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Top Commander Pairings for Dragon's Prey
When a spell costs {2}{B} and punishes you for targeting a Dragon, the subtle thrill is real: you get to punish dragons while you clean the battlefield of everything else. Dragon's Prey from Tarkir: Dragonstorm sits at an interesting crossroads in Commander strategy. It’s a flexible black removal spell that can swing the pace of a table—especially in metas where dragons are a dominant force. The card’s flavor text—“To escape Teval's justice, one must have a better plan than 'run away.'” —Kotis, the Fangkeeper—taps into the lore of cunning plans and backstabbing dragons, a perfect hook for deckbuilding that leans into control, denial, or reanimation themes. 🧙🔥💎⚔️
To make the most of Dragon's Prey in a Commander game, you want commanders who complement black’s efficiency with removal, denial, and tempo, while also not tripping over the unusual tax on dragons. The key is control without over-committing to a single axis; you want options to destroy a key creature, but ideally you’ll do so while setting up your own long-game plan. Below are well-rounded commander pairings—each pairing emphasizes a distinct way to leverage Dragon's Prey in a 100-card format. 🎲
1) Mono-Black Control / Stax-leaning pairings: K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth as a centerpiece
Mono-black control in Commander often centers on efficient removal, life-based or mana-smoothing engines, and the ability to outlast the table. Dragon's Prey fits snugly into that plan: you pay a fair mana cost to wipe a non-Dragon threat, while dragons—usually the top-end finishers in a dragon-centric meta—can become awkwardly expensive to remove if they’re the ones you’re targeting. With a commander like K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth, you lean into life-as-mana and card-draw engines that Thwart the Dragonstorm or Maelstrom decks that lock the table with dragons and Graveyard recursion. K'rrik’s presence helps you stabilize earlier and push into a late-game where Dragon's Prey can be cast for the same cost as any other bite-sized answer—once you’ve lined up enough black mana through life-based payments or other accelerants. The result: a game where you respond to every dragon threat with surgical removal, while your own threats—tapped-out, untapped—keep pressure on the table. 🧙🔥
- Why it works: Dragon's Prey costs can spike if you’re aiming at a Dragon, but mono-black control thrives on responsive removal and efficient answers. Pairing with K'rrik lets you sculpt tempo and stabilizes your mana base to keep casting the spells you need to keep dragons in check.
- Playstyle notes: Prioritize non-Dragon targets early, then cash in multiple spells in a turn if you’ve got a strong mana engine online. Don’t forget the flavor: you’re cutting off the wings of a dragon and, with it, the momentum of the table.
2) Dimir control / death-and-deskill synergy: The Scarab God as a two-color engine
Dimir commanders bring card advantage and graveyard interaction into the picture, and Dragon's Prey slots nicely into a plan that trades mass removal for targeted tempo. The Scarab God—a popular Dimir general for long games—furnishes an atmospheric, hands-off win condition through graveyard strategies while Dragon's Prey provides the kind of targeted removal that keeps a single large threat from spiraling out of control. The extra cost on dragons means you’ll often be removing non-dragons while letting your deck’s win-cons accumulate, or you’ll time the removal to maximize tempo when an opp's board is clogged with chump blockers you can walk through later on. The flavor line—“To escape Teval's justice, one must have a better plan than 'run away'—fits the calculated, patient mind behind a Dimir build. 🎨
- Why it works: Dimir decks excel at evading removal and reanimating threats, so Dragon's Prey becomes a tactical tool: a crisp, efficient answer to workhorse creatures, while dragons on your side can be taxed to keep control costs reasonable for you.
- Playstyle notes: Build graveyard synergy and card selection around ensuring you’re always one step ahead on card advantage, so you can deploy Dragon's Prey when it’s most impactful.
3) Reanimator / Sultai-like black-based pairings: Sedris, the Traitor King as a grim enabler
For players who love reanimating their best creatures from the grave, Dragon's Prey offers a delightful tempo break. In a Sedris, the Traitor King shell, you’ll often be looking to reanimate big creatures, then use targeted removal to keep the board clear while you recover with heavy hitters. The Dragon's Prey tax on dragons creates a strategic twist: if your opponent brings in a dragon, you can avoid overpaying for a critical removal by choosing to remove a non-dragon threat instead, while your reanimation plan resets the board in your favor. This pairing thrives on the dramatic mid-to-late game swing where the table is anxious about dragons and you’re quietly grinding out value from the grave. Plus, you get to deliver the same “punish dragons” punch in a way that lines up with Sedris’s late-game plan. 🧙🔥
- Why it works: Reanimator tempo and graveyard manipulation keep pressure high even when dragons hit the board. Dragon's Prey preserves your fragile mana curve while you sculpt a path to reanimation and late-game inevitability.
- Playstyle notes: Focus on milling or graveyard interaction to sustain value, snapping up removal when you need it, then go big with reanimated threats that push through for victory.
4) General multi-color control with a black core: Broad applicability with a dragon-aware mindset
Dragon's Prey isn’t tied to a single archetype; it plays nicely in a broad control or midrange build that uses black as the backbone. If your commander leans into black’s raw efficiency, or into strong removal that’s flexible across a table with diverse threats, you’ll find Dragon's Prey a capable tool. The key is to manage dragon threats by turning dragons into less efficient threats via tax effects, or by pairing the card with other removal to ensure you can answer the biggest creatures while you set up your own endgame. The flavor of Tarkir’s dragon-infused world travels well here—dragons are iconic, and preying on them sits squarely at the heart of a well-tuned black control shell. ⚔️
When you’re building around Dragon's Prey, consider the broader package: card draw, graveyard interaction, mana acceleration, and protection for your key pieces. Always remember that the card’s cost increases if you target a Dragon. That means you’ll often want to wait for the right moment to strike dragons while you handle other essential targets with cheaper removals. It’s a dance of tempo, caution, and sometimes bold plays—exactly the kind of thrill that makes Commander games memorable. 🎨
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