Precon Upgrade Guide
Draconic Domination Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the five-color Dragon precon from Commander 2017, commanded by The Ur-Dragon.
Commander 2017
Draconic Domination
Five colors of Dragons is a real manabase commitment before the payoff shows up. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Draconic Domination on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Draconic Domination is a deck of big flying Dragons with a commander that pays you for attacking with them. The Ur-Dragon makes every other Dragon one mana cheaper from the command zone, and once it is out, each attack with Dragons draws cards and lets you put a permanent from your hand onto the battlefield for free. The Dragons are strong. The problems are around them: a five-color mana base where every tri-land and Vivid land enters tapped, three curses that help opponents, and very little cheap removal.
TurnZero HQ rates Draconic Domination a 3 out of 5 on difficulty and a 4 out of 5 on power, as it comes in the box. That is our editorial read, not an official Wizards rating. The full hundred cards are on the Draconic Domination decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
The Ur-Dragon costs nine, but its eminence works from the command zone: as long as it is there or on the battlefield, other Dragon spells you cast cost {1} less. Once it is on the battlefield, a 10/10 flier, whenever one or more Dragons you control attack, you draw that many cards and then may put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield. Attacking with four Dragons draws four and drops your best card for free.
Most games, the deck ramps for the first few turns with Cultivate , Kodama's Reach , Farseek and its rocks, then starts casting a Dragon a turn. Dragonspeaker Shaman and Dragonlord's Servant stack with the eminence discount, and Herald's Horn adds one more. Kindred Discovery and Elemental Bond keep the cards coming while you build up.
Several Dragons reward attacking together. Utvara Hellkite makes a 6/6 Dragon token for each attacking Dragon, Atarka, World Render gives them double strike, and Scourge of Valkas and Dragon Tempest deal damage whenever another Dragon enters.
What works out of the box
The Ur-Dragon ↗
Makes every Dragon one cheaper from the command zone, and on the battlefield turns each Dragon attack into cards and a free permanent from your hand.
Utvara Hellkite ↗
Each attacking Dragon makes a 6/6 flying Dragon token. Two attacks with a few Dragons and the board is out of reach.
Atarka, World Render ↗
Every attacking Dragon gains double strike, which doubles the damage from a board of large fliers.
Dragon Tempest ↗
Two mana. Fliers get haste on entering, and each Dragon that enters deals damage equal to your Dragon count.
Kindred Discovery ↗
Name Dragon and you draw a card whenever a Dragon enters or attacks, so the hand never runs dry.
Dragonspeaker Shaman ↗
Dragons cost two less. Combined with the eminence discount, a six-mana Dragon costs three.
What needs improvement
Every nonbasic land in the box except Command Tower and the two Spirit Dragon lands enters tapped. That is ten tri-lands, five Vivid lands and Path of Ancestry . Fixing is fine, but the deck often spends its early turns a mana behind, which matters when its ramp spells also put lands in tapped.
Three curses take up slots and help opponents as much as you. Spot removal is thin, with Fractured Identity , Frontier Siege fights and a few Dragons with removal attached to combat damage. Fortunate Few is a wipe that also destroys most of your own board. See how much removal a Commander deck needs for a target count.
Upgrade ideas
Each upgrade below starts from something the deck does poorly and says what a replacement card has to do. The cards named are examples, not the only answer: if you own something else that does the same job, or a newer printing does it better, it goes in the same slot. Make one change at a time and play a few games between them, so you can tell which change helped. The general method is in how to upgrade a Commander precon →
1. Ramp in the first two turns
Dragons cost five to seven even with the discount. Two-mana ramp gets the first Dragon down on turn four instead of turn five, and the deck's six-mana rock arrives too late to matter.
What to look for Ramp costing two mana: a rock that taps for any color, or a land search that can get basics.
Cut, for example
Dreamstone Hedron Six mana for a rock that taps for colorless. By turn six you should be casting Dragons.
Nihil Spellbomb Graveyard hate that draws a card when it goes. The deck has no graveyard plan to protect and rarely needs to fight one this early.
Add, for example
Arcane Signet ↗
Two mana, taps for any color in your commander's identity, which in this deck is every color.
Rampant Growth ↗
Two mana, puts any basic onto the battlefield. It fixes whatever color you are missing.
Nature's Lore ↗
Two mana, puts a Forest onto the battlefield untapped, so you can use it the same turn.
2. Untap the mana base
A five-color deck needs fixing, but this one gets all of its fixing from tapped lands. A few untapped lands that still make any color smooth out the early turns.
What to look for Lands that make any color or fetch any basic and enter untapped, or untap once the game is a few turns in.
Cut, for example
Vivid Crag Tapped, and it only makes off-color mana twice. The deck already has ten tri-lands for tapped fixing.
Vivid Meadow The same tapped land in white.
Vivid Marsh The same tapped land in black. Five Vivid lands is more tapped fixing than the deck needs.
3. Trade the curses for Dragons that multiply
The three curses reward opponents for attacking the same player you do. Those slots do more as Dragons that make the rest of the Dragons better.
What to look for Dragons that add a token, a copy or extra mana whenever another Dragon enters or connects.
Cut, for example
Curse of Verbosity Draws a card for everyone who attacks the cursed player. Opponents benefit as much as you.
Curse of Opulence Gold tokens for everyone attacking the cursed player. Small mana that the table shares.
Curse of Bounty Untaps nonland permanents for everyone attacking the cursed player. The deck has few permanents that care.
Add, for example
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm ↗
Whenever another nontoken Dragon enters, you get a token copy of it. Every Dragon after it comes in pairs.
Lathliss, Dragon Queen ↗
Each other nontoken Dragon that enters brings a 5/5 flying Dragon token, and it can pump all Dragons.
Old Gnawbone ↗
Any creature dealing combat damage to a player makes that many Treasures. A board of fliers turns into a large pile of mana.
4. Add cheap spot removal
The deck taps out for big creatures most turns and has few ways to stop a threat it can't race. One or two cheap instants that answer anything keep it in the game.
What to look for Instant-speed removal costing three mana or less that hits any creature or permanent.
Cut, for example
Fortunate Few Each player keeps one nonland permanent they don't control and the rest are destroyed. You will usually lose most of your Dragons.
Territorial Hellkite A cheap 6/5 with haste, but it attacks a random opponent each turn and taps itself when it can't. You don't control where it goes.
Win conditions
The deck wins in the air. Build a board of Dragons with the eminence discount, then attack with several at once: Utvara Hellkite adds 6/6 tokens, Atarka, World Render gives double strike, and The Ur-Dragon draws a card per attacking Dragon and drops a permanent for free. Crucible of Fire and Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury make each swing bigger. The upgrades above get the first Dragon out a turn sooner and give the deck answers for the turns it is behind.
Who should buy this precon
A good pick for a player who wants big creatures and a recognizable theme, and who is comfortable with a five-color mana base. The plan is simple, but the first few turns ask you to sequence ramp and fixing carefully so you can cast whatever Dragon you draw. That makes it moderately demanding. Once it is running, it is one of the harder-hitting precons to face.
Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.
Track how the upgrades actually perform.
TurnZero HQ keeps a win rate per deck version, so you can change a few cards, play some games, and see the difference instead of guessing.
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