Zurgo and Ojutai: Commander's Unlikely Allies

Posted on May 9, 2023

When the entire Multiverse faces extinction,

alliances will be forged from former foes

Elves. Merfolk. Goblins. All beloved creature types that go back to the very beginning of Magic: The Gathering. They're some of the game's most foundational groups, but they're hardly alone. Alongside other fantasy staples like knights and wizards, novel species like Slivers, Atogs, and Lhurgoyfs have deep cardboard histories. However, for the literal hundreds of creature types in Magic, one stands as the potential king. It's so iconic that a statue of the beast guarded the Wizards of the Coast office in Seattle for years. Their reign of popularity (and fire) spans centuries, with stories from cultures all over the world. Some of their incarnations are hellish, raining death on hapless peasantry. Others stand as wise and timeless beings, just as powerful as they are noble. Morphology can range from reptilian to serpentine to even humanoid. But no matter the intention, no matter the shape or size, their impact on mythology is unquestionable.

Here be dragons.

In the world of Magic, these scaly overlords have had entire sets, even entire blocks, centered around them. A feat few other creature types call acclaim to. Scourge carried a Dragon subtheme and produced fan-favorites like Dragonstorm, Form of the Dragon, and Dragonspeaker Shaman. The Tarkir block featured a whole plane based around the creatures in two separate timelines: one in which they lost a great war for control, the other (and current) in which they won. It's this realm our Dragon-centric (former) planeswalker Sarkhan (Sarkan, Fireblood, Sarkhan the Masterless, and now Sarkan, Soul Aflame) calls home. However, even outside of these examples, we've seen dragons across nearly all sets. From the snakelike coils on Kamigawa (Kokusho, the Evening Star, Ao, the Dawn Sky) to metal frames of Mirrodin (Clockwork Dragon, Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant), dragons are all over the place. When a universal Phyrexian invasion reared its ugly head in March of the Machine, all these fanged variations faced the same threat. Some fell to its influence (Capricious Hellkite), but others formed stood firm via partnerships with former enemies. Existential threats have a way of rendering former squabbles pointless, and Zurgo and Ojutai are the perfect illustration.

Zurgo Helmsmasher by Aleski Briclot

Khans of Tarkir portrays the realm's former timeline, where the Dragonlords lost the war for control of the plane centuries ago. Zurgo Helmsmasher has climbed through the brutal ranks of the Mardu, a clan of nomadic warriors, and rules with an iron fist. Infamous for their swift tactics and skill on horseback, the Mardu rely on speed and aggression to overwhelm rival clans before they can mount a counteroffensive. So, if Zurgo is living his best life, how's Ojutai, Soul of Winter doing? Well...

Flooded Strand by Andreas Rocha

Not so great.

The extinction of the dragons didn't sit well with Sarkhan, so some time travelling brought him to Tarkir's past in Fate Reforged. Here, Sarkhan intervened in the aftermath of a battle between Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. Ugin historically died in this battle, but Sarkhan was able to cocoon the Spirit Dragon in a form of suspended animation until he could be healed from the mortal wounds Bolas inflicted. Ugin was responsible for the birth of dragons via the Dragon Tempest, a series of magical storms that coalesced into wing behemoths, with regional mana causing variation in the type of dragon produced. Thus, the five distinct species on Tarkir. Whilst asleep, these storms spiraled out of control and dragons were born at an accelerated rate, ultimately allowing them to dominate the plane.

Dragonlord Ojutai by Chase Stone

Flash forward a millennia to Dragons of Tarkir, and the Mardu, along with the other clans, are no more. Dragons are now the supreme rulers, with five central Dragonlords and their esteemed houses sitting at the top of the food chain. Literally, in some cases. Ojutai, Soul of Winter has grown into the contemplative Dragonlord Ojutai and presides over the former-Jeskai, monastic fighter-scholars. Poor Zurgo has been reduced to Zurgo, Bellstriker, humble servant to Dragonlord Kolaghan, who has reformed the former-Mardu into vicious marauders. Quite the downgrade in status, but seeing as Ojutai was dead in the previous timeline, it could've been far worse for Zurgo.

Zurgo Bellstriker by Jason Rainville

"Eh, it's a livin'."

Back to March of Machines, where everyone on Tarkir now looks up to see a series of robotic tentacles (Invasion of Tarkir // Defiant Thundermaw) pierce the sky. Though the Dragonlords and their houses don't get along, this greater threat warrants putting rivalries aside. Zurgo Bellstriker reaches out to Dragonmaster Ojutai with a plea for alliance, and stunningly, the proud dragon accepts the offer. Zurgo and Ojutai is more than a teamup, it's a rallying symbol. As a show of unity, one of the plane's almighty rulers has allowed an underling to ride atop his back into battle. It's an unlikely partnership, but one that inspired the entire plane to drop their differences and focus on the greater danger: Elesh Norn // The Argent Etchings and company. While we know Phyrexia was ultimately defeated, we've yet to learned the aftermath on Tarkir. Will the Dragonlords go back to their old ways, or will the entire plane be unified after this worldwide coalition? Only time will tell.

Now that we've reviewed the lore, it's onto mechanics. How does this combination of Zurgo Bellstriker and Dragonlord Ojutai play out in Commander? What sort of strategies do they enable? It's clear that dragons are involved, but there are many, many other legendary dragons available to helm Commander decks. How do Zurgo and Ojutai differ from the rest of pack? Let's explore further.

1. Zurgo and Ojutai combine the speed of the former Mardu chief with the evasion, Hexproof, and most importantly, card-advantage of the dragonlord. Hit a player with a dragon, get a free Anticipate. Note that while any number of dragons hitting a single player will net you one card, hitting multiple opponents (or Battles) will generate a separate Anticipate-effect for each hit. This incentivizes us to go wide for maximum value. As such, it's important we deploy some smaller dragons like Dragonborn Looter, Nadaar, Selfless Paladin, Sprite Dragon, and Chaos Dragon to help ensure we can attack as many players as possible once Zurgo and Ojutai appear. Myriad wraps this up in a single ability, warranting Blade of Selves.

2. With each hit netting us a card, we want to maximize not just the number of players being hit, but the number of times we can hit them each turn. Double Strike (Duelist's Heritage, Fireshrieker, Sylvia Brightspear), extra combat phases (Scourge of the Throne, Combat Celebrant, Reponse // Resurgence), or both (Savage Beating) allow for added card draw and added damage, putting us further ahead while opposing life totals fall further behind. Doubling damage is already potent with evasive monsters, but in this case, it'll also generate card advantage atop the carnage.

3. In addition to draw, the 'Dash' aspect of Zurgo and Ojutai manifests in allowing us to return a dragon to our hand if it successfully struck an opponent or Battle. This can protect our Commander via resetting hexproof, or lets us pull back our dragons prior to casting a wrath. Most fun is combining this ability with ETB-effects. Self-bounce allows us to generate repeatable value with cards like Vengeful Ancestor, Dragon Turtle, Obsidian Charmaw, and Guardian Scalelord. We can also generate a lot of removal when we pair dragon-bouncing with the likes of Scourge of Valkas, Terror of the Peaks, and Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy. Self-bounce also works wonders with cards like Sneak Attack and Zirilan of the Claw, as it allows us to return creatures 'cheated' into play back to our hand before the sacrifice trigger kills them at the end of the turn.

4. Though we run a few smaller dragons, the majority are beefy and more expensive to cast. These are our primary win conditions. Drawing cards is nice, but we'll mainly use these pricier behemoths to smash our opponents to pieces, so we'll need ample ramp to accelerate into them. Ample dragon-centric means are available, from classics like Dragonspeaker Shaman and Urza's Incubator, to the more specific tools like Dragon's Hoard and Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind. Some of our dragons can even be cashed in for lands (Timeless Dragon, Eternal Dragon). Dragons are also famous for their love of treasure, so cards like Swashbuckler Extraordinaire, Patron of the Arts, and Goldspan Dragon are both thematic and in sync with our desire to ramp.

In summary, while big, giant dragons remain our primary win condition, there's plenty of nuance to be had along the way. Zurgo and Ojutai will help keep the cards flowing while we maintain a steady stream of winged warriors in the air. We also pack plenty of firepower to keep ourselves safe from opponents while putting this personal 'dragon engine' together. Our high creature count should help ensure we can consistently draw into additional dragons, many of whom generate added value when played/bounced.

Unlikely Allies | Commander | Matthew Lotti

Comamnder (1)
1 Zurgo and Ojutai

Planeswalkers (1)
1 Sarkhan, Fireblood

Battles (1)
1 Invasion of Tarkir // Defiant Thundermaw

Early on, we want to start up the ramp machine. Plenty of rocks are at our disposal, but some of the best options are actually smaller mana-making dragons like Patron of the Arts, Reckless Barbarian, and Swashbuckler Extraordinaire. These will develop our mana in the first few turns, then swing for Anticipates once Zurgo and Ojutai show up to the party. Once we hit 4-5 mana, we'll aim for a steady-stream of card draw that'll advance us toward larger winged reptiles and big, powerful spells like True Conviction and Savage Beating to close out the game.

Wicked Winged Wyrms: We're a dragon deck at heart, so naturally our rank are comprised of many a fang and claw. Early-game creatures like Dragonborn Looter, Dragonspeaker Shaman, Nadaar, Selfless Paladin, and the aforementioned 'mana dragons' quickly start positioning us for bigger and badder threats. Don't hesitate to cast a Shivan Devastator early on, as its initial small stats can easily be reset once Zurgo and Ojutai bounce it back to our hand. Early turns are a good time to cycle away Eternal Dragon and Timeless Dragon to ensure our colors are all met, as Plainscycling is able to grab nonbasic like Raugrin Triome, Hallowed Fountain, and Sacred Foundry. Nimbleclaw Adept comes in at four mana, but it's relevant creature type and ability to untap two lands is very helpful.

Once we cross into the midgame around turns 4-6, we'll hopefully have sufficient resources to deploy our Commander and other large attackers. Vengeful Ancestor, Scourge of Valkas, Terror of the Peaks, Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy, Guardian Scalelord, Dragon Turtle, Goldspan Dragon, Obsidian Charmaw, Scalelord Reckoner, and Firkraag, Cunning Instigator hit harder and bring along useful effects along with their evasive frames. Once Zurgo and Ojutai arrive to enable added draw and bounce effects, your dragon-scale will continue to grow towards the top end bruisers. These are the dragons capable of ending the game on their own.

Once our late-game reptiles arrive, opponents have scant little time to mount a defense before finding themselves completely overrun. An attacking Ancient Copper Dragon can produce enough Treasure to allow us to cast extra dragons, Ancient Gold Dragon provides a swarm of dragon faeries to ensure maximum card draw, and Utvara Hellkite generates a lethal air force with little effort. Scourge of the Throne opens up extra attack steps, letting us further capitalize on both damage output and card advantage. Khorvath Brightflame tutors up Sylvia Brightspear, who'll grant the entire team double strike. Hellkite Courser offers a unique way to circumvent Commander tax. If Zurgo and Ojutai die a few times and accrue a steep tax to recast, Hellkite Courser will slide it into play for free, and provided Zurgo and Ojutai can hit an opponent, we can return our own general to our hand to recast for 5 mana before the hellkite places it back in the Command zone.

March of the Machine: Aftermath's new Sarkhan, Soul Aflame provides the best of all three 'dragon classes', coming down in the early game and making our future dragons cheaper to cast, then mimicking larger lizards once they begin arriving.

Scaly Synergy: Our dragon army has quite the armory to draw from. Each piece of artillery is designed to maximize damage output. One flavor comes in the form of double strike, with cards like True Conviction, Fireshrieker, and Duelist's Heritage. Note that Duelist's Heritage can also be applied to opposing creatures, combining quite well with our sources of Goad (Vengeful Ancestor, Firkraag, Cunning Instigator). Players often forget that Boros Charm can act as a Double Cleave in addition to a protective or burn spell. Akroma's Will can similarly be used in offensive or defensive fashion. Double strike is made even more potent via doubling-up attack steps via Savage Beating and Response //Resurgence. In order to ensure we hit as many enemies as possible, Blade of Selves is included to provide Myriad, and Sneak Attack to rush bigger threats hastily into play. Just don't forget to bounce them back to your hand via Zurgo and Ojutai at the end of combat. Finally, Dragon Tempest not only harkens back to the Tarkir block lore, but speeds up our dragons while dishing out extra damage in the process.

Supporting Spells: While many of our dragons come with built-in removal, it helps to have some dragonfire on backup. Spit Flame doles out only 4 damage, but can constantly return back to our hand with each dragon cast. Invasion of Tarkir // Defiant Thundermaw goes from removal to damage-dealing machine once flipped, which isn't hard to achieve with a squadron of fire-breathing pterodactyls. Bolt Bend often acts as a removal spell itself, saving one our permanent from harm by sending it right back at the opponent's. Speaking of saving our cards, flicker effects have always been useful for whisking creatures out of the crosshairs of enemy removal. In our case Ephemerate not only allows us to save our Commander, but it's Rebound will likely net another activation from one of our many ETB effects.

If the battlefield gets too out of hand, we also pack sweepers Blasphemous Act and Vanquish the Horde. The discount-effect on these spells often allows us to cast an immediate creature once the dust settles, and with all the cards we're hoping to draw, we'll hopefully have a full hand to choose from. Speaking of card draw, Treasure Map provides two important functions. On its front, it'll help ensure we draw the cards we need, but when flipped, it provides ramp while turning our many Treasure tokens into cards. This is one of my favorite artifacts, useful in almost any deck you throw it in, even without synergies. But with them, the pirate-map is at its best.

Finally, sometimes we just want to make sure we draw the correct dragon for the job, be it removal (Terror of the Peaks, Obsidian Charmaw), combat manipulation (Vengeful Ancestor, Firkragg, Cunning Instigator), defense (Scalelord Reckoner), ramp (Nimbleclaw Adept, Patron of the Arts), or a simple finisher (Utvara Hellkite). Sarkhan's Triumph is the perfect tool for the job, as our deck contains dragons with all manner of utility built-in. Pick your own personal Falkor to ride into battle.

Mana Support and Rocks: Many of our creatures make mana, but dragons also have copious species-specific options for rocks. Orb of Dragonkind, Lapis Orb of Dragonkind, Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind, and Dragon's Hoard benefit our cold-blooded friends while making mana. Sarkhan, Fireblood is so happy to make mana for dragons that he actually gains loyalty for doing so. On top of this, more general type-centric effects like Urza's Incubator and Herald's Horn further help with our deck's mightier mana requirements. On-color signets (Izzet Signet, Boros Signet) and talismans (Talisman of Conviction, Talisman of Creativity) are less flashy, but still useful workhorses.

Moving onto lands, our assortment of on-color fetch (Arid Mesa), shock (Hallowed Fountain), filter (Cascade Bluffs), canopy (Sunbaked Canyon), slow (Sundown Pass) and check lands (Sulfur Falls) lean more toward Red than White and Blue, as Red makes up the majority of the deck. Plenty of Dragon-centric lands fill out our real estate as well, with cards like Temple of the Dragon Queen giving us any desired color, Haven of the Spirit Dragon adding recursion, and Crucible of the Spirit Dragon acting as a mana battery. We even bring in additional creatures via our lands, with Cave of the Frost Dragon animating to attack in the air and Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore playing copy-cat with other members of our army, then bouncing back to hand via Zurgo and Ojutai to reset as needed. More general creature-type-matters lands like Cavern of Souls, Secluded Courtyard, and Unclaimed Territory further color-fix across our dragons.

Orb of Dragonkind by Brian Valeza

Looks expensive. Or volatile. Or both.

Budget Options: When defending one's world from interplanar invasion, it helps to spare no expense. When defending one's life total from opponents at the Commander table, finances get more tricky. Magic: The Gathering can be expensive, so here are some substitutes for players who'd rather not break the bank on cardboard. All cards over $20 will be noted and recommended for swap-outs. If anything seems interesting, regardless of price tag, give them a roll in the main! Creativity is an oft-forgotten cornerstone of Commander. One of the aspects that makes it special. Mix and match card choices to your heart's content!

Creatures: Among our dragons, only two fall outside of budget: Terror of the Peaks at $37.00 and, no surprise, Ancient Copper Dragon at $55.00. Both are insanely powerful cards that hurt to lose, but we've ample, ample other reptiles to choose from. Galazeth Prismari, Astral Dragon, Demanding Dragon, Skyline Despot, Capricious Hellraiser, Hoarding Dragon, and Opportunistic Dragon all offer sweet ETB-abilities to take advantage of. If you really want to lean into the ETB-bounce-ETB angle, look to payoff cards like Azorius Aethermage and Barrin, Tolarian Archmage for added value.

If you're interested in more raw damage output, Tiamat's Fanatics come with a built-in Blade of Selves, Wrathful Red Dragon makes blocking a nightmare for your opponent, and Sunscorch Reagent grows in size while you grow in life. Other cards like Dragonlord Ojutai and Velomachus Lorehold generate additional card advantage. Gadrak, the Crown Scourge takes a while before he can attack, but he comes down early and rewards you with Treasure for firing off removal, something dragons are already good at. Plenty of winged options are out there. Far too many for me to cover here, so I encourage you to do some exploring! What other weird dragons are out there?

Supporting Spells: Even with a fresh printing in Dominaria Remastered, Urza's Incubator still comes in over budget. While it's a great discount machine, plenty of other options exist like Dragonlord's Servant, Cloud Key, and Semblance Anvil. Harder to lose are Akroma's Will and Savage Beating, as both are potent finishers to wrap up the game. If you prefer more defensive options to make up for the protective side of Akroma's Will, mass blink-effects like Ghostway and Eerie Interlude will help save your team from sweepers while reactivating all their ETB-abilities. Double strike can be made up for by using Berserkers' Onslaught, Blade Historian, and Rage Reflection. Extra combat steps can be provided by cards like Breath of Fury, Seize the Day, and World at War. Also, while not a dragon herself, Aurelia, the Warleader's reprint in Double Masters 2022 and Multiverse Legends has brought her penchant for multiple attack phases into budget-friendly range.

Mana Options: The budget hammer falls more heavily on our lands, as it often does, with the likes of Cavern of Souls, Flooded Strand, Scalding Tarn, Sunbaked Canyon all coming in over $20. Other lands like Steam Vents, Sacred Foundry, Arid Mesa, and Raugrin Triome are also inching their way closer to the twenty-dollar mark, so bear that in mind if you were thinking of picking one up. While it's tough to replace the efficiency of these lands, many budget options are out there. Mystic Monastery provides all three colors, and recent reprints of Seachrome Coast and the classic painlands (Shivan Reef, Battlefield Forge, Adarkar Wastes) have brought prices down considerably.

Eternal Dragon by Justin Sweet

If your world ever finds itself under threat of oily-cyborg invasion, here's hoping you've dragons to call upon in your time of need. As Zurgo and Ojutai are happy to illustrate at the Commander table, these mythical beasts of yore are legendary for damn good reason. Be they spitting fire, swiping with spiked tail, or resorting to good ole teeth and claw, dragons always have a way to make their fierce presence known to their enemies. In the story, it's illustrated via the broken remains of Phyrexian invaders. On games nights, it'll be illustrated via the groans of your opponents as their life totals are chomped to pieces. With you drawing cards all the while.

Thanks for reading, and may you fly with dragons.

-Matt

@Intrepid_Tautog

TAGS articles, casual, dragons, edh, commander, decklist, jeskai, matthew lotti, commander hq, march of the machine, mom, 05092023, zurgo and ojutai

Zurgo and Ojutai: Commander's Unlikely Allies

Here be dragons.

Unlikely Allies | Commander | Matthew Lotti

Recent Articles

Ranking the Mythics of Dominaria

Foundations Legendary Comparisons

Worst Magic Mechanics

Making a Saproling Horde with Shroofus Sproutsire

Commander Flavor Builds: Niv-Mizzet, Visionary

Three Breakout Decks from Foundations Standard

Building Winter, Misanthropic Guide in Commander

A Look at 10 of My All-Time Favorite Magic Decks

Ali Plays Dimir Demonic Kiora in Foundations Standard

The Mechanics of Magic Overview: Training