Tempest because you get to do even more damage after you’ve already dealt combat damage to someone.
Now let’s talk about some huge combat buffs, which also happen to be Dragons. Atarka, World Render is a seven-mana 6/4 with flying and trample, which gives your Dragons double strike when they attack, meaning extra triggers from Ureni and the Broodcaller. Hellkite Courser is a six-mana 6/5 with flying that lets you put your Commander into play from the Command zone and give it haste when it comes into play. You have to put it back in your command zone after, but it’s a great way to get two triggers off of Ureni with no real issues.
Finally, we’ve got Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm, a six-mana 6/6 with flying, ward 2, and creates a token copy of every Dragon you control as it enters the battlefield. The token comes into play as a nonlegendary, meaning you can have two of your Commander in play. Miirym is absurdly strong and easily one of the best Dragons there is in Magic: The Gathering right now, as long as your main aim is to play some Dragons. With all of these cards out, you can keep turning your big creatures sideways until you’ve won the game.
Commander
Ureni of the Unwritten
Market Price:$651.33
Maindeck, 99 cards
Sortsort deckCommander (1)
- 1Ureni of the Unwritten
Creature (38)
- 1Broodcaller Scourge
- 1Sarkhan, Soul Aflame
- 1Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
- 1Atarka, World Render
- 1Hellkite Courser
- 1Ureni, the Song Unending
- 1Parapet Thrasher
- 1Deceptive Frostkite
- 1Thundermane Dragon
- 1Lathliss, Dragon Queen
- 1Scourge of the Throne
- 1Nogi, Draco-Zealot
- 1Hammerhead Tyrant
- 1Dragonlord’s Servant
- 1Terror of the Peaks
- 1Thunderbreak Regent
- 1Scourge of Valkas
- 1Whirlwing Stormbrood//
- 1Utvara Hellkite
- 1Goldspan Dragon
- 1Dragonspeaker Shaman
- 1Bloomvine Regent//
- 1Twinflame Tyrant
- 1Temur Battlecrier
- 1Eshki, Temur’s Roar
- 1Balefire Dragon
- 1Wrathful Red Dragon
- 1Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient
- 1Dragonhawk, Fate’s Tempest
- 1Roaming Throne
- 1Dragonmaster Outcast
- 1Earthquake Dragon
- 1Birds of Paradise
- 1Marang River Regent//
- 1Nesting Dragon
- 1Korlessa, Scale Singer
- 1Fanatic of Rhonas
- 1Hellkite Charger
Planeswalker (1)
- 1Sarkhan Unbroken
Sorcery (7)
- 1Farseek
- 1Three Visits
- 1Will of the Temur
- 1Nature’s Rhythm
- 1Genesis Wave
- 1Become the Avalanche
- 1Zenith Festival
Instant (5)
- 1Heroic Intervention
- 1Smuggler’s Surprise
- 1Sarkhan’s Triumph
- 1Growth Spiral
- 1Dispelling Exhale
Artifact (6)
- 1Urza’s Incubator
- 1Sol Ring
- 1Arcane Signet
- 1Chromatic Lantern
- 1Herald’s Horn
- 1Dragon’s Hoard
Enchantment (5)
- 1Dragon Tempest
- 1Encroaching Dragonstorm
- 1Temur Ascendancy
- 1Dragonback Assault
- 1Sylvan Library
Land (37)
- 1Mistrise Village
- 1Reliquary Tower
- 1Three Tree City
- 1Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
- 1Command Beacon
- 1Rogue’s Passage
- 1Command Tower
- 1Haven of the Spirit Dragon
- 1Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon
- 1Exotic Orchard
- 1Rootbound Crag
- 1Sulfur Falls
- 1Hinterland Harbor
- 1Path of Ancestry
- 1Frontier Bivouac
- 1Karplusan Forest
- 1Shivan Reef
- 1Yavimaya Coast
- 1Stomping Ground
- 1Breeding Pool
- 1Steam Vents
- 1Ketria Triome
- 1Wooded Foothills
- 1Misty Rainforest
- 1Scalding Tarn
- 1Cavern of Souls
- 1Evolving Wilds
- 1Secluded Courtyard
- 3Forest
- 3Island
- 3Mountain
If you’re happy with this massive hoard of dragons, then it could be worth having a look at some of the other great Commander Bestiary articles we’ve done recently. If you want something a little lower to the ground, then we’d go with Kotis, the Fangkeeper. Or you can sign up for the Commander Bestiary newsletter to receive Magic content straight to your inbox!