School is in, and so is Discard Dragon. While it was a somewhat notable presence in the early parts of last expansion, its inherent inconsistencies due to the limited card pool meant that it was phased out as decks with similar power levels got refined. Things changed when Academy of Ages was released. This expansion introduced Lilium, the Wyrmwitch and Waterwyrm’s Blessing, two cards that do everything the deck wants and ties it all together into one cohesive package. The deck was quite obviously one of the top contenders since the very start, and even after the nerfs to two of its cards that came soon after, it is still extremely strong despite a hostile metagame.
So what’s changed since last expansion’s guide was published? The rotation of the Omen of Storms expansion sees the departure of Nomadic Conductor, Gilnelise, Ravenous Craving, and Filene, Blizzardous Heart from the format, and the emergency balance patch hit Uranus and Noir & Blanc, Brothers, although the latter still sees play. In their places are the Academy of Ages newcomers Lilium, the Wyrmwitch and Waterwyrm’s Blessing.
This is a bog-standard list, piloted by [TS] Essia up to semifinals in the February SEAO SVO. The core of the deck is set: 30 cards that nobody dares to touch the ratios of, lest they remove the magic spice. He filled out the remaining slots with meta-relevant tech cards that boost survivability and late-game finishing power. This is probably the exact list that the majority of people play. The construction emphasizes the strength of discarding in Dragon, as it is saturated with early-game setup cards that would normally lose relevance as the game goes later. In this list, the sheer density of ramp and card draw effects makes it consistent at reaching Overflow with a healthy handsize, after which all these cards can just become discard fodder to fuel Lumiore, Prestigious Gold’s damage.
This is @fyal_sv’s list that he piloted to #1 on Ratings. He cut the Wardens for Strike of the Dragonslayer—a better card for the current meta that will be discussed further in the next section—and an Ethica for an Ultimate Bahamut, a tech that helps make one of Discard Dragon’s worst matchups winnable.
Lilium, the Wyrmwitch is a new inclusion from this expansion and a large part of what makes Discard Dragon so well rounded. A 2PP 2/2 that discards a card on Fanfare, she takes the spot previously held by the now-rotated Nomadic Conductor. However, she is not a one-to-one replacement: most notably, her Fanfare does not cycle, instead adding the Draconic Creation token spell to the hand. Her evolution effect is extremely powerful, reducing the cost of the token spell she creates to 0. These make her worse in the early game than most of your other discard options, as playing her does not dig deeper in the deck, and her evolution effect is very valuable. She makes up for it with late-game damage potential when paired with Lumiore, effectively translating to 6 damage if evolved with the added benefit of not actually drawing cards, which is unique to her and her spell. This allows for lethal combinations that were previously impossible due to decking out. The two tokens created from Draconic Creation are also very efficient in their own right for a control gameplan.
Dragon Oracle is an obvious inclusion in just about any Dragon deck. The ability to ramp for just 2 PP allows the deck to efficiently stay above the curve relative to the opponent, translating the small tempo loss from passing turn 2 into tempo gains every turn after, simply by virtue of having an extra PP to play with every turn. It also helps in hitting the specific PP breakpoints the deck cares about: 7 (Overflow/Drazael), 8 (Lumiore), and 10 (Noir & Blanc).
Dragonewt’s Might is removal and a discard that cycles. It is generally good early game, removing a follower while also progressing the discard quest and digging deeper into the deck. As the number of discard cards in the deck is the same as last expansion, it will still be very common to play at least one Dragonewt’s Might, and thus it would be wise to avoid discarding it unless 2 discards have already been achieved or there is a plan in place to do so.
Si Long, Draconic God-Queen continues to provide just about everything a slower Dragon deck is looking for: ramp, heal, and removal. Thanks to Lilium and Infiniflame Dragon, the current iteration of the deck has a higher emphasis on maintaining evolution points, making Tidal Tyranny’s post-Overflow effect more valuable than it was last expansion.
Argente, Purest Silver remains one of the three big payoffs of the discard package. She is extremely efficient and does everything the deck wants: ramps, draws, and discards. While she represents 4 damage with Lumiore, she is usually better for ramping into the late game while digging through the deck, as two discards for 3PP is inefficient for damage combos.
Waterwyrm’s Blessing is the newly added unconditional ramp card. Despite being more expensive than Dragon Oracle, simply having an extra three copies of ramp in the deck does wonders for consistency. The heal and draw on Overflow should not be overlooked, either: it can often be correct to hold it to play on the first Overflow turn, depending on hand size.
Noir & Blanc, Brothers remains a major payoff for the deck, despite the nerf to its Evolved statline. While more decks are capable of finding lethal through them now thanks to the reduction in their defense, they are still difficult to get over, especially in multiples. However, their primary use in many matchups now is not defensive, but offensive. Thanks to Lilium, the deck’s damage potential has gone through the roof, and Noir & Blanc can often be held for an OTK.
Drazael, Ravening Enforcer really shines in a format without Gilnelise, Ravenous Craving. Due to the rotation of the highest source of splashable heal, Drazael’s defensive capabilities cement Dragon as one of the best control classes. Most of the more aggressive decks in the format have a hard time clearing Drazael while still pushing damage, putting a halt to their momentum. She enables the control gameplan due to her sheer efficiency on the defensive front. All that being said, most of the common matchups in the current meta necessitate Accelerating her rather than playing her for full cost, as they can either take advantage of her large statline to do more damage or are combo matchups where the cycle is more valuable than a fat body.
Lumiore, Prestigious Gold is the cornerstone of the deck and is necessary to win the majority of games. After 4 discards, she draws and deals 4 to the opponent’s board and face, then even more based on the number of discards played after her. She requires at least three cards left in the deck to be played, but thanks to Lilium, it is still possible to OTK with her from that position.
Augite Wyrm’s Accelerate effect allows for Argente-on-curve highrolls if used on turn 1, but this is generally a dangerous proposition unless going second, as it reduces handsize. In Overflow, it draws 2 instead, replacing itself and maintaining handsize while digging 2 cards deeper into the deck. It is also on-rate for Lumiore combos.
Mermaid Songstress was a fringe tech last expansion, but it is now worth the slot as the deck wants to get every bit of healing it possibly can. She is essentially 2 free health when discarded, possibly even more if she is discarded early enough that the opponent needs to trade into her rather than just having her be collateral damage when they clear the board. She is not always the most obvious discard target, however—especially on combo turns, as Discard Dragon OTKs are tight on board space. Also always consider if having anything on the board is a bad thing to prevent boardlocks or opponent lethal patterns that require a target.
Angel’s Blessing is the ubiquitous Neutral card draw option. It is active fairly often, as Ethica, Firebrand Claw can restore an evolution point and Si Long, Draconic God-Queen can evolve for free, and the deck has a lot of removal that allows it to clear without committing evolution points. However, it is still generally worth setting up for later turns rather than worrying about having Angel’s Blessing active.
Ethica, Firebrand Claw is an interesting mix of early-game boardclear and midgame evolution point recovery. The deck does have quite a few things that it would like to evolve, and it is not always possible to conserve evolution points for them. Ethica pairs particularly well with Infiniflame Dragon, as just holding the last evolution point threatens it and can make the opponent play differently in order to not lose to it. Having additional evolution points can also enable Angel’s Blessing.
Strike of the Dragonslayer is a tech card that has recently been seeing an uptick in play, replacing the previously common Warden of the Adamant Claw. The board clear is a lot more useful into most matchups than Warden’s body, which can be clunky to play and even possibly detrimental. One of Discard Dragon’s biggest weaknesses is wide boards early game, so this card helps with that while also providing valuable card draw. On Overflow, it actually increases handsize, which is particularly good after spending the first few turns ramping.
Ultimate Bahamut allows for a control gameplan focused on stalling out the game and invoking it. It is only really relevant against Sword: the invoke effect is very strong against Weiss Rally Sword, and his Fanfare is potentially game winning against Mars Sword. As Mars Sword is one of this deck’s worst matchups, Ultimate Bahamut is a worthwhile inclusion.
Infiniflame Dragon is now used as a replacement for Uranus after his nerf as another source of damage in the deck. Compared to Uranus, it is quite clunky. It requires an evolution point to be really terrifying, although the Fanfare does immediately do 5 damage to the opponent, which can be relevant if Lumiores do not quite cut it. (This is especially important to keep in mind when the deck is empty, as Lumiore is unplayable in that position.) Its damage potential is significantly higher, though, and thus forces the opponent to not leave anything that will survive Infiniflame Dragon’s evolution effect to prevent taking 10 additional damage.
Warden of the Adament Claw has been slowly leaving most people’s lists as it becomes clear just how slow and clunky it generally is. It is only consistently strong after one ramp going first: any other situation and it is too expensive to really fit into a turn. If played when behind on board, it will most likely necessitate an evolution point to clear the board and recover tempo. As evolution points are premium in this deck, this is quite a big detriment. Strike of the Dragonslayer also increases handsize while being significantly less difficult to play because it also clears most boards.
Dragonewt Martial Artist is sometimes run in order to add a 0-cost Dragonewt Fist to the hand. Having another discard does theoretically help with the deck’s consistency, and the fact that it costs 0 means that it can be used to extend lethal options on a Lumiore turn. All that being said, Dragonewt Fist is an old card, from a bygone era of Shadowverse when discards were rarely if ever targeted and usually did not have cycle attached by default. That is to say, Dragonewt Fist is likely the worst discard card to play in any situation other than to reach an OTK, and that makes this card generally not worth the slot.
Masamune, One-Eyed Dragon is sometimes considered due to his leader effect’s synergy with Noir & Blanc. In matchups where an OTK is required or where Noir & Blanc cannot be allowed to live due to the risk of a boardlock or, even worse, Infiniflame, Masamune’s leader effect essentially doubles their damage. That being said, this is slow: Discard Dragon often tries to win on the turn it hits 10 PP, if not the turn after, and in all of these situations, getting Masamune’s leader effect can be very awkward. He also has applications as essentially a Bane with Rush in Overflow, but that is not all that necessary in the current meta.
Flame Lizard’s Breath is a scaling boardclear. Its efficiency grows with every turn that passes and every ramp that gets played, as the cost stays the same but the damage grows. It is nice for clearing the board and can be useful as a one-card answer to some cards in the current meta, most notably Ghost Town Apparition. That being said, it is generally unnecessary. Discard Dragon has a lot of ways to clear the board with effect damage, and this is a card that does not draw like Strike or provide evolution point recovery like Ethica. There is rarely a situation where Strike, Lumiore, or Drazael would not be more efficient. Even things like Ghost Town Apparition can be answered just by preparing a Tidal Tyranny in advance.
Uranus may have been nerfed, making him much less splashable into any deck with a few flexible slots, but Discard Dragon was already one of the best decks at enabling him to the point that he can still be considered even after getting his cost increased. The cost increase does have implications with both his early-game performance as well as late-game lethal potential, as a 3/3 on 4 is much weaker than a 3/3 on 3, and now triple Uranus is not possible in a single turn.
Lucius, Travelled Trainer is another option that can be used to tech against Mars Sword. Compared to Ultimate Bahamut, he is significantly cheaper, at the cost of requiring an evolution point. Given that this deck has quite a number of cards it would rather evolve in order to push toward a win, this downside is notable. He is also generally more useful against non-Sword classes than Bahamut, but the unique feature of Discard Dragon is that cards unsuitable for that particular matchup can find a new home in Argente’s belly.
Olivia & Sylvia, Wardens are another option for evolution point recovery. Compared to Ethica, they are actually clunkier to use in practice. They offer a Ward and are usually the same cost or cheaper than Ethica, but they require your evolution use for the turn. As the deck has key cards that it wants to make sure to evolve, being forced to evolve Olivia & Sylvia can be akin to skipping an entire turn in the midgame. They do have synergy with Ultimate Bahamut, but as his invoke effect is rarely needed to win the game at the moment, this is not that big of a benefit.
Discard Dragon stands as the premier control deck in the format due to its abundance of healing and defensive options while still having a proactive way to win the game. The rotation of Gilnelise has left the majority of decks without a good source of healing. Dragoncraft remains one of the few classes with plenty thanks to Si Long, Drazael, and the newly released Waterwyrm’s Blessing. This allows it to play a control game against aggressive decks while still being strong into the slower matchups, thanks to the discard package’s innately high burst potential: it’s a well-rounded deck capable of taking on most anything the meta throws at it. It excels at this role thanks to the consistency provided by this set’s cards, which more than make up for the small drop in power level from the early nerfs.
Always keep Dragon Oracle. It is the only card that is fine to keep multiples of. Also full keep hands that are exactly an Augite, a 2PP discard, and Argente.Going first, Waterwyrm’s Blessing is a safe keep.Going second, keep Waterwyrm’s Blessing against slower decks and Si Long against faster ones. Angel’s Blessing is a good keep with any other key card. Hands that can quickly enable Argente are also safer to keep second, and it can be okay to keep an Augite without seeing Argente in the mulligan.The key cards to find are ramp and draw. The fundamentals remain the same: discarding cards is better with more cards in hand, so the focus of the early game should be on ramping and drawing. The consistency of finding unconditional ramp on your early turns has gone up thanks to Waterwyrm’s Blessing. It is important to advance at least one of the quests in the early game, but do not worry about simply passing a turn if otherwise forced to toss a key card.
In the early game, Discard Dragon is passive. Prioritize ramping and drawing cards: not doing so makes midgame turns awkward. Do not aggressively discard unless Argente is in hand, as doing so removes options. Discard Dragon is very good at cycling through its deck, but only so many cards actually increase the number of cards in hand. Hitting 4 discards for Lumiore does not need to be rushed, as doing so does not provide any benefit until Lumiore is played, and games tend to end within a turn or two of Lumiore hitting the board. Essentially, having discarded 4 times is only important right before winning the game.There are generally two paths to winning, and which to aim for is based on the matchup.
Against most decks in the meta right now, it is important to be proactive. The deck’s control tools are not meant to fully exhaust the opponent but rather to make it awkward for them to end the game, allowing for more turns to find a win. Take this time to develop a hand ideal for a Lumiore turn.Typically, the patterns to play for OTK and 2TK are the same, the only difference being the turn to actually go in. For most matchups, there is nothing wrong with gathering resources for an OTK and then going for a 2TK instead if the hand ends up not supporting it. One critical card to develop is Lilium: evolving her at some point in the mid-game grants a free Draconic Creation. Free is a great price: it represents 4 damage for 0 PP and is required for all true OTK patterns.Below are some common OTK patterns to play for, but please remember to consider the actual state of the game before tunnel-visioning on any of these in particular.
Against decks that have a limited amount of damage, it can be okay to pivot to a control gameplan instead. This involves keeping Drazaels and Si Longs in hand and using them to weather the storm until the opponent has no more reasonable ways to end the game. The inclusion of Ultimate Bahamut helps reinforce this idea, as eventually he will invoke and constrain their options even further, putting the opponent on a clock.
This matchup is actually not as good as some people think it is because Drazael does not win the game if they play it right. Wrath Blood generally wants to play aggressively against Discard Dragon, as there is hardly any early removal in the deck. They will attempt to force multiple RNG scenarios by hiding high-priority targets like Raging Commander or Garodeth, Insurgent Convict behind Wards. Missing a snipe with Dragonewt’s Might or Tidal Tyranny usually ends the game on the spot. Clearing with Ethica or Strike is not so obvious, either, because doing so delays ramp and discard quest progression, which usually creates losing situations in the midgame. Wrath Blood is able to get past most defensive setups to find lethal, but it is telegraphed: always remember if the opponent has Gift for Bloodkin from Vania, Crimson Majesty or Devilish Diva from Enchanting Rhapsody in hand.Clear as efficiently as possible while still ramping. Remember that healing will generally take up the entire turn, which counterintuitively gives the opponent more chances to win, as they are allowed to continue setting up without pressure. If the opponent has not yet developed the cards mentioned earlier, it is pretty much impossible to die: Wrath has basically no surprise lethal setups. If the opponent is playing very passively and not setting up for lethal, Ultimate Bahamut’s invoke can be relevant. The main line, however, is a 2TK. Wrath Blood has a lot of healing, but they do not generally create situations where it is possible to set up for a full OTK, as discarding Noir & Blanc early for removal is often necessary. If not forced to discard them early, however, try very hard to find ways to hold them for a full OTK, as that is still the most reliable way to win the game.
The matchup with Mysteria Rune is one in which both players are racing to OTK. Both decks need to fulfill similarly clunky requirements in order to OTK: while Discard Dragon needs to draw multiple Liliums and Noir & Blancs while ramping and completing its discard 4 quest, Mysteria Rune will need both Anne & Grea, Royal Duo and Mysteria, Magic Originator early in order to outrace, all while making sure that it has enough things die to kill off of Majestic Sorcery. The 2TK plan is not reliable: they have no reason not to hold multiple Craig, Mysterian Chanters, which can heal every bit of damage that Lumiore deals and make it impossible to win off of the next one. The reason this matchup leans just slightly in Mysteria Rune’s favor is that they have more ways to deny Discard Dragon’s OTK: Enchanting Spell right before the OTK turn is particularly crippling. There is no meaningful counterplay to their combo, as boardlocking is not an option due to Mysterian Exchange Party. Just go faster.Accelerate Drazael: the cycle is more valuable than the body, which is as expensive as it is useless.
Burial Rite Shadow creates strong boards fairly early and has good burn damage in the midgame, but this is all contingent on their handsize. It tends to be possible to grind them out with healing and removal. The scariest thing they can do against Discard Dragon is go first.Keep Strike with ramp in the mulligan to deal with their early boards. Do not worry about saving it for Overflow: it is more important to prevent as much chip as possible to create more leeway in the mid-game, as being forced to heal is a dangerous proposition. Discard Dragon has a lot of healing, but because the healing tends to be expensive, being forced to use it can limit options and delay quest progression. The goal is a 2TK to end the game before the Shadow player can find enough damage. This is one matchup where playing for a full OTK is bad: Shadow has limited healing, so a 2TK is hard to punish, and telegraphing an OTK is very vulnerable to Ghost Town Apparition.Hold Si Long’s spell, Tidal Tyranny, to clear Ghost Town Apparition, as not clearing it is the only way to lose if their early game did not push enough damage.Advice on playing around Myroel, Death Enforcer deserves an entire section, as Burial Rite Shadow is not a real deck without it. If possible, leave them with only two free board spaces going into their Myroel turn, as this prevents her evolution, saving 4 to 7 health and denying them a stronger board and Lakandula, Purgatory Inn’s invocation. Alternatively, if the opportunity presents itself, it is possible to set up for Infiniflame Dragon lethal. As Myroel has 6 health when evolved and also reanimates two followers that will die to Infiniflame Dragon’s evolution effect, using Infiniflame Dragon into their Myroel turn represents 17 damage alone. Do not give them opportunities to lower Myroel’s health if attempting this.
(Note: Due to the recent nerf to Doomlord of the Abyss, I have made the executive decision to not include a matchup section for Vengeance Blood, as lists are still being figured out. It is a similar matchup to Burial Rite Shadow, only their boards are generally very weak, making Strike unnecessary, and they have more burn available to them overall.)
Mars Sword is an aggressive deck that can go relatively wide in the early game, which already presents a problem. They will generally be able to push a good chunk of chip damage even before Mars, Belligerent Flame is active. Unlike other aggressive decks, Mars Sword cannot be beaten with a control gameplan, due to the effect of Flame General’s Regalia and the potential burst Valiant Fencer enables.The ways to win all involve quickly ramping. One way is an early 2TK, which is basically akin to saying “just highroll.” Running Ultimate Bahamut gives another out, as his Fanfare destroys amulets. Save as much health as possible and drop Ultimate Bahamut into their Valiant Fencer turn. Doing so not only prevents the pings but also means that Valiant Fencer does not gain Rush, forcing them to evolve him if they need a damaged follower on the board and removing a large chunk of damage from the combo. From there, it is possible to grind them out, as they are likely too deep into their deck to create another Flame General’s Regalia.
The Discard Dragon mirror is just atrocious. Whoever ramps more and gets 4 discards faster wins. The player going first is favored unless the player going second plays two Angel’s Blessings, at which point it becomes anyone’s game.It is not necessary to go for an OTK in this matchup, but it is still cleanest. More often than not, though, it is going to be a 2TK, as the early Lumiore provides pressure that throws the opponent off his gameplan. If the opponent is at 10 PP after the Lumiore turn, make sure that no Noir & Blancs are able to evolve, as if they do, Infiniflame Dragon most likely ends the game. In order to heal and clear, the opponent will likely have to use Drazael, in which case Infiniflame Dragon closes out the game. If they play around it and heal with Si Long, it can be difficult to fully clear while healing out of range of the second Lumiore.Just highroll. Just go faster. Just be better.
Discard Dragon is one of the hardest decks currently in Rotation. While the gameplan is pretty straightforward, the execution has a lot of nuance to it. It is extremely punishing on misplays and resource mismanagement, but when played well, it is a comfortable pick into any matchup. While it faces a hostile meta that accounts for its drop in play since the start of the expansion, it is still a deck with an extremely high power level that can beat everything else currently out there. Its flexibility offers a lot to players who can consistently outplay their opponents because there is no matchup that is actually unfavored to the point of being unplayable.