TCGCustom logoTCGCustom
Back to Blog

Best Cards for The Ur-Dragon (2025)

Joe DiMangio••12 min read
commanderedhdragonsur-dragon5-colortribalstaples2025

Few commanders inspire as much awe as The Ur-Dragon. This 10/10 five-color avatar leads the most powerful tribe in Magic: The Gathering—dragons. With its Eminence ability reducing dragon costs from the command zone and a devastating attack trigger that refills your hand and cheats permanents into play, The Ur-Dragon is the definitive choice for dragon tribal enthusiasts.

Whether you're building your first Ur-Dragon deck or looking for upgrades in 2025, this guide covers the essential staples and powerful synergies you need to dominate your Commander table. Want to create custom versions of these iconic dragons or test your deck before buying? Keep reading to unleash your inner dragonlord.

The Commander: The Ur-Dragon

The Ur-Dragon
The Ur-Dragon

Mana Cost:

{4}
{W}
{U}
{B}
{R}
{G}
Type: Legendary Creature — Dragon Avatar

The Ur-Dragon's Eminence ability reduces the cost of all your dragon spells by

{1}
, even while sitting in the command zone. When it attacks, you draw cards equal to your attacking dragons and put a permanent from your hand directly onto the battlefield. This combination of cost reduction and value generation makes it one of the most powerful tribal commanders ever printed.

Essential Dragons

1. Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Mana Cost:

{3}
{G}
{U}
{R}
Type: Legendary Creature — Dragon Spirit

Miirym duplicates every nontoken dragon that enters under your control, creating a token copy. In an Ur-Dragon deck, this doubles your dragon army at frightening speed. Dropping an Old Gnawbone or Terror of the Peaks with Miirym on the battlefield leads to absolutely explosive turns.

Why it's essential:

  • Doubles your dragon value immediately
  • Token copies trigger ETB effects
  • Creates overwhelming board states

2. Ancient Silver Dragon

Ancient Silver Dragon
Ancient Silver Dragon

Mana Cost:

{6}
{U}
{U}
Type: Creature — Elder Dragon

When Ancient Silver Dragon deals combat damage, you roll a d20 and draw that many cards, with no maximum hand size for the rest of the game. The ceiling on this card is absurd—drawing 20 cards isn't unusual, and even a modest roll refuels your entire strategy.

Why it's essential:

  • Massive card advantage potential
  • Removes hand size restrictions
  • Synergizes perfectly with The Ur-Dragon's attack trigger

3. Old Gnawbone

Old Gnawbone
Old Gnawbone

Mana Cost:

{5}
{G}
{G}
Type: Legendary Creature — Dragon

Old Gnawbone creates treasure tokens equal to the combat damage dealt by your attacking creatures. With multiple dragons swinging, you'll generate 20+ treasures in a single combat, funding your next massive turn.

Why it's essential:

  • Explosive mana generation
  • Enables multiple spells per turn
  • Synergizes with treasure payoffs

4. Terror of the Peaks

Terror of the Peaks
Terror of the Peaks

Mana Cost:

{3}
{R}
{R}
Type: Creature — Dragon

Terror of the Peaks deals damage equal to a creature's power whenever another creature enters under your control. In a deck full of 5+ power dragons, this becomes a machine gun that removes threats or burns opponents out of the game.

Why it's essential:

  • Turns every dragon into removal
  • Can close out games without attacking
  • Devastates creature-based decks

5. Atarka, World Render

Atarka, World Render
Atarka, World Render

Mana Cost:

{5}
{R}
{G}
Type: Legendary Creature — Dragon

Atarka gives all your attacking dragons double strike. This single ability can end games out of nowhere. A board of three dragons suddenly deals 40+ damage in one swing.

Why it's essential:

  • Doubles your damage output
  • Enables surprise lethal attacks
  • Budget-friendly powerhouse

6. Dragonlord Kolaghan

Dragonlord Kolaghan
Dragonlord Kolaghan

Mana Cost:

{4}
{B}
{R}
Type: Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon

Kolaghan grants all your creatures haste. In a deck with high-mana-value threats, attacking immediately is crucial. No more waiting a turn for your dragons to untap—they swing the moment they land.

Why it's essential:

  • Immediate pressure from every dragon
  • Enables surprise attacks
  • Punishes opponents with duplicate creatures

7. Hellkite Courser

Hellkite Courser
Hellkite Courser

Mana Cost:

{4}
{R}
{R}
Type: Creature — Dragon

Hellkite Courser cheats The Ur-Dragon directly from your command zone to the battlefield with haste when it enters. This bypasses the 9-mana commander tax entirely, letting you trigger The Ur-Dragon's attack ability without ever paying full price.

Why it's essential:

  • Cheats your commander into play
  • Grants haste for immediate value
  • Ignores commander tax

8. Rivaz of the Claw

Rivaz of the Claw
Rivaz of the Claw

Mana Cost:

{1}
{B}
{R}
Type: Legendary Creature — Dragon Shaman

Rivaz adds

{B}
{R}
{G}
to your mana pool when tapping, usable only for dragon spells. More importantly, he lets you cast dragons from your graveyard once per turn. This recursion effect keeps your best threats coming back.

Why it's essential:

  • Mana acceleration for dragons
  • Graveyard recursion engine
  • Low mana cost utility piece

9. Roaming Throne

Roaming Throne
Roaming Throne

Mana Cost:

{4}
Type: Artifact Creature — Golem

Name "Dragon" and Roaming Throne doubles all triggered abilities from your dragon creatures. Terror of the Peaks deals double damage. Ancient Silver Dragon draws twice as many cards. The Ur-Dragon's attack trigger activates twice.

Why it's essential:

  • Doubles all dragon triggers
  • Artifact makes it easy to cast
  • Synergizes with the entire deck

10. Drakuseth, Maw of Flames

Drakuseth, Maw of Flames
Drakuseth, Maw of Flames

Mana Cost:

{4}
{R}
{R}
{R}
Type: Legendary Creature — Dragon

Drakuseth deals 4 damage to any target and 3 damage to two other targets whenever it attacks. This built-in removal clears blockers, snipes planeswalkers, and chunks life totals.

Why it's essential:

  • Free removal every attack
  • Pressures opponents without targeting
  • Iconic and flavorful dragon

Mana Acceleration

Five-color decks with 6+ mana-value commanders need serious ramp. Here are the best options:

Dragon Tempest

Dragon Tempest
Dragon Tempest

Mana Cost:

{1}
{R}

Dragon Tempest grants haste to all your dragons and deals damage to any target equal to the number of dragons you control whenever one enters. It's both acceleration and a win condition in one

{1}
{R}
package.

Dragonlord's Servant

Dragonlord's Servant
Dragonlord's Servant

Mana Cost:

{1}
{R}

A 1/3 that makes your dragon spells cost

{1}
less. Combined with The Ur-Dragon's Eminence, your 7-drops become 5-drops.

Herald's Horn

Herald's Horn
Herald's Horn

Mana Cost:

{3}

Reduces dragon costs by

{1}
and gives pseudo-card-advantage by revealing the top card of your library each upkeep. If it's a dragon, it goes to your hand.

Temur Ascendancy

Temur Ascendancy
Temur Ascendancy

Mana Cost:

{G}
{U}
{R}

Haste for creatures with power 4 or greater—which is basically every dragon. Plus, draw a card whenever such a creature enters. Essential for both speed and card advantage.

Support Cards

Crux of Fate

Crux of Fate
Crux of Fate

Mana Cost:

{3}
{B}
{B}

The definitive board wipe for dragon tribal. Choose to destroy non-dragons, leaving your entire army intact while wiping your opponents' boards.

Kindred Discovery

Kindred Discovery
Kindred Discovery

Mana Cost:

{3}
{U}
{U}

Draw a card whenever a dragon enters or attacks. With a board of 4+ dragons, you're drawing massive amounts of cards every single turn.

Garruk's Uprising

Garruk's Uprising
Garruk's Uprising

Mana Cost:

{2}
{G}

Draws a card when creatures with power 4+ enter (every dragon) and grants trample to all your creatures. Card advantage and evasion in one efficient package.

Budget Upgrade Path

Building Ur-Dragon on a budget? Here are budget-friendly substitutions that still pack a punch:

Premium CardBudget AlternativeFunction
Ancient Silver DragonKindred DiscoveryCard Draw
Old GnawboneSavage VentmawMana Generation
Terror of the PeaksScourge of ValkasETB Damage
Mana CryptChromatic LanternMana Fixing
Fetch LandsTriomes/Path of AncestryLand Base

Putting It All Together

The ideal Ur-Dragon game plan:

  1. Early Game (Turns 1-3): Deploy ramp spells and mana rocks. Dragonlord's Servant, Sol Ring, and Farseek are your best early plays.

  2. Mid Game (Turns 4-6): Start deploying dragons. Rivaz of the Claw, Dragon Tempest, and medium-cost dragons establish your board.

  3. Late Game (Turn 7+): Cast The Ur-Dragon (or cheat it with Hellkite Courser). Attack with your dragons to draw cards and drop additional permanents for free.

  4. Win Condition: Overwhelm opponents with massive dragons, double strike from Atarka, and direct damage from Terror of the Peaks.

Create Your Perfect Deck

Ready to build your dream Ur-Dragon deck? Use our Card Editor to design custom dragons that match your playgroup's power level. Already have your list? Head to the Proxy Printer to create high-quality proxies of expensive staples like Old Gnawbone or the Ancient Dragons before investing.

For inspiration on more dragon-themed designs, check out our Gallery to see what other players have created.

What's your favorite Ur-Dragon tech? The 2025 meta continues to evolve with Tarkir: Dragonstorm bringing new tribal support. Whether you're playing budget or high-power, the king of dragons offers endless possibilities for customization and explosive gameplay.

May your dragons always find their prey. 🐉

Inspired to Create?

Turn your ideas into professional-looking Magic: The Gathering cards in seconds. Our editor is free, powerful, and easy to use.

Launch Card EditorView Gallery