Alternate Deck Name: "And the Dragon Came Back, the Very Next Day." Or just "Dragon Control". Or "Yeah, this one's hella over budget."
So this is a project I wanted to engage in- To make a set of 10+ super-budget 60-card decks that are simple, relatively easy to play, relatively easy to understand, and bring across the fundamentals of how Magic Works. We've since gone way past 10, with tons more in the works, and I've really enjoyed the challenge of trying to make these decks easy to play and understand, fun, and all under a $15 budget, sideboard included.
The main goal here is that you could easily build these deck for a low cost and use them as an easy introduction to how magic works, to teach a group of new players both how to play, and give them a sense of Why, a sense of what fun things they're getting into. These decks aren't gonna be particularly good, or even legal in any particular format if it stops me from including a card I think is good for the deck, but they should be fun and interesting without being too hard to get into. They should be an easily-accessible example of how fun Magic: The Gathering can be.
That all said- This deck is one of the Advanced lessons, tackling more complicated or less intuitive concepts. This one mostly because It's not a good new-player deck: It's hard to run, but then generates hilarious recursion value that's gonna be infuriating to fight. Save this one for a few days after their first games.
Who doesn't love a good dragon deck, right? Well, as it turns out, Bladewing's Thrall and Boneyard Scourge are pretty sweet value cards to run in a dragon-heavy deck, which was enough for me to try and put together a serious Dragon Value deck and see where it landed me. Over budget is where it landed me, and I'm willing to accept this. Sometimes you pay a little extra for something sweet.
Speaking of Budget: Maindeck is currently a $13.50, (according to the middle blue numbers on this very site under estimated value), with the sideboard pushing us well over at $3.80. We're at almost $2.50 over-budget on this one, and the price ain't comin' down unless we really pick apart all the best parts. The cards that make this deck sweet are cards that will be snap-includes in a lot of commander decks, so of course they're a touch pricey.
So mostly this section is going to be notes on why I think these are good cards to learn from:
Your earliest plays are likely to be card advantage and removal- Draconic Roar is Lightning Strike that goes face for free so long as one of your 13 dragons makes its way to your hand at some point, just like Foul-Tongue Invocation is very likely to gain you life as well as force your opponents to sac something. Murder is solid, simple, and real good, and both Read the Bones and Succumb to Temptation are solid card-draw, if a bit harsh on your life total. Such is the nature of what's nearly a mono-Black control deck.
Before we do the creatures, we're gonna round out the last of the spells with Crux of Fate- A boardwipe that's almost 1-sided in your favor, and Bladewing's Thrall comes back easily enough that you really don't care. This is a really sweet card for 5 mana, and does a hell of a lot for you.
Skyship Stalker is the bottom of your curve, and primarily a 3/3 flying dragon for 4, which is solid. Follow it up with Boltwing Marauder, mostly a 5/4 flying dragon for 5, but with some extra kick to it for fun. They're around to recur Boneyard Drake and Bladewing's Thrall until your opponents have to give up and get out-valued to hell and back. Finally, Bladewing the Risen probably is too expensive and too not actually that good for this deck (Jesus, 7 mana is A LOT), but he's kindasweet, in his own way, and isn't one of the cards that's making this deck over-budget anyways, so we're keeping him. I guess replace with Rorix Bladewing or something if you really want to.
Also worth noting- I usually avoid Legendary Creatures in these decks, but made an exception for Bladewing the Risen because it's super in-theme for the deck both mechanically and as a big freakin' Zombie dragon, so just make sure you explain the legend rule to whomever is using this deck.
Manabase is meant to be a touch lacking, but also super-budget. I'll be doing the same for all of them.
As for the sideboard, this IS supposed to be a sideboard they learn how to use, to make their deck perform better in the right matchups, or just in general to customize their decks within constraints.
Extra Skyship Stalkers let you lower your curve a little, Hunted Dragon is for non-agro matchups where you can afford to give your opponents a bunch of creatures like that, or to bring in alongside Pyroclasm if you are braver than your should be. Pyro is, of course, a great anti-agro card. Possibly should be slagstorm, but A) Already $2.50 over-budget, and B) Don't wanna kill those Skyship Stalkers.
Rakdos Charm is a weird but perfect sideboard card, because it boards in well against a lot of things, extra murder for slow games, and Pharika's Cure to slow down fast ones. Possibly should be essence extraction, but wanted to help you get out the gate faster.