The thing most people fear when they're playing
dragons in their deck is that someone will
target them with some kind of kill spell or
something equally heinous. This fear may have
been learned sometime during Magic's history - I
remember a day when people were afraid when
someone else cast a dragon - but it's real, and
Thunderbreak Regent gives you a great way of
alleviating it. Your opponent's spells may trade
one-for-one with your dragons, at least in a
technical sense, but there's no-one who wouldn't
fear free Lightning Bolts pointed straight at
them. And it's not as though you're unlikely to
have other damage spells coming, even if the
Regent dies.
Today's card of the day is Thunderbreak Regent
which is a four mana Red
4/4 with Flying and whenever a dragon you
control becomes the target of a spell or ability
an opponent controls it deals three damage to
that player. This is an efficient threat
with some protection for itself and dragons you
control, though removal against it to take three
damage is better than the four it would do
directly or to a creature in even one attack.
Overall this is a strong card for Red to use
alongside burn or against aggressive removal as
it is at worst a one for one trade with a Lava
Spike attached
For Limited this is a fairly easy first pick in
Booster as a low cost
4/4 with evasive and the potential burn as a
slight deterrent is a nice bonus. In
Sealed the double Red prevents splashing
somewhat, though the rest of the design makes up
for it and a two color deck can easily manage
the Red mana needed.
As if aggressive red decks needed another
finisher…but that’s exactly what this is. The
first few turns, you burn or attack with little
guys, knocking their life total down. Then, this
guy comes out, and most of the time it’s a
minimum of 3 more damage, which at this point is
a significant factor, for only 4 mana - and
that’s if they have an answer for it
immediately. Get a couple of attacks through
with this guy and you should have the game in
hand.
In a more casual setting, I can see him being
part of a sliver-type dragon deck that ramps and
uses all the cards that give all dragons you
control abilities. The Regent is an MVP of that
type of deck. I’m not sure such a deck can
survive the fast constructed formats, but it
would be fun to try!
