Magic: The Gathering's Commander format is incredibly diverse, allowing players to construct decks of countless archetypes that utilize a myriad of strategies. One of the most commonly used deck types in Commander are tribal decks; decks that are based around a given creature type. Tribal decks aim to make use of cards that reward a player for including primarily cards of that given type and are often incredibly synergistic.

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When it comes to powerful tribes, Dragon-Tribal decks aim to utilize impressive flying creatures to deal devastating damage to their opponents. As dragons have been part of Magic since the game's very first set, there are a litany of options for a Dragon-Tribal commander, each bringing something unique to the table and providing access to different colors. So today, we're going to examine the various potential Dragon-Tribal commanders from Magic; The Gathering's history and see which are the strongest!

Updated by Paul DiSalvo on July 26, 2022: As an incredibly popular tribe that regularly receives powerful new cards in nearly every set, Dragon tribal decks are frequently given new options to explore. As Dragon tribal was a significant theme within Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, a sizable number of new Dragon tribal commanders are now available, providing potent new options when building your next Dragon Commander deck.

14 Thrakkus the Butcher

Thrakkus The Butcher MTG Card

Though simplistic, Thrakkus the Butcher is a solid commander option for those looking to play an aggressive Dragon deck that uses its creatures to deal massive amounts of damage to your opponents.A 3/4 Dragon Peasant with trample for five mana, whenever Thrakkus attacks, you double the power of each Dragon under your control, doubling your damage output.

Not only can this improve the potency of already dangerous Dragons, but when paired with effects that provide additional combat steps, this ability may be triggered several times within a single turn!

13 Firkraag, Cunning Instigator

Firkraag, Cunning Instigator

Recently appearing in the Draconic Dissent precontructed Commander deck, Firkraag, Cunning Instigator is a distinct Izzet (blue/red) Dragon Commander that blends the value of evasive-high damage Dragons with the goad mechanic unique to multiplayer Magic. A 3/3 Dragon with flying and haste for five mana, whenever one or more Dragons under your control deals combat damage to a player, you can goad a creature that player controls, forcing that creature to attack one of your other opponents next turn if able. Its important to note that even if you are able to hit an opponent with several Dragons at once, you'll still only be able to goad one of their creatures. This is still quite powerful, as goading not only lead to another one of your opponents taking damage, but it also prevents you from being attacked by the creature at hand.

Firkrag notably provides additional value for goading, as whenever a creature deals damage to one of your opponents, if it had to attack such as through a goading effect, you can put a +1/+1 counter on Firkrag, drawing a card in the process. If you're able to goad several creatures at once, this can allow you to access significant card draw.

12 Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy

Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy

While Dragons are synonymous with combat due to their evasion and often high damage output, Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy is a Dragon tribal commander that flexibly converts each of your Dragons into a form of damage-based removal. A 4/2 Dragon Shaman with flying for five mana, whenever you cast an adventure, or more importantly, whenever you cast a Dragon, you can deal damage equal to that spell's mana value to any target.

This means that by simply amassing your army of Dragons, you can easily pick off opponents' pesky creatures and planeswalkers or even just deal direct damage to other players. As this Commander is Izzet, having access to countless powerful Dragons and control spells alike, it can serve as a deceptively powerful blend of creature-based aggression and control.

11 Karrthus, Tyrant Of Jund

Karrthus-Tyrant-of-Jund-1

Though quite costly at seven mana, Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund is a solid Dragon-Tribal commander within the Jund color identity (black/green/red). A 7/7 with flying and haste, Karrthuis provides all other Dragons under its owner's control with haste, meaning that once Karrthus is in play, each Dragon at its controller's disposal becomes quite aggressive.

Additionally, upon entering the battlefield, Karrthus's controller gains control of all Dragons on the battlefield, meaning that if another player happens to be using a great Dragon card such as a Goldspan Dragon, that value can be stolen for the Karrthus player.

10 Atarka, World Render

Atarka, World Render

Perhaps the most simple and straightforward entry on this list, for those looking to build a combat-focused Gruul Dragon deck that simply aims to deal as much combat damage as possible, Atarka, World Render may be a solid choice.

A 6/4 with flying and trample for seven mana, Atarka states that whenever a Dragon its owner controls attacks, it gains double strike until the end of the turn. This effectively allows Atarka to double the damage output of all Dragons its owner controls.

9 Morophon, The Boundless

Morophon, the boundless card and artwork in Magic: The Gathering.

While Morophon, the Boundless is a uniquely flexible commander that can function as the general for any type of tribal deck, it is an excellent choice when it comes to Dragon decks that aim to include a high number of multi-colored Dragons. A colorless shapeshifter 7/7 with changeling for seven mana, when Morophon enters the battlefield, its controller chooses a creature type.

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Not only do all creatures of that type get +1/+1, but all creatures of that type cost one mana of each color less to cast. This essentially means that the more colors a Dragon in a player's deck has, once Morophon is in play, the cheaper it will be to cast. This can provide a significant cost reduction to many key Dragons, making it quite powerful when paired with a wide variety of Dragon-Tribal synergies.

8 Zirilan Of The Claw

Zirilan of the Claw

An underrated option for a Mono-Red Dragon-Tribal commander, Zirilan of the Claw was printed all the way back in Mirage. A 3/4 for five mana, Zirilan totes an activated ability for three mana that allows its controller to tutor for a Dragon, put that card directly into play, and even provide it with haste.

While that Dragon is exiled during the next end step, Zirilan can be used to cheat mana-intensive Dragons into play for high-impact turns. Additionally, through the use of cards like Sundial of the Infinite and Conjurer's Closet, these Dragons can even avoid being exiled.

7 Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient

Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient

Though Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient may cost seven mana to cast, when paired with many other Dragons, it is capable of producing absurd amounts of mana. A 4/4 with flying and haste when Klauth attacks, its controller produces an amount of mana in any combination of colors equal to the total power of creatures they attacked with that turn. As Dragons tend to have high power, this can provide massive amounts of mana which can then be used to cast even more Dragons.

6 Tiamat

tiamat

Printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Tiamat is a five-color Dragon-Tribal commander that allows for a great deal of consistency in a Dragon deck. This is because when this seven-mana 7/7 enters the battlefield, its controller can search their library for up to five Dragons with different names, revealing those cards, and putting them in its owner's hand.

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This means that Tiamat allows its controller to reliably access their five favorite Dragons, or Dragons key to their strategy in any game, thanks to Tiamat.

5 Kaalia Of The Vast

Image of the Kaalia of the Vast card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Michael Komarck

An impressive Mardu (black/red/white) commander for four mana, Kaalia of the Vast synergizes in powerful fashion with any demons, angels, or Dragons. While Kaalia works with all three of these creature types, if a player wanted to go all in on a Mardu Dragon deck while ignoring demons and angels, Kaalia could enable such a strategy quite well.

A 2/2 human with flying, whenever Kaalia attacks, its controller can put an angel, demon, or Dragon directly onto the battlefield, tapped and attacking. This can allow a player to completely ignore the mana costs of some of the strongest Dragons printed in Magic's history.

4 Scion Of The Ur-Dragon

Scion of the Ur-Dragon

For many years, Scion of the Ur-Dragon was the go-to choice for a five-color Dragon-Tribal commander. For five mana, this 4/4 flying Dragon possesses an activated ability for two mana that allows its controller to tutor for a Dragon card, putting that card into the graveyard while having Scion of the Ur-Dragon become a copy of that Dragon until the end of the turn. This allows a player to reliably tutor for their strongest Dragons, immediately access them, and then be able to easily access them through the use of reanimation spells.

3 Lathliss, Dragon Queen

Lathliss, Dragon Queen Magic: The Gathering card overlaid over artwork.

Lathliss, Dragon Queen is a potent option for those looking for a straightforward yet powerful Mono-Red Dragon-Tribal commander. A flying 6/6 for six mana, Lathliss creates a 5/5 flying Dragon token whenever a nontoken Dragon enters the battlefield under its owner's control, providing a great deal of extra value to every Dragon that player would cast.

As if this weren't powerful enough, Lathliss's two-mana activated ability can provide each Dragon under its owner's control with +1/+0, allowing a Lathliss player to easily close out games in a single massive attack.

2 Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm MTG Card

Easily among the most popular new Commanders from Battle for Baldur's Gate, Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm is a hard to deal with Temur (blue/green/red) Dragon tribal commander that doubles the value of each Dragon you cast. A 6/6 Spirit Dragon with flying and Ward 2 for six mana, Miirym states that whenever another nontoken Dragon enters the battlefield under your control, you can immediately make a token copy of it.

Moreover, if that Dragon was legendary, the token isn't meaning Miirym can copy creatures that normally limit themselves to one card. While this is already an incredibly powerful effect, each Dragon you cast becomes a devastating threat when Miirym is paired with the likes of Parallel Lives, Doubling Season, or Reflections of Littjara.

1 The Ur-Dragon

the ur-dragon

One of the strongest five-color commanders in the entirety of Magic, the Ur-Dragon is a stellar commander that can benefit its controller before it's even cast. While the Ur-Dragon is a flying 10/10 for nine mana, its eminence ability reduces the cost of all Dragons its owner would cast by one mana whether its in the Command Zone or on the battlefield.

As Dragons tend to have somewhat high mana costs, this effectively mana ramps a player from the word go. Once cast, The Ur-Dragon is absolutely devastating, stating that when its controller attacks with any number of Dragons, they draw that many cards and can then put any permanent from their hand directly into play without paying its mana cost!

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